Creating a Sense of a Collaborative Learning Community with Google

This study explored the use of the Google+ social networking site as part of an asynchronous learning network developed for a Management Information Systems (MIS) course. It aimed to see if Google+ is a viable tool to promote a sense of community and social presence among undergraduate students in an online course. Social presence is one way to measure sense of community. The community of inquiry model stipulates that the social presence that a participant projects socially and emotionally as a "real" person in the online medium is a critical component in an online course's success. The study found that Google+ Community was well received by the students. Many students had not been familiar with Google+, nor had they created a website prior to this class. Student feedback indicates that using Google+ and creating their own websites generated a positive synergistic effect that contributed to a sense of a collaborative learning community in this online MIS course.