Case Study of a Sociological and Pedagogical
Online Virtual Communities
Sociological Virtual Community
Introduction
The social virtual community I chose to observe was World of Warcraft. This is an online role playing multi-player game in which it takes place in virtual world in real time. I chose this social network because my three sons are involved in this community and I wanted to learn more about it.
I began my quest (no pun intended) by creating a character. My name is Hardknocks. I am a hunter. I live in Sen’jin Village. It is in the middle of a desert. My first impression of this community was uncertainty of what to do next. There were a lot of characters moving all around me. I had options to move freely. I traveled to the auction house in the town of Orgrimmar. I would communicate with other characters by real-time chat. I could also communicate with voice through the use of ventrilo if I wished.
Type of Community
The game fosters interdependence between the players in that characters are of different experience levels, different skill levels, and have different profession levels. Characters of higher levels help those which are of lower levels to complete quests and to obtain better equipment as they increase their level. Even though the game offers different professions, to increase your proficiency in your given profession you will need to purchase goods from other characters of different professions. For example if you are a Blacksmith to make advanced weapons you will also need elements from Alchemists and Animal Skinners to produce the products.
Structure of the Community
The community is broken down into two factions (Horde and Alliance) who see each other as a common enemy. Each faction has several multiple races (Human, Orcs, Tauren, Blood Elf, etc.) and each race has multiple choices of class (Paladin, Warlock, Warrior, Rogue, etc.). When an individual selects a race and class they then have a choice of professions to select from. The members of each faction barter and trade their services so that they can advance their characters ability and net worth. Characters can form Guilds which are a collection of friends and other characters to help each other.
People communicate mostly by text through multiple channels depending on the nature of the discussion. People can also utilize the voice chat option available through the game. The player’s character is walked through the multiple story lines of WoW by way of quests and interacting with Non-Playing Characters. Players can participate in multiple types of combat and adventures starting solo by leveling a character from a starting level 1 to a maximum level 80. Players also can participate in group activities such as player versus player combat where
the two-factions fight each other for honor points. Lastly players can form 10 or 25 man groups to run through a dungeon to take on high-level computer bosses for advanced weapons and armor.
While in Orgrimmar I visited the auction house where characters would buy and sell goods such as food, armor and weapons needed to complete a quest. I also observed a chat network called “Trade.” Players will post services and the cost of the service in which other players would exchange. For example I asked for a portal to the closest major city. I was sent to Thunderbluff.
Design Features and roles of the Technology
The community consists of 12 million players that are split up into about 50 different realms. Blizzard which is the developer of WoW maintains the game every week with normal down time updates on Tuesdays. Blizzard offers regular updates to the game to tweak player’s abilities and update or improve the player’s experiences. Blizzard also releases regularly scheduled content expansion packages which increases the realms of WoW but advances all the story lines to keep the content fresh and interesting.
This virtual community has spawn legions of websites where players can share thoughts, ideas, and opinions of the game. Other websites like WoWhead, WoWwiki, Thottbot and others provide detailed information about professions, quests, dungeons, and many other game related details. Most players will access other websites while they are in game.
Conclusion and Implications
In conclusion this virtual community has developed into a very popular world among the pre-teen, teen and techy sci-fi individuals. By visiting and partaking in this world I can understand what my children are talking about. I must say the world is very dark and doomful, but it does provide networking with others and planning skills to acquire higher levels in the game.
Pedagogical Virtual Community
Introduction
From a pedagogical perspective I chose to study the “Tapped In” virtual community at http://tappedin.org/tappedin/. “Tapped In” is a synchronous virtual community designed for educational professionals (primarily K-12 teachers) for professional development. I chose this site because it allowed you to visit as a guest without having to sign up as a member. It also was easy to navigate (that is after I viewed the tutorial). I was an observer of this community. I found what rooms were opened to guest and I would introduce myself “My name is Sharon, I am just observing.” Some of the participants would ask more in depth questions such as “What grade do you teach” I would reply “I am a graduate nursing student in education,” then go on to explain our assignment. Everyone was very polite and willing to answer any questions I may have had. My first impression of this virtual community was “WOW” because I have had little
experience with virtual communities. I am in awe how technology can connect so many people and information is shared as though the participants were conversing in a hallway.
Type of the Community
Tapped In is a good example of a Learning Organization. “A Learning organization is the intersection of task-based, practice-based, and knowledge-based communities”
Structures of Community
The structures of “Tapped In” consist of a virtual campus with eight buildings, Azusa Pacific University-APU (chapel, lounge and library), National Writing Project (NWP), Teachers Learning in Networked Communities (TLINC), Pepperdine University, Alameda County Office of Education (ACOE), Teachers for a New Era (TNE), SNL Center and the Tapped In welcome center. Each building has virtual floors and rooms. Groups contain owners, moderators and members. Groups may share a particular interest or content with other educators. Instructors/Teachers / “Leaders” or lead a room on a specific subject and or discussion. Discussions are synchronous real-time chat and use of white board. Discussions/classes generally last about an hour. Knowledge and interaction are exchanged through chat. Individuals define their roles as help desk, students / learners and leaders / instructors. When I had entered the Welcome Center Jeff with the help desk asked how he could help me. At first I told him I was looking around and then after exploring I came back to the welcome center and told Jeff I was a graduate student studying VC. He asked if I was a teacher. I told I taught nursing students and he offered me a room for instruction and office hours if would join as a member. I could really see the possibilities this could offer later in my career.
Design Features and Roles of Technology
The welcome center was impressive. Jeff addressed me as soon as I entered the room and offered his assistance to guide me to where I wanted to go. I was not left to wander aimlessly (although I did do this because I wanted to look around in the buildings on campus. Also the credentials of instructors are notable. These leaders encourage new and experienced educators and offer guidance and support. The cornerstone of this VC is the leaders and
participants. “Tapped IN” was created nine years ago with the vision of “a virtual place where teachers with diverse interests, skills, and backgrounds can meet and learn from one another; where teachers can be exposed to not one, but many education reform concepts and approaches; where teachers can find high-quality resources in minutes rather than hours; and a thriving teacher community practicing these aspects of their profession on-line"
Opportunities present themselves for an individual to progress from a member or student of a group or class to becoming an owner or leader of group as the user becomes comfortable with the environment. Long time instructors seem to encourage those wanting to
advance. In addition if you were to join the site they would suggest groups you may have an interest in based on your initial membership questionnaire.
Conclusions and Implications
In conclusion this site was very interesting and quite informative. The K-12 educational community should view this site as an asset in their professional development. I would suggest having more classes available in a given day. I would also suggest having help desk at each of the buildings on campus. When I visited the buildings there was no one available to ask questions. In addition I would propose using a microphone. Some of us are not fast typers. But overall this was a fascinating VC.
References
Riel, M., & Polin, L. Common Ground and Critical Differences. In S. Barab, Online Learning Communities (pp. 16-50).
Tapped In. (n.d.). Retrieved Febuary 11, 2010, from http://tappedin.org/tappedin/.
World of Warcraft. (n.d.). Retrieved Febuary 8, 2010, from http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/index.xml
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