SHARING KNOWLEDGE AND BUILDING COMMUNITIES A NARRATIVE OF THE FORMATION, DEVELOPMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY OF OOPS Meng-Fen Grace Lin May 2006 This dissertation is covered by the Creative Commons “Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5” license. See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/. Contact information: [email protected] i SHARING KNOWLEDGE AND BUILDING COMMUNITIES A NARRATIVE OF THE FORMATION, DEVELOPMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY OF OOPS A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the College of Education University of Houston In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Education by Meng-Fen Grace Lin May 2006 I dedicate this dissertation to all the volunteers worldwide, people who are generously giving of their time, strength and expertise in support of a wonderfully wide range of projects designed and implemented with the intent of improving the quality of life for human beings everywhere. Together, we can make a difference. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENT As is true of almost any undertaking of a pioneering nature - a project that explores still-emerging human knowledge, technology, world views, and, hence, complex human interactions - this dissertation could not have been completed without the support and encouragement of many special people. From its inception as a half-formed idea fluttering about in my brain, this project has demanded that I have the courage of my convictions. Thus, I think first of my very special family - my mother, sister, grandfather, aunt and uncle - who have during all my life, applauded my accomplishments, and steadfastly reminded me of how “far I have come” and, “how far I can surely expect to go.” They have been devoted and invaluable “cheerleaders” ever urging me upward and onward. The people most closely involved in shaping and completing the “final product,” the dissertation itself, of course come to mind. My advisor, Dr. Sara McNeil, has played a crucial role in my professional growth and development. From the beginning of our very happy and productive association, she took me under her wing and, over the years, afforded me many professional opportunities that I could not have otherwise enjoyed. From her I have gained a strong sense of direction along with confidence in my ability to perform meaningfully and successfully within my chosen field. My dissertation co-chair and methodologist, Dr. Cheryl Craig, has proved invaluable in her insightful and distinctively unique direction of my project. She found ways of allowing me great creative freedom, both in formulating ideas and theories and in the format in which I felt these were best presented, while at the same time providing a carefully structured intellectual environment which was conducive to my successful completion of the project. Dr. Craig helped me stretch my abilities to their limits under the guidance of her high standards, all the while challenging me to think independently and innovatively. My mentor, Dr. Mimi Lee, with whom I have co-authored a book chapter, has demonstrated her respect for and enthusiasm in my research with her never-ending research ideas. Another committee member, Dr. Joy Phillips, has from the beginning of my association with her given me positive support and encouragement. I am indeed grateful for the help and input of all of my dissertation committee members. Nor would I be so ungrateful as to forget that there have been many highly significant mentors who have influenced my life and the work I am doing. There was Dr. Hersh Waxman. I was introduced to research in his challenging courses; my Internship with him broadened my research experience. Dr. Lee Mountain was instrumental in my job search process and an inspiration to my writing and publishing. And Dr. Curt Bonk from Indiana University took a profound interest in my research and made my research journey extra joyful. All of the foregoing are special people who have touched my life in meaningful ways and who have, each in his or her particular role, contributed to the work I have been able to accomplish. But I feel my heart swell in my chest as I call attention to the final group of people to whom I owe my deep appreciation and respect - my research participants: Arnold, Doris, Filestorm, Jessie and Luc. As I have said, this dissertation began as a half-formed idea, a hazy notion that I toyed with; it was through my interactions with these participants that I came to formulate a concrete and beneficial approach to knowledge sharing in a new and exciting venue. These people gave me not only their time but their unique experience, which, truly, form the base of this research. I want to acknowledge my many fellow graduate students, all the students and teachers at the Bodhi Chinese School - and all the beautiful minds around me. Thank you. vi SHARING KNOWLEDGE AND BUILDING COMMUNITIES A NARRATIVE OF THE FORMATION, DEVELOPMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY OF OOPS An Abstract of A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the College of Education University of Houston In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Education by Meng-Fen Grace Lin May, 2006 vii Lin, Meng-Fen. “Sharing Knowledge and Building Communities: A Narrative of the Formation, Development and Sustainability of OOPS.” Unpublished Doctor of Education Dissertation, University of Houston, May, 2006. Abstract This narrative inquiry (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000) documented the formation, development, and sustainability of an online community called OOPS (Opensource Opencourseware Prototype System) originally formed in February 2004 to translate the MIT OpenCourseware project into Chinese. This community is unique in that it is comprised of over 1,800 online volunteers from around the world and has coalesced rapidly into a distinct group of people that share a common goal, interact frequently with one another online, and communicate mainly through a web-based forum. Little is known about how this type of community is formed and evolves, how participants learn from and interact with one another, and how volunteerism is nurtured and supported. As a participant in the OOPS project myself, I became intrigued with the formation of this community and the experiences of its members. Using interviews with participants, archived discussions from the online forum, and observations, as well as my own understanding and knowledge, I explored how the OOPS community formed values and created a social structure. In this research study, I have described how our experiences were shaped by social interactions, individual beliefs, values, and assumptions. This inquiry involved two different ways of viewing the community through micro-stories, the individual stories of participants, and macro-stories, stories that involve the community as a whole. Each viewpoint has a different framework for analysis. Using the concepts of narrative authority (Olson, 1995) and knowledge community (Craig, 1995a, 1995b) as the first analytical framework, I drew on the micro-stories of this community’s members to unpack various motivations, satisfactions, and hazards involving volunteer work, the forming of knowledge communities, and the expression of individual narrative authority. In the process, I discovered a phenomenon I have called “experience asymmetry” that exists when people have diverse experiences resulting in different and, at times, competing understandings. I further explored the interaction between experience asymmetry and narrative authority as they are expressed in a knowledge community. I have also expanded the current literature on knowledge community to include the online characteristics of human interactions, and I argue for a modification to also consider the notion of safeness, time, identity, and fluidity of boundary. Using Wikipedia and models for open source development as the second analytical framework, I drew on the macro-stories of the community to understand events that bridge both the online and offline lives of the participants. Often these activities produce a friction that, while stressful, has the potential to create a synergy that increases dialogue and interactions. I have classified these frictions in four categories related to knowledge development, leadership and decision making, community structure, and usefulness and intellectual property. In this process, I have explored why participants take on additional tasks that have more complexity and more involvement as a way to sustain their commitment to the community. Based on my inquiry into both the micro- and macro-stories, I have suggested five ways to sustain an online community through an environment that: (1) encourages ix increased responsibility and commitment of the members; (2) provides technology as part of the solution; (3) distributes leadership; (4) encourages use by people outside the community; and (5) gives back to the worldwide community through creating new knowledge. x TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page 1 NARRATIVE OF THE RESEARCHER.................................................................1 My Journey into OOPS................................................................................1 Becoming Involved..........................................................................2 Becoming Scared.............................................................................3 Becoming Inspired...........................................................................4 Becoming Personal..........................................................................7 Becoming Serious............................................................................9