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                                   Leveraging Trust to Support Online Learning
                                   Creativity – A Case Study
Authors                              The insights shared through this article build on data collected in real life situations.
                                     The work described here attempts to understand how trust can be used as leverage
Sonia Sousa
                                     to support online learning and creative collaboration. This report explores this under-
sonia.sousa@tlu.ee
                                     standing from the teacher perspective. It examines trust commitments in an interna-
David Lamas
                                     tional setting within which learners from different European countries collaborate and
David.Lamas@tlu.ee
                                     articulate their learning tasks and skills at a distance. This research endeavour aims to
Tallinn University, Institute of     recognize both individual and group vulnerabilities as opportunities to strengthen their
Informatics
                                     cooperation and collaboration. We believe that by understanding how to assess and
                                     monitor learners’ trust, teachers could use this information to intervene and provide
Tags                                 positive support, thereby promoting and reinforcing learners’ autonomy and their mo-
                                     tivation to creatively engage in their learning activities.
creativity, trust, e-learning,
personal learning                    The results gathered so far enabled an initial understanding of what to look for when
environments, innovation,            monitoring trust with the intention of understanding and influencing learners’ behav-
learning Interactions,               iours. They point to three main aspects to monitor on students: (1) their perception of
e-participation                      each others’ intentions, in a given context, (2) their level of cooperation as expressed
                                     by changes in individual and group commitments towards a particular activity; and,
                                     (3) their attitudes towards the use of communication mediums for learning purposes
                                     (intentions of use, actual use and reactions to actual use).



                                   1.	Introduction
                                   This article focuses on the use of trust as leverage in technology enhanced learning settings.

                                   Although most of us perceive educational settings as true and honest, we are also aware
                                   that there are exceptions, as individuals tend to favour their own well being over the com-
                                   munity’s. This is even more so in online environments within witch there is little or no threat
                                   of retribution (Preece, 2001). These exceptions potentially lead to mistrusted behaviours,
                                   which might result in a decrease in motivation, lower participation and lessened collabora-
                                   tion potentially leading to unsuccessful learning cases.

                                   Building on the relation between trust and students’ attitudes in online environments, a
                                   research plan was devised comprising three main stages. The first stage provided a com-
                                   prehensive understanding of what trust is and how it potentially relates to online learning
                                   communities.

                                   Based on these results and during the second stage of this research plan, a socio-technical
                                   model of trust was designed and validated.

                                   This article reports on part of the work carried out during the third phase of this research
                                   plan, within which we used a real life setting to observe students, seeking an understanding
                                   of the interplay between trust and the learners’ perceptions, commitments and attitudes.


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The main goal is to model a tool to help online learning teach-        degree of commitment with which each student addresses
ers and facilitators to design and deploy interventions fostering      a specific learning activity, (2) The degree to which students
student’s trustful expectations and behaviours leading to higher       share their resources, (3) How they communicate; and (4) How
student engagement and fruitful creative collaboration. A sec-         do they engage with others in the learning process (Gambetta,
ondary goal is to raise both teachers’ and facilitators’ awareness     1998, Tschannen-Moran, 2001, Preece, 2001, Preece & Shnei-
of how important it is to support positive relations and coopera-      therman, 2009).
tion.
                                                                       In this context, we took a closer look at trust, as we believe it
                                                                       plays a key role in supporting and motivating learner’s commit-
2.	Background                                                          ments towards learning and strengthens their learning collabo-
Today, the teacher’s role in education is seen as a facilitator of     ration. It is for these reasons that trust has been seen as a major
the learning process rather than the possessor of knowledge.           determinant to foster individual active participation in social
This transformation has been and is being continuously sup-            systems. What users perceive to be “trustworthy” in such sys-
ported by enhancements brought by technology into our learn-           tems is influenced by a number of factors, including perceptions
ing settings. Learning anywhere and anytime is now an option           of the communication medium, the history of participation and
for a significant part of the population, even when active partici-    perception of other users (Davis, 1989; Meyerson, 1996; Lewis,
pation and group collaboration are required.                           1985; Lewicki, 1995).

However, this flexibility has also brought challenges to both          We propose to view trust as a sense making of the students’
teachers and learners, as it demands from all an up-to-date set        interaction process. Although, we agree that trust multidiscipli-
of skills as well as it requires them to face the fast-paced evolu-    nary nature makes it a concept hard to discuss and consider in
tion of education technology (Pink, 2008).                             areas, which integrate social and computer science theories, it
                                                                       is possible to find consensus on the importance and contribu-
Moreover, even though technology has an important role in this         tion of the trust factor to support interpersonal relations or/and
change, technology per se does not have the ability to engage          to enhanced technology mediated interactions.
us in social, innovative and creative learning scenarios, and if
the settings enabled by technology enhanced learning are not           As trust is considered an important element in influencing the
properly supported, then results can result in information over-       success (or lack thereof) of a relationship in that it is a key el-
load, procrastinating attitudes, effects that will probably lead to    ement in influencing the willingness to cooperate, share and
the disruption of information flows and ongoing discussions.           participate in a given context (Mishra, 1996; Guiddens, 1991),
                                                                       then within this focus we consider issues like learner’s persua-
Nevertheless, technology assumes an important role in foster-          sion, emotions and trust commitments important dimensions
ing creativity through enriched collaboration, a role facilitated      to attain when seeking for greater technological inclusion and
by motivated learners engaged in group cooperation.                    learning success.
That is why we aim to contribute to understand how trust can           As an example of that multidisciplinary approach trust can be
be leverage for supporting online learning creativity, as trust        see from a sociological perspective as a reflection of behaviors,
ensures effective commitments and reduces the level of un-             choices and decisions (Gambetta, 1998; Fukuyama, 1995; Gar-
certainty (Giddens, 1991, Kramer, 1996, Luhmann, 2000). We             finkel, 1963); for psychologists, trust is seen as an attitude or
build our rational on the attempt to understand the potential of       intention (Erikson, 1968; Rotter, 1971); on the other hand social
supporting trustful interactions as leverage to develop creativity     psychologists interpret trust as a interpersonal phenomenon
and innovation among online learners.                                  (Meyerson, 1996; Mishra, 1996; Weber, 2003; Luhmann, 2000),
                                                                       and economists see it as a commitment in a form of a rational
2.1	Trust and online learning communities                              decision (as a game) (Bachrach, 2007). More, the computer sci-
                                                                       ences perspective separates the trust concept in two distinct
In the attempt to observe possible implications of technology
                                                                       approaches, one connects trust to security processes, reputa-
in contemporary education and learning processes’ we encoun-
                                                                       tion and privacy (Abdul-Rahman, 1999; Walter, 2008; Falcone,
ter in the literature four main aspects to be considered: (1) The
                                                                       2002) and another relates trust to the interaction process that is



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mediated through technology (Dong, 2010, Constantine, 2006;         2.2	A socio-technical model of trust
McKnight, 2002; Mcknight, 1996; Preece, 2001). Finally educa-
tors tend to see the trust concept more as an interpersonal phe-    The reflections above lead us to the second step of our research
nomenon (Hoy, 2003; Tschannen-Moran, 2001).                         within which a socio-technical model of trust was devised (see
                                                                    figure 1) which presents trust (1) as building upon trust predis-
Our definition of trust combines three interpretations; we share    position, reciprocity, predictability, honesty, benevolence and
the social psychologists perspective with the economist’s views     competency; and (2) as determining Intentions to relate, mani-
of commitment and connect it with the interaction process           fested through behaviours, attitudes and beliefs, eventually
view presented in computer sciences. With this view we aim          leading to (or not) specific relations being established.
to connect our technological knowledge in human computer
interaction with distance education paradigms and today’s on-       In this model:
line social facilitator phenomenon. From that perspective we        •	 Trust predisposition represents the inclination to depend on
sees these human online facilitator factors manifested in online       each other, with a felling of relative security. Influencing the
learning environment through small exchanges of learners’ be-          level of commitment of the group (two or more people) to-
haviors, attitudes and expectations (those manifested through          wards the situation (a learning activity or process).
time and when learners’ interact online socially, and express or    •	 Reciprocity, believing that others have confidence on my ac-
exchanges emotions and feelings).                                      tions increases my motivation to trust and my disposition to
                                                                       trust.
                                                                    •	 Predictability, be able to perceiving others’ intentions in a giv-
                                                                       en context and if the attitudes and behaviours match the ex-




Figure 1: Trust social-technical model in TEL contexts



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  pectations and performance. Also could be observed through              land (University of Oulu); Norway (Norwegian University of Sci-
  signs of interface stability (security), level of user control (pri-    ence and Technology Trondheim); Romania (Valahia University
  vacy).                                                                  of Targoviste); and Estonia (Tallinn University).

•	 Honesty, as predictability, honesty is a belief that depends on        The project’s main purpose is to find new solutions for promot-
   perceiving nature of the intentions of others. Open and trans-         ing creative collaboration in terms of new and innovative learn-
   parent attitudes ensure security that person is not deceiving          ing models based on social media and mobile technology. Most
                                                                          activities performed in the course involve collaborative tasks,
   and will act accordingly.
                                                                          collaborative thinking and reflection. In the course students
•	 Benevolence indicates attitudes of caring about the benefits           were initially divided into small groups (from 4 to 9 students
   of others. ‘Kindness’ raises trustworthiness but, it needs for a       maximum) and different tutors were assigned to the groups.
   declaration of good intentions which results in the increasing         All learning activities were design and coordinated by a teacher
                                                                          who coordinate overall group activities. The kick-off meeting
   of confidence on others
                                                                          was made via Adobe Connect Pro in 24th of February 2012, and
•	 Competency in this context is expressed by the expectation             students had face-to-face meetings with the local facilitators
   that all parts involved will act in a competently and dutifully        twos week before the start.
   way. It is inferred by the online identities and reputations of
   the people involved in the process (teacher, institution, staff        3.1	Procedure
   and colleagues). Competency indicators are professional
   paths and past achievements, photos, friends, personal aims,           This study relied on an initial survey and diary logs observation
                                                                          procedure. The survey was conducted online by using an open
   collective networks, style of writing. Competency, could also
                                                                          source web application called LimeSurvey and used the Likert
   be inferred throughout the level of tool efficiency.                   scale as well as open-ended answers. The survey’s aim was to
                                                                          explore students’ background profile (gender, age and national-
2.3	Trust through time                                                    ity), their initial social interaction perspectives (on safeness, and
                                                                          privacy preferences) and finally explores students’ use of social
Finally, as far as trust is concerned, three main moments in time         media towards learning. Accounted for fifteen (15) questions.
were identified:                                                          Forty-nine (49) students answered to the survey from a sam-
                                                                          ple of fifty-five (55) students. Two (2) of those forty-nine (49)
•	 A initial moment (the articulation), where attributes like reci-       inquires were considering invalid due to be incomplete. Which
   procity, predictability or honesty are important because they          resulted in the analysis of the answers of six (6) Estonian partici-
   help to create learners’ empathy and commitments towards               pants, eighteen (18) Finnish, one (1) Norwegian and twenty-two
   group work. The empathy supports the shift where the learn-            (22) Romanians.
   er stops to see as individual and become part of a working             The observed students included two distinctive groups (“Tech-
   community.                                                             Designers” and the “ThoseTwoLives”). The first observed group,
                                                                          included 3 from Finland and 1 from Romania, the second ob-
•	 A second moment in time (the connecting), ensure the suc-
                                                                          served group included three (3) from Finland, three (3) from
   cess of the interaction and the success of precious working            Romania and one (1) from Estonia.
   commitments. This moment provide necessary group sup-
   port and continuity for the interaction process and the moti-          The diary Log procedure observed students discussion, group
                                                                          interactions and final achievements) and make possible inter-
   vation to be positively engaged in the working task.
                                                                          connections between (1) how learners perceive others inten-
•	 The end moment (the reflection) happens after the course               tions and how this affects the collaboration context, second
   fulfilment, when students re-evaluate their experience and             (2) how learner’s commitments (level of cooperation) towards
                                                                          particular activity changed collaboration patterns; and final (3)
   decide how this will effect future relations.
                                                                          How the communication medium (reactions, intentions of use
                                                                          and actual use) affected learners’ trust perceptions. The diary
3.	 A Case Study                                                          Log procedure observed students discussion, group interactions
                                                                          and final achievements) and make possible interconnections
The observed case study was about Technology Enhanced
                                                                          between (1) how learners perceive others intentions and how
Learning TEL course, is part of CoCreat, an European project
                                                                          this affects the collaboration context, second (2) how learner’s
about enabling creative collaboration through supportive tech-
                                                                          commitments (level of cooperation) towards particular activity
nologies (http://let.oulu.fi/cocreat). The course, was deployed
                                                                          changed collaboration patterns; and final (3) How the commu-
by four partners from eight different European countries, Fin-



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nication medium (reactions, intentions of use and actual use)          cal platforms, Second Life and Moodle. Course learning activi-
affected learners’ trust perceptions.                                  ties were planed to foster international students collaboration.
                                                                       Course evaluation process includes a sort of assessments like.
The observation period included a 10 weeks of activities. The          peer-evaluation discussions, reading tasks; commenting on
tutor role was to fill observation diaries based in three matrix       weekly topic and individual and collaborative studying. In this
table items (group discussions, group interactions activities and      course students were expected to design, development and
group cooperation to fulfill their weekly tasks) and their percep-     implement their own TEL course. Course included 15 hours of
tion of students’ behaviors, attitudes and believed.                   lectures and individual and collaborative studying’s.
The weekly observed assignments and task were divided into
five (5) major observation groups:                                     3.2	Results
  •	 Observation 1 (weeks 1 and 2) Main activity: “Get to know         According to data, participants’ age range varies from 19 to 52
     each other”, activities individual asynchronous communica-        years old and all participants had at least a higher degree. Ma-
     tion interactions.                                                jority uses Internet daily (85,71%) and consider as most useful
  •	 Observation 2 (weeks 3 and 4) Main activity: “Report on           activities, activities like:
     future working methods and communication mediums”,                  •	 Reading and sending e-mail;
     activities included group asynchronous and group synchro-
                                                                         •	 Search for information;
     nous communications discussions.
                                                                         •	 Learning online; and
  •	 Observation 3 (Weeks 5 and 6). Main activity: “Write the
     Pedagogical script”, activities includes asynchronous and           •	 Sharing ideas in formal education contexts (see figure 2).
     synchronous group discussions, group work assignments.
                                                                       Regarding participants online social activities, the inquired
  •	 Observation 4 (Weeks 7 and 8). Main activity: “Provide            students claimed to publish very often, especially information
     peer-to-peer feed-back”, the activity was a group assign-         about friends or themselves. They, also, use online tools or
     ment task.                                                        services in a daily bases. Tools most used are mobile wireless
  •	 Observation 5 (Weeks 9 and 10). Main activity: “Write the         devices (32.65%), search engines (59.18%) and social networks
     Technical script”, activities includes asynchronous and syn-      (40.82%). Regularly, collaborative sharing tools (42.86%). Some-
     chronous group discussions, group work assignments.               times students use computer assessments and close learning
                                                                       environments. Not use at all, or used at least a few times col-
This case study contributed towards not only to understand             laborative drawing and social bookmarking services. Students
trust and it’s implications in a real case context, but also to un-    expect, as well, that teacher clearly define course privacy rules
derstand how teachers can use it to support and mediate learn-         (42.86%), in regarding what will remain private or public in the
er’s interactions.                                                     course.
The observed course started in 24th of February and last 14
weeks (a semester) and was deployed at a distance. The course-         The survey analysis also indicates that students feel safe i.e. fell-
learning environment was supported by two main technologi-             ing a degree of control, which will read or have access to their




Figure 2: Activity and daily routines



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shared resources, comments and assignments to share in the           discuss synchronously their future working methods and what
following online scenarios;                                          communication mediums to use in the future. The group bound
  •	 In e-collaborative learning (57.14%) or in social network       increased when divided in small groups and reach an important
     (44.90%) scenarios that uses for example tools like Google      moment when students needed to articulate much their ideas
     docs, EtherPad, dropbox, Facebook, Google +, Twitter).
                                                                     to finished OBs3 activities, i.e. when they needed to write their
  •	 In close learning environments (42.86%).                        Pedagogical script.
But, seamed to be undecided on regard the safety of open envi-
                                                                     Results also indicate that group social commitment and work
ronments that uses public blog-posts, public forum discussions
                                                                     articulation increased near a deliver deadline. During those mo-
or Second Life, see figure 3.
                                                                     ments in time groups work cooperation increased and become
Regarding students privacy preferences, it seams that students       much higher after a synchronous communication (via Second
prefer to keep the information private by default, especially        Life). During those periods each individual (on his way) seamed
  •	 Grading (36.73%) information,                                  to become more committed towards the group as well as their
  •	 Feedback and comments (36.73%).                                level of empathy increased. Again during those moments the
                                                                     hostility towards the elements of the group who cooperate less
Regarding the diaries logs analysis, we focus our analysis in ob-    increased.
serving changes from the students perspective towards a partic-
ular activity and then cross those particular moments with the       Support communication. The teacher role in foster communi-
data provided by the learning management system LMS looking          cation was important, but not influenced student’s perceptions
for changes on indicators. Results were summed and addressed         (reactions, intentions of use and actual use) towards the com-
in six (6) important issues, those are:                              munication medium. This was particular important to diminish-
                                                                     ing the existing technological, social and education cultural bias
  •	 Students’ commitments and group bound;
                                                                     between Finish students and Romanian students. There was a
  •	 Support communication; and                                      clear tendency as well between familiarity and students believe
  •	 Work articulation and social connection;                        on tool efficiency.
Students’ commitments and group bound. The first activity            The work articulation and social connection. The tutor support
(occurred during the two weeks OBs1) aimed to introduce stu-         and student’s role-play were vital for foster the work articula-
dent’s teachers. Although according to data that during that         tion moment’s in the course. In this case all actors quickly inter-
week students did not engage social with the intensity it was        changed information in the group and provided efforts to keep
expected. Data revealed that students initial commitments            the group connected, what seamed to support the group coop-
started to be built during OBs2 phase, when students started to      eration in future actions. Some individuals tended to assume
                                                                     more their roles than others, some passively students (less ex-
                                                                                             perienced with the environment) wait-
                                                                                             ed for others to define and establish the
                                                                                             working and social rules before start to
                                                                                             act. The initiator-contributor role as-
                                                                                             sumed by some students helped to initi-
                                                                                             ate the collaboration process, but in this
                                                                                             case for this role to work most elements
                                                                                             of the group had to be committed and
                                                                                             provide feedback and cooperate when
                                                                                             needed, as those who where assigned
                                                                                             to perform the initiator-contributor role
                                                                                             had to propose ideas or approaches to
                                                                                             group problem solving and suggestion
                                                                                             an approach for procedure.
Figure 3: Privacy awareness towards eLearning tools



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Results reveal that in spite both groups achieved expected re-       synchronous communication, was also important to mediate
sults, the “Tech-Designers” reached the group commitment and         the individual and group commitments and to establishes the
it members collaborate more than the “ThoseTwoLives”, what           communication climate (what we see as the initial trust bound).
affected the group performance.
                                                                     Results also showed a cultural bias towards the communication
The “ThoseTwoLives” encounter an initial problems in initiate        medium, the familiarity and the actual use of the tools (percep-
their group activities during Week 5 and 6.                          tion of efficiency). Finish students seamed more familiar with
                                                                     online tool and it efficiency than the Romanian, what influenced
Group lack of reciprocity (no answer back or big spaces between
                                                                     students sharing patterns, group interactions, learning paths
answers) during their asynchronous discussion aggravates that
                                                                     and affected their performances. Also, individuals more com-
problem.
                                                                     mitment to the group collaboration tend to expect more active
Group commitment was recovered through teacher support               asynchronous discussion when compared to the others.
and two synchronous meetings, until then the “ThoseTwo-
                                                                     On the other hand those who initiate group initial articulation
Lives” group found difficulties in cooperate and collaboratively
                                                                     (the initiator-contributors) also seamed more committed to the
work together.
                                                                     work than others. Others needed for initial synchronous before
                                                                     start to actively collaborate. The teacher main role was to pro-
3.3	Discussion                                                       vide support and scaffolding.

The Learning Managing System indicators show that the most
social and committed students tend to be more successful in          4.	Conclusion
perform their activities and tended also to become the group         This work’s major contribution is the intersection of areas such
leaders. On the other hand more competent and experiment             as trust, creativity and collaboration and it main outcome aims
students tend to contribute more during the synchronous com-         to provide a comprehensive understand on how trust can be
munication than the other. The remaining students (less social       leverage for supporting online learning creativity,
engaged, committed or competent) tend to follow group work
and contribute punctually.                                           The achieved results clearly distinguish learners commitments
                                                                     as an important key tows establishing group collaboration and
Group-working methods differentiated from group to group,            to ensure the success of the learning activity. Contradictory to
though in the end the majority of the groups achieved pretend-       what expect open or close activities seamed less important for
ed results. Major group concerns were in understands what ac-        ensure the success of the activity and the group interaction than
tions they will need to take (each week) to achieve pretended        their commitment towards the work and the group.
results. Also there is evidence that the group work climate (cre-
ative collaboration) and group commitment (cooperation) in-          Competency, reciprocity and benevolence were important at-
creased significantly near assignment delivering deadline. Until     tributes to ensure students initial work articulation. Predict-
then, most exchanged messages demonstrate attempts to un-            ability, honesty and competency as well as reciprocity were im-
derstand how to behave online, set the work climate and to de-       portant attributes for engaging the group bound through time
fine working actions that eventually lead to achieve their learn-    and ensure group overall group commitment. Competency and
ing aims. Also, the individual commitment to the task seamed         benevolence of participants seamed to be the most important
to influence the group performance, especially when the group        skills for achieving the initial work articulation and not their ca-
needed to articulate a working process. Group collaboration be-      pacity to interact or communicate asynchronously. Then, during
came higher through time.                                            the connection phase, competency, honesty and predictability
                                                                     assumed an important role.
Another behaviour that affected individuals or group commit-
ments was the perception of other individual as competent and        Reciprocity actions in the group seamed to validate both com-
predictable. Members of the group that keep the group togeth-        munication phases special when students initiated a new task
er were also those who established the working rules and level       activity.
of commitment of each individual. Tutor support during the



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In return, tool familiarity and usefulness were important attrib-
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Leveraging Trust to Support Online Learning Creativity – A Case Study

  • 1. In-depth Leveraging Trust to Support Online Learning Creativity – A Case Study Authors The insights shared through this article build on data collected in real life situations. The work described here attempts to understand how trust can be used as leverage Sonia Sousa to support online learning and creative collaboration. This report explores this under- sonia.sousa@tlu.ee standing from the teacher perspective. It examines trust commitments in an interna- David Lamas tional setting within which learners from different European countries collaborate and David.Lamas@tlu.ee articulate their learning tasks and skills at a distance. This research endeavour aims to Tallinn University, Institute of recognize both individual and group vulnerabilities as opportunities to strengthen their Informatics cooperation and collaboration. We believe that by understanding how to assess and monitor learners’ trust, teachers could use this information to intervene and provide Tags positive support, thereby promoting and reinforcing learners’ autonomy and their mo- tivation to creatively engage in their learning activities. creativity, trust, e-learning, personal learning The results gathered so far enabled an initial understanding of what to look for when environments, innovation, monitoring trust with the intention of understanding and influencing learners’ behav- learning Interactions, iours. They point to three main aspects to monitor on students: (1) their perception of e-participation each others’ intentions, in a given context, (2) their level of cooperation as expressed by changes in individual and group commitments towards a particular activity; and, (3) their attitudes towards the use of communication mediums for learning purposes (intentions of use, actual use and reactions to actual use). 1. Introduction This article focuses on the use of trust as leverage in technology enhanced learning settings. Although most of us perceive educational settings as true and honest, we are also aware that there are exceptions, as individuals tend to favour their own well being over the com- munity’s. This is even more so in online environments within witch there is little or no threat of retribution (Preece, 2001). These exceptions potentially lead to mistrusted behaviours, which might result in a decrease in motivation, lower participation and lessened collabora- tion potentially leading to unsuccessful learning cases. Building on the relation between trust and students’ attitudes in online environments, a research plan was devised comprising three main stages. The first stage provided a com- prehensive understanding of what trust is and how it potentially relates to online learning communities. Based on these results and during the second stage of this research plan, a socio-technical model of trust was designed and validated. This article reports on part of the work carried out during the third phase of this research plan, within which we used a real life setting to observe students, seeking an understanding of the interplay between trust and the learners’ perceptions, commitments and attitudes. ing earn eLearning Papers • ISSN: 1887-1542 • www.elearningpapers.eu eL ers 30 u ers.e gpap www .elea rnin n.º 30 • September 2012 Pap 1
  • 2. In-depth The main goal is to model a tool to help online learning teach- degree of commitment with which each student addresses ers and facilitators to design and deploy interventions fostering a specific learning activity, (2) The degree to which students student’s trustful expectations and behaviours leading to higher share their resources, (3) How they communicate; and (4) How student engagement and fruitful creative collaboration. A sec- do they engage with others in the learning process (Gambetta, ondary goal is to raise both teachers’ and facilitators’ awareness 1998, Tschannen-Moran, 2001, Preece, 2001, Preece & Shnei- of how important it is to support positive relations and coopera- therman, 2009). tion. In this context, we took a closer look at trust, as we believe it plays a key role in supporting and motivating learner’s commit- 2. Background ments towards learning and strengthens their learning collabo- Today, the teacher’s role in education is seen as a facilitator of ration. It is for these reasons that trust has been seen as a major the learning process rather than the possessor of knowledge. determinant to foster individual active participation in social This transformation has been and is being continuously sup- systems. What users perceive to be “trustworthy” in such sys- ported by enhancements brought by technology into our learn- tems is influenced by a number of factors, including perceptions ing settings. Learning anywhere and anytime is now an option of the communication medium, the history of participation and for a significant part of the population, even when active partici- perception of other users (Davis, 1989; Meyerson, 1996; Lewis, pation and group collaboration are required. 1985; Lewicki, 1995). However, this flexibility has also brought challenges to both We propose to view trust as a sense making of the students’ teachers and learners, as it demands from all an up-to-date set interaction process. Although, we agree that trust multidiscipli- of skills as well as it requires them to face the fast-paced evolu- nary nature makes it a concept hard to discuss and consider in tion of education technology (Pink, 2008). areas, which integrate social and computer science theories, it is possible to find consensus on the importance and contribu- Moreover, even though technology has an important role in this tion of the trust factor to support interpersonal relations or/and change, technology per se does not have the ability to engage to enhanced technology mediated interactions. us in social, innovative and creative learning scenarios, and if the settings enabled by technology enhanced learning are not As trust is considered an important element in influencing the properly supported, then results can result in information over- success (or lack thereof) of a relationship in that it is a key el- load, procrastinating attitudes, effects that will probably lead to ement in influencing the willingness to cooperate, share and the disruption of information flows and ongoing discussions. participate in a given context (Mishra, 1996; Guiddens, 1991), then within this focus we consider issues like learner’s persua- Nevertheless, technology assumes an important role in foster- sion, emotions and trust commitments important dimensions ing creativity through enriched collaboration, a role facilitated to attain when seeking for greater technological inclusion and by motivated learners engaged in group cooperation. learning success. That is why we aim to contribute to understand how trust can As an example of that multidisciplinary approach trust can be be leverage for supporting online learning creativity, as trust see from a sociological perspective as a reflection of behaviors, ensures effective commitments and reduces the level of un- choices and decisions (Gambetta, 1998; Fukuyama, 1995; Gar- certainty (Giddens, 1991, Kramer, 1996, Luhmann, 2000). We finkel, 1963); for psychologists, trust is seen as an attitude or build our rational on the attempt to understand the potential of intention (Erikson, 1968; Rotter, 1971); on the other hand social supporting trustful interactions as leverage to develop creativity psychologists interpret trust as a interpersonal phenomenon and innovation among online learners. (Meyerson, 1996; Mishra, 1996; Weber, 2003; Luhmann, 2000), and economists see it as a commitment in a form of a rational 2.1 Trust and online learning communities decision (as a game) (Bachrach, 2007). More, the computer sci- ences perspective separates the trust concept in two distinct In the attempt to observe possible implications of technology approaches, one connects trust to security processes, reputa- in contemporary education and learning processes’ we encoun- tion and privacy (Abdul-Rahman, 1999; Walter, 2008; Falcone, ter in the literature four main aspects to be considered: (1) The 2002) and another relates trust to the interaction process that is ing earn eLearning Papers • ISSN: 1887-1542 • www.elearningpapers.eu eL ers 30 u ers.e gpap www .elea rnin n.º 30 • September 2012 Pap 2
  • 3. In-depth mediated through technology (Dong, 2010, Constantine, 2006; 2.2 A socio-technical model of trust McKnight, 2002; Mcknight, 1996; Preece, 2001). Finally educa- tors tend to see the trust concept more as an interpersonal phe- The reflections above lead us to the second step of our research nomenon (Hoy, 2003; Tschannen-Moran, 2001). within which a socio-technical model of trust was devised (see figure 1) which presents trust (1) as building upon trust predis- Our definition of trust combines three interpretations; we share position, reciprocity, predictability, honesty, benevolence and the social psychologists perspective with the economist’s views competency; and (2) as determining Intentions to relate, mani- of commitment and connect it with the interaction process fested through behaviours, attitudes and beliefs, eventually view presented in computer sciences. With this view we aim leading to (or not) specific relations being established. to connect our technological knowledge in human computer interaction with distance education paradigms and today’s on- In this model: line social facilitator phenomenon. From that perspective we • Trust predisposition represents the inclination to depend on sees these human online facilitator factors manifested in online each other, with a felling of relative security. Influencing the learning environment through small exchanges of learners’ be- level of commitment of the group (two or more people) to- haviors, attitudes and expectations (those manifested through wards the situation (a learning activity or process). time and when learners’ interact online socially, and express or • Reciprocity, believing that others have confidence on my ac- exchanges emotions and feelings). tions increases my motivation to trust and my disposition to trust. • Predictability, be able to perceiving others’ intentions in a giv- en context and if the attitudes and behaviours match the ex- Figure 1: Trust social-technical model in TEL contexts ing earn eLearning Papers • ISSN: 1887-1542 • www.elearningpapers.eu eL ers 30 u ers.e gpap www .elea rnin n.º 30 • September 2012 Pap 3
  • 4. In-depth pectations and performance. Also could be observed through land (University of Oulu); Norway (Norwegian University of Sci- signs of interface stability (security), level of user control (pri- ence and Technology Trondheim); Romania (Valahia University vacy). of Targoviste); and Estonia (Tallinn University). • Honesty, as predictability, honesty is a belief that depends on The project’s main purpose is to find new solutions for promot- perceiving nature of the intentions of others. Open and trans- ing creative collaboration in terms of new and innovative learn- parent attitudes ensure security that person is not deceiving ing models based on social media and mobile technology. Most activities performed in the course involve collaborative tasks, and will act accordingly. collaborative thinking and reflection. In the course students • Benevolence indicates attitudes of caring about the benefits were initially divided into small groups (from 4 to 9 students of others. ‘Kindness’ raises trustworthiness but, it needs for a maximum) and different tutors were assigned to the groups. declaration of good intentions which results in the increasing All learning activities were design and coordinated by a teacher who coordinate overall group activities. The kick-off meeting of confidence on others was made via Adobe Connect Pro in 24th of February 2012, and • Competency in this context is expressed by the expectation students had face-to-face meetings with the local facilitators that all parts involved will act in a competently and dutifully twos week before the start. way. It is inferred by the online identities and reputations of the people involved in the process (teacher, institution, staff 3.1 Procedure and colleagues). Competency indicators are professional paths and past achievements, photos, friends, personal aims, This study relied on an initial survey and diary logs observation procedure. The survey was conducted online by using an open collective networks, style of writing. Competency, could also source web application called LimeSurvey and used the Likert be inferred throughout the level of tool efficiency. scale as well as open-ended answers. The survey’s aim was to explore students’ background profile (gender, age and national- 2.3 Trust through time ity), their initial social interaction perspectives (on safeness, and privacy preferences) and finally explores students’ use of social Finally, as far as trust is concerned, three main moments in time media towards learning. Accounted for fifteen (15) questions. were identified: Forty-nine (49) students answered to the survey from a sam- ple of fifty-five (55) students. Two (2) of those forty-nine (49) • A initial moment (the articulation), where attributes like reci- inquires were considering invalid due to be incomplete. Which procity, predictability or honesty are important because they resulted in the analysis of the answers of six (6) Estonian partici- help to create learners’ empathy and commitments towards pants, eighteen (18) Finnish, one (1) Norwegian and twenty-two group work. The empathy supports the shift where the learn- (22) Romanians. er stops to see as individual and become part of a working The observed students included two distinctive groups (“Tech- community. Designers” and the “ThoseTwoLives”). The first observed group, included 3 from Finland and 1 from Romania, the second ob- • A second moment in time (the connecting), ensure the suc- served group included three (3) from Finland, three (3) from cess of the interaction and the success of precious working Romania and one (1) from Estonia. commitments. This moment provide necessary group sup- port and continuity for the interaction process and the moti- The diary Log procedure observed students discussion, group interactions and final achievements) and make possible inter- vation to be positively engaged in the working task. connections between (1) how learners perceive others inten- • The end moment (the reflection) happens after the course tions and how this affects the collaboration context, second fulfilment, when students re-evaluate their experience and (2) how learner’s commitments (level of cooperation) towards particular activity changed collaboration patterns; and final (3) decide how this will effect future relations. How the communication medium (reactions, intentions of use and actual use) affected learners’ trust perceptions. The diary 3. A Case Study Log procedure observed students discussion, group interactions and final achievements) and make possible interconnections The observed case study was about Technology Enhanced between (1) how learners perceive others intentions and how Learning TEL course, is part of CoCreat, an European project this affects the collaboration context, second (2) how learner’s about enabling creative collaboration through supportive tech- commitments (level of cooperation) towards particular activity nologies (http://let.oulu.fi/cocreat). The course, was deployed changed collaboration patterns; and final (3) How the commu- by four partners from eight different European countries, Fin- ing earn eLearning Papers • ISSN: 1887-1542 • www.elearningpapers.eu eL ers 30 u ers.e gpap www .elea rnin n.º 30 • September 2012 Pap 4
  • 5. In-depth nication medium (reactions, intentions of use and actual use) cal platforms, Second Life and Moodle. Course learning activi- affected learners’ trust perceptions. ties were planed to foster international students collaboration. Course evaluation process includes a sort of assessments like. The observation period included a 10 weeks of activities. The peer-evaluation discussions, reading tasks; commenting on tutor role was to fill observation diaries based in three matrix weekly topic and individual and collaborative studying. In this table items (group discussions, group interactions activities and course students were expected to design, development and group cooperation to fulfill their weekly tasks) and their percep- implement their own TEL course. Course included 15 hours of tion of students’ behaviors, attitudes and believed. lectures and individual and collaborative studying’s. The weekly observed assignments and task were divided into five (5) major observation groups: 3.2 Results • Observation 1 (weeks 1 and 2) Main activity: “Get to know According to data, participants’ age range varies from 19 to 52 each other”, activities individual asynchronous communica- years old and all participants had at least a higher degree. Ma- tion interactions. jority uses Internet daily (85,71%) and consider as most useful • Observation 2 (weeks 3 and 4) Main activity: “Report on activities, activities like: future working methods and communication mediums”, • Reading and sending e-mail; activities included group asynchronous and group synchro- • Search for information; nous communications discussions. • Learning online; and • Observation 3 (Weeks 5 and 6). Main activity: “Write the Pedagogical script”, activities includes asynchronous and • Sharing ideas in formal education contexts (see figure 2). synchronous group discussions, group work assignments. Regarding participants online social activities, the inquired • Observation 4 (Weeks 7 and 8). Main activity: “Provide students claimed to publish very often, especially information peer-to-peer feed-back”, the activity was a group assign- about friends or themselves. They, also, use online tools or ment task. services in a daily bases. Tools most used are mobile wireless • Observation 5 (Weeks 9 and 10). Main activity: “Write the devices (32.65%), search engines (59.18%) and social networks Technical script”, activities includes asynchronous and syn- (40.82%). Regularly, collaborative sharing tools (42.86%). Some- chronous group discussions, group work assignments. times students use computer assessments and close learning environments. Not use at all, or used at least a few times col- This case study contributed towards not only to understand laborative drawing and social bookmarking services. Students trust and it’s implications in a real case context, but also to un- expect, as well, that teacher clearly define course privacy rules derstand how teachers can use it to support and mediate learn- (42.86%), in regarding what will remain private or public in the er’s interactions. course. The observed course started in 24th of February and last 14 weeks (a semester) and was deployed at a distance. The course- The survey analysis also indicates that students feel safe i.e. fell- learning environment was supported by two main technologi- ing a degree of control, which will read or have access to their Figure 2: Activity and daily routines ing earn eLearning Papers • ISSN: 1887-1542 • www.elearningpapers.eu eL ers 30 u ers.e gpap www .elea rnin n.º 30 • September 2012 Pap 5
  • 6. In-depth shared resources, comments and assignments to share in the discuss synchronously their future working methods and what following online scenarios; communication mediums to use in the future. The group bound • In e-collaborative learning (57.14%) or in social network increased when divided in small groups and reach an important (44.90%) scenarios that uses for example tools like Google moment when students needed to articulate much their ideas docs, EtherPad, dropbox, Facebook, Google +, Twitter). to finished OBs3 activities, i.e. when they needed to write their • In close learning environments (42.86%). Pedagogical script. But, seamed to be undecided on regard the safety of open envi- Results also indicate that group social commitment and work ronments that uses public blog-posts, public forum discussions articulation increased near a deliver deadline. During those mo- or Second Life, see figure 3. ments in time groups work cooperation increased and become Regarding students privacy preferences, it seams that students much higher after a synchronous communication (via Second prefer to keep the information private by default, especially Life). During those periods each individual (on his way) seamed • Grading (36.73%) information, to become more committed towards the group as well as their • Feedback and comments (36.73%). level of empathy increased. Again during those moments the hostility towards the elements of the group who cooperate less Regarding the diaries logs analysis, we focus our analysis in ob- increased. serving changes from the students perspective towards a partic- ular activity and then cross those particular moments with the Support communication. The teacher role in foster communi- data provided by the learning management system LMS looking cation was important, but not influenced student’s perceptions for changes on indicators. Results were summed and addressed (reactions, intentions of use and actual use) towards the com- in six (6) important issues, those are: munication medium. This was particular important to diminish- ing the existing technological, social and education cultural bias • Students’ commitments and group bound; between Finish students and Romanian students. There was a • Support communication; and clear tendency as well between familiarity and students believe • Work articulation and social connection; on tool efficiency. Students’ commitments and group bound. The first activity The work articulation and social connection. The tutor support (occurred during the two weeks OBs1) aimed to introduce stu- and student’s role-play were vital for foster the work articula- dent’s teachers. Although according to data that during that tion moment’s in the course. In this case all actors quickly inter- week students did not engage social with the intensity it was changed information in the group and provided efforts to keep expected. Data revealed that students initial commitments the group connected, what seamed to support the group coop- started to be built during OBs2 phase, when students started to eration in future actions. Some individuals tended to assume more their roles than others, some passively students (less ex- perienced with the environment) wait- ed for others to define and establish the working and social rules before start to act. The initiator-contributor role as- sumed by some students helped to initi- ate the collaboration process, but in this case for this role to work most elements of the group had to be committed and provide feedback and cooperate when needed, as those who where assigned to perform the initiator-contributor role had to propose ideas or approaches to group problem solving and suggestion an approach for procedure. Figure 3: Privacy awareness towards eLearning tools ing earn eLearning Papers • ISSN: 1887-1542 • www.elearningpapers.eu eL ers 30 u ers.e gpap www .elea rnin n.º 30 • September 2012 Pap 6
  • 7. In-depth Results reveal that in spite both groups achieved expected re- synchronous communication, was also important to mediate sults, the “Tech-Designers” reached the group commitment and the individual and group commitments and to establishes the it members collaborate more than the “ThoseTwoLives”, what communication climate (what we see as the initial trust bound). affected the group performance. Results also showed a cultural bias towards the communication The “ThoseTwoLives” encounter an initial problems in initiate medium, the familiarity and the actual use of the tools (percep- their group activities during Week 5 and 6. tion of efficiency). Finish students seamed more familiar with online tool and it efficiency than the Romanian, what influenced Group lack of reciprocity (no answer back or big spaces between students sharing patterns, group interactions, learning paths answers) during their asynchronous discussion aggravates that and affected their performances. Also, individuals more com- problem. mitment to the group collaboration tend to expect more active Group commitment was recovered through teacher support asynchronous discussion when compared to the others. and two synchronous meetings, until then the “ThoseTwo- On the other hand those who initiate group initial articulation Lives” group found difficulties in cooperate and collaboratively (the initiator-contributors) also seamed more committed to the work together. work than others. Others needed for initial synchronous before start to actively collaborate. The teacher main role was to pro- 3.3 Discussion vide support and scaffolding. The Learning Managing System indicators show that the most social and committed students tend to be more successful in 4. Conclusion perform their activities and tended also to become the group This work’s major contribution is the intersection of areas such leaders. On the other hand more competent and experiment as trust, creativity and collaboration and it main outcome aims students tend to contribute more during the synchronous com- to provide a comprehensive understand on how trust can be munication than the other. The remaining students (less social leverage for supporting online learning creativity, engaged, committed or competent) tend to follow group work and contribute punctually. The achieved results clearly distinguish learners commitments as an important key tows establishing group collaboration and Group-working methods differentiated from group to group, to ensure the success of the learning activity. Contradictory to though in the end the majority of the groups achieved pretend- what expect open or close activities seamed less important for ed results. Major group concerns were in understands what ac- ensure the success of the activity and the group interaction than tions they will need to take (each week) to achieve pretended their commitment towards the work and the group. results. Also there is evidence that the group work climate (cre- ative collaboration) and group commitment (cooperation) in- Competency, reciprocity and benevolence were important at- creased significantly near assignment delivering deadline. Until tributes to ensure students initial work articulation. Predict- then, most exchanged messages demonstrate attempts to un- ability, honesty and competency as well as reciprocity were im- derstand how to behave online, set the work climate and to de- portant attributes for engaging the group bound through time fine working actions that eventually lead to achieve their learn- and ensure group overall group commitment. Competency and ing aims. Also, the individual commitment to the task seamed benevolence of participants seamed to be the most important to influence the group performance, especially when the group skills for achieving the initial work articulation and not their ca- needed to articulate a working process. Group collaboration be- pacity to interact or communicate asynchronously. Then, during came higher through time. the connection phase, competency, honesty and predictability assumed an important role. Another behaviour that affected individuals or group commit- ments was the perception of other individual as competent and Reciprocity actions in the group seamed to validate both com- predictable. Members of the group that keep the group togeth- munication phases special when students initiated a new task er were also those who established the working rules and level activity. of commitment of each individual. Tutor support during the ing earn eLearning Papers • ISSN: 1887-1542 • www.elearningpapers.eu eL ers 30 u ers.e gpap www .elea rnin n.º 30 • September 2012 Pap 7
  • 8. In-depth In return, tool familiarity and usefulness were important attrib- utes for select the communication tool and to guarantee the References communication efficiency. Safe communications were related Abdul-Rahman, A. & Hailes, S. (1999). Relying on trust more with this attributes that privacy or tool secureness. towards reliable information. In: In: Proceedings | International Symposium on Database, Web and Cooperative Systems (DWACOS’99). As future aims, towards this work is to develop a tool, which support teachers on designing instruments and activities that Bacharach, M., Guerra, G., & Zizzo, D. J. (2007). The self- foster students and group commitments. This tool aims as well fulfilling property of trust: an experimental study Theory and Decision, pages 349–388. to assess learners’ trust commitments during the articulation and the connection phases so, it allows teachers to identify vari- Constantine, L.L. (2006). Trusted interaction: User control ations on students’ trust commitments and apply interventions and system responsibilities in interaction design for information systems. In: CAiSE. pp. 20-30. if needed. Dong, Y. (2010).The role of trust in social life. In Z.Yan, editor, Trust Modeling and Management in Digital Environments: From Social Concept to System Development, pages 421{440. IGI Global. Erikson, E.H. (ed.) (1968). Identity, youth and crisis. Free Press, New York. Fukuyama, F., editor (1995). Trust: The social virtues and the creation of prosperity. Free Press, New York. Falcone, R. & Singh, M. & Tan, Y. (eds.) Trust in cyber- societies: integrating the human and artificial perspectives, pp. 27{54. Springer, Berlin (2002). Gambetta, D. (1998). Trust making and breaking cooperative relations. In Gambetta, D., editor, Can we trust trust?, pages 213–237. Basil Blackwell. Garfinkel, H. (1963). A conception of, and experiments with, Trust as a Condition of stable Concerted actions. Motivation and social Interaction, Ronal Press, New York. Giddens, A. (1991). Modernity and Self-identity. Polity-Press, Cambridge. Hoy, W. & Tschannen-Moran, M. (2003). The conceptualization and measurement of faculty trust in schools: The omnibus t-scale. In: Hoy, W., Miskel, C.G. (eds.) Studies in Leading and Organizing Schools, pp. 181-208. Information Age, Greenwich [Online]. Available: http://communitiesofinquiry.com/ Kramer, R. (1999). Trust and distrust in organizations: Emerging perspectives, enduring questions, volume 50. Academy of Management, California. Lave, L. & Wenger, E. (1990). Situated learning: legitimate peripheral participation. In European Conference on Hypertext. Lewicki, J. & Bunker, B. (1995). Trust in relationships: a model of trust development and decline. In: Bunker, B., Rubin, J.Z. (eds.) Conflict, cooperation and justice. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco. Lewis, J. David & Weigert, A.J. (1985). Trust as a social reality. Social Forces 63(4), 967-985. ing earn eLearning Papers • ISSN: 1887-1542 • www.elearningpapers.eu eL ers 30 u ers.e gpap www .elea rnin n.º 30 • September 2012 Pap 8
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