This document discusses the phenomenon of lurking in online communities and learning environments. It defines lurking as participating but never posting or posting very seldom. It notes that many people participate this way, with estimates that only about 5-20% of community members actively post. It raises questions about whether lurkers are learning from their passive participation and what factors influence why some people lurk rather than actively engage. It discusses various perspectives on lurking as a legitimate strategy for peripheral learning and knowledge brokering, and factors that could encourage more active participation like inclusion, involvement, meaning, competence and positive psychology approaches.

1. About Lurking
Startup Question http://tiny.cc/funkon16
Technology is making things
visible that were invisible before
Smartphones make visible what
we could only guess before...
They are loosing interest
What smartphones reveal!
Threaded discussions show
how many participate
In a Facebook group:
90 have seen the question,
5 have answered
LMS tracking shows how often
participants log in, view and
engage with learning materials
What they
read
watch
check
How long
How often
New field of Learning Analytics
What IS
lurking?
Participating in
learning BUT
#1 Never Posting
#2 Posting proportionately seldom
Silent Majority
Definitions
different
90-9-1 Rule
many have observed
Rule of thumb
Not acurate
But telling
Community Roundtable
Community Managers
"More like 55–25–20."
1% rule
Negative connotations
"Gaining but not giving"!
Are they learning ?
One inquirer
Proportion has changed
Different proportions in different
[types of] communities
Questions
Why do only some engage?
Why don´t they engage more???
What is going on with these "LURKERS"?
Problem
Active learning
"Best" learning
Learning Theories
Teacher control
Monitoring
learning
understanding
interest
engagement
retention in course
Experience
Many visit online discussions / few contribute
Many sign up and start MOOCs / few complete
Many participate in Webinars / few participate
But they still come back again and again
Questions
Are they learning ( enough )?
What do they gain from their form of participation?
Are drop-outs failures / did we fail them?
Influencing
factors
1. Online community
Group Identity
pro Sharing norm
usability
Reciprocity
Reputation
2. Individual
characteristics
Narcissism
Concientiousness
Extroversion
self disclosure
self-efficacy
Technical
connective
Information
needs
social
Information
popularity
Achievement
goals
desires
3. Commitment
Affective
Normative
Continuance
4. Quality
Security
Privacy
Convenience
Reliability / Reputation
Why
Lurk
Environment
quality
posts
responses
technology
quantity
reciprocity
lack encouragement
Lack of learning strategies
Ignorance of Importance
Personal
confidence
lack
shyness
"introvert"Book: Quite
Situational
context
goals / aims
my summary
Other perspectives
Beaudoin 2002
Visible online activity does not say it all
"tip of the Iceberg"
most learning beneath the surface
Motivation
appeal of the online environment
relevance to their interests or goals
confidence level in learning within an online environment
satisfaction level regarding the online instructional process
Cranefield
et al 2015
lurking as
a strategy
knowledge brokering
learning and
collaborating on
many levels
diferent roles
connector-leaders,
follower-feeders
People live and participate in
many different "communities"
Cross boundaries
Play different roles
Online vs "physical" ???
Lave & Wenger 1991
Legitimate
peripheral
participation
Learn how to participate
Passive in one COP
Active in another
Why encourage
participation?
Active learning IS better
Learners are always cocreators
in a learning event
Increase the quality of the eventfor all participants
Increase learning
How can we
elicit active
participation?
Wlodkowski
Inclusion fosters Involvement
How Attitudes Influence Behaviour
How Meaning Sustains Involvement
How Competence Builds Confidence
Seligman
Agency
Learned Helplessness
Positive Psychology
Is Lurking a Problem?
Presentation at FUNKON16 in Oslo
Nov 2016
Hróbjartur Árnason
University of Iceland
Erindi-FUNKON16-Undirbuningur-Is Lurking Working.mmap - 17.5.2017 - Hrobjartur Árnason