Psychological, pedagogical and sociological models for learning and assessment in virtual communities

The keywords in this collective work include community of learning, inquiry or work, virtual environments and identity. This book presents the results of a biennial Italian research project (PRIN 2005-2007) which was coordinated nationally by the University of Padova, which Bianca M. Varisco as principal investigator. The research involved five units with local coordinators (Padova, Bari, Roma La Sapienza, Milano Cattolica Sacro Cuore, Macerata) and also the Universities of Trieste, Milano Bicocca, Valle d’Aosta, Bologna, Udine e Cassino. The interdisciplinary nature of the research meant close collaboration between pedagogists, educational, communicational and social psychologists, and ICT technologists and scientists. The aim was to analyse, develop and verify online environments. The study was focussed on virtual communities and their internal actions and interactions. These communities vary greatly in nature, and were formal and informal, academic and professional, and comprised graduate students, post graduate students, teachers, patients and psychotherapists. The research developed, and the models studied also surveyed, deepened and reported on, the educative, cognitive, social, affective-conative and evaluative aspects of virtual communities. Indeed, from a theoretical point of view, an attempt was made to combine the psychological, pedagogic and social perspectives, identifying useful inter-connection point and deepening the cognitive, meta-cognitive, inter-subjective, identity creating and cultural aspects which take shape in the online community. Working tools and environments were studied, developed and field tested for supporting and promoting virtual communities. The modalities of personalization, co, self assessment and skills improvement were also invented or planned for these communities.