Online and Social Networking Communities is a professional guide written for educational practitioners and trainers who wish to use online communication tools effectively in their teaching. Focusing on the student experience of learning in online communities, it addresses 'web 2.0' and other 'social software' tools and considers the role these technologies play in supporting student learning and building learning communities. The guide offers: real-world case studies and quality research a must-have list of useful resources guidance on building and supporting online learning communities information on how collaborative learning assessment differs from assessment of individual learning coverage of wikis, forums, blogging and micro-blogging, instant messaging, YouTube, Facebook, Second Life, Twitter, Flicker, desktop audio, videoconferencing, and social networking sites. Online and Social Networking Communities helps educators and trainers develop a critical approach by exploring online teaching from both the student and educator's perspective.This practical guide provides the tools to become a confident and thoughtful online educator, able to create successful and enjoyable learning experiences for your students.

Online and Social Networking Communities is a professional guide written for educational practitioners and trainers who wish to use online communication tools effectively in their teaching. Focusing on the student experience of learning in online communities, it addresses web 2.0 and other social software tools and considers the role these technologies play in supporting student learning and building learning communities.

The guide offers:

• real-world case studies and quality research
• must-have lists of useful resources
• guidance on building and supporting online learning communities
• discussion of how collaborative learning can be assessed
• coverage of wikis, forums, blogging, instant messaging, Second Life, Twitter, desktop videoconferencing and social networking sites such as Facebook.

Online and Social Networking Communities helps educators and trainers develop a critical approach by exploring online learning from both the student s and educator s perspective. This practical guide provides the tools to help develop confident and thoughtful online educators, able to create successful and enjoyable learning experiences for their students."

Communication and collaboration via the Internet has risen to great prominence in recent years, especially with the rise of social networking, Web 2.0 and virtual worlds. Many interesting and worthwhile studies have been conducted on the technology involved and the way it is used and shaped by its user communities. From some of the more popular coverage of these interactions, it might be thought that these are new phenomena. However, they draw on a rich heritage of technologies and interactions.

Online communication and collaboration presents a very timely set of articles that cover a range of different perspectives upon these themes, both classic and contemporary. It is unusually broad in the range of technologies it considers - many books on these topics cover only a few forms of collaboration technology - and in considering well-established technologies as well as recent ones. It blends academic and popular articles to combine scholarly rigour with readability.

The book is divided into eight sections, covering the foundations of online communication and collaboration, together with current collaboration technologies such as wikis, instant messaging, virtual worlds and social network sites. These modern communication tools are considered in terms of their interactions but also looking back at lessons to be learnt from their technological 'ancestors'. The book also contains an extended case study of online collaboration, taking open-source software as its example.

Online communication and collaboration will be of relevance in a wide range of higher education courses in fields related to soft computing, information systems, cultural and media studies, and communications theory.

Communication and collaboration via the Internet has risen to great prominence in recent years, especially with the rise of social networking, Web 2.0 and virtual worlds. Many interesting and worthwhile studies have been conducted on the technology involved and the way it is used and shaped by its user communities. From some of the more popular coverage of these interactions, it might be thought that these are new phenomena. However, they draw on a rich heritage of technologies and interactions.

Online communication and collaboration presents a very timely set of articles that cover a range of different perspectives upon these themes, both classic and contemporary. It is unusually broad in the range of technologies it considers - many books on these topics cover only a few forms of collaboration technology - and in considering well-established technologies as well as recent ones. It blends academic and popular articles to combine scholarly rigour with readability.

The book is divided into eight sections, covering the foundations of online communication and collaboration, together with current collaboration technologies such as wikis, instant messaging, virtual worlds and social network sites. These modern communication tools are considered in terms of their interactions but also looking back at lessons to be learnt from their technological 'ancestors'. The book also contains an extended case study of online collaboration, taking open-source software as its example.

Online communication and collaboration will be of relevance in a wide range of higher education courses in fields related to soft computing, information systems, cultural and media studies, and communications theory.