Elisabeth Sylvan

Abstract

Social network analysis can be used to describe influence, group dynamics and collaboration in learning networks. The current analysis focuses on a distributed community of learners' email communication and represents the first step in understanding the community's social dynamics. It focuses upon the online intranet presence of the Computer Clubhouse, a network of after-school computer learning centers. The paper presents network analysis and graphs that highlight characteristics of the relationships between the youth, such as strength of their ties, gender, and location of emailing dyads. Implications for future network analysis of learning communities are discussed.