Volume Two - Academic Conferences

Trust in Distributed Personal Learning Environments: The
Case Study of LePress PLE
Sónia Sousa, David Ribeiro Lamas and Vladimir Tomberg
Institute of Informatics, Tallinn University, Estonia
sonia.sousa@tlu.ee
david.lamas@tlu.ee
vtomberg@tlu.ee
Abstract: This paper reports a research effort to improve the learning process through the use of blogging. It
main rational is built on the possibility of eliciting a set of potential trust effect in the design of a particular online
learning space, called LePress. The LePress is a WordPress plug-in that aims to bring assignment related
workflow management and context specific semantic data exchange to WordPress. It describes the aplication of
a mixing method approach, which, interconnects two research works results, and is based on the observation of
online learning communities in action. One research refers to a development of a blog extension prototype called
LePress. The other refers to the results gather from a survey deployed to better understand the effects and
influence of trust people’s online activity and sharing patterns. The innovative nature of this research can be
characterized by the elicitation of a set of potential effects of trust in the design of particular software tool which is
used for enhancing learning and problem solving practices in working life contexts. It relevance is grounded in
the changes that are taking place nowadays in the education contexts. Helps bordering educators and
researchers’ perspectives on the possible potential effects that those changes can bring to our daily learning
activities.
Keywords: trust, blogs, learning flow, WordPress, personal learning environments
1. Introduction
In the early nineties, newsgroups were the primary driver force of the Internet communities, but since
then various other means of establishing online communities has proliferated.
In the beginning the establishment of online communities took the participation factor for granted,
leading some of these initiatives to emptiness and dissent. As this view of the Internet as a mere
repository of information and data, not necessarily implied a strong bond among community
members.
An example of that is the email distribution list, which may have hundreds of members, but the
communication-taking place in there may be merely informational. It members may remain relative
strangers and the membership turnover could even be high.
But, that has changed with the increased availability of user-generated content mechanisms and the
growth of social networking services.
Nowadays, the Internet has become the hub of socialization. In other words it become a logical
extension of our human tendencies toward togetherness. That has been tailoring our society and our
culture. As it enable the possibility to create contexts where, each individual or group, contributes to
the intellectual climate and technological infrastructure of society, rather than the effects of media
itself.
These online communication mediums have become a supplemental form of communication between
people who know each other primarily in real life supporting a variety of social and professional goals.
1.1 Community building learning environments
Although this community-building context is nothing new, as It exists longer before the Internet
inception. The Internet, however had contributed far most for it proliferation.
As well the social networking concept have been around much longer than the Internet or even mass
communication. People have always been social beings and our ability to work together in groups,
creating value that is greater than the sum of its parts, is one of our greatest assets.
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