Volume Two - Academic Conferences

Sónia Sousa et al.
Again the current Web (which is a much different entity than the Web of a decade ago) has change
that as well. As it created the possibility of everyone develops content and to interact with other’s
without time or space frontiers. Made possible a new form of user empowering.
Most social network services are now web based and also provide means for users to interact over
the Internet. Social networking services, or online social services, are now focused on building and
reflecting social networks concepts or social relationship concepts through the Internet.
All those possibilities had changed the education, as we know it. Changed the way teacher/student or
student/student relate and learn. The learning online possibility is now seen as a natural process.
2. Research approach
The innovative nature of this project can be characterized by the elicitation of a set of potential trust
effects in the design of particular software tools for enhancing learning and problem solving practices
in working life contexts.
It focuses on the observation of possible interrelations between learners’ trust in these online
environments and their attitudes towards openness and sharing in a blog-based personal learning
environment LePress. By understanding this relation, we will be able to contribute to the design
decisions regarding the LePress. We believe that this understanding can, then, lead to the increase of
people’s participation within these contexts.
We initiate, then, our work towards understanding the interrelation between trust and people’s
attitudes towards sharing by first, analyzing a blog plug-in prototype called LePress.
Then observe and elicit a set of potential trust effects in the design of this particular software tool.
Aiming, in the end, to contribute for enhancing some trust related working life contexts that leads to
improve people’s participation within this communication mediums.
2.1 Trust effects in Personal Learning Environments
Learning, nowadays, can no longer be seen as a passive activity, it becomes an autonomous activity,
where learners are openly responsible for the learning processes as well as for actively participating
towards it.
Communicating tools that are present nowadays show a clear tendency to togetherness and towards
a strong and identifiable need to communicate, interact and exchange information.
These tools had transformed the Internet into a hub of socialization and are more then ever
representing the logical extension of our human tendencies toward togetherness.
These tools are somehow tailoring our society and culture in general. These technologically enhanced
social contexts represent new identities that are being formed and evolving individually or collectively
and each one is tailored by each individual’s diversity (Putnam, 2007).
Concepts, where trust, plays foremost a role with ubiquitous importance and relevance. As those
environments demands for highly motivated people. People that is capable of self-actualization. Also,
those are individuals that need to feel safe and accepted in their relationship space in order for them
to be willing to participate and engage in a mutual dialogue.
Trust affects one’s predisposition to interact with each other. Trust, for instance, can shape our
willingness to rely on others and our ability to believe that each other’s actions will eventually lead to
expected results. Or it can influence our beliefs, attitudes and behaviors towards learning and sharing.
Trust, is a key element for provide cooperation and collaboration practices among individuals
(McAllister, 1995; M. Bachrach and D. Gambetta, 2001; Tschannen-Moran, 2001; D.Gambetta, 1998;
Dasgupta, 2000).
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