Conference ICL2010 September 15 -17, 2010 Hasselt, Belgium Analysis of collaborative leaning behavior using a social network perspective Hichang Cho 1 , Geri Gay 2 1 National University of Singapore, 2 Cornell University Key words: Computer-supported collaborative learning, social network analysis, information sharing Abstract: This study examined learners’ social embeddedness in collaborative social networks and its impact on knowledge-sharing behavior in an interactive collaborative learning environment. Thirty-two college students in the US participated in a semester-long field experiment called social navigation practice. We used multiple data sources including a proxy server log file (n=321,254), email exchange log file (n=399), and surveys (n=32) in order to measure social networks, collaborative information sharing behavior, and individuals’ attributes (gender and Internet activeness). The findings reveal that structural elements of a collaborative learning environment such as social network centrality strongly influenced the extent to which learners contribute information using online tools and the degree to the information is read and shared by other learners in a learning community. 1 Introduction A key difficulty in building an interactive collaborative learning environment is a lack of voluntary participation and knowledge contribution from distributed learners, often caused by the social dilemmas like free riding [21]. Even when knowledge is contributed by distributed members, people do not readily acquire and utilize it since individuals tend to seek information from the sources that are most easily accessible, trusting, and locally available rather than from the best source [5]. A host of studies have investigated individual and motivational factors that can influence knowledge contribution and information usage behaviors [26] [32]. However, current literature is limited in that it has been inclined to focus on individuals’ motivations and cognitive decision marking processes. With a few exceptions [9] [32], factors pertaining to the social environments in which individuals collaborate and communicate, along with the relationships people have with other members in a community, are largely ignored. The problem here is that the focus on only one process (cognitive decision making), leads to a failure to consider that an alternative (social or contextual) process might be operative. Given the current trends toward conceptualizing knowing and learning as social practices are deeply embedded in social structures [23] [32], it is imperative to examine knowledge contribution and sharing behaviors within the broader context of how distributed learning communities are created and how individuals are situated in the communities’ social and relational structures. As such, this study proposes to empirically examine learners’ social embeddedness in collaborative social networks and its impact on knowledge-sharing behavior in an interactive collaborative learning environment. We designed a semester-long field experiment called social navigation/recommendation practice. In this experiment, thirty-two college students in the US were asked to participate in an interactive collaborative learning practice. Throughout an academic semester, the participants recommended useful websites and other information resources to other class 1(11) ICL 2010 Proceedings – Page 228