The University of the Fraser Valley Research Review volume 4: issue 3 (Winter, 2012/2013) 70 EDUCATIONAL WEB COMMUNITIES IN GREECE: A CRITICAL SURVEY AND MEASUREMENT OF SENSE OF COMMUNITY INDEX Apostolos Kostas, Nektarios Kaseris, Alivisos Sofos, Kostas Tsolakidis, and Kostas Bratsalis University of the Aegean Greece Abstract Software used by online communities (virtual, web, Internet-mediated) share some functional and operational characteristics which distinguish them from other types of web applications and may vary from their basic attributes to specific tools, services, and various artifacts produced by the members of these web communities. Moreover, participation in online communities enhances the exchange of ideas and information, creation of peer relations, and development of collaborative networks, thus providing potentialities for informal learning and professional development for teachers and educators in a wider context. This work attempts to provide a functional specification of an educational web community and to substantiate the current status of educational web communities in Greece in terms of specific indicators such as the Sense of Community Index within the participants of these communities. Introduction According to Rheingold (1993), who first coined the term “virtual community,” evolution of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and the formation of “cyberspace” comprise a significant baseline in human history. Human-computer interaction is now a bond connected with important human needs on several levels: personal (ideas, perceptions and personalities); social (social networking); organizational (e-business, e- learning); and political (e-democracy, e-citizenship, e-participation). The advent of more collaborative ICTs, such as Web 2.0 technologies, has created a new paradigm of media knowledge: classic one-way production of information is substituted on the Web by a dynamic process of information co-{production, organization, discovery, and sharing} (Kron & Sofos, 2007). With this new model, learning and teaching may emerge as a social activity based on collaborative creativity and Internet-mediated knowledge sharing. Moreover, the 21 st century teacher has to overcome new challenges and demands of the profession within a new educational context which is co-formatted by various social, political, economic and technological factors (Hargreaves, 2000; Whitehouse, McClosky, & Ketelhut, 2010). In this new context, online communities may serve as a means for professional inspiration and development, skills acquisition, and life-long learning for teachers and educators (Cornu, 2004; Lloyd & Duncan-Howell, 2010; Schlager, Fusco, & Schank, 2002; Whitehouse et al., 2010).