Supporting Community Inquiry with Digital Resources

Authors

  • Ann Peterson Bishop Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • Bertram C. Bruce Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • Karen J. Lunsford Writing Program, South Hall 1520 University of California
  • M. Cameron Jones Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • Muzhgan Nazarova Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • David Linderman Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • Mihye Won Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • P. Bryan Heidorn Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • Rajeev Ramprakash Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • AndrĂ© Brock Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Abstract

Today there are a number of fields that address the need to develop better means of employing information and communication technologies (ICTs) to help communities achieve their goals. Digital infrastructure and repositories are widely created to support the activities of educational, workplace, and scientific communities, as well as virtual communities of interest that may center on topics as diverse as entertainment, crisis management, and health. However, the research and development of ICTs faces numerous challenges. Community inquiry theory can help address some of these challenges. The Inquiry Page project supports a set of ICTs that have been developed by a community of inquiry in order to support communities of inquiry. The paper presents the theory of community inquiry and illustrates how inquiry theory can influence the research and development of ICTs and their adoption and use within real communities.

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Published

2006-03-30