During the 2006 school year, ACU received a significant amount of attention in academia for conducting a faculty forum regarding student use of Facebook.  As a follow-up initiative, the Adams Center for Teaching and Learning invites participation in faculty research teams.  These teams will explore “group membership”  and "class discussion" analogies between the world of face-to-face interaction and the virtual world of Facebook.  The analogies will be drawn from ACU-specific case studies involving  Dr. Wayne Barnard and Dr. Jeanene Reese.  Both studies were written by Dr. Jeanene Reese.

Teams will be limited to four faculty members and one campus-life professional.  Each participant will receive a $100.00 stipend during the fall 06/07 semester.  Each team will be given a budget of $600.00 to be spent at the team’s discretion including expenditures for participant meals, editing, transcription services, research materials, etc.  Up to $1000.00 will also be available to the team for travel and expenses related to presenting their findings at an external conference.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY and ENROLLMENT INFORMATION

At a minimum, each team will be expected to conduct and document in writing an extended dialogue around the case.  The team will also be expected to present their findings at an Adams Center Luncheon during the Spring 06/07 school-year.  

This project should include-- but not be limited to--a literature review, compilation of a bibliography/reading-list, surveys, etc.  Each team should submit their primary thesis and methodology to the Adams Center prior to October 15th, 2006.  The final written report should be completed by April 1, 2007.

The research will be made publicly available via a special section of the Adams Center web-site dedicated to the topics of social computing and social learning.  If necessary, the Adams Center will forgo publication of the full paper to ensure acceptance for publication or presentation in an external context.  Each paper may also be considered for inclusion in an edited compilation on social computing.