Do lurking learners contribute less?: a knowledge co-construction perspective

Abstract

Drawing upon the emergent idea that "the negotiation of meaning involves the interaction of participation and reification", this study proposes an entirely different perspective on lurking. Collecting data from 82 group forums with a total of 490 members, we identify 46 lurking learners by comparing the online/postings ratio of each member within the group. Further classification of these lurkers provides an opportunity to highlight the neglected contribution of the types of lurkers who go online regularly but post only sporadically from the framework of knowledge co-construction. This paper concludes by challenging the common emphasis on the quantity of postings.