Research On Informal Learning Based On Projects In Virtual Learning Community

We live in the era of knowledge economy that learning is no longer stick to a fixed periodof time. Informal learning has been the basic way of life, especially for the graduated adultlearners. Virtual Learning Community as a new learning field provides a convenientcommunication channel and rich learning resources. Most learners of virtual learningcommunity get together by common interests or realistic problem, a learning project based onthe common goals is driven by specific tasks that make the informal leaning feasible and thecollaboration between learners more effectively.This study focuses on informal learning based projects of virtual learning community.Firstly, we did a literature review referring to John W. Creswell literature review modelfrom four aspects: the virtual learning communities, informal learning, virtual learningcommunity aspects of informal learning, the relationship between informal learning andproject learning, and summarized the research status and the definition of related concepts. Secondly, we analyzed of the characteristics of informal learning community from theperspective of learners, based on the theory of adult learning theory, social constructivism andUnicom learning theory, proposed analytical framework of informal learning based projects ofvirtual learning community. The framework includes five dimensions, namely theproject-driven issues, social network among community members, the interaction level ofconstruct knowledge, collaborative creation of content, the evaluation of products, and choosecontent analysis and social network analysis as a basic research methods. Then，we analyzedthe data of “SLL Brief project” in Social Learn Lab based on the various dimensions of theanalytical framework. Finally, in order to promote the informal learning based projects ofvirtual learning community, based on the case studies, some suggestions are proposed fromthe aspects of the framework dimensions.