Ep 175: Dr. Sharla Berry on Cultivating Community Online

Research in Action | A podcast for faculty & higher education professionals on research design, methods, productivity & more

On this episode, Katie is joined by Dr. Sharla Berry, an Assistant Professor in the Graduate School of Education at California Lutheran University. Her research explores education technology in K-20 contexts. She has published several peer-reviewed articles exploring how students and faculty cultivate learning communities in online programs. Dr. Berry also does research on the relationship between technology and college access. She is the author of Degree for Free: How to Save Time and Money on Your College Education.

Segment 1: Cultivating Community Online [00:00-11:44]

In this first segment, Sharla discusses some of her research on cultivating community online.

In this segment, the following resources are mentioned:

• Some of Sharla's research on cultivating community online:
  • Berry, S. (2019). The Offline Nature of Online Community: Exploring Distance Learners’ Extracurricular Interactions. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning.
  • Berry, S. (2019). Teaching to Connect: Community-Building Strategies for the Virtual Classroom. Online Learning Journal.
  • Berry, S. (2018). Building Community in an Online Graduate Program: Exploring the Role of an In-Person Orientation. The Qualitative Report.
  • Berry, S. (2017). Student support networks in online doctoral programs: Exploring nested communities. International Journal of Doctoral Studies, 12, 33-48.
  • Berry, S. (2017). Building Community in Online Doctoral Classrooms: Instructor Practices that Support Community. Online Learning Journal.
  • Sundt, M., Berry, S., Ortiz, A. (2017). Using Data to Support Online Student Communities. New Directions for Student Services.

Segment 2: College Access [11:45-23:15]

In segment two, Sharla shares about her work on college access.

In this segment, the following resources are mentioned:

• Degree for Free: How to Save Time and Money on Your College Education
• The Four-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss

Segment 3: Taking a Critical Perspective on Technology [23:16-35:12]

In segment three, Sharla discusses the importance of having a critical perspective on technology.

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