Visitors and Residents: mapping student attitudes to academic use of social networks

Abstract

The Visitors and Residents model of internet use suggests a continuum of modes of engagement with the online world, ranging from tool use to social spaces. In this paper, we examine evidence derived from a large cohort of students to assess whether this idea can be validated by experimental evidence. We find statistically significant differences between individuals displaying ‘Visitor’ or ‘Resident’ attitudes, suggesting that the Visitors and Residents model is a useful typology for approaching and understanding online behaviour. From our limited sample, we have been able to produce evidence that the Visitors and Residents labels are statistically robust. This demonstrates that the Visitors and Residents approach provides a valuable framework for those considering the use of social tools in educational contexts.

Keywords:

• data visualization
• higher education
• peer education
• social networks

Notes on contributors

Fiona Wright was a final year undergraduate student in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Leicester when this research was conducted. After graduation she has worked in secondary education.

David White works in the overlapping space between education, academia and technology. He co-manages Technology-Assisted Lifelong Learning (TALL), an award winning e-learning research and development group in the University of Oxford.

Tony Hirst is a Lecturer in the Department of Communication and Systems at The Open University. With a background in electronics and artificial intelligence, he has authored on OU courses ranging from robotics to information skills.

Alan Cann is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Biology, School of Biological Sciences at the University of Leicester. His research interests include Web 2.0 technologies in education and professional development.