The SOCL Project: Social networking for Online Community-based Learning
From SOCLProject
The goal of the SOCL Project is to use US federal funding to create an open source, online social networking platform customized to the needs of faculty and students.
SOCL incorporates community-building elements with social gaming to increase student motivation and success. A pilot study on 600 students was conducted during the Summer 2010 semester and was a great success. See the Project History for the rationale for this project and the Pilot Data to learn more.
The Principle Investigator of the SOCL Project is Richard N. Landers (PI of TNTLab, part of Old Dominion University[1]).
Previous Coverage
| An ODU press release: | http://www.odu.edu/ao/news/index.php?todo=details&id=25214 |
| A ProfHacker article by Jason Jones in the Chronicle of Higher Education: | http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/gamifying-homewor/28407 |
| The PI's original blog announcement: | http://neoacademic.com/2010/10/14/call-for-participants-in-nsf-proposal-to-integrate-social-media-in-undergrad-education/ |
| The PI's twitter account: | http://twitter.com/rnlanders |
Project Details
You can learn more about this project by examining each of the following pages:
| Project History | Pilot Data from socialPsych |
| Proposed Features of SOCL | Certification System |
| Mentoring System | Complete Timeline |
| Technical Details | Partnering Institutions |
| How to Join the SOCL Project |
Project Staff
 | Primary Investigator Richard N. Landers, Ph.D. Psychology Old Dominion University |
 | Co-PI Debbie Major, Ph.D. Psychology Old Dominion University |
 | Co-PI Gianluca De Leo, Ph.D. Medical Laboratory and Radiation Sciences Old Dominion University |
 | Co-PI Amy Adcock, Ph.D. STEM Education and Professional Studies Old Dominion University |
 | Senior Personnel (HCI Study Coordinator) Jim Bliss, Ph.D. Psychology Old Dominion University |
 | Consultant (Independent Program Evaluator) Tom Brothen, Ph.D. Psychology University of Minnesota-Twin Cities |