The researcher's dilemma: evaluating trust in computer-mediated communication
International Journal of Human-Computer Studies - Special issue: Trust and technology
Survey Measures of Web-Oriented Digital Literacy
Social Science Computer Review
Is anybody out there?: antecedents of trust in global virtual teams
Journal of Management Information Systems - Special section: Managing virtual workplaces and teleworking with information technology
Online interactions and social capital: distinguishing between new and existing ties
Social Science Computer Review
Knowledge sharing and creation in a teachers' professional virtual community
Computers & Education
Quality of information in academic e-mailing lists
Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology
How patterns support computer-mediated exchange of knowledge-in-use
Computers & Education
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This article examines whether a mixture of virtual and real-life interaction-in contrast to purely virtual interaction-among some members of online communities for teachers is beneficial for all teachers' professional development in the whole community. Earlier research indicated that blended communities tend to face fewer trust and free rider problems. This study continues this stream of research by examining whether blended communities provide more practical benefits to teachers, both in terms of perceived improvements to their teaching capabilities as well as for their substantial understanding of their core topic. In addition, it is tested whether blended communities provide more information about vacancies, as teachers' mobility is regarded as too low in the EU. The analysis uses survey data from 26 online communities for secondary education teachers in The Netherlands. The communities are part of a virtual organization that hosts communities for teachers' professional development. The findings indeed show beneficial effects of blended communities. Moreover, the results modify earlier claims about the integration of online communication with offline interaction by showing that complete integration is unnecessary. This facilitates a scaling up of the use of online communities for teachers' professional development.