Overview
I joined the School of Information Studies, Syracuse University, in August 2016, following five years as Director of the School of Library, Archival and Information Studies at The University of British Columbia, 14 years at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), and an earlier career as a programmer and systems analyst.
Research
My research explores the way interaction via computer media supports and affects work, learning, and social interaction. I examine how information is exchanged, knowledge is co-constructed, collaboration happens, and community forms in and in conjunction with online contexts. In most of this work I take a social network perspective, examining how relations between actors build into networks of exchange that form collective structures and social outcomes associated with teams, groups, communities, and crowds. My research might be described under a broad label of internet research but comes together around two major themes:
- Networks, Crowds and Communities. Taking a social network perspective to understand collective organizing, design and outcomes for online environments
- Networked Learning. Examining the transformation in learning happening through networked interaction, resources and communities. Research addresses learning networks, the intersection of social networks, online networks and learning; learning analytics, harnessing the data traces from learning activities for insight into learning processes in formal and informal settings; and promoting an understanding of e-learning as a transformative moment in how, where, when and with whom we learn online.
More details on my work and publications can be found here: haythorn.wordpress.com