Networked Flow in Blended Learning Settings: a Longitudinal Mixed-Method Study

We investigated the process of Networked Flow (NF) in 10 self-selected learning teams (graduate students enrolled in an academic course on Enterprise Communication) collaborating in blended settings. The NF model suggests that teams reach maximum group creativity when participants experience high levels of flow and social presence. Moreover, the model predicts that emergence of NF is associated with specific group structural dynamics. The research protocol consisted in a longitudinal mixed-method design, which integrated: (i) the analysis of experiential features of collaborative experience (flow, social presence); (ii) the analysis of communicative interaction; (iii) the structural features of collaboration dynamics (social network indexes). Preliminary findings suggest the feasibility and potential usefulness of integrating quali-quantitative methods for the investigation of NF in creative collaboration settings.