| In 2015, a university in rural Maryland offered an undergraduate service-learning leadership course, which collaborated with a service-learning community of practice. This interdisciplinary leadership course initiated and sustained personal and critical reflection and social interactions by integrating Computer-Medicated Communication (CMC) technology through Blackboard to provide support to students as they interpreted their service experiences. The design of this study was to describe the perceptions of the service-learning students' use of CMC technology to reflect on their service experience and social interactions within the service-learning community. In this descriptive case study, the in-depth content analyses of collected data from private journals and public discussions in Blackboard led to the distribution of a questionnaire to all participants and the execution of interviews regarding the participants' lived experiences. Once the participants responded, the researcher transcribed and assessed the results, coded emerging themes, and analyzed the trends. The triangulation of sources maintained the reliability of the findings, which demonstrated increased student engagement as result of social interactions and reflection in Blackboard. As the participants shared their lived experiences, they predominantly reflected on their personal growth and development, a strong community of practice, the value of relationships, and how technology enhanced their communication. |
