Abstract-when there is interaction within online learning groups, meaningful learning is achieved. Motivating and sustaining effective student interactions requires planning, coordination and implementation of curriculum, pedagogy and technology. For our aim to understand online learning group processes through identification of effective online learning group mechanisms, comparative analysis was used on a massive open online course (MOOC) run in 2015 and 2016. Qualitative (interaction on the platform) and quantitative (survey) methods were used. The findings revealed several possible ways to improve online learning group processes. This paper concludes that course organization helped in increasing individual participation in the groups. Motivation by peers helped to increase sustainability of interaction in the learning groups. Applying these mechanisms in higher education can help making online learning groups effective.

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In this paper, we study communication in online learning systems using both quantitative and qualitative research methods. Quantitative methods provide the interaction statistics, while qualitative content analysis was used for categorisation of the messages. It turns out that 20% of the active participants dominate the online learning interactions, and more than 80% are passive consumers. From the categorization, we learned that most of the communication is not related to learning, but to technical problems (26%), small talk (29%), sharing experience (16%), and encouragement (11%). Only 10% are related to the content. For improved communication, it is therefore important to use the right communication tools in the online learning systems. Especially, learning by content creation should be provided.

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