A tale of two communication tools: Discussion‐forum and mobile instant‐messaging apps in collaborative learning

Abstract

Computer‐supported collaborative learning (CSCL) has shown considerable promise, but thus far the literature has tended to focus on individual technological tools, without due regard for how the choice of one such tool over another impacts CSCL, either in outline or in detail. The present study, therefore, directly compared the learning‐related uses of an online discussion forum against such use of a mobile instant‐messaging app by the same group of 78 upper‐division undergraduate pre‐service teachers in China. The participants were asked to use one of the two communication tools during the first of three learning activities, then to switch to the other during the second, and to choose their preferred tool for the third. Based on the results of content analysis, social‐network analysis and a survey of the students' attitudes, it was found that while both tools facilitated collaborative learning, they appeared to have different affordances. Specifically, using the online discussion forum resulted in more communication aimed at knowledge construction, while using the mobile instant‐messaging app resulted in more social interactions.

Revisiting five decades of educational technology research: A content and authorship analysis of the British Journal of Educational Technology

“…Articles early in the decade explored how social media could be used to enhance student learning, such as using Twitter to enhance meaning‐making (eg, Charitonos, Blake, Scanlon, & Jones, ) and engagement (eg, Junco, Elavsky, & Heiberger, ), and also how social media could be harnessed to expand professional learning networks (eg, Pimmer, Linxen, & Groehbiel, ). More recent articles have focused on the use of mobile messaging apps to enhance social interaction (eg, Sun, Lin, Wu, Zhou, & Luo, ), as well as the role of games to boost child interest in STEM (eg, Herodotou, ). However, there has been ongoing concern about the uptake of web 2.0 and collaborative tools by educators and students alike (James, ), as well as the psychological challenges mobile learning can pose for students (Terras & Ramsay, ).…”

Does mobile instant messaging facilitate social presence in online communication? A two-stage study of higher education students

“…First, previous studies seemed to have reached a consensus that students with higher levels of social presence would perceive higher levels of learning and scored higher in assessments in blended or completely online environments (e.g., Picciano, 2002;Richardson et al, 2017;Richardson & Swan, 2003;So & Brush, 2008). Recently, Sun, Lin, Wu, Zhou, and Luo (2018) compared the interaction types between using an online discussion forum and an MIM app and found that students were more Tang and Hew International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education (2020) involved in social interactions when using MIM but more in knowledge construction when using forum. However, this study only presented descriptive results and adopted a broad categorization of interaction types (social interaction and knowledge construction), which did not empirically examine in-depth the levels of thinking.…”

Assessing the Impact of a Geospatial Data Collection App on Student Engagement in Environmental Education

“…The introduction of apps, such as the one described in this study, can benefit science courses by providing easier methods of data logging, speeding up the data collection process, and providing hands-on interactive methods to keep students physically engaged in their lessons. Technological support, especially in collaborative learning, is beneficial to both students and instructors [19]. It is evident that technology is more than just a part of the acronym STEM; it is also at least partly responsible for STEM education's success in raising student engagement and the positive perception to STEM from students and instructors alike.…”

“…To convince educators that the use of these technologies is beneficial for both students and instructors, it is better to have evidence of such claims in terms of student productivity and engagement versus traditional teaching methods [6,18]. Previous studies have examined the impact of new technology on student productivity and engagement based on one single application at a time or the comparison of multiple teaching approaches and demonstrated that collaborative learning supported by computer technology benefits both instructors and students [11,19].…”