Web 2.0 Technologies and Back Channel Communication in an Online Learning Community

Abstract

Communication, collaboration and community development are processes that contribute to student satisfaction and learning in online courses. This paper describes a study that investigated how campus and distance graduate students in a library science program communicated with one another outside the official boundaries of their courses. We conducted a survey to answer two research questions: 1) What Web 2.0 technologies do students use to communicate with one another outside of the formal structure of their online courses? and 2) What do they talk about in such communication? The results showed that, while students used a variety of technologies to communicate with one another, those enrolled at a distance made greater use of technology to communicate with one another. Moreover, clear preferences emerged according to age. Younger students preferred mobile technologies while older students experimented with a wider range of webbased technologies. We interpret these results and offer recommendations for practice based on our interpretation.

The impact of team-based learning on students’ perceptions of classroom community

“…In addition to selecting instructional strategies, selecting the appropriate technology tool is also of importance in the cultivation of classroom community. Technology has the ability to help students develop a sense of classroom community and connectedness with their peers and instructors, especially in online courses (Kearns and Frey, 2010; Rockinson-Szapkiw et al, 2014). Tools to foster a sense of classroom community among students include synchronous meetings through video conferencing (Armstrong et al, 2018; Ashton, 2014; Rockinson-Szapkiw, 2012), asynchronous discussion boards (Berry, 2017; Trespalacios and Perkins, 2016), social networking such as Twitter or Facebook (Abdelmalak, 2015; Kocdar et al, 2018; Rockinson-Szapkiw et al, 2014; Swaggerty and Broemmel, 2017), and collaborative tools like Google Suite (Abdelmalak, 2015).…”

Exploring Students’ Use of the Social Networking Site WhatsApp to foster connectedness in the online learning experience

“…Within the last few years, the concept of a communication 'back channel' has emerged in education in both face to face and online learning contexts (Kearns & Frey, 2010;Holland, 2014;Jacobs & McFarlane, 2005). A back channel is described by Kearns and Frey as 'a network of out-of-class dialogues among students'(p.41).…”

Soutien social et communication médiée par ordinateur

“…Le soutien a été conceptualisé comme des messages destinés à favoriser l'interaction sociale, tels que l'expression de remerciements ou l'offre de soutien. Dans une autre étude portant sur l'utilisation de la technologie par les étudiants pour communiquer entre eux en dehors de leur classe en ligne, près de la moitié des personnes interrogées ont donné ou reçu un soutien émotionnel (Kearns et Frey, 2010). L'analyse des réseaux sociaux a été utilisée pour examiner le contenu des messages de soutien.…”