WebCT and online tutorials: New possibilities for student interaction

Curtin, Jennifer

doi:10.14742/ajet.1750

Cited by 16 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…The research to date has covered many different aspects of asynchronous online discussion; these include the promotion of higher levels of cognitive processing in online discussion (Birch & Volkov, 2007;Greenlaw & DeLoach, 2003;McKenzie & Murphy, 2000;Schellens & Valcke, 2006), moderation used to manage the discussion forums (Curtin, 2002;Rodrigues, 1999), and methods for keeping discussion on track (Beaudin, 1999;MacKinnon, 2000;Picciano, 2002). In addition, Muilenburg and Berge (2000) looked at the type of questions necessary to continue topic discussion in this environment, Rourke and Anderson (2002) investigated the use of peer led discussion and other studies (Palmer, Holt & Bray, 2008;Picciano, 2002) have examined the relationship between student performance and student interaction and participation online.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of assessment on the outcomes of asynchronous online discussion as perceived by instructors

Klisc

McGill

Hobbs

2009

AJET

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Asynchronous online discussion is used in a variety of ways, both in online learning environments and in traditional teaching environments where, increasingly frequently, a blended approach is adopted. However the anticipated benefits of this tool in improving student learning outcomes are still being debated. One of the many factors affecting the outcomes of asynchronous online discussion is that of assessment. This study investigated the influence of assessment of discussion postings on the achievement of discussion outcomes as perceived by instructors. The findings indicate that the incorporation of assessment results in higher levels of discussion outcomes than if no assessment were used. The use of a subsequent assessment based on the online discussion was also examined, but the results were inconclusive.

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Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of assessment on the outcomes of asynchronous online discussion as perceived by instructors

Klisc

McGill

Hobbs

2009

AJET

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“…Providing students with an opportunity to extend their current knowledge (scaffolding) by encouraging them to actively engage in dialogue with other students and instructors (reciprocal teaching), rather than simply requiring them to answer questions, supports the socio-constructivist paradigm (Hausfather, 1996). Moreover in this paradigm, the role of the teacher has shifted away from one way information transfer, toward facilitation of student centered learning through greater emphasis on peer interactions for cognitive development (Curtin, 2002). Social interaction influences cognitive development and is important for raising the quality of distance learning programs (Moore, 1989;Vygotsky, 1978;Wilson & Stacey, 2004).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, online discussions allow students to interact at their own pace by providing an opportunity to think through their contributions and edit them prior to engaging in the discussion (Biesenbach-Lucas, 2003;Ortega, 1997). In particular, online discussions provide an opportunity for ESL students, who may be reluctant to speak up in a face to face environment, to engage in class discussions (Curtin, 2002;Kahmi-Stein, 2000;Lamy & Goodfellow, 1999;Murphy & Coleman, 2004;Ortega, 1997;Warschauer, 1997). Online discussions allow ESL students to overcome linguistic limitations and express concepts in their own words in English (Biesenbach-Lucas, 2003), as well as, "practise the new language of the knowledge community" in a supportive learning environment (Kahmi-Stein, 2000;Wilson & Stacey, 2004).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of online reflections: Engaging English second language (ESL) students

Birch

Volkov

2007

AJET

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Online discussion boards are being used increasingly by tertiary educators as a tool for encouraging greater student interaction and developing learning communities. In particular, educators who have adopted a learner centered, socio-constructivist approach to teaching have sought to facilitate collaborative learning in which students reflect upon and share their experiences and perspectives, and construct knowledge together through developing shared meanings. This paper presents the findings of an electronic survey of the perceptions of 70 distance education EFL and ESL students concerning a compulsory assessment item involving contribution to an online course discussion board. The study revealed that the majority of the students enjoyed the assessment item and agreed that posting to the online course discussion board had allowed them to achieve a range of cognitive and social learning outcomes, as well as to develop some important graduate skills. In particular, ESL students reported the benefits of posting to the discussion board in terms of sharing their experiences with others and reducing the feeling of isolation. Further, when considering social outcomes, ESL students perceive the discussion board provided them with an opportunity to meet and develop a closer relationship with other students in the course and encouraged them to keep up with their studies.

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“…Although many authors advocate the integration of both synchronous and asynchronous CMC for collaborative learning activities (Curtin, 2002;Haythornthwaite, Kazmer & Robins, 2000;Wang & Newlin, 2001), the flexible af fordances associated with an asynchronous medium have resulted in greater acceptance and adoption among educators. In particular, discussion forums have gained popularity, providing avenues and opportunities for social interaction among an increasingly disparate student cohort.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Online forum discussion interactions as an indicator of student community

Dawson

2006

AJET

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Given the current diversity of communication tools at an educator's disposal, what role (if any) does the discussion forum play in the development of a strong sense of community among students? This study sought to investigate the relationship between discussion forum interaction and perceived student sense of community. The results of the study demonstrate that while mere quantity of discussion forum postings is not an indicator of community development, a significant relationship is observed when contributions are codified into the various discussion interaction types (learner -learner; learner -content; system). An implication emerging from these findings is the ability for the institution to implement evaluative measures to gauge levels of student sense of community in a just in time environment. As discussion interactions are automatically captured and reported, the data provides an indication of the degree of community developing among the student population at a specific snapshot in time. As multiple snapshots provide an ongoing indicator of community development, practitioners have the capacity to develop intervention activities designed to promote further peer to peer discussion and therefore, facilitate the development of a strong sense of community. IntroductionThe concept of community within the education milieu is becoming increasingly significant for practitioners and managers. Hargreaves, Earl and Ryan (1996) convey the significance of the concept in noting that a priority reform required in contemporary education is to foster a caring and supportive community. The emergence of community in the educational context has been demonstrated to enhance student learning through the implementation of an overarching pedagogical framework (Bielaczyc & Collins, 1999), and also addresses systemic concerns such as student attrition and levels of course satisfaction (Rovai, 2002c;Tinto, 1998). However, there exists little in the way of developmental indicators to guide practitioners in generating a sense of community among the student cohort or to evaluate the level of community experienced by students, as well as the effect of any learning and teaching activities on the student sense of community. Education studies have often utilised the various manifests of communication episodes, such as discussion forum contributions, chat logs and listservs, to determine achievement of community among the student population (e.g. Dueber & Misanchuk, 2001;Harasim, 1987;Hew & Cheung, 2003;Svensson, 2002). These studies have relied predominantly on manual codification of keywords within communication artefacts, and interpretations of quantitative measures such as number of posts and message length, to ascertain the establishment of community among the student population. While the findings derived from this research approach have provided valuable information regarding strategies for implementing community centred teaching practices, the evaluation methodologies employed are often reactive and limited in generalisability due...

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WebCT and online tutorials: New possibilities for student interaction

Cited by 16 publications

References 1 publication

The effect of assessment on the outcomes of asynchronous online discussion as perceived by instructors

The effect of assessment on the outcomes of asynchronous online discussion as perceived by instructors

Assessment of online reflections: Engaging English second language (ESL) students

Online forum discussion interactions as an indicator of student community

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