Participation, interaction and social presence: An exploratory study of collaboration in online peer review groups

A key reason for using asynchronous computer conferencing in instruction is its potential for supporting collaborative learning. However, few studies have examined collaboration in computer conferencing. This study examined collaboration in six peer review groups within an asynchronous computer conferencing. Eighteen tertiary students participated in the study. Content analyses of discussion protocols were performed in terms of participation, interaction, and social presence. The results indicate that collaboration does not occur automatically in asynchronous computer conference. Collaboration requires participation because no collaboration occurred in the two groups with low student participation; however, participation does not lead to collaboration, evidenced by student postings receiving no peer responses. Collaboration requires interaction but does not end with interaction, substantiated by different levels of collaboration across different interactional patterns. Social presence helps to realise collaboration through establishing a warm and collegial learning community to encourage participate and interaction, exemplified by the contrast of the group with the highest level of social presence and the group with the lowest level of social presence. A model of understanding and assessing collaboration in online learning is recommended, consisting of participation, interaction and social presence

A tale of six fish: Achieving social presence through discussion forums in an offline learning environment

It is widely held, through the Socratic tradition, that discussion is at the heart of learning. Moderated discussion forums have been shown to replicate the debate, argument and verbal defence of viewpoints that we have come to expect in face-to-face learning environments and that we generally accept to underpin learning. While much has been written about discussion forums in educational settings, particularly in how to moderate and promote effective interaction with students at a distance, this paper takes a different approach. It looks at how forums may be used to support face-to-face learning in the contemporary context of the massification of on-campus classes. Further to this, it will argue for discussion forums as an indicator of social presence in the learning environment. It will cautiously conclude that, through purposeful design, this form of asynchronous communication has a valuable role to play in creating a positive and supportive environment for students entering university. Discussion forums are tools with a versatility yet to be fully exploited

Digital communities: context for leading learning into the future?

In 2011, a robust, on-campus, three-element Community of Practice model consisting of growing community, sharing of practice and building domain knowledge was piloted in a digital learning environment. An interim evaluation of the pilot study revealed that the three-element framework, when used in a digital environment, required a fourth element. This element, which appears to happen incidentally in the face-to-face context, is that of reflecting, reporting and revising. This paper outlines the extension of the pilot study to the national tertiary education context in order to explore the implications for the design, leadership roles, and selection of appropriate technologies to support and sustain digital communities using the four-element model

Anxious, Disconnected and ‘Missing Out’, but Oh So Convenient: Tertiary Students’ Perspectives of Remote Teaching and Learning with Covid-19

The higher education sector has learnt a great deal in the online delivery shift due to Covid-19, however, student voice has been underrepresented in literature. This paper reveals 15 student perspectives, including both international and domestic students, who were studying a Master of Teaching (Secondary) at one university in Melbourne, Australia, during heightened social distancing restrictions. The inductive thematic qualitative data analysis collected through semi-structured interviews showed opportunities and challenges of learning experiences. Emergent themes found affordances of convenience and challenges of relational and structural aspects of teaching and learning. Relational aspects of learning were more challenging, including peer collaboration, seeking informal advice and feedback from academics, and participation and engagement. We recommend the inclusion of student voice to guide post Covid-19 teacher education design recommend several areas of support to guide a humanising and personal connection into the remote learning environment

Overcoming process-blindness in the design of an online environment: Balancing cognitive and psycho-social outcomes

Learning environment research can contribute to our understanding of how psychosocial processes need to be balanced with cognitive outcomes in the design of units of study. The research on Web-based learning supports the assumption that the nature of social interaction affects student outcomes and student perceptions of the quality of the learning experience. The purposeful this study is to examine student perceptions of psychosocial processes in a blended learning environment using a learning environment survey tool. Students assessed the environments as favourable, but found that the quality of dialogue and peer support offered did not meet their needs. Implications for online design are considered

Catching them is one thing, keeping them is something else: reflections on teaching first year university students

[Abstract]: This paper documents teaching practices that have been identified, by the teaching team, as improving student success rates in a first year tertiary level compulsory subject. Constructivism, scaffolding, social presence and reflective practice are the key concepts which have proved to be successful in transitioning students in this subject to university study. Outcomes have consisted of goal achievement by individual students, increased student retention and success rates

Overcoming process blindness in the design of an online unit

Learning environment research can contribute to our understanding of how psychosocial processes need to be balanced with cognitive outcomes in the design of units of study. The research on Web-based learning supports the assumption that the nature of social interaction affects student outcomes and student perceptions of the quality of the learning experience. The purposeful this study is to examine student perceptions of psychosocial processes in a blended learning environment using a learning environment survey tool. Students assessed the environments as favourable, but found that the quality of dialogue and peer support offered did not meet their needs. Implications for online design are considered

Investigating the impact of computer conferencing: content analysis as a manageable research tool

Content analysis of computer conferences provides a rich source of data for researching and understanding online learning. However the complexities of using content analysis in a relatively new research field have resulted in researchers avoiding its use as a qualitative or quantitative method and using more familiar methods such as survey and interview instead. Ethical issues are also raised that, though ensuring students&rsquo; rights, particularly to privacy and with no fear of coercion, are making it difficult for researchers to access and analyse archives of conference data as a research source. This paper suggests a pragmatic but systematic approach to solving these research issues by using several research strategies that are described in the context of the authors&rsquo; research and practice.<br /

Promoting international cultural and academic collaborative communication through technologies of open course ware

In the diverse cultures of an increasingly transnational world where\ud academic literacy in English or Englishes is required for advancement in\ud universities, communication technologies play critical roles. This paper integrates\ud scholars from diverse cultures through online technology which allows for\ud participants from several universities to develop their awareness of diverse\ud cultures and academic English across disciplines. This research addresses the issue\ud of how online collaboration among scholars can develop their technological,\ud cultural and academic literacies which are essential to their academic progress. By\ud creating electronic discussion forums that include scholars from universities\ud worldwide it is possible to engage in transcultural dialogue regarding how diverse\ud cultures view technology as a means to advance academic and cultural literacy.\ud Through combining the wealth of academic Open Course Ware (OCW) through\ud the consortium and linkages with international universities it is possible to create\ud credit courses for students in each of their home universities thereby overcoming\ud the major limitation of OCW by providing access to credit for OCW courses

Reactions, Reflections, and Responsibility: A Responsive Evaluation of an Emerging Blended E-learning Subject

In the decade since Schrum and Hong’s comment that “online learning has rapidly become a popular method of edu - cation for traditional and non-traditional students,” this approach to tertiary learning has morphed through several generational forms and platforms to the point where it has become firmly entrenched in the Australian tertiary landscape. As a broad generalization, e-learning, online, or flexible learning in many universities represents a spectrum of “information communications technology” (hereafter referred to as ICT) usage that ranges from little or no actual real-time interaction or “face-to-face” contact with associated viewing linkages such as YouTube through to teaching attempts at fully interactive programs. However, despite the numerous studies purporting the benefits of this form of study, a few voices have argued that this rapid shift has been “accepted uncritically.” Of late, there has also been a gathering chorus of research which suggests that the research base has been skewed, as it has not fully taken into account the understandings of the front-line users: the students themselves. This leads to the rationale of this article that what actually constitutes authentic “flexible learning,” its actual efficacy, and effects remain unclear. Emerging out of the context of standard online delivery is the notion of “blended learning” or “mixed mode learning.” In this learning mode, the ideal is that students retain some of the benefits of constant face-to-face interaction with peers and tutors, as well as the flexibility and less-restrictive nature of learning through technological access. However, blended learning in the Australian context has itself become situated across an ICT spectrum that ranges from the “provision of twoway communication so that the student may benefit from or even initiate dialogue” to the attempt at quasi-virtual situations of the “ClassSim” project