Investigating design features of a computer-mediated communication system

Computer-mediated communication (CMC) is increasingly used in higher education, but it is not without problems. The effectiveness of CMC depends on many factors, including the characteristics of CMC systems themselves. The research reported here therefore aimed to investigate how an educational CMC system might be improved, in order to support learning more effectively. The main context for the research was distance learning at the UK Open University (OU). A two-stage, mixed methods research approach was adopted. In the first stage, interviews and observations were carried out to explore the benefits and problems experienced by users. This revealed two major issues: information overload and lack of social presence. Information overload relates to users’ problems dealing with large numbers of messages. Social presence relates to the need for users to feel connected with each other. The second stage investigated system features aimed at addressing these issues, implemented in a prototype computer conferencing system. Features to address overload included branched message threading and user recommendations. Features to address social presence were ‘résumés’ and instant messaging. These features were evaluated using questionnaires, with several cohorts of students in an OU course. Students expressed approval of the features, although some features were not widely used. Students preferred branched threading to chronological threading because branching helped them to follow ‘conversations’. Students were uncomfortable recommending messages, feeling that the value of a message would vary between people. They were also uncomfortable using instant messaging to contact others whom they did not know. However, the awareness aspect of instant messaging provided a sense of solidarity. The research demonstrated that the problems of overload and lack of social presence are significant, and each has social aspects which must be addressed. Students’ relationships with each other affect whether and how they use the features of CMC systems. We can conclude that particular attention must be paid to the social aspects of online communication, both when designing educational CMC systems and when considering how they are used. To maximise the benefits for learning, students need to feel comfortable with each other online, and there are few short cuts to achieving this

Computer-mediated knowledge communication

New communication technologies enable an array of new working and learning scenarios in which knowledge is being communicated. This article deals with the question to what extent these technologies can impede or facilitate knowledge communication. First, the various computer-based communication technologies will be classified. Second, effects of the medium on knowledge communication will be discussed based on results of studies of the current special priority program "Net-based Knowledge Communication in Groups". Third and last, computer-based possibilities to facilitate computer-mediated knowledge communication will be reviewNeue Kommunikationstechnologien ermöglichen eine Reihe neuer Arbeits- und Lernszenarien in denen Wissen kommuniziert wird. Dieser Beitrag beschäftigt sich damit, inwiefern diese Technologien Wissenskommunikation einschränken oder fördern können. Dazu werden in einem ersten Schritt die verschiedenen computerbasierten Kommunikationstechnologien untergliedert. In einem zweiten Schritt werden Wirkungen des Mediums auf die Wissenskommunikation diskutiert. Dazu werden u. a. die Ergebnisse von Studien des aktuellen Forschungsschwerpunkts "Netzbasierte Wissenskommunikation in Gruppen" berichtet. In einem dritten und letzten Schritt werden computerbasierte Möglichkeiten zusammengefasst, computervermittelte Wissenskommunikation zu förd

Student perceptions of computer-mediated communication tools in online learning: Helpfulness and effects on teaching, social, and cognitive presence

Distance learning continues to be used in the context of teacher training in special education. Distance learning is experienced through computer-mediated communication (CMC) tools via the Internet, or online learning. Little research has been done to evaluate student perceptions of the helpfulness of CMC tools in online learning. This quantitative study utilizes an online survey of graduate and certification teachers in training for special education. The survey evaluates student perceptions of CMC tool helpfulness, social presence, teaching presence and cognitive presence. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses are used to evaluate mean differences for different combinations of CMC tool usage and for possible relationships between tool helpfulness and social or teaching presence. Additional demographic variables of gender, level of study, registration status, concentration of study, prior online courses taken and years of teaching experience are also evaluated for possible relationships with social, teaching, and cognitive presence. Results suggest that participants were comfortable with using CMC tools and perceived e-mail, discussion forums, news forums, web-conferencing, and text chat as helpful tools for social and teaching presence communications. Participants using discussion forums perceived higher teaching and cognitive presence than those using only web-conferencing. Participants using both discussion forums and web-conferencing perceived higher cognitive presence than those using only web-conferencing. Results of standard multiple regressions indicated that 31% of the variance in teaching presence (24% of variance in social presence) was accounted for by knowing helpfulness scores on e-mail, discussion forums, and news forums. Discussion forums were most helpful for promoting teaching presence. E-mail was most helpful for promoting social presence. There were no statistically significant mean differences among groups based on gender, level of study, registration status, concentration of study, or years of teaching experience. Results suggest that perceptions of teaching and cognitive presence may decline as the number of online courses taken increases

Supporting undergraduate students’ acquisition of academic argumentation strategies through computer conferencing

Executive Summary Background This research grows out of work on the importance of argumentation in developingstudents’ critical abilities. It focuses attention on how students argue in computer mediated conferences as opposed to traditionalwritten assignments, investigating the way in which argumentation is realised within the relatively new context of computer conferencing which allows extended written discussions to take place overa period of weeks. Such text-based asynchronous conferencing is typically characterised by features of both spoken and written modes. Aims The main aims of the project were: • to investigate the argumentation strategies used in asynchronous text-based computer conferences; • to compare the argumentation strategies developed through conferencing with those used in the writing of academic assignments; • to examine the strategies used by tutors to encourage and facilitate argumentation in text-based computer conferences. Methods Data was collected over two years for the distance undergraduate course ‘Perspectives on Complementary and Alternative Medicine’ at the Open University.Qualitative data was obtained through interviews with the course chair, tutors and students, and through a student questionnaire. Assignments and computer-mediated tutorials were collected for textual analysis, although the timing of the assignments meant that analysis has only just begun on the essay data. To analyse the argumentation in the computer conferences and assignments a method of categorising, coding and tracking argumentative discourse was developed building on earlier work by the authors. In addition, computational searches were carried out to compare linguistic features across conference and assignment data. Results In tutorial conferences, student discussion tended to take the form of collaborative co-construction of an argument through exchanging information and experience to substantiate a position. However, students were also prepared to challenge other viewpoints. In both cases, they frequently drew on personal and professional experience to support argument claims. The use of these strategies suggests that text-based conferencing lends itself to the collective combining of diverse sources of information, experiences and ideas. Conference discussions were often personalised with fewer explicit logical links marking argument structure. They were also marked by complexity of argument strands, many of which reached no conclusion. Preliminary analysis of argumentation in assignments suggests that this did not, however, adversely affect students’ ability to create a more traditional, linear argument in their essays. Further analysis will be undertaken to compare argumentation strategies across the two sets of data. Tutors expressed concern about levels of participation in the tutorial conferences, which varied quite considerably. They also felt uncertain about their own knowledge of appropriate pedagogic strategies which would encourage students to participate in a collaborative yet critical way, and tended to rely on strategies from face-to-face teaching. Analysis of the conference discussion showed that tutors made fewer claims than students and were also less likely to provide information in support of their claims. There was, therefore, little modelling by tutors of the basic type of argumentation that would be expected in formal written assignments.Despite these concerns, student responses indicated that having a tutor and a group of peers to interact with, or just to observe, was valued as a supportive feature of this form of distance learning. No clear picture arose of how to make conferencing more interactive for more students, and this reinforces the sense gained from the tutor interviews of the difficulty of proposing a model of tutoring in computer conferences that will necessarily engage all students or raise the level of discussion and debate. Conclusions Our study suggests that text-based conferencing has an important role to play in developing students’ argumentation strategies and understanding of academic discourse and conventions. In view of its hybrid nature, somewhere between spontaneous speech and formal academic writing, course designers and tutors should aim to take advantage of both aspects – on the one hand, the informal dialogic exchange of opinions and co-construction of knowledge, and on the other,the opportunity for consolidation, reflection and re-positioning. Our findings reinforce the view that students’ willingness to exchange ideas freely and openly is partly a consequence of how personally engaged, at ease and confident students feel with one another and their tutor. In particular, it seems that there is a role for the interpersonal and, to some extent, the chat and the frivolity, which in some other studies discussed in the literature review have been regarded as negative influences. Recommendations To facilitate students’ development of argumentation and learning more generally,tutors need greater awareness of the ways in which academic argumentation operates in computer conferencing as compared to written assignments. Since pedagogic strategies developed in other contexts may not transfer well to computer conferencing, there is a need for targeted professional development, focussing in particular on: • Choosing topics for discussion and designing effective task prompts; • Supporting weaker students; • Encouraging challenging of ideas; • Finding the right tone to facilitate peer discussions. Some specific suggestions are made within the report, but our recommendations at this stage remain tentative as we still have to complete the analysis of the assignment data and draw conclusions about the impact of the computer conferencing on the quality of written argumentation within this more formal context

Teaching and learning in virtual worlds: is it worth the effort?

Educators have been quick to spot the enormous potential afforded by virtual worlds for situated and authentic learning, practising tasks with potentially serious consequences in the real world and for bringing geographically dispersed faculty and students together in the same space (Gee, 2007; Johnson and Levine, 2008). Though this potential has largely been realised, it generally isn’t without cost in terms of lack of institutional buy-in, steep learning curves for all participants, and lack of a sound theoretical framework to support learning activities (Campbell, 2009; Cheal, 2007; Kluge & Riley, 2008). This symposium will explore the affordances and issues associated with teaching and learning in virtual worlds, all the time considering the question: is it worth the effort

Voice Interaction Online

This chapter examines the potential for voice activities to enhance online learning. Although research related to online writing tools (such as e-mail, discussion threads, blogs, and wikis) is growing and the use of synchronous and asynchronous voice tools (such as internet phone, VoiceThread and multimodal web conferencing) has developed rapidly, little is known about the effects of systematically implementing these voice tools in formal educational settings (Millard, 2010). This chapter first provides a brief overview of the available online voice systems, the design principles of online voice interaction, and prior research and frameworks regarding voice interaction in online and blended learning. It then reports on a study of a systematic application of an asynchronous voice recording system integrated into a learning management system in an undergraduate blended-learning English course. The research found that the voice system was adequately usable and was associated with a positive change in the students‘ perceptions of speaking English over the semester. Half of the students were reluctant to talk to an online program, whereas the other half were willing to do so. Regular use of online voice assignments encouraged high attendance rates for the in-person classes. This suggests the potential power of asynchronous online voice interaction to help support students‘ learning

Transforming pre-service teacher curriculum: observation through a TPACK lens

This paper will discuss an international online collaborative learning experience through the lens of the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework. The teacher knowledge required to effectively provide transformative learning experiences for 21st century learners in a digital world is complex, situated and changing. The discussion looks beyond the opportunity for knowledge development of content, pedagogy and technology as components of TPACK towards the interaction between those three components. Implications for practice are also discussed. In today’s technology infused classrooms it is within the realms of teacher educators, practising teaching and pre-service teachers explore and address effective practices using technology to enhance learning

Learners\u27 Perspectives about Uses of Synchronous and Asynchronous Conferencing Systems within an Online Graduate Course: Interpretations through an Activity System

Synchronous voice-enabled communication is an established communication technology that is becoming increasingly available in learning management systems. Instructors can implement live voice chats to create engaging learning environments. While research has been reported using synchronous text-based chat, little is known about the experiences distance education learners in graduate study programs have using synchronous voice communication. This article presents findings from a qualitative research project designed to explore graduate students perceptions about the effective use of both synchronous and asynchronous communication within a graduate course offered through a WebCT online environment supplemented by Groove. A constructivist theoretical perspective and grounded theory framed the study. Data sources included questionnaires and individual computer-recorded and transcribed interviews. Content was analyzed by the researcher for themes and confirmed through ongoing member checking with participants. The following five overarching themes were identified and used to understand learners\u27 experiences with and perceptions of synchronous and asynchronous communication technology in a graduate distance education course: 1) community building; 2) easing the cost of communicating online, 3) creating a sense of real class and dialogue, 4) instilling a trust in the technology\u27s reliability, and 5) capturing and preserving knowledge

E-conferencing: Corpus and Discourse Insights

A selection of recent work by experts in academic written discourse illustrates how corpus linguistics and discourse analysis can work as complementary approaches

The Effect of Computer-mediated Communication Tools in Online Setting on Iranian EFL Learners’ Teaching, Social and Cognitive Existence

This study was conducted to explore the effect of computer-mediated communication tools in online setting on Iranian EFL learners’ teaching, social and cognitive existence. The population of the study included 60 English Language Teaching students (B.A) of Zanjan Islamic Azad University using convenient sampling method. Experimental group included half of the participants (n=30) and other half of the participants (n=30) was assigned to control group. As a pretest, participants were asked to fill in the Community of Inquiry (CoI) questionnaire in both experimental and control groups. The learners in the experimental group were taught through electronic mail and chat and the assignments and homework were sent to the learners by E-mail. The teachers asked the learners to answer the questions and send the fulfilled assignments in the telegram group. The learners in the control group were taught conventionally. After the treatment, the questionnaire was re-administered among the learners in the both groups as posttest. The learners who received synchronous online communication tools, compared to the respondents who received no treatment, gained higher mean scores on social, teaching and cognitive presence. The findings of the present study can have implications for ESL/EFL contexts from several aspects