Online Task Groups and Social Work Education: Lessons Learned

This paper focuses the use of an online task group for social work students to solve problems and produce recommendations. An online site provides students the opportunity to edit documents produced by the group’s work. Online task groups provide an alternative to face-to-face task group meetings in social service agencies with a number of distant service delivery locations. Additionally, online task groups provide a cost effective way to accomplish the business of social service agencies by eliminating the time and cost of travel to attend meetings. This paper offers a stage model of online group development and a discussion of lessons learned from an online task group used in a graduate Clinical Supervision class

IDENTITY-BASED DETERMINANTS FOR VIRTUAL COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION: MODERATING ROLE OF GENDER COMPOSITION

Gender composition of VCs shapes the members’ communication style and content, and has a potential in influencing the anticipated benefits from VC participation. Extending prior research on VC participation and group composition, this study examines the moderating effect of gender composition in influencing the linkage between two important identity-based determinants, i.e., identification and identity confirmation, and VC participation. The research model was validated with an online survey involving 3 male dominant VCs and 1 female dominant VC. The results show that identification is a significant and stable determinant for members’ VC participation regardless of gender composition, but the effect of identity confirmation on VC participation is only significant for those in a female dominant VC. The theoretical and practical implications of the research are discussed

Visualization of participation: Does it contribute to successful computer-supported collaborative learning?

This study investigated the effects of visualization of participation during computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL). It is hypothesized that visualization of participation could contribute to successful CSCL. A CSCL-environment was augmented with the Participation Tool (PT). The PT visualizes how much each group member contributes to his or her group’s online communication. Using a posttest-only design with a treatment (N = 52) and a control group (N = 17), it was examined whether students with access to the PT participated more and more equally during collaboration, reported higher awareness of group processes and activities, collaborated differently, and performed better than students without access to the PT. The results show that students used the PT quite intensively. Furthermore, compared to control group students, treatment group students participated more and engaged more in coordination and regulation of social activities during collaboration by sending more statements that addressed the planning of social activities. However, equality of participation, awareness of group processes and quality of the group products was not higher in the treatment condition. Still, the results of this study demonstrate that visualization of participation can contribute to successful CSCL

Gender-related differences in computer-mediated communication and computer-supported collaborative learning

A question associated with the introduction of computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) is whether all participants profit equally from working in CSCL environments. This article reports on a review study into gender-related differences in participation in CSCL. As many of the processes in CSCL are similar to those in computer-mediated communication (CMC), studies into CMC are also included in the review. Male dominance is found to play a role in many CMC settings. A learning culture with an explicit focus on participation by all students seems to be related to a more gender-balanced participation in CMC, however. A tendency for boys to be more active participants than girls is also present in CSCL environments, but it is less pronounced than in CMC. This may be explained by the fact that participation is explicitly promoted in most CSCL environments. Gender differences in the character of students' contributions are found in both CMC and CSCL. It is concluded that in order to avoid gender-stereotyped participation and communication patterns, it is necessary to explicitly address inclusiveness as an aspect of a collaborative classroom culture. A plea is made for further research into differential participation by students in CSCL, and the effects thereof on cognitive and affective learning outcomes. Research should also focus on the question how classroom cultures can be promoted that support active participation of all students aimed at collaborative knowledge construction. © 2007 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2007 Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Contemporary Rural Social Work - Fall 2011 (Volume 3, Number 1)

Contemporary Rural Social Work - Fall 2011 (Volume 3, Number 1) Full issu

When Shakespeare meets Al Gore: imagine interactions, communication competence, and immediacy traditional and online-based distance education

The growth of distance education, in its many forms, has had consequences for both online universities as well as more traditional universities. This study examines instructional behaviors and communication strategies used in face-to-face and online educational settings. The purpose of this study is to explore student perceptions of instructor immediacy, motivation, and communicator competence in addition to their own motivation and intrapersonal communication use in higher education settings. This dissertation follows a social scientific organizational pattern: introduction, literature review, methods, results, and discussion. The first two chapters examine the purpose of the study and the appropriate research on distance education, teacher immediacy, communication and communicator competence, student motivation, and imagined interactions. The third chapter describes the participants, instruments, and methods utilized in both the pilot and current study. The fourth chapter presents the results of the 6 hypotheses and 5 research questions posited for this current study. Finally, the discussion considers how the results clarify the potential and pitfalls associated with online education. Conclusions about the roles of immediacy, motivation, communicator competence and imagined interactions in online education are posited. The role of sample demographics and different methodological approaches are examined and implications for future research are considered

Saudi Students\u27 Attitudes, Beliefs, And Preferences Toward Coeducational Online Cooperative Learning

In Saudi Arabia, the single-sex learning environment is the only choice for students due to social and religious concerns. Recently, online education is a growing field in Saudi Arabia. However, there is a paucity of research examining coeducational online cooperative learning that allows virtual interaction between male and female learners. The purpose of the study was to investigate the attitude, belief, and preference of Saudi students regarding working in a coeducation online cooperative learning environment. The participants of the study were 707 students from the Saudi students in the USA. An electronic questionnaire was developed by the researcher for the purpose in this study. The study concluded that Saudi students from both genders showed a generally positive attitude toward learning in a coeducational online cooperative learning environment. The study also revealed that the participants believe that coeducational online cooperative learning will be possible, appropriate, and effective if applied in Saudi Arabia. Marital status was found to significantly affect student attitude toward coeducational online cooperative learning, while region was found to play a significant role on student belief toward applying coeducational online cooperative learning in Saudi Arabia. Saudi students also showed a high positive preference for the use of text-only chat, email, forums, and blogs with both sexes when studying in a coeducational online cooperative learning environment in Saudi Arabia. However, they showed a greater positive preference toward using voice chat and video-conference with the same sex only. Finally, the study provided a number of suggestions regarding the general application and design of online cooperative learning in Saudi Arabia

Gender Differences In Social Presence In Gender-Segregated And Blended Learning Environments In Saudi Arabia

The present study aimed to achieve one of the goals of the Saudi Arabia Vision 2030, which is the improvement of the quality of teaching approaches and learning outcomes. Additionally, the vision strives for equality among students in all educational institutions, including equality among men and women, who are mostly segregated in all aspects of life (e.g., education). One of the major issues in the online portion of blended learning environments is the lack of social presence. Therefore, the present study used a quantitative, cross-sectional survey design to investigate the influence of gender on the perception of social presence levels in gender- segregated and blended learning environments in Saudi Arabia. The findings of this study revealed that the independent variable (gender) had an insignificant impact on dependent variable (social presence levels) in single-gender segregated and blended learning environments. Moreover, gender was not related to any of social presence four constructs (social context, privacy, interactivity, and online communication). The discussion of this study revealed that COVID-19 pandemic and technology evolution in the last decade could be two major factors that impacted the results of this study. The implications of this study are also included in the discussion section