Getting to the Core of Role: Defining Interpreters' Role Space

This article describes a new model of interpreted interactions that will help students as well as experienced practitioners define and delineate the decisions that they make. By understanding the dimensions that comprise the concept we call role, interpreters can more effectively allow participants to have successful communicative interactions

Pedagogical tools in an online teacher education programme: A sense of belonging and social presence

This thesis presents the findings from a study that explores in what ways the pedagogical tools in an online teacher education programme can facilitate a sense of belonging and social presence. In particular it explores the individual contribution of pedagogical online tools in relation to this. The research data was gathered using a mixed methodology. Qualitative data was gathered from questionnaires sent to six participants of the online teacher education programme that were then analysed to identify common themes, patterns and difference in participants perspectives. Quantitative data was collected by analysing the contributions of each of the six participants in specific computer mediated communication forums using Garrison and Anderson’s (2004) social presence and indicators framework across two papers of this online programme. There are two key findings evident in the data of this study. The first is that pedagogical online tools can facilitate a sense of belonging and afford social presence in an online community of learners. However, each tool has different affordances. The effectiveness of their use depends on the way they are supported and used by the lecturer. Secondly, each participant had a different perspective on the affordances of each individual tool in their usefulness for fostering a sense of belonging and social presence. This was of particular interest as it indicates that one tool can afford a diversity of factors that may have a particular resonance with individual participants. The findings highlight the importance of lecturers needing to take into account the different affordances of online tools and the different ways that students might use them. Therefore, this study is in a position to inform the development of this and other online teacher education programme

Characteristics of Initial Posts and Peer Engagement: Density Score Analyses for Social Presence in Online Discussions

A common activity in online courses that allows for student interaction is the asynchronous discussion; however, discussions do not inherently lead to meaningful engagement among students. This study explores how the moves that students make in their initial discussion posts influence the emotional engagement of their peers in response posts. 1500 asynchronous online discussion messages were collected from an undergraduate online course offered at a western state university. 608 online discussion threads were analyzed to determine how the characteristics of initial posts are associated with the engagement in peer responses. Six characteristic variables from initial posts were identified and analyzed. Density scores for social presence categories and indicators were calculated as the measure of the emotional engagement in the response posts. Results suggest that three characteristic variables in initial posts significantly influence the emotional engagement of peers in the response posts

Group Maintenance in Technology-Supported Distributed Teams

Are geographically-distributed teams which exhibit high levels of group maintenance between members successful? We answer this through content analysis of emails from two Free/Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS) teams. Our results illustrate that the groups utilize low levels of organizational citizenship behaviors and high levels of positive politeness actions

Roles and politeness behavior in community-based free/libre open source software development

Community-based Free/Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS) development relies on contributions from both core and peripheral members. Prior research on core-periphery has focused on software coding related behaviors. We study how core-periphery roles are related to social-relational behavior in terms of politeness behavior. Data from two FLOSS projects suggest that both core and peripheral members use more positive politeness strategies than negative strategies. Further, core and peripheral members use different strategies to protect positive face in positive politeness, which we term respect and intimacy, respectively. Our results contribute to FLOSS research and politeness theory. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Influence of Online Discussion Initial Posts on Peer Engagement in Response Posts

Engagement in online classes can promote student success but can be met with challenges associated with students feeling isolated from their peers, their instructors, or the course when learning online. Building opportunities for student interaction is one way to combat this isolation. A common activity in online courses that allows for student interaction is the asynchronous discussion; however, discussions do not inherently lead to meaningful engagement among students.This study aims to determine how students influence the engagement of their peers, so that instructors can better design student interactions that will promote engagement. Specifically, it investigates how the moves that students make in their initial discussion posts influence the behavioral, social, and cognitive engagement of their peers in response posts. Data were collected from asynchronous online discussions then analyzed to determine how the characteristics of initial posts may predict engagement in peer responses. Characteristics of initial posts included the time from the due date the initial post was made, the initial post word count, its reading ease score, its use of first- or second-person language, and its level of cognitive presence. Results indicate that some characteristics of initial posts do influence the behavioral, social, or cognitive engagement of peers. An initial post’s time from due date influenced peer behavioral engagement in the form of whether a response post was made. In terms of peer social engagement, first-person language, reading ease, and word count were found to influence individual categories or indicators of social presence. Finally, an initial post’s use of first-person language and its cognitive presence level were found to influence cognitive engagement in peers. These results suggest that the actions of individual students can influence the engagement of their peers in online discussion boards. On this basis, the characteristics of initial posts that influenced engagement in peer responses should be taken into consideration in the design of online discussion activities

Assessing Social Presence In Asynchronous Text-based Computer Conferencing

Instructional media such as computer conferencing engender high levels of student-student and student-teacher interaction; affectively into a community of inquiry. A template for assessing social presence in computer conferencing is presented through content analysis of conferencing transcripts. To facilitate explication of the scheme and subsequent replication of this study, selections of coded transcripts are included, along with interrater reliability figures. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications and benefits of assessing social presence for instructors, for instructors, conference moderators, and researchers

Designing for Schadenfreude (or, how to express well-being and see if you're boring people)

This position paper presents two studies of content not normally expressed in status updates—well-being and status feedback—and considers how they may be processed, valued and used for potential quality-of-life benefits in terms of personal and social reflection and awareness. Do I Tweet Good? (poor grammar intentional) is a site investigating more nuanced forms of status feedback than current microblogging sites allow, towards understanding self-identity, reflection, and online perception. Healthii is a tool for sharing physical and emotional well-being via status updates, investigating concepts of self-reflection and social awareness. Together, these projects consider furthering the value of microblogging on two fronts: 1) refining the online personal/social networking experience, and 2) using the status update for enhancing the personal/social experience in the offline world, and considering how to leverage that online/offline split. We offer results from two different methods of study and target groups—one co-workers in an academic setting, the other followers on Twitter—to consider how microblogging can become more than just a communication medium if it facilitates these types of reflective practice

A case study of the manifestations and significance of social presence in a multi-user virtual environment

As a type of virtual learning community, multi-user virtual environments (MUVEs) are not only sources of entertainment but are also places where learning opportunities and community development can be created and fostered. Some multi-user virtual environments that have emerged have been designed to serve students and teachers in the K-12 sector. Although learning is a goal in these contexts, this study focused on some of the community building and social networking components. The purpose of this study was to examine whether, to what degree and how nine elementary aged students projected themselves socially through this medium. The results could provide insight into the integration of such environments into K-12 educational contexts and could serve as a launching point for further research into the learning and community aspects of MUVEs. A case study approach was used in this research study. The researcher chose a class of nine students who were enrolled in an educational MUVE as part of their regular studies. Although these students completed assignments in the MUVE, only their social interactions were analyzed. The data was collected from student communication logs in the educational MUVE Quest Atlantis™ and from interviews with participants. Document analysis was used to analyze transcripts of student communications in Quest Atlantis™ as well as transcripts from text-based interviews. The results obtained demonstrate the types of communication and tool selection patterns of elementary aged students when using text to communicate in a MUVE and provide insight that can be used by teachers to inform the integration of MUVEs in their unique learning contexts. Findings indicated that frequency of communication varied substantially between participants but message content was similar and content volume varied depending on the communication tool. Gender differences were pronounced. Results also revealed that all participants were comfortable and enjoyed their involvement in the MUVE