Although most online learning environments are predominately text based, researchers have argued that representational support for the conceptual structure of a problem would address problems of coherence and convergence that have been shown to be associated with threaded discussions and more effectively support collaborative knowledge construction. The study described in this paper sets out to investigate the merits of knowledge mapping representations as an adjunct to or replacement for threaded discussion in problem solving by asynchronously communicating dyads. Results show that users of knowledge maps created more hypotheses earlier in the experimental sessions and elaborated on them more than users of threaded discussions. Participants using knowledge maps were more likely to converge on the same conclusion and scored significantly higher on post-test questions that required integration of information distributed across dyads in a hidden profile design, suggesting that there was greater collaboration during the session. These results were most consistent when a knowledge map with embedded notes was the primary means of interaction rather than when it augmented a threaded discussion.The paper also offers a methodological contribution: a paradigm for practical experimental study of asynchronous collaboration. It is crucial to understand how to support collaborative knowledge construction in the asynchronous settings prevalent in online learning, yet prior experimental research has focused on face-to-face and synchronous collaboration due to the pragmatic problems of conducting controlled studies of asynchronous interaction. A protocol is outlined that enables study of asynchronous collaboration in a controlled setting.

Abstract:The relationship between interaction and learning is a central concern of the learning sciences, and analysis of interaction has emerged as a major theme within the current literature on computersupported collaborative learning. The nature of technology-mediated interaction poses analytic challenges. Interaction may be distributed across actors, space, and time, and vary from synchronous, quasi-synchronous, and asynchronous, even within one data set. Often multiple media are involved and the data comes in a variety of formats. As a consequence, there are multiple analytic artifacts to inspect and the interaction may not be apparent upon inspection, being distributed across these artifacts. To address these problems as they were encountered in several studies in our own laboratory, we developed a framework for conceptualizing and representing distributed interaction. The framework assumes an analytic concern with uncovering or characterizing the organization of interaction in sequential records of events. The framework includes a media independent characterization of the most fundamental unit of interaction, which we call uptake. Uptake is present when a participant takes aspects of prior events as having relevance for ongoing activity. Uptake can be refined into interactional relationships of argumentation, information sharing, transactivity, and so forth. for specific analytic objectives. Faced with the myriad of ways in which uptake can manifest in practice, we represent data using graphs of relationships between events that capture the potential ways in which one act can be contingent upon another. These contingency graphs serve as abstract transcripts that document in one representation interaction that is distributed across multiple media. This paper summarizes the requirements that motivate the framework, and discusses the theoretical foundations on which it is based. It then presents the framework and its application in detail, with examples from our work to illustrate how we have used it to support both ideographic and nomothetic research, using qualitative and quantitative methods. The paper concludes with a discussion of the framework's potential role in supporting dialogue between various analytic concerns and methods represented in CSCL.

No abstract

Both candidates and voters have increased their use of the Internet for political campaigns. Candidates have adopted many internet tools, including social networking websites, for the purposes of communicating with constituents and voters, collecting donations, fostering community, and organizing events. On the other side, voters have adopted Internet tools such as blogs and social networking sites to relate to candidates, engage in political dialogue, pursue activist causes, and share information. In this paper we examine two years of posts on the Facebook walls of the three major contenders for the U.S. Presidency in 2008: Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and John McCain. We analyze participation patterns of usage along dimensions of breadth and frequency, and interpret them in terms of the concept of the "public sphere".