From Posts to Patterns: A Metric to Characterize Discussion Board Activity in Online Courses

Bliss, Catherine A.; Lawrence, Betty

doi:10.24059/olj.v13i2.1665

Cited by 32 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…According to Balakrishnan (2011), CSCL provides students and instructors the flexibility to discuss contents in depth and build knowledge from a distance in an online collaborative learning environment (Shukor, Tasir, Van der Meijden, & Harun, 2014). According to Bliss and Lawrence (2009), cultural awareness in online classrooms helps to increase intercultural knowledge, understanding, and respect among students in the classroom. This shows that the use of best practices and online activities in an online course helped instructors and students share ideas and discuss issues, which allowed students to become active participants and make meaningful contributions to the learning contents or concepts.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Conversely, other studies (Bliss & Lawrence, 2009;Dawson, 2006) found that online collaboration tools have the potential to promote learners' sense of community, increase the knowledge flow between students and facilitate their participation in online environments (Hrastinski, 2006). Research has revealed that many students prefer to work with peers from their own cultural backgrounds (Moore & Hampton, 2015;Rienties et al, 2013).…”

Section: Review Of Related Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

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Designing Cross-Cultural Collaborative Online Learning Framework for Online Instructors

Kumi–Yeboah

2019

OLJ

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Online education has now become an integral part of the educational landscape in the United States and around the world, where it serves as the primary source of enrollment growth in higher education. The rising student population in online learning mandates instructors and instructional designers to be aware of the importance of cultural factors that influence students’ learning experiences and academic performance in the online environments. However, few empirical studies have examined instructors’ perspectives on instructional strategies that promote cross-cultural collaboration in online classrooms, specifically, instructional strategies that instructors use to promote educational success of diverse learners in online environments. Drawing on collaborative online learning theory, this study analyzed qualitative interview data and online activities of 40 online instructors from two universities. Results showed the following themes; (a) instructional strategies that facilitate cross-cultural collaborative online learning, (b) challenges of teaching diverse learners in online learning, and (c) designing cross-cultural collaborative online framework for instructors. Findings suggested that most instructors lacked the knowledge and skills in addressing the needs of diverse learners in the online learning environments regarding their ability to recognize students’ cultural differences and incorporate multicultural reading resources in course contents to meet the needs of diverse students. Thus, the need to design a framework will broaden instructors’ understanding and promote cross-cultural collaboration in online teaching to help meet the needs of diverse students in online learning environments.KEYWORDS: Cross-cultural collaborative learning, culturally diverse learners, collaborative learning activities, instructional strategies, Collaboration in online learning

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Review Of Related Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Designing Cross-Cultural Collaborative Online Learning Framework for Online Instructors

Kumi–Yeboah

2019

OLJ

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“…This is adapted from the term educationally valuable talk (EVT). EVT is defined as a particular interaction pattern in online discussion threads characterized as dialogic exchanges whereby a participant collaboratively displays construction, and at times, critical engagement with the ideas or key concepts that make up the topic of an online discussion, and builds knowledge through reasoning, articulations, creativity, and reflection (Bliss & Lawrence, 2009). A more useful distinction of “quality” can be made by determining whether a post is educationally valuable or educationally less valuable.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

MIC-O-MAP: a technology-enhanced learning environment for developing micro-macro thinking skills

Kenkre

Murthy

2017

RPTEL

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MIC-O-MAP (MICroscopic-Observations-Macroscopic-Predictions) is a technologyenhanced learning (TEL) environment designed for developing micro-macro thinking skills among science and engineering undergraduate students. Micro-macro thinking involves being able to analyze dynamic processes and interactions on a microscopic level and establish co-relations to the outcomes which we can see and measure in the macroscopic world. In this paper, we report 2 cycles of iterative design, development, and evaluation of MIC-O-MAP, based on a design-based research approach. We first identify the pedagogical design features and learning activities of MIC-O-MAP based on a literature review of the development of micro-macro thinking. We then report an experimental study, which showed positive results that the design features and learning activities of MIC-O-MAP helped students develop micro-macro thinking. This was followed by a detailed interaction analysis, which provided insights into the redesign of MIC-O-MAP. An evaluation of the revised version of MIC-O-MAP showed that the shortcomings of the original version were addressed. The interaction analysis also led us to identify effective actions and learning paths as students learn in interactive TEL environments.

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“…Other research (Balaji & Chakrabarti, 2010;Bassett, 2011;Du, Zhang, Olinzock, & Adams, 2008;Shana, 2009;Zhang, Goa, Ring, & Zhang, 2007) has examined and explored how students' communication skills, critical thinking skills, and literacy skills and their academic achievements improve overall through ODBs. Some research (Bliss & Lawrence, 2009;Peterson-Karlan, 2011;Kessler, Bikowski, & Boggs, 2012;Lin & Yang, 2011;Ritchie & Black, 2012;Wegmann & McCauley, 2014) has focused on discovering the importance of integrating discussion boards, online chats, and Wikis into the education process. In addition, they explored how students improve in their writing skills by using Web-based boards in English writing courses, and some in many-to-many/group-to-group collaborative writing.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

An International Students’ Perspective Toward Using Online Collaborative Platform to Enhance their Academic Learning Skills

Bokhari¹

2019

UCER-A

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This exploratory case study explored international graduate students' views of online discussion boards (ODBs) as a collaborative platform in different online courses at a major Midwestern university. In addition, this study explored factors that influenced students learning skills, specifically academic writing skills. Data collection methods included students' artifacts, such as online discussion transcripts, submitted documents, and one-on-one open-ended interviews. Interviewing the international graduate students made it possible to identify the natural meaning of ODBs, as well as explore the key factors that improved their writing skills in the ODBs. Three major themes emerged in this study. The first theme inclusive learning environment, demonstrated how students perceived ODBs as a positive platform that helped them to increase their intercultural competence, construct their knowledge, and raise their confidence as well. The other two themes, constructivism/collaborative social practice and motivation/structure revealed what factors could improve students' writing skills. Students appreciated their learning from each other and asserted that the structure, feedback, and assessment are the factors that motivated them to develop their learning and writing skills. Further qualitative research is needed to analyze the content of the students' postings. In addition, it is recommended that the level of learning, writing skills, and sense of community among the forum members need to be examined. Broader perspectives are needed, as well as future research using ODBs as a collaborative platform in blended learning.

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From Posts to Patterns: A Metric to Characterize Discussion Board Activity in Online Courses

Cited by 32 publications

References 38 publications

Designing Cross-Cultural Collaborative Online Learning Framework for Online Instructors

Designing Cross-Cultural Collaborative Online Learning Framework for Online Instructors

MIC-O-MAP: a technology-enhanced learning environment for developing micro-macro thinking skills

An International Students’ Perspective Toward Using Online Collaborative Platform to Enhance their Academic Learning Skills

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