Gender and Discourse Styles in CMC Learning Groups

2011 ◽  
pp. 378-384 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong-Kwan Lim ◽  
John Lim
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Time Lag ◽  
Communication Styles ◽  
Conceptions Of Learning ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Learning Groups ◽  
Construction Of Knowledge ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Computer Mediated

The evolution of computer-mediated communication (CMC) technologies has brought about changes in the landscape of education. This availability of technologies corresponds with the educational paradigms that are shifting towards the collaborative constructive conceptions of learning (Anderson & Garrison, 1998). To support interaction and cooperative learning among learners, online discussion groups are increasingly being incorporated into the courses of educational institutions. Educators have deemed interaction as a vital component of collaborative learning (Sutton, 2001), and have provided an important framework comprising four types of interaction: learner-content, learner-instructor, learner-interface, and learner-learner (Hillman, Willis, & Gunawardena, 1994; Moore, 1989). Multiple studies have demonstrated interaction as a critical indicator of positive attitudes towards learning, higher achievement and increased motivation (e.g., Garrison, 1990; Fulford & Zhang, 1993). If successfully implemented, groupware technologies could support group activities by providing an environment that enables more effective and efficient group communication (Benbunan-Fich & Hiltz, 1999). Benefits associated with collaborative online learning include the availability of time lag which enables learners to reflect on their own perspectives and the opportunity to promote co-construction of knowledge among peers (Bullen, 1998). In order to facilitate effective construction of knowledge and interaction among learners using the CMC medium, it is critically important for researchers to understand what external factors would influence the interaction styles. In this regard, the current paper takes special note that the study of variations in gender discourse is an important area of research (Gunn, Mcsporran, Macleod, & French, 2003). To date, there has been a growing body of literature which examines the effects of gender on communication styles within an online learning environment. However, the results have been somewhat ambiguous and equivocal across the studies (e.g., Fahy, 2002; Savicki, Kelly, & Lingenfelter, 1996a), suggesting that the binary concept pertaining to gender may not be a useful basis for analysis of communication patterns among learners. The purpose of this article is to discuss the communication styles of gender and propose a framework which seeks to identify contextual factors that would moderate gender interaction patterns within online learning groups.

Computer Mediated Learning

2011 ◽  
pp. 73-86
Author(s):  
Alison Ruth
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Learning Environment ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Learning Theory ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Online Learning Environment ◽  
Mediated Learning ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
Communication Needs

This chapter proposes that Burke’s (1969) dramatistic analysis using the Pentad (act, scene, agent, agency, purpose) is a valuable methodological tool for investigating how learning theory offers a better understanding of mediated learning environments. It is argued that this framework provides a coherent and comprehensive consideration of learning and communication mediated by electronic means. Research into computer mediated communication needs to acknowledge the intertwining notion of the agents, acts and agency (mediation) within a specific scene, particularly in an online learning environment. Burke’s (1969) work provides a useful framework for discussing and describing a mediated environment and appears to be a valid framework within which to analyze different learning and communicative environments.

Online Learning Community

2011 ◽  
pp. 1506-1511
Author(s):  
Michelle M. Kazmer
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Learning Communities ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Shared Knowledge ◽  
Collaborative Culture ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Online Learning Community ◽  
Online Learning Communities ◽  
Computer Mediated

The study and implementation of online learning communities emerges from two approaches related to the idea of “community.” The first approach was how people began to think about learning community, but not restricted to online settings. Learning community incorporates the idea of a cohesive, collaborative culture among members with the purpose of supporting individual learning by facilitating shared knowledge creation. The idea of a learning community, and its importance for improving learning, pre-dated most online learning, and the focus was on building communitiesto support learning regardless of setting. The second approach was that people began to inquire whether it was possible to build community online, but not for purposes restricted to learning. The idea that true community was possible via computer-mediated communication (CMC) was, and still is, contentious. However, as the years have passed since this question first emerged, the idea that community can be formed online has been increasingly accepted.

scholarly journals Student Empowerment In An Online Program

2011 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Brown ◽  
Peter Kiriakidis
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
Learning Environment ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Online Learning Environment ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Online Student ◽  
Computer Mediated

Given that online higher education is a competitive marketplace, this paper discusses how to ensure online student success. Within the online learning environment, the following may create the vitality of the online institution: (a) The online learning environment; (b) The role of the instructor; (c) Learning Communities; (d) Computer-mediated Communication Technologies; and (e) Policy and practice. These factors may be managed by the institution of higher education, the faculty member, or the learner; however, a commitment is needed by all stakeholders in the program.

Choosing Online Learning Communities or Collaborative Learning

2005 ◽  
pp. 90-95
Author(s):  
Daniel Teghe ◽  
Bruce Allen Knight
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Training Methods ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Learning Contexts ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
Opportunities For Learning ◽  
E Learning ◽  
And Training

The adoption and innovative use of computer-mediated communication (CMC) technology can have positive outcomes for regional development (Ashford, 1999; Harris, 1999; Mitchell, 2003). Especially when it involves the use of online environments, CMC can lead to what Gillespie, Richardson, and Cornford (2001) refer to as the “death of distance,” and is likely to boost opportunities for growth in e-commerce, e-business, and e-learning in the regions. Although such growth depends on continuous learning and innovation (Rainnie, 2002), actual opportunities for learning and training can be affected by approaches to the provision of online learning that are unnecessarily rigid and inflexible. Online education and training methods that include strict participation requirements can have the effect of marginalizing and excluding those learners who cannot engage with inflexible and regimented learning contexts. This represents an important problem in regions, because of limited access to other learning contexts.

The sequential organization of text and speech in multimodal synchronous computer-mediated communication

2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanh thi Nguyen
Keyword(s):  
Conversation Analysis ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Time Lag ◽  
Time Lags ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Social Actions ◽  
Sequential Organization ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
Teaching Episode ◽  
Slow Speech

AbstractThis study uses conversation analysis to describe the sequential and functional relationship between text and speech turns in an English conversational lesson conducted in multimodal synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC) involving text and speech modes. Focusing on repair sequences, I examine the relative timing of turns in each mode, the interactional practices that participants employed to handle timing discrepancy, and how both modes were utilized to maintain the pedagogical and interpersonal purposes of the encounter. The analysis shows that synchronous timing between text and speech turns was rare. In time lags between text and speech turns, if the repair was a self-initiated other-repair initiated by the tutee, speech turns did not seem to orient to the time lag. In other types of repair, the tutor utilized a range of practices to accommodate for the time lags, such as extreme slow speech tempo, pivot turns, and topic pursuits. The tutor also used the silent and visual features of text to insert and project an upcoming teaching episode in the midst of unfolding topical talk. The findings suggest that multimodal SCMC is a holistic process in which the affordances of modes can be employed dynamically and integratively to achieve social actions.

Computer-Mediated Learning Groups

2005 ◽  
pp. 502-507 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles R. Graham ◽  
Melanie Misanchuk
Keyword(s):  
Instructional Strategy ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Mediated Learning ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Educational Statistics ◽  
Learning Groups ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
Face To Face Learning ◽  
American Society

Online learning has seen tremendous growth over the past decade in both the corporate and higher education sectors of society. This has been facilitated by rapid increases in the availability of computer- and network-based technologies for communication and sharing of information. The U.S. National Center for Educational Statistics (2003) recently reported that for the 2000-01 academic year, 2- and 4-year institutions offered over 127,000 different distance education (DE) courses and had over three million enrollments. Of the institutions offering DE courses, 90% reported using the Internet and asynchronous communication as an instructional delivery mode (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2003). In the corporate sector, the American Society for Training & Development reported record levels technology-mediated training (or e-learning) accompanied by slight decreases in face-to-face classroom training (Thompson, Koon, Woodwell, & Beauvais, 2002). At the same time, there has been an increased awareness among distance educators and researchers regarding the importance of human interaction in the learning process. These two trends have driven the study of computer-mediated communication (CMC) and computer support for collaborative learning (CSCL). Groupwork has long been an important instructional strategy used in face-to-face learning environments and is now being explored in computer-mediated environments. This article will define critical aspects of computer-mediated groupwork and outline benefits and challenges to using computer-mediated groups as an instructional strategy. Additional details for the research presented in this article can be found in full-length publications by the authors (Graham, 2002a, 2002b, 2003; Graham & Misanchuk, 2003).

scholarly journals A Multi-Perspective Investigation into Learners’ Interaction in Asynchronous Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC)

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Çigdem Suzan Çardak
Keyword(s):  
Interaction Analysis ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Teaching Profession ◽  
Analysis Model ◽  
Multiple Perspectives ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Construction Of Knowledge ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
Instructor Interaction ◽  
Interaction Analysis Model

<p>This article focusses on graduate level students’ interactions during asynchronous CMC activities of an online course about the teaching profession in Turkey. The instructor of the course designed and facilitated a semester-long asynchronous CMC on forum discussions, and investigated the interaction of learners in multiple perspectives: learners’ views, participation in terms of quantity, participation in terms of discussed issues and collaborative construction of new knowledge. 14 graduate students were participated in the study and 12 of them were interviewed. Meanwhile, 345 messages sent by the learners and the instructor were analyzed in order to identify discussed issues and social construction of knowledge. The results of the study showed that according to the message numbers and views of the learners, learner-instructor interaction was ahead of learner-learner interaction. Meanwhile, learner-content interaction was sustained by various discussion topics. Though learners’ views related to learner-learner, learner-instructor and learner-content interactions were positive in general, analyzing the contents of the messages didn’t reveal higher levels of co-construction of knowledge according to the Interaction Analysis Model.</p>

Emergent Networks in Computer-Supported Groups

2009 ◽  
pp. 397-412
Author(s):  
Michael Stefanone
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Social Network Analysis ◽  
Network Analysis ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Group Processes ◽  
Computer Supported Collaborative Learning ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Learning Groups ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
Over Time

This chapter focuses on whether computer-mediated communication (CMC) tools are actually working to increase the overall level of participation within learning groups, in terms of increasing diversity of relationships within the group. First, this chapter provides a broad overview of social network analysis, and a synopsis of key concepts related to the network approach. In general terms, the literature review integrates network analysis vocabulary and literature on communities of practice. Then, an accessible example of how to apply network analysis to an investigation of computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) groups over time is provided. This is relevant given the increasing popularity of social network analysis, as well as people’s growing dependence on CMC tools to learn, work and play. The results contribute to the ongoing discussion regarding the role technology is having on relationships in computer-mediated contexts, and demonstrate the application of social network techniques to the study of group processes over time.

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