پتانسیل های ارتباطی همزمان به منظور افزایش مشارکت در بحث آنلاین: یک مطالعه موردی از دو دوره آموزش الکترونیکی

Computer-mediated communication (CMC) has been adopted in most e-learning settings. However, few research studies have considered the effect of different CMC. This study examined how and why synchronous communication affected participation in online discussions. Two online classes that participated in two asynchronous and two synchronous online discussions were examined. Actual and perceived measures of participation indicated that synchronous communication induced personal participation, which could be regarded as a complement to cognitive participation. Personal participation involves more intense interaction better supported by synchronous communication while cognitive participation is a more reflective type of participation supported by asynchronous communication. In synchronous discussions, the e-learners felt that they worked together and were not restricted to only discuss course content. This was likely to induce arousal and motivation and increased convergence on meaning, especially in small groups.

E-learning and life-long learning are considered to be important factors in the emerging knowledge society. Scholars have tried to identify the factors that underlie successful implementation of e-learning [4] and [19]. It seems now that it is time to analyze the effect of using different e-learning technologies. Before the widespread use of computer-mediated communication (CMC), Keegan [16] argued that a key element of distance education was that learners should be taught as individuals rather than in groups, but CMC has changed this; some argue that CMC has transformed the learning environment from teacher- to learner-centered; learning with others have been enabled [9]. It has been empirically shown that the success of e-learning courses depend on providing collaborative learning activities [8]. CMC may be asynchronous or synchronous, depending on whether the communication occurs in real-time or not. The dominance of work on asynchronous communication can, at least, partly be explained by their “anytime, anywhere” feature. It is generally considered “deeper” than synchronous discussions. A question arises, however: how can synchronous communication be integrated into asynchronous e-learning? This study examined how and why synchronous communication as a complement to asynchronous communication affected participation in online discussion. In it, the variable of choice was participation, which was assumed to affect learning outcomes and was expected positively to influence retention rates, satisfaction and a sense of community.

This study has shown that synchronous communication, as a complement to asynchronous communication, can positively affect participation in online discussion. This was confirmed by measures on actual as well as perceived participation. Synchronous discussions had higher sentence counts, more dense perceived social networks, and stronger perceived participation. The discussions were more focused on task and social support when compared to asynchronous discussion. The difference in levels of participation were especially true in the smaller class case. However, since conclusions were drawn from two cases of an explorative character, they need to be interpreted cautiously. In synchronous discussions, the e-learners felt that they worked together, because they were confident that someone would respond to their ideas, and they did not feel restricted to discussing only course content. These seem to enable personal participation, which is a complement to cognitive participation. Synchronous communication may be used to better support personal participation, inducing arousal and motivation, and increased convergence on meaning, especially in smaller groups. The following summarizes the lessons that can be learnt from this study: “I think that [chat] was needed, because when you post something [in the discussion forum] you do not feel that other people are there … You don’t feel like you’re talking to someone. [In the chat] you feel that you are talking directly with people and … they are hearing you and answering you. I like that.” (Male #2).