Online discussions have become important educational activities through which collaborative learning and knowledge construction can be facilitated. This study explores the use of two online discussion tools, online discussion board and VoiceThread, for supporting online course discussion activities among a group of graduate students and…

This study aimed to examine the behaviour of learners across a whole system and in various courses to reveal the interrelation between learners' system interaction, age, programme features and course design. We obtained data from the system logs of 1,634 learners enrolled in distance learning programmes. We performed hierarchical clustering…

Although most people acknowledge the importance of interactions in class, it is commonly seen some students still rarely actively participate in face-to-face interactions, especially those from a Confucian cultural background. Previous research focused on many factors to understand this phenomenon, yet social anxiousness has not been given enough…

Researchers and teachers often invoke context to explain their particular research/teaching issues. However, definitions of context vary widely and the direct impact of the context is often unexplained. Based on research showing contextual differences in second language (L2) learner beliefs and interactional behaviors, the current project compared…

Pointing out that language policy negotiations in classroom discourse are an understudied kind of "language-related episode", and proposing that Tim Ingold's notion of "meshwork" dissolves a boundary that typically encloses their analysis, this paper examines how a rich and indicative example of student group interaction on a…

An asynchronous online discussion (AOD) is one format of instructional methods that facilitate student-centered learning. In the wealth of AOD research, this study evaluated how students' behavior on AOD influences their academic outcomes. This case study compared the differential analytic methods including web log mining, social network analysis…

This paper describes a long term project using bespoke video case studies designed and produced as the basis (variously) for formative in-class and on-line forum activity and assessment of group coursework and via case based exam. The research sought to observe student engagement behaviours when faced with innovative teaching methods using:…

Discussions are commonly used in online teaching and have been shown to foster student learning and collaboration. This case study uses content analysis to explore the interaction patterns of student online discussions during a semester-long teacher preparation course using concepts from sociometry. Findings suggest that interaction patterns were…

The dynamics of the student-student relationship within the asynchronous online classroom, as evidenced by conversations in an online discussion board, is a balancing act potentially more complex than those occurring in real-time. In order for learning to truly be considered effective, a collaborative, safe environment needs to exist among…

This study aimed to investigate the perceptions, interactions and behaviours of different-ability college students when they worked on different types of assessments. Two classes of 145 Vietnamese college students participated in this three-month study. The students were assigned to mixed-ability groups, each of which consisted of five students.…

This study examined how cultural background (collectivism vs. individualism) affects motor skill learning in a dyadic cooperative learning environment. The research context of this study was Nintendo™ Wii Tennis. Twenty college students from a Midwestern university participated in the study, among whom half were from an individualistic culture…

A risk associated with the use of games in training and education is that players "game the game," instead of focusing on their learning goals. The term "gamer mode" is proposed to describe this attitude. A player with a gamer-mode attitude strives to achieve goals that are optimal for winning the game, but suboptimal with…