In addition to learning effectively and effectively in online learning communities (OLCs), students must be in a secure environment and privacy must be respected. The study aimed to identify privacy violations that university students encounter in OLCs, and identify recommendations and some strategies to implement to ensure privacy at the OLC. A…

Providing coaching to participants in inquiry-based online discussions contributes to developing cognitive presence (CP) and higher-order thinking. However, a primary issue limiting quality and timely coaching is instructors' lack of tools to efficiently identify CP phases in massive discussion transcripts and effectively assess learners'…

Massively open online courses (MOOCs) offer learners opportunities for self-improvement and knowledge development. Linking cognitive processes and learning outcomes is helpful in supporting students learning with the help of MOOCs. Based on the cognitive presence of the Community of Inquiry framework, this study quantified the effect of cognitive…

Despite social media's ubiquity in modern life, research on some topics related to educators' use of social media for professional purposes remains underdeveloped, such as how use may change over time. This study explores educators' self-directed learning through social media by comparing change and continuity in how users contribute, interact and…

Live streaming platforms like Twitch.tv count millions of viewers and performers, pointing to novel practices and interactions. Instructional applications of this phenomenon are rising with thematic channels and shows aimed at teaching and debating a variety of subjects ranging from art to programming. However, few research publications have…

Previous research on xMOOC pedagogy has established that learner interactions in discussion forums play a fundamental role in learning. However, little is known about the extent to which MOOC instructors engage with learner conversations and the impact this has on learner engagement. Adopting a novel design, this study went beyond self-reported…

The contextual influences on technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) enactment and the method of TPACK assessment remain to be important research topics. Discourse data of 81 teachers in an online professional learning community were collected and analyzed based on the framework of TPACK. Frequency distribution and time series…

Social media use has spiked around the world during the COVID-19 global pandemic as people reach out for news, information, social connections, and support in their daily lives. Past work on professional learning networks (PLNs) has shown that teachers also use social media to find supports for their teaching and ongoing professional development.…

Adult learning is a lifelong process whereby knowledge is formed through the transformation of adults' experience. Research on online adult learning has been on the rise in recent years, thanks to the innovative opportunities provided to adults by digital technologies. Online communities of practice (OCOPs) a one of such opportunities, which offer…

Research on microblogging in education has suggested its potential to promote community building and collaborative learning, but little is known about the nature of interaction in such microblogging communities. More research is needed to understand how online learning communities can be designed in a way that supports effective learning. The…

This study investigated faculty members' perceptions of program community and what they do to support it in online graduate programs. Researchers developed and administered an online survey to ascertain perceptions of program community among education and engineering faculty members at United States, land-grant, research-extensive universities.…

The popularity and pervasiveness of online communities have led researchers and practitioners alike to closely examine the utility of online communities for supporting and facilitating professional learning. As economic constraints leave fewer resources available for professional development, educators in particular are examining the potential of…

This study explored how the GRE Analytical Writing Section Discussion Forum, an informal online language learning community in China, functioned to support its members to improve their English writing proficiency. The Community of Inquiry (CoI) model was used as the theoretical framework to explore the existence of teaching presence, cognitive…

This study investigates the phases of development of synchronous and asynchronous virtual communication produced in a community of inquiry (CoI) by analyzing the internal structure of each intervention in the forum and each chat session to determine the evolution of their social, cognitive and teaching character. It also analyzes the participating…

One of the most complicated academic endeavours in transmission pedagogies is to generate democratic participation of all students and public expression of silenced voices. While the potential of mobile phones, particularly mobile instant messaging (MIM), to trigger broadened academic participation is increasingly acknowledged in literature,…