This exploratory study focuses on the design and evaluation of teaching analytics that relate social learning structure with performance measures in a massive open online course (MOOC) prototype environment. Using reflexive analysis of online learning trace data and qualitative performance measures we present an exploratory empirical study that:…

The aim of this paper is to provide an analytical model for studying knowledge creation among geographically dispersed students in an online postgraduate programme by using the concept of epistemic activity. Rooted in qualitative methodologies, it takes a case study approach which strengthens the grounding of theory on social learning by using…

Peer facilitation is proposed as a solution to counter limited interaction in asynchronous online discussions. However, there is a lack of empirical research on online peer facilitation. This study identifies, through cross-case comparison of two graduate-level blended courses attended by Asian Pacific students, the actual peer facilitation…

We report on a study involving Masters-level students who blogged as a part of a distance-learning course at the Open University, UK. We present an empirically-grounded framework that can be used to guide educators when they are considering blogging as part of their courses, and can be used by students' whose courses include blogging activities.…

The purpose of this study is to explore how groups decide to use asynchronous online discussion forums in a non-mandatory setting, and, after the group decision is made, how group members use online discussion forums to complete a collaborative learning project requiring complex data gathering and research processes. While a large body of research…

This study investigates how university students on distance learning courses experience interaction with their peers. Students on two distance learning courses at The Open University (UK) were interviewed, to investigate learners' experience of interaction on these courses. The analysis, using a grounded-theory approach, reveals disparities…

This paper reports findings from a survey and interviews with children aged 11-16 years, teachers and parents on their attitudes to e-safety in relation to social networking and media creation (Web 2.0) and their practices at school and at home. The results showed that 74% of the children surveyed have used social network (SN) sites and that a…

Whereas the penetration of mobile phones in Asian countries keeps climbing, little research has explored the application of the short message service (SMS) in second language learning. This study aims to examine the effectiveness of SMS vocabulary lessons of limited lexical information on the small screens of mobile phones. Thirty high school…

This paper reports a phenomenographic investigation into students' experiences of learning through discussion--both online and face to face (F2F). The study context was a second-year undergraduate course in psychology for social work in which the teacher had designed discussion tasks to begin in F2F mode and to continue online. A combination of…