This case study examined an authentic online learning phenomenon where social conflict, including harsh critique and negative tone, weaved throughout peer-moderated online discussions in an online class. Opening coding and content analysis were performed on 1306 message units and course artifacts. The results revealed that a model of social…

This study examined the relationships among group size, participation, and learning performance factors when learning a programming language in a computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) context. An online forum was used as the CSCL environment for learning the Microsoft ASP.NET programming language. The collaborative-learning experiment…

Despite a growing number of publications on problematic Internet use (PIU), there is no consensus on the nature of the phenomenon, its constituent criteria, and its clinical threshold. This qualitative study examines the perceptions of addiction counsellors who have managed individuals with PIU in Quebec (Canada). Four focus groups were conducted…

Online discussions have been widely utilized as an educational activity, and much research has been conducted on the process and behaviors involved in asynchronous discussions. However, research on behavioral patterns in learners' synchronous discussions, including the process of social knowledge construction and project coordination is limited.…

In this study we explored questioning behaviors among elementary students engaging in inquiry science using the "Knowledge Forum", a computer-supported collaborative learning tool. Adapting the theory of systemic functional linguistics, we developed the Ideational Function of Question (IFQ) analytical framework by means of inductive analysis of…

Participation is a complex process, engaging the whole person, implying cognitive, emotional and relational aspects. In online open and distant learning, group work is a commonly used strategy, given its collaborative nature and constructivist framework ([Bates and Poole, 2003], [Garrison and Anderson, 2003] and [Jonassen, 2005]). In this context,…

This study drew on data from two different initiatives in which groups of participants were asked to work together to build knowledge. In the first initiative school students were asked to discuss ethical issues in science, using a moderated online discussion board and in the second, researchers in the field of Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL)…

A forum is a valuable tool to foster reflection in an in-depth discussion; however, it forces the course mediator to continually pay close attention in order to coordinate learners' activities. Moreover, monitoring a forum is time consuming given that it is impossible to know in advance when new messages are going to be posted. Additionally, a…

In CSCL contexts ("Computer Supported Collaborative Learning") collaborative activities with different levels of structuredeness are often used to foster discussion and exchange among students and enhance collaboration. In this field the debate around whether and to what extent it is useful to structure the activities proposed to students, is…

This study was conducted in an authentic university setting with fourth-year Educational Sciences' students operating as online peer tutors to facilitate freshman tutees' online collaboration and knowledge construction in a blended "Instructional Sciences" course. Taking into account prior research uncovering weaknesses in online peer tutor…

In the knowledge society, the appearance and development of new networked working and learning environments is increasingly common. In the "Accelera" project, which is the basis for this paper, we have developed an online community of practice which enables experiences and knowledge to be shared between various educational agents, and…

The present study focuses on a specific learner characteristic in the management of time--procrastination--, and its role in an online learning environment. More specifically, it was expected that procrastination would influence the successfulness of online learning and that this could be explained by the level of participation of learners in…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of voluntary discussion forums in a higher education setting. Specifically, we examined intrinsic forum participation and investigated its relation to course performance across two experiments. In Experiment 1 (N = 1284) an online discussion forum was implemented at the beginning of an…

This study investigated the online practices of students enrolled in graduate-level distance education courses. Using interviews and a questionnaire as data sources, the study sought to: (a) identify common practices that students adopt in asynchronous discussions, and (b) gain an understanding of why students adopt them. An analysis of the data…

The benefits of teamwork and collaboration have long been advocated by many educational theories, such as constructivist and social learning models. Among the various applications of collaborative learning, the iterative team-based learning (TBL) process proposed by Michaelsen, Fink, and Knight (2002) has been successfully used in the classroom…