What Makes Online Learning Sociable?: Examining Discussion Group Size And Supplementary Facebook Groups

• In Event: DDL - Community & Social Presence

Short Description

We discuss results from two empirical studies on factors impacting the sociability in asynchronous online graduate courses: discussion group size and social media groups. Sociability is an environmental attribute: it is the extent to which it facilitates social interaction. Results showed that student perceptions of sociability can be enhanced when they are placed in small, permanent discussion groups and when they participate in supplementary Facebook groups. We discuss implications on design decisions for online learning.

Authors

• Eunbae Lee, Georgia Southern University

• Mete Akcaoglu, Georgia Southern University