Investigating the Effects of Messaging on Students’ Asynchronous Threads

• In Event: Online Learning Environments

Abstract

While the independent contributions of synchronous and asynchronous interaction in online learning are clear, comparatively less is known about what happens when both modes are available in the same environment. In this study, we exam- ine relationships between students' use of asynchronous discussion forums and synchronous personal messages (PM). We find that the most active forum-posters are also the most active PMers, suggesting that PMing is not reducing their con- tribution to public discourse. Additionally, we find that frequent PMers are less likely to rapidly scan forum notes, and that they spend more time online than those who make less use of PM.

Authors

• Murat Oztok, University of Toronto

• Daniel Zingaro, University of Toronto

• Clare M. Brett, University of Toronto

• Jim Hewitt, OISE/University of Toronto