Comparing Social Participatory Roles and Conversational Functions in Mobile Instant Messaging and Online Discussion Forum

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Abstract

This study focused on comparing emergent social participatory roles and conversational functions in different online discussion environments. In this study, 30 undergraduate students used two designated communication tools (Lark and Blackboard forum) for online discussions. A crossover study examined student interaction, role distribution, and learning experience in the two environments. We found that students preferred the synchronous communication tool. The content analysis and social-network analysis results indicated that students who were active in discussions usually played the leader role by performing respond, give direction, and bring in sources functions. And in different environments, students' social participatory roles showed the homogenization trend. Participants with intermediate social status demonstrated a higher frequency of change.

Authors

• Chengjun Feng, East China Normal University

• Yingfen Huang, East China Normal University

• Yanyan Sun, East China Normal University