How Private Communication Affects Students' Online Learning

• In Event: Learning About Learner Interaction in Online Courses

Abstract

This micro analytical mixed-methods study is a portion of a large-scale design-based research project, which examines how students communicate and interact in online learning environment. In particular, a quasi-experimental learning environment was designed to quantitatively compare public and private notes’ feature differences from three dimensions. Students’ learning activities and outcomes in different online course clusters with varied communication channel settings were also compared. These results suggest that although private notes embodied less sophistication, yet by providing private communication provokes students’ natural online interactive communication and increases their learning participation. This eventually leads to higher degree of learning autonomy with enhanced self-initiated knowledge building process and educational equality. Future online learning environmental design and pedagogical improvement are suggested.

Author

• Lingzi (Lindsey) Wang, University of Toronto