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In this paper, the main purpose is to explore how participants establish and maintain common ground by their responses in order to reach web-based interaction of a deeper level. Previous studies suggest that before the participants can reach deeper level interaction and learning, they have to gain an adequate level of common ground (Dillenbourg, 1999; Baker et al., 1999; Veerman, 2000). Subjects were 68 pre-service teachers and 7 mentors from three universities who participated to the web-based conferencing course for eight weeks. The written discussion data were analyzed by means of combination of quantitative and qualitative methods. The results suggest that in deeper level discussions it is essential that participants, especially fellow students, not only show evidence of their understandings through written feedback, but also provide support to their peers in their replies.

In this paper we discuss the use of the I-Help peer help environment in a range of computer science courses at the University of Saskatchewan in the Fall of 2000. In particular we focus on the I-Help public discussion forums, an asynchronous help environment that stimulates students to help each other. A variety of evidence regarding the use of these forums was collected and analysed. Results suggest that I-Help is a useful resource for all kinds of user: those asking questions, those offering help and those reading postings.

To appear in T. T. Kidd (Ed.), Online education and adult learning: New frontiers for teaching practices.

This study, using content analysis technique, examined the types of job-related problems that the Turkish computer teachers experienced and the types of social support provided by reciprocal discussions in an online forum. Results indicated that role conflict, inadequate teacher induction policies, lack of required technological infrastructure and technical support, and the status of computer subject in school curriculum were the most frequently mentioned problems. In addition, 87.9 % of the messages were identified as providing emotional support, while 3.1 % messages were identified as providing instrumental support. It is concluded that content analysis technique provides an invaluable tool to understand the nature of communication and social interaction patterns among users in online environments. CMC in education should not only be considered to be a tool for content delivery and instructional interaction, but also a feedback mechanism and a platform for professional support, as well as an informal learning environment.

This chapter attempts to address the need for more research on virtual team effectiveness and outlines an ecological theoretical framework that is applicable to virtual learning environments (VLE). Prior empirical studies on virtual team effectiveness used frameworks of traditional team effectiveness and mainly followed Hackman's normative model (input-process-output). We propose an ecological approach for virtual team effectiveness that accounts for team boundaries management, technology use, and external environment in VLE, properties which were previously either non-existent or contextual. The ecological framework suggests that three components, external environment, internal environment, and boundary management, reciprocally interact with effectiveness. The significance of the proposed framework is a holistic perspective that takes into account the complexity of the external and internal environment of the team. Furthermore, we address the needs for new pedagogical approaches in VLE.

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In 1996, the Singapore Ministry of Education (MOE) launched three initiatives i.e. National

This case study investigated patterns of interaction and participation in a large online course. 88 Korean undergraduates participated in online fora during 2 weeks. It was found that there was a comparatively high portion of metacognitive interaction and higher phase of knowledge construction. However, it was found that students posted required number of messages at once around due date and selectively responded to peers’ initiations without turn-taking. There were few responses despite many readings of peers ’ postings to meet the required number and type of posting. The results showed that the discussion question and evaluation criteria influenced patterns of interaction and participation, and the phase of knowledge construction. Online instructional strategies were suggested for successful online discussion, especially to achieve sustainable discussion.

Instructional activities based on online discussion strategies have gained prevalence in recent years. Within this context, a crucial research topic is to design innovative and appropriate online discussion strategies that assist learners in attaining a deeper level of interaction and higher cognitive skills. By analyzing the process of online discussion in depth using a specific instructional strategy, we may discover the characteristics and limitations of this strategy. This case study utilizes an online discussion activity adopting a role-playing strategy in a college course and conducts an empirical analysis to explore and evaluate both the content structure and behavioral patterns in the discussion process. We propose and adopt a new method of multi-dimensional process analysis that integrates both content and sequential analysis, whereby the dimension of interaction and cognition are analyzed simultaneously. Furthermore, we discuss the patterns, characteristics, and limitations of the roleplaying discussions and provide suggestions as references for teachers who utilize online role-playing discussion activities.