Research Article ReviewBy Martina Henke

EDAE 637 : The Design of E-LearningUniversity of Alaska

Dr. Andrew Page

Student Engagement in Distance Learning Environments:

A Comparison of Threaded Discussion Forums and Text–focused

Wikisby Fei Gao and David Wong

First Monday [Online], Volume 13 Number 1 (13 January 2008)

Purpose:

The purpose of this study was to improve the quality of students’ online discussion of assigned readings in an online course.

Online Discussions...

deepen student understanding of course material and to support student interactions

Online Discussions...

can reduce the psychological and communications distance among the learners

Online Discussions...

can facilitate more collaborative learning when students post questions, share ideas, and jointly construct meaning

Online Discussions...

are threaded, recorded, and available outside normal time constraints, thus have great potential to support higher-order thinking and in-depth learning

...however...

often lack focus and depthleave important issues unexplored

The Study:

Researchers compared traditional threaded discussions with a text-focused wiki

The Study:

Participants: 20 master’s level students in an online educational psychology course.

The Study:

Methodology:Students first responded in threaded discussion format. In week 5 of class, a different format was introduced.

Assigned Text Student Responses

Text-focused wiki

Data Collection:

Questionnaire:(a) “How did the text–focused Wiki and the threaded forum impact your participation similarly or differently?”

(b) “How did the text–focused Wiki and the threaded impact your discussion similarly or differently?”

(c) “What were other good and bad experiences when participating in each of the activities?

Results:

Four Discussion Areas Influenced:• focus

• depth

• flow

• willingness to participate

Focus:

Depth:

Flow of Discussion:

Willingness to Participate:

• 16 of 20 more enthusiastic about the text-focused wiki

• Greater average # of posts and # of words posted

• Spontaneous re-reading of the text

Some Constraints:

• Less chance to discuss personal stories & real-life situations

• Good for focusing, not as strong at developing a broad view

Implications for Future Research

• What types of discussion the text-focused wiki does and does not support

• How best to combine these types of discussion with other forms

• How instructor scaffolding and facilitation can be combined with these discussions.

My Thoughts:

This method fits with current research on effective comprehension teaching strategiesA creative method for overcoming the difficulties presented by threaded discussion forums.

Sources:

Gao, Fei, AND Wong, David. "Student engagement in distance learning environments: A comparison of threaded discussion forums and text-focused Wikis" First Monday [Online], Volume 13 Number 1 (13 January 2008)