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Saturday, February 18, 2012

My first assignment: Evaluating Online Asynchronous Discussion

Since the introduction of the Internet, all manner of organizations and institutions have sought to exploit it as a means to deliver education, training and other learning events. Online learning is fast becoming a dominate way that learners engage with course content, teachers and each other.  Fenwick and Parsons (2009) describe the phenomenon this way: “The move to online delivery is not so much away from traditional higher education but towards using new technologies” (p. 173).  One such technology is computer mediated communication within a virtual classroom, representing a shift away from the traditional bricks-and-mortar environment.  It also represents a significant shift away from the traditional means of constructing knowledge through face-to-face social interaction and discussion, mediated solely by teachers and learners.  This paper will begin to explore how social interaction occurs within the virtual classroom and more specifically, the unique issues that asynchronous discussion presents to the teacher and learner with regards to evaluation.  I will relate my experience, professionally and scholastically, with online discussion, explaining my interest in the subject and the impetus for further research.  Lastly, this paper will conclude with a research question that will serve as a signpost, guiding my upcoming literature review of evaluation of online asynchronous discussion.

The Issue

Online interaction and discussion can be synchronous, meaning it can occur all at once where learners ‘meet’ online at a specified time such as in a chat room, or it can be asynchronous, occurring over time, where learners check into an online discussion forum, posting their own comments and reading and responding to others whenever they see fit.  In the short history of computer mediated learning, asynchronous discussion forums have proven to be the method of choice for learner interaction.  The reasons for this are rooted in the benefits that it provides to the learner and the teacher.  Learners find an asynchronous approach attractive because of the flexibility that it provides; they can interact with the ‘class’ when they want and are better able to balance their participation with other commitments such as family and work.   Teachers find benefit in the evaluation of asynchronous discussion; there is a script of the discussion, in the form of threads that can be reviewed and analyzed.  Learners and teachers both find benefit in the purposeful structure that asynchronous discussion can provide to the construction of knowledge; discussion posts reflect significant thought, often bringing in further resources (e.g. videos, hyperlinks to articles, podcasts) and responses are typically coherent with and build upon themes introduced in earlier posts.

However, asynchronous discussion also presents challenges to learners and teachers.  First, it assumes a level of technical literacy and capacity.  Teachers and learners need to be able to navigate the learning management system and utilize its tools effectively and efficiently.  Second, it assumes that learners can express themselves as well via the written word as they can verbally.  Lastly, non-verbal cues such as body language and tone of voice are missing in the online classroom.  The lack of non-verbal cues combined with the purposeful and arguably clinical construction of knowledge contributes to a lack of dynamism in the asynchronous discussion.  Teachers become moderators rather than facilitators and learners become collaborators rather than peers.  This potential lack of social presence (Aragon, 2003) makes it difficult to wholly evaluate the effectiveness of asynchronous discussion in terms of learner development.  Consequently, it is difficult to wholly assess a learner’s contribution to the learning community via the asynchronous discussion forum. 

Personal Significance of the Issue

As an adult learner, I returned to post-secondary education later in life.  I began working towards a degree in adult education by attending face-to-face classes with a small cohort of classmates.  Over a period of two and a half years, I attended class once each week with this same group of learners.  Much of the learning that occurred took place in discussions that occurred both within and outside of the classrooms.  The discussions weren’t always purposeful, guided or facilitated; they were often tangential, off-topic, and quite often purely social.  When I returned to my studies some years later, I elected to pursue my remaining course requirements via online learning.  Many of my co-learners in these new classrooms were new to me but not to each other.  While they appeared faceless to me, they didn’t appear faceless to each other.  I have found the virtual classroom significantly more isolating in comparison to the face-to-face classrooms that were my experience earlier in my scholastic pursuits.  I have contributed much of this feeling to the nature of the online environment and, in particular, asynchronous discussion.  That said, I have been curious of level of cohesiveness that I have witnessed between some of my co-learners.  And, as a student of adult education, I have wondered how this cohesiveness can be fostered, developed and evaluated in the online environment. 

Professionally, I have worked in the social services for nearly two decades.  Much of the work that I have done, helping people to understand, cope with, and facilitate change, I have found akin to teaching and learning.  In my present role, I am greatly involved in ushering in some significant changes to how we provide service to those in need.  The changes are sweeping, the organization is quite large, and the supports to facilitate the learning are minimal.  As such, we are looking at new ways to deliver training and online, asynchronous discussion is a method that we are considering. 

It is from these two perspectives, as a student and as a professional, that the issue of evaluating online asynchronous discussion piqued my curiosity. And, it is from these two perspectives that I will conduct my research.

The Research Question

Nisbet (2004) argues that “although [the asynchronous discussion group] is only one type of e-encounter, it is arguably one of the most important” and “as part of a wider project examining facilitation of online discussion group interaction, the dilemma of how to measure group interaction” is significant (p. 122).  Further, Hughes, Ventura and Dando (2007) assert that “with no means of assessing the emotional state or responses from students there is a lack of means by which to develop online facilitation effectiveness” (p. 17).  So, while discussion is one of the most significant ways to construct knowledge and develop a learning community, it is difficult to evaluate the learner in both of these paradigms within the online asynchronous discussion.  Consequently, the research question that will guide my upcoming literature review is as follows:  How can we evaluate online asynchronous discussions to effectively assess the construction of knowledge and the development of a learning community? 

Conclusion

Increasingly, we are living in an asynchronous world.  Communication is text-based, presented so as to be read, considered, and responded to at some point in time in the future.  In a fast-paced world that demands flexibility and just-in-time solutions, it appears to make economic and logistic sense.  In the realm of online learning, this type of communication is championed by scholars for its effect on eliminating bias in evaluation.  But an opposing perspective sees discussion devoid of social presence, and as a consequence, evaluation that is less than whole.  Reconciling these two perspectives is the challenge facing the evaluation of online asynchronous discussion and will be the focus of my future research. 

References

Fenwick, T., & Parsons, J. (2009). The art of evaluation: A resource for educators and trainers. Toronto, ON: Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.
Aragon, S. R. (2003). Creating social presence in online environments. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, (100). 57-68.
Nisbet, D. (2004). Measuring the quantity and quality of online discussion group interaction.. Vol. 1. 122-139.
Hughes, M., Ventura, S. & Dando, M. (2007). Assessing social presence in online discussion groups: A replication study. Innovations in Education and Teaching International. Vol. 44 (1). 17-29. 

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