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1PromotingstudentautonomyandlifelonglearningskillsthroughWebCTdiscussiontool:AcaseofUniversityofBotswanaCommunicationandStudySkillsunitBeautyNterekeSchoolofMediaandCommunicationUniversityofBotswanaE-mail:beauty.
ntereke@mopipi.
ub.
bwTel:(267)3555140AbstractWiththeemergenceofdigitalliteracies,webbasedpedagogyhasgainedprominenceinthe21stcenturyinUniversitiestheworldover.
Severalresearchstudiesononlineteachingconfirmthatitincreasescollaboration,interactivityandactivelearningofthelearners.
Thispapersharesfirstyearstudents'experiencesofusingWebCTdiscussiontooltopromoteselfdirectedandactivelearning.
Findingsshowthatstudentsnoticedthatthediscussiontoolwasengaging,motivatingandhelpedthemdevelopactivelearningskills.
TheconclusiondrawnisthattheWebCTdiscussionforumisausefultoolthatcanactivelyengageallstudentsinlearningthereforecouldbeusedtohelpdevelopstudents'autonomyandlifelonglearningskills(LLL).
ForCSSUtorealizeitsmandateitisrecommendedthatmorelecturersintheCSSunitengagelearnersintheuseofWebCTcommunicationtoolsespeciallythediscussionforuminordertoassiststudentsdevelopamongothercommunicationskills;autonomy,collaborationandlifelonglearning.
KEYWORDS:Students'autonomy,WebCTdiscussionforum,Communicationskills,Selfdirectedlearning,Activelearning,interactivity,CollaborationIntroductionandbackgroundItisnolongersufficienttodefineliteracyastheabilitytoreadandwritetextinthis21stcentury.
Theconceptofliteracynowencompassesdigitalliteracyanddevelopmentofskillstousethemeffectivelytomeetthechallengesof21stcenturycommunicationandlearningskills.
Advancesintechnologyandthelearningdemandsoftheinformationagearechangingthenatureoflearning.
Thefastpaceofprogresswithwhichtechnologyisdevelopinginthe21stcenturyrequireslearnerstoacquirelearningliteracy,thatis,theabilitytolearntoteachthemselves.
(Stevens,2007;Prensky,2005;Morss,1999).
UBphilosophyoflearningandteachingisbasedontheprincipleofintentionallearning,emphasisingpedagogicalstrategiesthatencourageactivelearningandthedevelopmentofself-directedindependentlearnerswhohavelearnedhowtolearn(UniversityofBotswanaTeachingandLearningPolicy,2008).
TheCommunicationandStudySkillsUnit(CSSU)attheUBismandatedwithequippingfirstyearandpostyearone2studentswithacademicandprofessionalcommunicationneeds.
TheLearningandTeachingphilosophyfortheUnitisbasedontheprincipleofself-directedandactivelearningandpromotescritical,creative,analyticalandproblem-solvingskillsforlife-longlearning(CSSULearningandTeachingPhilosophy).
Thefocusofthepolicyisonskillsdevelopmentwhichisinfluencedbyatransitionfromaresource-extractiveeconomytoaknowledge-basedone.
ThecourseTheUniversityofBotswana(UB),initsquesttobelearner-centeredanddevelopself-directedlearnerswhopossesscriticalthinkingskillsthatwillnurtureacultureoflifelonglearning(UBLearningandTeachingPolicy,2008),introducedGeneralEducationCourses(GEC's)in2000/2001toaddresscross-cuttingissuesasperemployersexpectations.
TheCSSUofferstwo100levelcourses,CommunicationandStudySkills1(GEC111)andCommunicationandStudySkills2(GEC112),whicharecorecoursesforallUBundergraduates.
ThegeneralaimofGEC111is"toequipparticipantswithessentialcommunicationandstudyskillsthatwillenablethemtobecomeindependentandselfdirectedlearners,andalsoultimatelyfunctioneffectivelyinorganisationalandsocialenvironments"(CSSUstudenthandbook2007-2008:pg.
8).
GEC112aimstodevelopcommunicationskillsthatfocusontheiruseforspecificpurposesandimmersestudentsintheirvariouscommunicativesituationstoaddressneedsandskillsrelevanttotheirvariousspecialisms.
Studentscontacthoursaretwo(2)one(1)hoursessionsperweekwhichInstructorsfindverylimitedforaskillbasedcourse.
Instructorsintheunitusuallyfeelrushedinclassastheyattempttocoverallthenecessaytopics.
Thisleavesverylittletimeforlearnerstopracticeanddevelopskillstheyaretaught.
Themajorityoffirstyearstudentsarefromatraditionalclassroompedagogybackgroundwheretheyareusedtoanactiveandpresentteacher;teacher-directedactivitiesanddiscussionsandapassiveormerelyresponsiveroleforstudents.
Therefore,theycannotbeconsideredtobeindependentlearnerscapableofmanagingtheirownlearning.
CSSUinstructorsarechallengedtomeetthegeneralaimofGEC111andtousepedagogicalstrategiesthatencouragetheindependentandself-directedformat.
Lecturersneedtohelpstudentstodevelopskillsofbeingindependentandlifelonglearners.
This,therefore,callsforCSSUinstructorstoadoptinnovativepedagogicalstrategiesthatwillpromotelearnerautonomyandempowerourlearnerstobeactiveandlifelonglearners.
Web-basedcommunicationtoolshavebeencloselylinkedwithaidingthedevelopmentoflearnerautonomy.
Severalonlineresearchers(SinghandEmbi,2007;Jonassen,1999;Swan,2001;Yumuk,2002)arguethatthetwomodes(synchronousandasynchronous)ofWebCTdiscussionhelpenhanceandsupportthedevelopmentofautonomouslifelonglearnersbecauseitpromotesthoughtfulevaluations,analysisandpersonalreflections.
Theasynchronousmodegiveslearnersmoretimetoreflectontheirownideas,whichhelpdevelopcriticalthinkingandlearnerautonomy(Little1991;PresteraandMoller2001).
Otheronlineresearchers(SinghandEmbi,2007;WoodsandBaker,2004)observethatWebCTinteractivityassistsinengagingstudentsinactivelearningandencouragesagreatersenseofaccountabilityamongstudents.
Thisincreasesthepossibilityofproducingpotentiallyautonomousandlifelonglearners.
Purposeofthestudy3ThepurposeofthisstudywastoinvestigatetheextenttowhichtheDiscussionforumaidsstudentstoachievelearnerautonomyandlifelonglearningskills.
Thepaperaimstoshowthatcomputerbasedtools,morespecificallytheuseofWebCTDiscussionforuminblendedlearningcontext,canbeusedtoassiststudentsbeactive,independentandlifelonglearners.
Theresearcherpresentsstudents'andherexperiencesfromteachingayearonecommunicationandstudyskillscourseofferedtoBusinessstudentsinsemesteroneandtwoofacademicyear2008-2009atUB.
LiteraturereviewOnlinelearningisbecomingpopularinmosteducationalinstitutionstheworldoverbecauseofitsdedicationtowardspromotingindependentandselfdirectedlearners(SinghandEmbi2007).
Learnerautonomyhastakencentrestageastheresponsibilityoflearninghasshiftedfromtheteachertothelearner.
Holec's(1981)definitionofautonomyputsalltheresponsibilityanddecisionsconcerningallaspectsoflearningonthestudent.
WithintheconstraintsofconventionaleducationsystemofBotswana,Holec'sdefinitionisnotrealisticsinceitappearstomeanthehandingoverofcontrolandresponsibilityforalldecisionsconcerningallaspectsoflearning.
Dam(2000)andLittle(1991)lookatautonomouslearningasgivingthelearnerresponsibilitytobeintentionallyandactivelyinvolvedinhisorherownlearning,butthelearningenvironmentiscreatedbytheteacher.
ThisdefinitionaccomodatestheconventionaleducationsystemsuchasthatinBotswanasinceitdoesnotexcludetheteacher'sinputorremovehis/herresponsibilityfromthelearningprocess.
Thestudentisgivenmoreresponsibilityforhis/herownlearningwiththeteacherfacilitatingandguidingthestudent(ChickeringandEhrmann1996).
Encouragingautonomydoesnotmeangivinglearnerstotalcontrolandresponsibility,butratherprovidingopportunitiesonacontinuumtowardsincreasingindependenceforlifelonglearning.
Learningcanbeviewedasalifelongjourneywhichgivesmeaningtoourlivesandkeepsusgrowingmentally,physically,andemotionally.
Itisviewedasacriticalelementforsuccessfulparticipationinthecontemporaryagecompetitiveworkenvironment(Edwardsetal.
1998).
TheEuropeanReportonqualityIndicatorsofLifelongLearning(LLL)(2002)seesLLLas"encompassingallpurposefullearningactivitywhetherformalorinformalundertakenonanongoingbasiswiththeaimofimprovingknowledge,skillsandcompetencies".
Itisnecessaryforlearnerstobeequipedwithskillsthatwillenablethemtoconstantlyupdatetheirskillsbecauseadvancesintechnologyandthelearningdemandsoftheinformationagearechangingthenatureoflearning.
Thenewmillenniunismarkedwithanever-increasingneedtolearnnewskillsanddevelopnewinsightsandunderstandings.
Inthisagechangeisconstant,knowledgeandskillschangefromdaytoday,thereforetheteacher'srolecannotsimplybetofillstudentswithinformationbuttoteachstudentshowtolearn,unlearnandrelearn(Toffler,1980;Gachago,2005;Klopfenstein,2003).
Byteachingstudentstoreflectonhowtheylearnandbydevelopingtheirskillstopursuetheirlearninggoals,studentswillbeempoweredtochangefrompassiverecipientsofinformationtoactivemanagersoftheirlearningandbecomeeducatedpeoplewhoareabletoadapttotherapidlychangingworld(Grow,1996).
Theteacher'srole,asfacilitator,istoempowerlearnersbypromotingstudentinvolvementinlearning,helpinglearnerstodevelopskillsthatsupportlearningthroughoutlife,andhelpinglearnerstoassumepersonalresponsibilityforlearning.
Severalresearchers(Prensky,2005;SinghandEmbi,2007)have4arguedthatonlinelearningenvironmentshaveamajorroleinprovidinglifelonglearningopportunities.
TheoreticalframworkActiveandselfdirectedlearningisunderpinnedbytheconstructivisttheory(Jonassen,2008;Vygostsky,1978),whichviewslearningasbeinganactiveandnotanabsorptiveprocess.
Constructivismthoughatheoryoflearningcaninformpedagogyandinstructiononlearningonlinebecauseofitsfocusondesigninglearningenvironmentsthatarelearnerandknowledge-centered(Swam,2005).
Learnercenteredenvironmentshavebeenseentosupportandpromoteautonomy,activeandlifelonglearning(GonzalezandLouis,2007)otherresearchershavestatedthatnurturinglearningenvironmentsprovideopportunitiesforstudentstoengageininteractiveandcollaborativeactivitieswiththeirpeers.
Suchenvironmentshavebeenshowntocontributetobetterlearningoutcomes,includingdevelopmentofhigherorderthinkingskills(PaloffandPratt,2001).
Theroleoftheteacherintheconstructivistenvironmentistofacilitate,sothatthestudenttakesthecentrestagetoallowthemtotakecontroloftheirownlearning.
Theuseofonlinediscussionforumhasbecomeknownasacommunicationtoolandaneffectivewayofengagingstudentsoutsidetheclassroom.
OnlineDiscussionForumisane-learningplatformthatallowsstudentstopostmessagestothediscussionthreads,interactandreceivefeedbackfromotherstudentsandinstructor,andfosterdeeperunderstandingtowardsthesubjectunderstudy.
Asynchronousdiscussionforumscanbeusedfordiscussionofassingmentsandotherassessableworkasacollaborativetoolforprojectgroups.
Severalonlineresearchersbelievethattechnologyineducationshouldengageconstructivistconceptionsoflearning(Jonassen,1992;StrommenandLincoln,1992)tohelpteachersempowerstudentstowardgreaterautonomy.
MethodologyThestudyfallsunderactionresearch(Bell,2005).
Themethodsusedfordatacollectionwerestudents'questionnairesandWebCTstudentpostings.
Thedatawasanalysedusingadescriptivemethod.
Theinstrumentmainlylookedatrespondentslearnerautonomyabilitiesintermsofbeing;1.
abletoevaluatesourcesandtheirtasks,2.
criticalthinking3.
makingdecisions4.
Checking,verifyingandcorrectingthemselvesduringtheirlearningtask.
Thestudy(a).
ThecontextIn2001,theUBeLearningprogrammewaslaunchedtospearheadtheintroductionofICTstosupportitsvisionofdevelopingastudent-centred,intellectuallystimulatingandtechnologicallyadvancedteaching,learningandresearchenvironment(UniversityofBotswana,2006).
ThefocusoneLearningatUBisonablendedlearningapproach,inwhichvariousmodes,methodsandmedia(traditionalandinnovative)areintegratedandorganisedforappropriatelearning.
TheUBInformationTchnology(IT)departmentoffersacompulsaryGEC212IntroductiontoComputingcoursetoallyearoneundergraduates'students.
TheEducationalTechnologyUnitin5theCentreforAcademicDevelopmentisresponsiblefore-learningintheUniversityandorientatesstudentsandinstructorstotheonlineenvironmentbeforetheycanengageonelearning.
Asopposedtopureonlinelearning,inablendedlearningscenariostudentsstillmeetinfacetofaceclasses,buthaveaccesstoonlinelearningmaterials.
TheUniversityofBotswanahasatraditionallearningenvironment.
SomelecturersinCSSUrecognisethepotentialofeLearningtosupportmorelearner-centredapproachestoteachingandlearningwhichpromotethedevelopmentofLLLskills.
Theresearcherisoneofthelecturerswhohaveembracedelearning.
Themajorityofyearonestudentsareyoung,freshfromhighschoolandfull-timestudents.
TheTaskGroupprojects,whichconstitute30%ofthecourseassessmentineachsemester,areusedbyinstructorsinCSSUinabidtodevelopanarrayofcommunicationskills,suchascollaboration,co-operation,interpersonalandconflictresolution,whicharecriticaltosuccessintheacademyandtheworkplace.
TheresearcherintroducedstudentstoWebCTcommunicationtools,specificallytheDiscussionforum,inthefirstsemesterAugust–November2008.
Participantsforthisstudywere49firstyearstudents.
Ninegroupswithsixmemberspergroupontheaveragefromonebusinessclasswereengagedinasynchronousdiscussions.
Thestudentsweregivenanopportunitytoselectgroupmemberstheywantedtoworkwithusingsign-upsheetsundertheWebCTgroupmanagertool.
Thegroupsweregivenanoptiontochoosearesearchprojecttopicthattheyhadtoworkonforsixweeksfromarangeoftopicsprovidedbytheresearcher,orcomeupwiththeirowntopicwhichwasrelevanttoacommunicationproblem.
Someofthetopicsgivenwere;1.
IdentifyanycommunicationproblemsattheuniversityofBotswanabetweena)studentsb)studentsandlecturers,c)studentsandadministration(supportstaff)andsuggestwaysonhowtoimprovethem.
2.
Analysethestudy/academicenvironmentattheUniversityofBotswana.
3.
Findouttheroleofcommunicationbetweenlecturersandstudents.
4.
Criticallyevaluatestudent'sdealingsandinteractionwiththeUniversityofBotswanaadministration.
5.
CriticallyanalysechannelsandmodesofcommunicationattheUniversityofBotswanaorFacultyofBusinessandmakesuggestionsInthesecondsemesterlikeinthefirstsemesterstudentsweretochooseanorganisationalproblemandworkonitasagroup.
Topicssuggestedwere;EffectsofglobalrecessioninBotswanaGlobalfinancialcrisesManufacturingSolutionsThepowerofbranding.
6DigitalinclusioninbusinessInvestmentopportunitiesinBotswanaWorldclasscustomercarestrategiesDiversificationoftheeconomyNewinitiativesforBotswanaTourismSectorPrivatizationinBotswanaPricecontrolManagementinorganisationsThestudentswereexpectedtosearchforinformation,evaluateitandsharewithgroupmembers.
Theyneededtodiscussandagreeonideas,sogroupmembers'participationwasessentialforthesuccessoftheteam.
Thediscussionforumwasdesignedtoencouragestudentstocometoaconsensusonanagreedtopicandcontentofthefinalproject,initiatediscussionsandanswereachother'squestions,withguidanceandencouragementfromtheinstructorwhereappropriate.
AssessmentStudents'valuewhatisassessedandcollaborativelearningismoresuccessfulwhenitisvalued(Swan,ShenandHiltz,2006).
Toencouragecollaborationandparticipationassessmentwasused.
Thiswasdoneinlinewithanearlierstudyby(Swan,ShenandHiltz,2006;Gilbert&Dabbagh,2005)whosuggestedthatassessmentpositivelyinfluencesparticipation.
Astrategyusedtomotivatethestudentsandtoensureparticipationinthegroupdiscussionswastoexplaintheassesmentprocedurebeforetheyengagedinthediscussions.
ThiswasalsopostedonWebCTsothatstudentscouldalwaysrefertoit.
Theinstrumentawarded5%tothegroupifallitsmembersactivelyparticipatedinthediscussion.
Afull5%wasawardedifallgroupmembersactivelyparticipatedinthediscussionbytimely(within24hrsofposting),respondingtoeachpostinginameaningfulway.
Thiswasdonebyevaluatingthequantity(minimumofsixpostingsperweek)andqualityofpostingsbyeachmemberinagroupthroughoutthesixweeks.
Thequalitywasidentifiedbyclearstatementsofposition,identificationofpointsofagreementanddisagreementwithotherstudents'postings,logicalargumentsandthegroup'sabilitytoorganisetheirideasintoapresentationtothewholeclass.
Inthesecondsemesterindividualparticipationforquantityandqualitywasawarded5marks.
Thiswasmeanttoensureindividualaccountabilityandgroupinterdependenceandalsotocheckwhethergivingmarksforindividualpostingswouldmakethemmoreeagertoparticipate.
Theassessmentwasbasedontimelypostingthatallowedadequategroupdiscussion,postingsthatshowedcriticalthinkingonthetopicofdiscussionanddirectingteammemberstosuitablesourcesandpostingsgivingfeedbacktoothergroupmembers.
Theresearcherplayedtheroleofthefacilitatorandonlycameintoencouragethosewhowerenotactivelyparticipatingafterviewingtheperformancereportoptionforeachstudent.
Theresearchermonitoredgroupprogressbyviewingpostingsofallgroupmembersandencouragedthosewhohadnotyetrespondedtodosothroughthesendmailoption.
FindingsThequestionnairewasadministeredtoatotalof49respondents.
71.
abilitytoevaluatesourcesInaccessingtheirabilitytolocatesuitablematerials,evaluatethemforsuitabilityandrelevancefortheirtopicrespondentsshowedamoderatelypositiveresponseof62%.
2.
CriticalThinkingEncouragingstudents'tothinkcriticallyisamajorconcerninonlinediscussion(Stein,etal.
,2007).
AccordingtoLang(2000),criticalthinkinggoesbeyondsimpleexchangeofinformation.
Itisacommunicationprocessthatproducesagraduallymoresound,well-grounded,andvalidunderstandingofatopicofissue,involvesparticipantsdevelopingandexaminingtheirideasasfullyaspossible,presentingthemclearlyandcrediblytoothers,andexaminingandchallengingtheideasofothers.
Thisdefinitionwasconsideredwhenevaluatingtheaspectofcriticalthinking.
Theresultsshowedthat45repondents(92%)indicatedthatthetoolhadaccordedthemtheopportunitytothinkdeeplyonotherstudentsandtheirownresponses.
Ontheabilitytoreflectonownlearningandotherstudentsresponsestherespondentsindicatedapositive70%agreement.
3.
Planning,makingdecisionsandorganisingabilitiesOntheirabilitytomakedecisionstheresultsindicatedamoderatepositive51%responseamongtherespondents.
Intermsofplanningandorganisingabilitiestheresultsindicatedamoderatelypositive(53%)responseamongrespondents.
4.
ActiveengagementFromatotalof49respondents38(77.
5%)indicatedthattheystronglyagreedthatthediscussionforumhadhelpedthemactivelyengageinthediscussions.
Theoverallresultswerepositiveforthedevelopmentofabilitiesincriticalthinking,activeengagmentandreflectionwhilstmoderateonplanning,organising,makingdecisions,locatingandevaluatinglearningmaterials.
AnalysisoffindingsInthisstudy,initialparticipationontheDiscussionforuminthefirstsemesterwaspoor.
Studentsseemedtolackmotivationtoparticipate.
Thefewalreadymotivatedstudentsweredominatingthediscussions.
Forexampleinonegroupofsixstudentsonlytwostudentswereactivelyengagedwiththethirdnotputtingmuchefforttolookforinformationbeforeaskingforhelpfromtheothermembersorjustagreeingwithateammemberwithoutaddingmorevaluetothediscussionasindicatedbytheexamplesbelowexample.
MessageSubject:grouphTopic:IntegratedSkillsProject8Author:Letlhare*(pseudonym)Date:15September200811:28AMguysitsgivingmeahardtimeontheproblemofpersonality,maybucangivmeaclue.
MessageSubject:grouphTopic:IntegratedSkillsProjectAuthor:Letlhare*(pseudonym)Date:15September200814:28PMOkIagreewithNora*(pseudonym)Theotherstudentsstartedcontributingafteralotofencouragementbytheinstructor,confirmingsomeearlierresearch(MazzoliniandMaddison,2003;PaloffandPratt,1999)thatinstructorsneedtoplayanactivenoticeablepartas"cheerleaders"tryingtomotivatedeeperlearning.
Toobtainmeaningfulcontributionsfromtheseunwillingstudents,constantguidancefromtheinstructorwasnecessary.
Nottoomuchparticipationwasrequiredsincethiscouldreducestudenttostudentinteraction,creatingneedlessdependenceontheinstructor(PaloffandPratt,2001).
Initially,theircommentsdidnotreflectcriticalreflection,nordidtheysharewiththeirpeerstheirsourcesasindicatedbyexamplesabove.
Gradually,withconstantencouragmentfromtheinstructor,theparticipationandqualityofthediscussionsimprovedsignificantly.
Inthesecondsemesterstudentsdidnotneedconstantencouragementtoparticipateandthequalityoftheircontributionsgreatlyimproved.
Theinitialreluctancetoparticipatemighthavebeenduetounfamiliaritywiththetoolorthefeelingofsomestudentsthatitincreasedtheirworkload,asindicatedinthecommentbelowIwassentbyoneofmystudents.
Subject:RE:webctSent:19October200812:26PMFrom:,T()Sejo*(pseudonym)To:Ntereke,B()(nterekeb)CC:webctisprovingtobeonegoodmediumofcommunicationbetweenusasstudentsandourlecturersbutwiththestudytimetablesthatsomeofushaveasstudentsitsnotofteneasytofindyourselfvisitingwebcttimeandagain.
toaddon,thecomputersarefewsoitsoftenafirstcomefisrtservething,youcomelate.
.
.
youaregoingtofindacomputeraftersomerealhustle.
9Fromtheresultsitisevidentthatthediscussionforumdoeshelppromotelearners'willingnesstoparticipateactivelyintheirownlearningprocess.
Ihadstartedthemoffontheroadtoattainindependence–decidingonatopic–research-evaluateinformation–sharewithgroupmembersanddecideonrelevantinformation.
Assessingindividualparticipationactedasamotivatingfactorinthesecondsemester.
Studentsdidnotneedtobeencouragedtoparticipateandtheircontributionswerenowmoremeaningfulandshowedsomecriticalthinking.
Thissupports(Swan,Shen,andHiltz2006)viewthatstudentsvaluewhatisassessed,asearlierstated.
Themoderatelypositiveresponseonplanning,organisingandreflectivethinkingindicatesthatourstudentslacktheseabilitiesandthereforeneedtobeassistedtodeveloptheseskills.
InthefirstsemestersomestudentscomplainedthattheycouldnotfindtimetologontotheWebCTdiscussionforumbecauseofworkloadandinadequateresources.
Thisshowedalackofplanninganddecision-makingskills.
Theyneededtoplantheirdailyactivitiesanddecideonatimewhentheycouldaccessresourceswithoutmuchcompetition.
Theassessmentofindividualparticipationforcedthestudentstobemorethoughtfulinplanningandorganising.
Nowthatitwasnotjustagroupmarkindividualsrtudentsparticipatedmoreandtriedtomakemeaningfulcontributions.
ConcludingobservationSinceIintroducedWebCTdiscussionforuminmyclassesinSeptember2008,Isawasteadyincreaseinmystudents'willingnesstoparticipateactivelyintheirownlearningprocess.
Iobservedthatstudents'participationinWebCTDiscussionforumprovidesthemwithopportunitiesforresponsibilityandlifelonglearning.
Theforumhelpsdevelopactivelearningskillssinceindividualstudentshavetosearchforinformation,evaluatesourcesandmakemeaningfulcontributions.
Itfacilitatedandmadeiteasierforthelearnerstocooperateandcollaboratetowardsacommongoal.
Iobservedthatforstudentstoactivelyparticipateintheforumstudentsinitiallyneedtobeencouragedbygradingindividualparticipation.
Itistimeconsumingforinstructorstoevaluatequalityofcontributions,soitmightbeunsustainableinlargeclasses,butquantitycanbeattainedfromWebCTperformancetool.
Theasynchronousdiscussionsmightalsotakesometimeandmakethediscussionslosemomentumbecauseitisnotinrealtime.
Itmighttakelongbeforeanindividualisgivenfeedbackbygroupmembers.
Thiscanbeminimisedbytheinstructorencouragingstudentstoplantoparticipateindailyonlineinteractionanddiscussion.
Monitoringthediscussionsandencouragingnon-participatingmembersisalsotime-consumingfortheinstructor.
WiththelargenumbersthatinstructorsinCSSUteach,itcannotbesustainedonalargescale.
Instructorsmighthavetoscaledownonmonitoringandconsiderthegroupleaderstoencouragetheirmembersassuggestedby(MazzoliniandMaddison,2002).
Futureresearchmightinvestigatewhetherthereisvariationinpostingsanddepthofthreadsifgroupleadersfacilitatediscussions.
Also,studentsinthisstudyreceivedincentivesintheformofmarksforthenumberandqualityofpostingstheymadeintheonlinediscussion.
Suchanincentivemayhavemotivatedstudentstopostmoremessages.
Futureresearchcouldexaminecaseswherenoincentiveisused.
Besidessomeofthechallegesobserved,membersintheUnitareencouragedtoassessgroupprojectsthroughWebCTasoneformofassistingourlearnerstobeautonomousandlifelonglearners.
.
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