This study aimed to examine the behaviour of learners across a whole system and in various courses to reveal the interrelation between learners' system interaction, age, programme features and course design. We obtained data from the system logs of 1,634 learners enrolled in distance learning programmes. We performed hierarchical clustering…

A variety of understandings of feedback exist in the literature, which can broadly be categorised as cognitivist information transmission and socio-constructivist. Understanding feedback as information transmission or "telling" has until recently been dominant. However, a socio-constructivist perspective of feedback posits that feedback…

A synchronous blend of online learning and "face-to-face" teaching is becoming a feasible instructional approach in higher education with the advent of technology. Although this learning mode is not new in higher education, little research has been done to contextualise social presence experiences in which effects of interactions were…

This article presents the sociometric analysis of the interactions in a forum of a social network created for the professional development of Portuguese-speaking teachers. The main goal of the forum, which was titled Stricto Sensu, was to discuss the educational value of programmes that joined the distance learning model in Brazil. The empirical…

The study buddy is a learning strategy employed in a graduate distance course to promote informal peer reviewing of assignments before submission. This strategy promotes student-student interaction and helps break the social isolation of distance learning. Given the concern by Arum and Roksa (2011) that student-student interaction may be…

This paper addresses the lack of formalised methodology for analysing learner interaction data created in conversations on audiographic platforms. First the author shows the importance of conversations in language learning and the need for researchers to understand how users learn from these interactions. Then the author establishes that…

This experimental study investigated the effectiveness of structured Web-Based Bulletin Board (WBB) discussions in improving the critical thinking (CT) skills of learners involved in veterinary distance learning, as well as their attitudes toward learning via WBBs. The two dependent variables were learners' CT skills and their attitudes toward…

This paper focuses on one of the most significant challenges in distance learning, the student-to-student interaction issue, by studying the interaction experiences of a group of students who have had a distance education experience. It addresses questions such as the current status of student interactions, the students' perceptions of such…

This paper investigates self-regulated learning (SRL) in a virtual learning community of adults interacting through asynchronous textual communication. The investigation method chosen is interaction analysis, a qualitative/quantitative approach allowing a systematic study of the contents of the messages exchanged within online communities. The…

Master Gardener training was delivered via satellite (n=147) and in traditional classrooms (n=151). Using the Verbal Interaction Category System, interaction levels were determined to be similar in the two methods. Most of the traditional (91%) and distance (93%) learners were satisfied with instructor-student communication. (SK)

This study analyzed how students and teachers of one Finnish elementary class participated in and communicated through the Computer Supported Intentional Learning Environment (CSILE) during 1997-1998. The density of the interaction within class, students' participation rates, students' position in the CSILE mediated network of interaction, and the…

Describes the patterns of interpersonal interactions relating to group development in an asynchronous computer conferencing-based graduate course. Results suggest that people engaged in such collaboration have similar interpersonal issues, at comparable stages and proportions, as reported for face-to-face groups. (Author/AEF)

This study evaluated the relationship between psychological traits of campus-based undergraduate students and their preference for face-to-face (FtF) or computer-mediated communications (CMC), investigating the validity of transferring CMC instructional strategies from distance education to traditional classrooms. Thirty-eight students (80%) of…

Centers on computer-mediated communication in a second language (L2). Introduces a conceptual framework for understanding the role of computer-mediated interaction based on a sociocultural analysis of the relationship among text, talk, and learning. Then analyzes current research according to five features particular to online interaction. (90…

This study is an analysis of student learning style (field dependence/independence), student attitudes toward the technology medium, and student perception of interaction. Research indicates that field independent (FI) individuals are more successful in distance education settings than field dependent (FD) individuals, which is a result of their…