ERIC Number: EJ780045
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2007-Dec
Pages: 18
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1743-9884
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Available Date: N/A
"Quality and Quantity": The Value of Online Seminars for Media and Cultural Studies Undergraduates
Robertson, John W.; Lee, Sally
Learning, Media and Technology, v32 n4 p351-368 Dec 2007
Much previous research into the effectiveness of CMC has suffered from a lack of clarity or of consistency in the adoption and explication of coding typologies or taxonomies. This has reduced the opportunities for comparison between studies and for the accumulation of evidences to guide pedagogy. In addition, most studies of CMC have used postgraduate students from the sciences, mathematics and engineering as their subjects. There is a notable dearth of studies with undergraduate students and, in particular, with students in the arts, social sciences and humanities. In this study, 104 undergraduate students on media-related programmes undertook a three-week online discussion (CMC) on the nature of cultural globalisation. The quality of the discussion was evaluated using an enhanced taxonomy rooted in Bloom and other more recent writers. The pattern of dialogue was also mapped and represented graphically. The results suggest that CMC as a method for enhancing peer-led discussion of theoretical concepts, with media arts undergraduates, can be very effective. This article makes a contribution to thinking about the evaluation of CMC learning experiences and offers recommendations on maximising the quality for the learner of such experiences. (Contains 7 tables and 4 figures.)
Descriptors: Undergraduate Students, Computer Mediated Communication, Social Sciences, Humanities, Seminars, Online Courses, Distance Education, Outcomes of Education, Critical Thinking, Global Approach, Classification, Coding
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
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