olc_accelerate_2016_k.harrison_social_presence_handouts-long_version

“I WANT TO SAY MY OPINION, BUT…”STUDENTS’ EXPERIENCES OF SOCIAL PRESENCE IN

ASYNCHRONOUS ONLINE DISCUSSIONS

PLEASE JOIN ME IN TODAY’S MEET:HTTPS://TODAYSMEET.COM/SOCIAL-PRESENCE

PLEASE INTRODUCE YOURSELF!!!@KHARRISON121

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https://todaysmeet.com/SOCIAL-PRESENCE

https://todaysmeet.com/SOCIAL-PRESENCE

“I WANT TO SAY MY OPINION, BUT…”STUDENTS’ EXPERIENCES OF SOCIAL PRESENCE IN

ASYNCHRONOUS ONLINE DISCUSSIONS

PRESENTER: KIMBERLY M. HARRISON, PHD ELMHURST COLLEGE

CO-AUTHORS: CINDY S. YORK, PHD & HAYLEY MAYALL, PHDNORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY

NOVEMBER 17, 2016

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Describe how students experience social presence in asynchronous online discussions.

List and discuss methods for potentially increasing social presence in asynchronous online discussions.

@KHARRISON121 #OLCACCELERATE

WHAT ARE ASYNCHRONOUS ONLINE DISCUSSIONS (AOD)?

AKA threaded discussions / computer-mediated conferencing Online spaces to promote communication but not in real-time Uses text and digital tools Available 24/7 Time to think / no interruptions / everyone participates Time-intensive / miss flow of conversation@KHARRISON121 #OLCACCELERATE

WHAT WAS THE GOAL OF THIS STUDY?

Describe students’ experiences as they experienced & developed social presence within AOD

Knowingly or unknowingly

Change through college careers?@KHARRISON121 #OLCACCELERATE

WHY STUDY THIS TOPIC?

Discussions promote learning & student satisfaction Staple of higher education courses Unlike other teaching methods Students’ perceptions vary widely Goal: Better develop online discussion environments to

support learning


RESEARCH QUESTIONS (LARGER STUDY)

1. How do students use impression management strategies to develop social identities (whether intentionally or unintentionally) within asynchronous online discussions?

2. What are the experiences of students developing social identities within asynchronous online discussions?


EXISTING LITERATURE


GAPS IN LITERATURE ADDRESSED IN THIS STUDY


THEORETICAL CONSTRUCT

Social presence is “the ability of participants in online discussions

both to perceive other participants as ‘real people’

and to project themselves socially and affectively into the discussion”

Based within Garrison et al.’s (2000, 2010) Community of Inquiry framework

- Swan (2005), p. 20@KHARRISON121 #OLCACCELERATE

QUALITATIVE PARADIGM

No objective truth; reality is subjective Natural setting State own biases Evolving research design Data findings are interpretations

- Creswell (2007)

MY BIASES & ASSUMPTIONS

I Goffman Context matters Views as an educator Previous, course-based research Not acceptable to use findings from grad students


METHODOLOGY

Case study approach 5 students approaching graduation, ages 20-25 (2F & 3M) Data collection:

Perceptions of AOD survey / Demographic survey Individual and group interviews Analysis of AOD transcripts


FINDINGS RE: SOCIAL PRESENCE

Mark

Sometimes when you hear that real-life experience, it shows that

you are human. You actually did this stuff and it's not just words.



Marti

I'm thinking about them as people. I don't necessarily picture "I

know who this is”…I just think, "Oh, someone just went through

this!“… I almost think about it like if I was doing my own research

and someone said this about it.



Jay

I went through situations similar to the one you described. It's hard to stop yourself say certain words when you've said them unconsciously all the time. Growing up the phrase “that's gay” wasn't to offend those who are homosexual. I honestly thought it meant stupid because that's the way everybody else was using it. However, now that I'm older I understand why it's such a horrible thing to say. @KHARRISON121

#OLCACCELERATE


Mark

See, this is interesting. Because kind of looking back at my [critical thinking] class, where I would put more thought into it and more of myself, what happened to me and whatnot, it shows here, too….I did it, again.



Jay

As a child, my mom read me many books. There was one book in particular called The Empty Pot which was about a boy in China who entered in a contest to become the successor of the Emperor…. There was only one boy who stayed honest and he was rewarded because of it. I try to live my life by understanding these lessons I've learned through books I've read and films I've watched. Be honest, treat others with respect, fight for what you believe in, and hold onto faith, are a few lessons that are constantly being retaught through all different types of literature.


Mark

His favorite types of discussions were “the questions where it asks [you to] tell a story about something in your past, [or to tell about when] you've had experience with this and this, because I actually like telling stories. For me, it's fun.”



Marti

That's a great point Student 7, the operating system was a huge

evolution in the business. On the business side it made things run

a lot smoother and operate better, but on the employee side it

affect many that where replace by the systems



Jay

I understand your point of view Student 1 however, if the job

doesn't in anyhow tie into the subject of White Supremacist group

then I would definitely report him.



Jay

I don't necessarily have things I want to accomplish in the [course-based] discussion posts, where in a car forum, everyone has this common goal to accomplish something.” I don't necessarily have things I want to accomplish in the [course-based] discussion posts, where in a car forum, everyone has this common goal to accomplish something.”



Jessica

“Student 15, that looks great to me.”

“I really like that example, Student 5!”

“I think you have some great responses here, Student 17.”



Al

why would you lean more towards gender rather than the time of

year? you could do time of year on a month to month scale and

then break it down by gender and then by age group



Mark

Very good point. I also want to add that you might want to give

examples that your audience can relate so they themselves can

see themselves using your product.



Jessica

You can discuss about it online, sure, but you don't really get anything out of it. You're just saying, "Oh yeah, this is how I would do that.” …I got absolutely nothing out of the discussions….It was just definitions and useless things. Having an online discussion for this class was ridiculously pointless...If you're stuck on one point, you can't go any farther.



Al

Sometimes you've got to throw something controversial out there just to get a response. Otherwise it's just going to be another post in the threaded discussions….It dead ends right there.



Emotions, humor, and values Liked being able to express themselves Purpose is interaction (frustration with lack) Described satisfaction with open-ended questions that allowed for

personalities Didn’t feel communities were being created / lack of cohesion@KHARRISON121 #OLCACCELERATE

WHAT WAS LEARNED ABOUT SOCIAL PRESENCE?

Evidence of social presence for all participants Affected by expectations, previous experiences (or lack), structure

of discussion prompts, instructor behaviors When structure & content support – develop social presence When don’t – frustration, lack of motivation, dissatisfaction

– lack of social presence


WHAT ARE THE EXPERIENCES OF STUDENTS?

Purpose of AOD: Want to express personalities & hear multiple perspectives

Desire connection between content & own lives Perceived lack of community Frustrated with inability to communicate meaningfully (“easy points”) Differences between participation and interaction


IMPLICATIONS

Teach students & faculty how to develop social presence and use it to participate as part of a learning community.

Ensure students & instructors are aware of the purpose of AOD. Explicitly teach students how to participate in AOD, with an

emphasis on how and why to disagree. Provide concrete examples of high-quality discussion posts. Align assessment with AOD goals.@KHARRISON121 #OLCACCELERATE

LIMITATIONS

Interpreted by me, a version of the truth

Limited by context

May be suggestive of patterns but may not be generalizable


SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

Continued exploration of students’ experiences

Development of critical thinking skills in AOD, specific to undergraduates

Mandatory AOD for instructors

Discrepancies between instructor and student expectations@KHARRISON121 #OLCACCELERATE

@kharrison121 #OLCAccelerate

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REFERENCES

Ajayi, L. (2009). An exploration of pre-service teachers’ perceptions of learning to teach while using asynchronous discussions board. Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 12(2), 86–100. Retrieved from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi= 10.1.1.587.3660&rep=rep1&type=pdfAndresen, M. A. (2009). Asynchronous discussions forums: Success factors, outcomes, assessments, and limitations. Educational Technology & Society, 12(1), 249-257. Retrieved from http://www.ifets.info/journals/12_1/19.pdfBlack, A. (2005). The use of asynchronous discussions: Creating a text of talk. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 5(1), 5-24. Retrieved from http://www.citejournal.org/vol5/iss1/languagearts/article1.cfmClarke, L. W., & Kinne, L. (2012). More than words: Investigating the format of asynchronous discussions as threaded discussions or blogs. Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education, 29(1), 4-13. doi: /10.1080/21532974.2012.10784698Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Dennen, V. P. (2005). From message posting to learning dialogues: Factors affecting learner participation in asynchronous discussions. Distance Education, 26(1), 127-148. doi: 10.1080/ 01587910500081376

http://www.citejournal.org/vol5/iss1/languagearts/article1.cfm

http://www.citejournal.org/vol5/iss1/languagearts/article1.cfm

REFERENCES

Dennen, V. P. (2007). Presence and positioning as components of online instructor persona. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 40(1), 95-108. doi: 10.1080/ 15391523.2007.10782499Devers, C. J. (2011). Developing trust and openness in an online environment. International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning, 8(5), 17-28. Retrieved from http://itdl.org/Journal/May_11/May_11.pdf#page=21Ellis, R. A., & Calvo, R. A. (2004). Learning through discussions in blended environments. Educational Media International, 41(3), 263-274. doi: 10.1080/09523980410001680879Ellis, R. A., & Calvo, R. A. (2006). Discontinuities in university student experiences of learning through discussions. British Journal of Educational Technology, 37(1), 55–68. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8535.2005.00519.xGarrison, D. R., Anderson, T., & Archer, W. (2000). Critical inquiry in a text-based environment: Computer conferencing in higher education. The Internet and Higher Education, 2(2-3), 87-105. doi: 10.1016/s1096-7516(00)00016-6Garrison, D. R., Anderson, T. & Archer, W. (2010). The first decade of the community of inquiry framework: A retrospective. The Internet and Higher Education, 13(1), 5-9. doi:10.1016/j.iheduc.2009.10.003

REFERENCES

Goggins, S., & Xing, W. (2016). Building models explaining student participation behavior in asynchronous online discussion. Computers & Education, 94, 241-251. doi: 10.1016/ j.compedu.2015.11.002Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience on the source of learning and development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.Maurino, P. S. (2006). Looking for critical thinking in online threaded discussions. Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 35(3), 241-260. doi: 10.2190/p4w3-8117-k32g-r34mMoisey, S. D., Neu, C., & Cleveland-Innes, M. (2008). Community building and computer-mediated conferencing. Journal of Distance Education, 22(2), 15-42. Nandi, D., Hamilton, M., & Harland, J. (2012). Evaluating the quality of interaction in asynchronous discussions forums in fully online courses. Distance Education, 33(1), 5-30. doi: 10.1080/01587919.2012.667957Peters, V. L., & Hewitt, J. (2010). An investigation of student practices in asynchronous computer conferencing courses. Computers & Education, 54(4), 951-961. doi: 10.1016/ jxompedu.2009.09.030Saldaña, J. (2013). The coding manual for qualitative researchers (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

REFERENCES

Stodel, E. J., Thompson, T. L., & MacDonald, C. J. (2006). Learners' perspectives on what is missing from online learning: Interpretations through the community of inquiry framework. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 7(3), 1-15. Retrieved from http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/325/743Swan, K. (2002). Building learning communities in online courses: The importance of interaction. Education, Communication, and Information, 2, 23-49. doi: 10.1080/ 1463631022000005016Swan, K. (2005). Social Presence and e-Learning. In IADIS Virtual Multiconference on Computer Science and Information Systems (MMCIS 2005). Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Karen_Swan3/publication/268378185_SOCIAL_PRESENCE_AND_E-LEARNING/links/553719a50cf268fd00188eb6.pdfSwan, K., & Shih, L. F. (2005.) On the nature and development of social presence in online course discussions. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks 9(3), 115-136. Retrieved from http://onlinelearningconsortium.org/read/online-learning-journal/

REFERENCES

Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind and society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Yeh, H., & Lahman, M. (2007). Pre-service teachers’ perceptions of asynchronous online discussions on Blackboard. The Qualitative Report, 12(4), 680-704. Retrieved from http://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqr/vol12/iss4/9Yin, R. K. (2014). Case study research: Design and methods (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Yukselturk, E. (2010). An investigation of factors affecting student participation level in an online forum. The Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology, 9(2), 24-32. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ897999.pdfZhou, H. (2015). A systematic review of empirical studies on participants’ interactions in internet-mediated discussion boards as a course component in formal higher education settings. Online Learning: Official Journal of the Online Learning Consortium, 19(3). Retrieved from http://onlinelearningconsortium.org/read/online-learning-journal/

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