Delivering a Subject on the WWW while enhancing Student Discussion and Communication
   David Sutton

   This article describes experiences with delivering a subject on the Internet by using the WWW, e-mail and a WWW based conference system. The approach not only enabled a subject to be delivered without the use of paper but also enabled communication and discussion to take place without the need to hold traditional classes.

Promoting Student Interaction in the Virtual College Classroom
   Jack A. Cummings

Promoting Student Interaction in the Virtual College Classroom    alternite site

   The World Wide Web offers faculty opportunities to promote meaningful academic discourse among students. I used Allaire Forums, a Web-based electronic conferencing system, in two recent courses: a graduate seminar in cognitive assessment and intervention and an introductory educational psychology course for prospective teachers. The graduate class was a conventional face-to-face course supplemented with two Web-based assignments, while the whole undergraduate course was delivered via the Web. Four of the more successful assignments drawn from these two classes are used to illustrate electronic class discussions. The goal of the first assignment was to establish an environment wherein students felt comfortable presenting their perspectives and communicating with each other. In this introductory assignment, students met "virtually" and introduced themselves. Three additional assignments that were recursive by design are presented after the description of the introductory assignment. Recursive assignments require students to submit pieces that are subsequently processed by others. Issues that one should take into consideration when implementing Web applications within college courses conclude the paper.
 

Web Discussion Forums in Teaching and Learning   Roger Akers

   Ideas, questions, and individual discoveries are not restricted to the three-hour-per-week contact time of  the standard classroom. However, students' discussion opportunities and contact with instructors are restricted to scheduled class meeting times and instructors' office hours. Recent interactive implementations of the World Wide Web offer opportunities for sharing ideas, posing questions, and presenting individual discoveries at a time of convenience, and better, at the time of thought. This paper describes the use of World Wide Web-based discussion forums to provide an avenue for sharing information beyond time and place constraints of the physical classroom.

Enhancing Social Interaction in Computer-Mediated Distance Education
   Brent Muirhead

   Contemporary distance education schools are striving to have the most effective educational programs that encourage a dynamic combination of being flexible, individualized, personally and professionally challenging. As distance education schools grow in popularity, distance educators and their learners are raising important
instructional questions about the quality of these computer mediated educational programs. A vital academic question involves the social interaction that occurs during online class work. Educators are wondering whether the online format will provide adequate opportunities for genuine dialogue and social interaction that are vital elements in the learning process.

Expanding Class Discussion Beyond the Classroom Walls
   Susan M. Powers and Karen M. Dutt

   Classroom discussions can often become a critical part of the learning process. Unfortunately, time demands can make it necessary to curtail many discussions, while other topics may never have the opportunity to arise. One option to enhance the ability of students to discuss issues of import to them is to institute an electronic discussion via a newsgroup. As part of a requirement of an elementary education course, we initiated a newsgroup. Although a number of students just fulfilled the basic levels of the requirement, for a large portion of the students, the newsgroup became a critical course component where concerns and doubts about teaching, course assignments and instructional resources could be shared. Due to the success of the electronic discussion, we will utilize and enhanced it in future courses.

Pedagogical Roles and Implementation Guidelines for Online Communication Tools
   Gina Maria Funaro and Frances Montell

   The goal of this study was to find out how twelve instructors teaching various Introduction to Humanities (IHUM) courses at Stanford University utilized an asynchronous discussion tool in the teaching of their sections. In addition, we were interested in their perceptions of the value the particular technology added to their students' learning and to their teaching. In other words, what pedagogical opportunities were afforded by the use of the technology? Our aim was to glean from these descriptions and opinions a set of pedagogical roles this type of technology can play in higher education and a set of guidelines to help increase the possibility of achieving those pedagogical results using the tool.

Whose Line is it Anyway? The Instructor's Role in Course Listservs
   Russell Hunt and Robert Lewis

   The course listserv has been touted as an effective way to actively engage students in learning. But as any teacher knows, there are many variants of  active learning. Not all lead to deep, authentic engagement with the ideas under study. So too with course listservs. As many teachers have discovered, listservs can afford a variety of  responses, including surface thinking, the expression of unreflective personal reactions, and the formulation of a dutiful, examination-style exposition.

Vicarious Interaction in Computer-Mediated Communication: Effects on Achievement and Satisfaction
   Leah A. Sutton

   Computer-mediated communications (CMC) has become commonplace in education.  Because of the increased use of CMC in education, it is important that we have a better understanding of the psychology underlying the learning process in this environment.  Much of the current research in distance education has focused on the topic of interaction.  It is well established that interaction of any kind in face-to-face teaching greatly influences student satisfaction and achievement.  The primary difference between classroom teaching and distance education is the social separation of the participants resulting from the technology.  This special nature of the technology makes understanding, promoting, and maintaining interaction critical in CMC.  However, there is a limited amount of research on interaction specific to the technologies used in CMC.

The Role of the Online Instructor/Facilitator
   Zane L. Berge

   This article will list the roles and functions of the online instructor in computer conferencing (CC). Simply stated, computer conferencing is "direct human-human communication, with the computer acting simply as a transaction router, or providing simple storage and retrieval functions" (Santoro, 1995, p. 14). Regardless of the level of technology used for CC--such as email, mailing lists, MOOs, MUDs, BBSs, computer conferencing systems, or the Web--certain instructional tasks must be performed for successful learning. It may not create the best learning environment to rely solely on CC. But used alone or in conjunction with other media, such as audioconferencing, classroom delivery or printed materials, CC can be used to provide an effective instructional system.

Moderating Online Electronic Discussion Groups  Mauri P. Collins and Zane L. Berge

Moderating Online Electronic Discussion Groups  alternate site

   This research is a pilot study that begins a comprehensive study of electronic discussion group (EDG) moderators and their perceptions of their roles, tasks, and responsibilities. The questions explored revolve around EDG moderators' conceptions of their roles, their rationale for moderating or not moderating discussion on their mailing lists, where they learned their craft, and where moderating lists fits within the context of their lives. With such descriptions of the tasks and roles of practicing EDG moderators, better training could be developed for those teachers wishing to function effectively as on-line discussion facilitators and moderators as part of their on-line teaching. Findings included that moderators act at different times and for different lists as a filter, firefighter, facilitator, administrator, editor, promoter, expert, helper, participant, and marketer.

Moderating Discussions in the Electronic Classroom
   Rae Wahl Rohfeld and Roger Hiemstra

   Teaching through discussion relies on a learner-centered approach, whether the participants meet face to face or on the computer screen. It rests on principles of collaborative learning and egalitarian relationships (Eastmond, 1992; Florini, 1989; Harasim, 1989; Kaye, 1989). Effective discussion requires that everyone involved, instructor and students alike, share in both the teaching and the learning. All participants assume responsibility for furthering discussion, although students may require special preparation and clear guidelines to participate effectively.

Successful Online Teaching Using An Asynchronous Learner Discussion Forum
   Mark H. Rossman

   At Capella University online courses are offered using an asynchronous learner discussion forum. At the conclusion of each course, learners are requested to complete and electronically submit a course evaluation form. A document analysis of more than 3000 course evaluations from 154 courses conducted during the past 11 quarters was conducted. Each course folder was reviewed. The narrative responses were ultimately grouped into the following categories: Faculty Feedback, Learner Discussions and Course Requirements. General observations related to these categories were presented followed by several tips for successful teaching in an online environment using an asynchronous learner discussion forum. The tips were initially generated by the document analysis. Additional tips were added and the list was revised each quarter following the end-of-quarter teleconference with the instructors.

Electronic Discourse: On Speech and Writing on the Internet
   Ewa  Jonsson

   The advancement of computer-mediated language towards the rapidity and nature of spoken language raises the question whether electronic communication is written or oral discourse. This essay focuses on how electronic discourse is manifested in two major communication modes on the Internet - asynchronous and synchronous typing - and how it relates to traditional notions of written and oral discourse. To substantiate the discussion, examples from authentic electronic communication are included and the viewpoint in the study of them is essentially sociolinguistic. The study also renders an introduction to new terminology that has emerged over the years of linguistic interaction on the Internet and throws some light on how the electronic era relates to other periods of human communication. The conclusion of the study is that electronic discourse is neither writing nor speech, but rather written speech or spoken writing, or something unique in the history of human discourse.

Keeping Online Asynchronous Discussions on Topic
   Bart P. Beaudin

   The purpose of this research was to identify various techniques recommended and used by online instructors for keeping online learners on topic during asynchronous discussion and to identify what factors affected selection.  A thirty-seven item online questionnaire was developed and completed by 135 online instructors subscribing to an international distance education listserv.  Thirteen techniques for keeping online asynchronous learners on topic were rated using a six-point Likert scale. The results of the study showed that online instructors rated the following as the top four techniques for keeping asynchronous online discussion on topic: 1) Carefully design questions that specifically elicit on-topic discussion, 2) provide guidelines to help online learners prepare on-topic responses, 3) reword the original question when responses are going in the wrong direction and 4) provide discussion summary on a regular basis.  Experience, training and differences between what respondents recommended and used to keep online asynchronous discussion on topic produced statistically significant results at the 0.05 level.

Handbook for Instructors on the Use of Electronic Class Discussion
   Nancy Chism

   This handbook provides advice for instructors on one particular use of instructional technology-the use of electronic communication to extend class discussion beyond the time and place of class meetings. It is based on a study of several Ohio State classes that employed such electronic class discussions, recommendations of students and faculty, and advice from experts in the field. The main goal of the handbook is to help instructors use this form of technology thoughtfully and effectively, given their course goals.

Using Electronic Mail Discussion Groups To Enhance Students' Critical Thinking Skills
    Rik Scarce

Using Electronic Mail Discussion Groups To Enhance Students' Critical Thinking Skills

   Electronic mail (e-mail) messaging holds potential as a tool for teaching the critical thinking skills that philosopher John Dewey recognized as critical to the future of a democracy. Dewey's perspective strongly influenced the e-mail assignment discussed here. For 10 weeks, a sociology class divided into groups of approximately 5 students each and read and reacted to a book selected exclusively for this assignment. The students were strongly encouraged to (a) apply theoretical concepts from class discussion and from other readings for the course as they evaluated the material for the assignment and (b) develop a critical dialog with one another. This paper presents details of the assignment and reports the results of a quasi-experimental study of students' reactions to this assignment, including their qualitative responses.

Creating Motivating Interactive Learning Environments: a Constructivist View
   Barry Harper and John Hedberg

   In order for educational software to maintain its innovative edge, instructional designers need to access models that recognise the variety of proposed guidelines for developing technology supported learning environments which support a constuctivist approach. These frameworks include new taxonomies of learning that incorporate a greater range of integrated learning outcomes than previous taxonomies based upon a behavioural approach. This paper describes how several award-winning interactive learning products were developed within these frameworks and how they incorporate problem solving challenges for learners. The examples also illustrate the application of cognitive
support tools to assist learners solve the ill-structured problem especially when it is presented as a complex scenario, which might have multiple solutions.

Collaboration Over the Web Strategies and Goals
   William Brescia, Heike Schaumburg, & Thomas M. Duffy

   The focus of this paper is the design of interactive learning tasks for use in distributed learning  environments. We believe that the successful design of interactive learning tasks is one of the most important issues facing faculty developing instruction for distributed education. We propose that the design and delivery of distance learning environments can be placed on a continuum ranging from correspondence courses to seminars. What varies along this continuum is the interaction between learners as they struggle with and explore issues and problems in the domain. In correspondence education, there is significant up-front design effort but once designed, the course can be offered to thousands with little cost and effort. When people talk about "putting a course on the Web, " too often they are assuming the correspondence model – the Web substitutes for the postal service in delivering materials to the learners. We certainly hope the desire of faculty is to move to the other end of the continuum, toward seminar formats or at least toward formats where learners are engaged with issues in the subject matter and collaborate with classmates in working through those issues, developing and testing perspectives. We intend to illustrate effective design of learning tasks with examples from Distributed Learning Environments: Promoting Student Interaction, a graduate seminar in Instructional Systems Technology that focuses on how collaboration and meaningful learning can be fostered in a distributed learning environment.

Interactive and Collaborative Uses of the Web
   Kyle Forinash, William Rumsey, and Raymond Wisman

In this paper we discuss our use of the Web for teaching and research during the past few years. Although each of us is from a different discipline (physics, philosophy, computer science), we have collaborated on many projects during that time. Our collective Web experience began in 1994 when one of us set up the first Web server on the Indiana University Southeast campus. Before the end of that spring, the three of us had our own servers running from desktop computers in our offices. During the summer we ran a workshop which introduced the Web to over a hundred faculty and staff. By the end of the year, we had set up a main Web server for the campus.
 

The WWW: A Tool to Enhance the Communicative Process
   Sanjay Rao

   This chapter will explore the role of website forums in creating a new supply of resource material. Through capturing conversations that normally occur in classes and conferences in a semi-permanent format that allows for their asynchronous continuation and promulgation, a computer-mediated communal learning environment can be generated. This inherently fosters a collaborative, critical thinking, and problem solving approach to learning, which fundamentally differs from the more solitary autonomous learning of traditional teaching methods. However, although technology provides the means with which to achieve this, technology is not in itself sufficient. The social aspects of communication have to be adapted to the electronic environment, especially as it lacks the benefits of non-verbal communication. Particular attention needs to be paid to creating a sense of participating in a productive endeavour with your peers, focusing on particular issues, and an understanding that communication in an electronic environment is an evolving practice defined by its users. It is essential to take these factors into account to ensure the success of any Web-forum. These points will be argued with particular reference to the experiences of DeLiberations, a website forum for the development of educational practices across higher education.
 

Effective Techniques for Keeping Web Discussions Running Smoothly
   Sarah Haavind

Extending the Classroom Walls Electronically
   Tom Creed

Prompts for Synchronous Communication: Writing Prompts that Promote Discussion
   Janice Cook

     This paper discusses the kinds of prompts which lead to active discussion during synchronous communication in the classroom. It will present examples of prompts used for varied purposes from discussing a text to reaching a conclusion based on the partipants' experiences. Short samples of resulting discussions will be included. Also included will be examples of the kinds of prompts which do not lead to productive discussion and samples of those resultant discussions.

Establishing Community in a Virtual Classroom
   Judith Killion

     This is a discussion of the first online class at Western Wyoming Community /college: English 1010 (a freshman English class). It looks at the importance of incorporating a sense of community in online instruction and discusses why this is important. The discussion contains information regarding the focus, goals, and objectives of the course. It details the support and communication built into this particular class and explains how these components help provide a sense of structure to a writing community without boundaries. A discussion of online activities that help create a sense of community and connect the students to each other looks at a variety of different assignments and shares student responses to these activities.

Interaction on the Web
   Karen L. Murphy, Tina J. Harvell, Tim O’Donnell

   This paper addresses the question of how to use the Web as the sole source of four types of interaction: student-content, student-instructor, student-student, and student-technology interaction. In this case study of a graduate class, the students themselves answered the question about interaction by investigating these Web tools: a threaded Web board discussion (WWWBoard); a chat room (EWGIE); a shared workspace that allows collaborative writing (BSCW); and a text based, virtual reality environment (MOO).

Proaction vs. Reaction: Interaction and Group Dynamics in Telecommunications Courses
   Karen L. Murphy, Mary Lu Epps, Tina J. Harvell,

   In this paper we examine the interplay between interaction and group dynamics necessary for learning in telecommunications classrooms. We also identify the key components of proactive and reactive interaction in a group project-based learning environment. While investigating several Web-based applications to be used in a subsequent Web course, students in a graduate course also identified key instructor and student roles and developed a set of guidelines for proactive telecommunications learning environments.

Incorporating Computer Conferencing into University Courses
   Karen L. Murphy, Renee' Drabier, Mary Lu Epps

   Computer conferencing can profoundly affect teaching and learning, particularly in university courses in which students do not regularly meet face-to-face. This study addresses ways in which computer conferencing enhanced communication and interaction among students in a graduate course offered at a distance. Using qualitative research methods, we address the obstacles to the use of a widely used computer conferencing software program, and instructional and learning strategies for overcoming those obstacles and turning them into learning assets.

Interaction in Interactive Television Instruction: Perception versus Reality
   Chris Sorensen and Danilo M. Baylen

   The literature reveals that technology is changing the practice of distance education. Distance education is moving toward more interactive environments. No longer is the isolated individual taking a correspondence course the essence of distance education. Groups of students, using new technologies, can now interact in "real time" and in “asynchronous” time not only with the instructor, but also with other students. This trend is expected to grow as demands for distance education increase, particularly among adult populations.

Interactivity in Distance Learning Classes
 

Educational Technology