Constructing Knowledge in Online Communities 

Martha Gabriel
Assistant Professor
University of Prince Edward Island

The emergence of a knowledge economy has focused attention on learners' needs for access to ongoing lifelong learning opportunities. Computer conferencing offers a means for universities and colleges to respond to this demand (Berge & Collins, 1995; Bullen, 1998; Duchastel, 1997). Computer conferencing courses offer learners the possibility of pursuing learning throughout a lifetime, without having to leave home, family or careers to pursue their education. This convenience entices many learners to enroll in courses offered in the new learning environment. With evidence of high enrollments in these courses, several questions arise: How do students go about learning in the computer conferencing context? How do they cope with the demands of a text-based learning environment? What impact does the lack of face-to-face interaction have on the development of a learning community?

These questions were explored in a qualitative research study conducted in two computer conferencing courses offered in two universities in Atlantic Canada. Twenty students and four course instructors participated in the research. Ten of the adult students were enrolled in a Master's level course on web course design, while the other ten learners were enrolled in a Master's level course on educational administration. Data was collected through in-depth interviews and through scanning the course transcripts. The collected data was read and reread for emergent themes; analysis was facilitated by the use of a computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software package.

A number of themes emerged in this study. The adult learners identified a number of personal learning characteristics which underpinned their learning in the computer conference: a spirit of independence, persistence in working toward their goals, striving for excellence, being problem solvers, having patience.

The learners in this study also reported high levels of a sense of academic efficacy as evidenced by a strong subjective assurance of their ability to succeed at the academic task (Bandura, 1986; Gibson & Graff, 1992).

Learning Strategies

Learners identified several strategies they had developed which allowed them to learn successfully in the computer conference. These strategies included: being active participants in the conference, interacting with others, working consistently and not letting too much time elapse between online sessions, becoming capable users of technology, learning to communicate effectively, being well organized in the conferencing environment. In addition to these successful learning strategies, participants identified two issues which impacted on their activity in the computer conference: time and workload. The adult learners in this study did not initially anticipate the demands that learning in a conferencing environment would make on their time--throughout the course, individuals developed the above-mentioned strategies in order to cope with these time and workload demands.

The requirement of constructing meaning from the text was pivotal in both of the computer conferencing courses in this study. Readers constructed meaning from the text of messages in the conference in a way analogous to how readers construct meaning from the text on a page, that is, learners brought their background knowledge and life experiences to the task of constructing meaning. Participants identified strategies they used to help construct or re-construct the intended meanings of computer conference communications. These included: developing personal relationships with other students in the conference, giving any type of feedback cautiously, letting messages simmer if the sender was unsure of how the message would be received, using humor judiciously, paraphrasing a confusing message, learning how to touch type.

Changing Roles

Changes in the roles of the instructors and the learners in computer conferencing courses have been documented in the literature (Burge & Roberts, 1998; Hiltz, 1994). In the computer conferencing environment, there is a subtle shift in the location of control over the learning, >from a teacher-centred environment to a group and group process environment (Kaye, 1989; Schrum, 1998). In this study, there was indeed a shift in the roles of learners and instructors, as instructors functioned as facilitators and learners became more self-directed in their learning. However, the experiences of the learners might be substantially different, depending on the configuration of the computer conference. Involvement of instructors in conferences exists on a continuum, from 1) initial set-up and direction only; to 2) involvement only when necessary to answer queries which others have not been able to answer; to 3) consistent and frequent involvement in the conference. Initial instructor expectations and how learners understand and negotiate regarding those expectations have a great deal to do with how the conference evolves.

Independence in Learning˜ Developing Collaborative Communities

Constructivist pedagogy supports the development of collaborative environments for student learning. This philosophical belief translates into group work requirements in the computer conference. However, group work is a challenge for adult learners in any situation. One of the strongest learning characteristics among the participants in this study was their independence in learning. Group work in the computer conference poses further challenges because of: the lack of synchronous feedback, difficulty in developing an efficient decision-making process, and dependence on others who the students do not know and do not even see.

It requires more time, energy, and patience for students to work within groups in the computer conference because of the challenges just cited. Therefore, learners benefit from receiving information on how to work effectively in small groups such as: posting timely responses, voicing dissenting opinions constructively, negotiating what learning task the group will undertake, utilizing real-time chat features of the conferencing software.

The learners in this study identified a number of factors which enhanced their successful participation in a computer conference, with a particular focus on learning how to work collaboratively in small groups. In this study, instructors and students worked together to communicate effectively, give feedback appropriately, and support the learning process for their colleagues. Learners and instructors together constructed understanding in the context of the online community of the computer conference.

REFERENCES

Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Berge, Z. L. & Collins, M.P. (Eds.). (1995).Computer mediated communication and the online classroom: Vol.I. Overview and perspectives. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press, Inc.

Bullen, M. (1998). Participation and critical thinking in online university distance education. Journal of Distance Education, 13, (2), 1-32.

Burge, E. & Roberts, J. (1998). Classrooms with a difference: Facilitating learning on the information highway (2nd ed.). Toronto: McGraw-Hill.

Duchastel, P. (1997) A web-based model for university instruction. Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 25 (3), 221-228.

Gibson, C. & Graff, A. (1992). Impact of adults' preferred learning styles and perception of barriers on completion of external baccalaureate degree programs. Journal of Distance Education, VII (1), 39-51.

Hiltz, S.R. (1994).The virtual classroom: Learning without limits via computer networks. Norwood, NJ:Ablex Publishing Corporation.

Kaye, A. (1989). Computer-mediated communication and distance education. In R.Mason & A. Kaye (Eds.), Mindweave: Communication, computers and distance education (pp. 3-21). Oxford: Pergamon Press.

Schrum, L. (1998). On-line education: A study of emerging pedagogy. In B. Cahoon (Ed.) Adult learning and the internet (pp.53-61). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Martha Gabriel UPEI Faculty of Education
mgabriel@upei.ca
Phone (902) 566-0503
Fax (902) 566-0416

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