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Online Learning News and Research
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Saturday, April 12, 2003
Students' Perceptions of Participation and Interaction in Web-based Conferencing Classes - Senem YILDIZ and Carrie CHANG
Introduction: Web-based instruction in higher education is becoming more and more popular around the world. McIsaac, Blocher, Mahes and Vrasidas (1999) claim that interaction may well be the single most important activity in a well-designed distance education experience (p.122). Most web-based classes use electronic conferencing which is a form of group discussion that uses text messages stored on a computer as a communication and interaction medium. With this tool, students and the instructor can communicate synchronously and asynchronously, carry out classroom discussions, dialogue and debate despite the geographical differences of the participants. While in web-based instruction “… students (are) liberated from social restraints of the classroom” (Partee, 1996, p.79) such as speaking anxiety in front peers and instructors, time limit, lack some interactive features of face-to-face classroom such as immediate feedback, physical cues and a sense of community might occur in web-based courses. Gilbert and Moore (1998) claim that interaction can be defined both in social terms and in regard to student interaction with the content of instruction and “those who are skeptical are often concerned about the ability of Web-based instruction to provide (these) two categories of interactivity that are perceived to be common in face-to-face instruction.
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