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Effects of online interaction via computer-mediated communication (CMC) tools on an e-mathematics learning outcome

Posted on:2011-03-07Degree:Ph.DType:Thesis
University:Capella UniversityCandidate:Okonta, OlomeruomFull Text:PDF
GTID:2447390002451494Subject:Education
Abstract/Summary:
Recent research studies in open and distance learning have focused on the differences between traditional learning versus online learning, the benefits of computer-mediated communication (CMC) tools in an e-learning environment, and the relationship between online discussion posts and students' achievement. In fact, there is an extant proliferation of research studies in exploratory CMC technology and e-learning. The literature is replete with research evidence that collaboration and interaction in the traditional classroom enhance learning. However, researchers in open and distance learning have rarely linked students' collaborative interaction to their e-learning outcomes. Some recent studies simply reported that e-learners experienced a deep and meaningful learning as a result of very high levels of interactivity in their collaborative interaction with fellow e-learners and the e-course instructor, without linking interaction with performance. Therefore, this study went a step further by conducting research that examined the effects of the four modes of online interaction (learner-learner, learner-instructor, learner-content, and learner-interface) on an e-mathematics learning outcome, and then linked interaction to performance. Specifically, one-group, pretest-posttest experimental design was used to determine to what extent online collaborative interaction affected the test scores of college algebra students at a community college. The experiment involved the study of a single group of 26 students under two different conditions. The pretest scores before treatment and post-test scores were compared and analyzed using a t test: the null hypothesis was not rejected. This result suggested there was no significant difference between the test scores of students using the four modes of online interaction to study the e-math course collaboratively when compared to the test scores of the same students using only the two modes (learner-instructor and learner-content) of online interaction in the same course. In other words, there was no significant difference between the test scores of the students who worked together when compared to the test scores of the students who worked alone while studying the e-math course.
Keywords/Search Tags:Online, Interaction, Test scores, CMC, Students
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