The role of social presence in online interactive learning in Hong Kong
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(Published version)
Date
2009
Authors
Mak, Alice Wing Wai
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thesis
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Abstract
This thesis is an investigation of the role of 'social presence' in on-line interaction of the students in Hong Kong. It seeks to examine the factors that students believe affect their on-line interaction with each other and with the tutor. Hypotheses were developed to examine the relationship between language competence, paralanguage, discussion topic, cultural variables and on-line interaction.The study was carried out in three stages: focus groups; survey; and interviews. The purpose of the focus groups was to determine the factors other than those identified in the literature that might affect the on-line learning of the students. There were four focus groups involving 17 people and 10 hours of interview time. A great deal of interesting and relevant information was generated.The second stage involved a questionnaire that sought data about the factors identified in the focus groups and the literature review to test the hypotheses. There was an open-ended question asking students whether there were other factors that they believe might affect their on-line interaction. The sample was made up of 100 students and 57 valid responses were received.The third stage involved interviews with three students to follow up answers to the open-ended question in the survey. The participants in the interviews were invited to go through their answers to the open-ended question (i.e., factors that they think will affect on-line interactions) and to explain how they think the factors actually affected their on-line interactions.The results from the focus groups were analyzed using content analysis; the results from the survey were analyzed using descriptive statistics including the chi-square test.Results show that the Chinese students in the present study accepted computer-mediated communication and had positive perceptions of on-line discussion. Similar to suggestions in the literature, it was found that social presence could be cultured among the on-line participants. For successful on-line learning, factors such as students' language competence, discussion topic, and tutor's involvement are important.
School/Discipline
University of South Australia International Graduate School of Business
International Graduate School of Business
International Graduate School of Business
Dissertation Note
Thesis (PhD)--University of South Australia, 2009
Provenance
Copyright 2009 Alice Wing Wai Mak
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EN-AUS
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