Faculty of Education - Theses

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Subject: Victoria × Start date: 2000 × End date: 2019 × Author: Andersen-Dalheim, Brenda ×

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    The influence of students' personal characteristics on use of asynchronous online discussion boards
    Andersen-Dalheim, Brenda ( 2004)
    Universities and other higher education institutions have increased their use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in the delivery of higher education. Higher education institutions are moving toward ICT-supported learning, provided by tools such as such as Asynchronous Online Discussion Boards (AODB), to meet the needs of students. This study investigates the influence of various personal characteristics on adult learners' use of AODB, within an on-campus course. Participants were twenty-two experienced teachers enrolled in a postgraduate on-campus course. They ranged in age from twenty-eight to sixty-one years and comprised classroom teachers, literacy coordinators, reading recovery tutors and principals from a mix of Melbourne metropolitan primary schools. Use of AODB was identified through transcripts of the content of online discussion contributions. These were analysed to identify the number, length, content and complexity of student online contributions. The content of each contribution was measured by calculating the number of key concepts in each contribution. The cognitive complexity of each key concept was described in term of Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. Personal characteristics of students were collected using questionnaires and assessment tasks. Pre- and post-course assessment tasks were designed to identify the initial and final course content knowledge of the students. The results of the study support the claim that use of AODB is facilitated by a number of personal characteristics: student self-efficacy related to use of the Internet; prior experience with ICT for recreational activities; and students' learning style preference. The results have implications for researchers and practitioners. Findings suggest that while universities use ICT to support their on-campus courses, personal characteristics of students are influencing the choices and outcomes of participation in online activities, such as AODB tasks.