Article,
Beyond threaded discourse
International Journal of Educational Telecommunications, 7 (3): 207-221 (2001)
Abstract
The educational potential of asynchronous, computer-mediated
conferencing is well documented. Opportunities for increased
group interaction, more equitable communication
patterns, higher degrees of reflection, and time-and-place-independent
discussions are some of the benefits cited by researchers.
This article focuses on one of the apparent limitations
of the medium: the lack of support for convergent processes.
Threaded online environments support electronic
conversations that expand and branch, but provide few facilities
for drawing together discourse in meaningful ways. The
implications of this restriction are explored in two studies.
The first study analyzes the degree to which students and instructors
write convergent notes (e.g., notes that synthesize
or summarize ideas) in three graduate-level computer conferencing
courses. The second study explores student perceptions
relating to their own synthesizing and summarizing
practices. The results suggest that online participants rarely
engage in convergent processes in spite of widespread agreement
that such efforts confer educational benefits. Possible
explanations for this phenomenon are discussed.
