6533b855fe1ef96bd12b0670

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Role of the Online Tutor in Establishing Social Presence in Asynchronous Text-Based Collaborative Learning Environments

Aleksandra Lazareva

subject

MultimediaComputer sciencemedia_common.quotation_subject05 social sciences050301 educationCommon groundOnline tutoring050109 social psychologyCollaborative learningContext (language use)computer.software_genreFeelingAsynchronous communicationComputingMilieux_COMPUTERSANDEDUCATIONVirtual learning environment0501 psychology and cognitive sciencesTUTOR0503 educationcomputermedia_commoncomputer.programming_language

description

The main objective of this paper is to provide a better understanding of the online tutor’s role in establishing and maintaining the feeling of social presence among the participants in asynchronous text-based collaborative learning environments. The context of the study is a distributed online course involving groups of participants who do not have a shared history of working together. The data were collected from a student survey and follow-up interviews. The study shows how the online tutor’s facilitation in such environments is crucial, and several practical implications for online tutors are presented. In addition, complementing the asynchronous text-based learning platform with synchronous tutor-facilitated meetings is beneficial for learners in terms of building common ground, receiving instant feedback from the tutor and engaging in more off-task interactions.

yearjournalcountryeditionlanguage
2017-01-01
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-50337-0_11