SEEDS: CMC Theory, References and Related Sites

by Wendy Burton, UCFV

Theory
References
Related Sites

Theoretical issues of CMC

It is a common conclusion that computer mediated communication creates "social climates which are very different from the traditional classroom" (Gunawardena, 1994), especially regarding the "'integrational aspects': the physical manifestations of information exchange that keep the conversation going, regulate the interaction process, cross-reference particular messages to semantic meaning, and relate a particular context to larger contexts" (Birdwhistell in Gunawardena, 1994). Gunawardena, among others, conclude that failure in computer mediated communications occur far more often on the social level, rather than the technical level. It has also been concluded that the teacher online can facilitate the social climate, which will foster the atmosphere most conducive to collaborative learning and a sense of community.

Some consensus exists that learning at a distance, particularly through computer mediated communication, requires "skills not commonly found among faculty of higher education institutions" (Gunawardena & Zittle, 1996). These skills are identified as facilitative or interactive, which fosters in the online classroom a higher level of student participation with more complex interaction patterns (Ahern, Peck, & Laycock, 1992). This interaction pattern yields atmospheres more conducive to the social construction of knowledge and serves to ameliorate what Murphy identifies as the effect of "knowledge [is] transformed into a lifeless object because it is severed from human praxis" (Lyotard in Murphy, 1988, 175).

The effects of teacher discourse,especially those in the category of conversational (Ahern, Peck, & Laycock, 1992, 291), may create environments that may be described as "surprisingly warm and inviting" (Andrusyszyn & Davie, 1995), environments where collaboration, community, and connection become possible (Fey, 1993; Riel, 1992; Kiesler, Siegel, & McGuire, 1984; Shedletsky, 1993; Stacey, 1994). Cooper and Selfe (1990) investigate the discourse of learning that can exist when "interactive patterns [disrupt] a teacher-centered hegemony" (847). Lauzon (1992) advocates more response to personal needs of learners by attending to the transactional process, and Burge (1988) poses the comparison of transmissive vs. transactional communication online. Davie (1996) encourages learner empowerment within a facilitated sense of community.

Levin, Kim & Riel (1990), Feenberg and Bellman, (1990) Andrusyszyn & Davie, 1995), and Stacey, Stubbs and Goodman (1994) offer methods to discern how an instructor might go about achieving the de-centring of the learning, so that students undertake learning online as full participants in the development of community, and through that community, knowledge. Herring (1993) warns that the commonly accepted notion that computer mediated communication democratises communications must be supported by empirical research. Levin, Kim, and Riel (1990), and Roulet (1990) provide examples of methods that might be suited to a transcript analysis to determine interactive patterns that might be described as facilitative.

References

Ahern, T., Peck, K., & Laycock, M. (1992). The effects of teacher discourse in computer-mediate discussion. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 8(3), 291-309.

Andrusyszyn, M. A., & Davie, L. (1995). Reflection as a design tool in computer mediated education. Presented at Distance Education Conference, San Antonio, Texas, January 26, 1996.

Archee, R. (1993). Using Computer mediated communication in an educational context: Educational outcomes and pedagogical lessons of computer conferencing. EJC/REC Vol. 3, No. 2, 1993. ARCHEE V3N293

Bates, A. W. (1995). Technology, Open Learning and Distance Education. London: Routledge.

Bryson, M. & de Castell, S. (1995). A Chip on Her Shoulder? New Technologies, Gender, and In/Equity. Women's Education des femmes. 11(3), pp 15-23.

Burge, E. (1992, April). Computer Mediated Communication and Education: A selected bibliography. Toronto, ON: Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.

Burge, E. (1994, Spring). Learning in computer conferenced contexts: The learners' Perspective. Journal of Distance Education. 9(1), pp. 19-43

Cooper, M., & Selfe, C. (1990, December). Computer conferences and learning: Authority, resistance, and internally persuasive discourse. College English, 52(8), 847-869.

Davie, L. (1996). Times of turbulence and transition in distance education: Needed research in computer-mediated communication (CMC) course design. The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.

Day, D. (1993). Behavioral and perceptual responses to constraint management in computer-mediated design activities. EJC/REC Vol. 3, No. 2, 1993 DAY V3N293

December, J. Selected Readings in Computer-Mediated Communication, Communication Theory, Computer Networks, and the Internet. (decemj@rpi.edu)

Feenberg, A., & Bellman, B. (1990). Social factor research in computer-mediated communications. In Harasim, L. (Ed.). New York: Praeger. Pages 67-97.

Fey, M. (1993). Feminist collaboration and computer conferencing: Egalitarian contexts for evolving voices. State University of New York at Geneseo.

Gunawardena, C. (1994). Social presence theory and implications for building online communities. The Third International Symposium on Telecommunications in Education.

Gunawardena, C., & Zittle, R. (1995). An examination of teaching and learning processes in distance education and implications for designing instruction.

Harasim, L. (1990). On-Line Education: Perspectives on a New Environment. New York: Praeger.

Herring, S. (1993). Gender and democracy in computer-mediated communication. EJC/REC, 3, 1-30.

Hiltz, S. (1995). Teaching in a virtual classroom [TM]. International conference on computer assisted instruction ICCAI'95, March 7-10, 1995, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan. (Roxanne@eies.njit.edu)

Jones, S. (1995). CyberSociety: Computer-mediated communication and community. Newbury Park: Sage Publications.

Kiesler, S., Siegel, J., & McGuire, T. (1984). Social psychological aspects of computer-mediated communication. American Psychologist, 38(10), 1123-1134.

Lauzon, A.C. (1992). Integrating computer-based instruction with computer conferencing: An evaluation of a model for designing online education. The American Journal of Distance Education, 6(2), 32-46.

Levin, J., Kim, H., & Riel, M. (1990). Analyzing instructional interactions on electronic message networks. In Harasim, L. (Ed). Online Education: Perspectives on a new environment. New York: Praeger. Pp 185-213

Mason, R. (1993). The textuality of computer networking. In Mason, R. (ed) Computer Conferencing: The Last Word. Victoria, BC: Beach Holme.

Mason, R. & Kaye, A. (1989). Mindweave: Communication, Computers and Distance Education. Oxford: Pergamon.

Murphy, J. (1988). Computerization, postmodern epistemology, and reading in the postmodern ere. Educational Theory, 38, 175-182.

Olaniran, B. (1993) Individual Differences and computer mediated communication: The role of perception. EJC/REC Vol. 3, No. 2, 1993. OLANIRAN V3N293

Riel, M. (1992). A functional analysis of educational telecomputing: A case study of learning circles. Interactive Learning Environments, 2(1), 15-29.

Roulet, R. G. (1990). Using the interact system model to analyze computer mediated communication during a small group problem-solving task. Third Symposium on Computer Mediated Communication, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, May 15-17.

Shedletsky, L. (1993). Computer-mediated communication to facilitate seminar participation and active thinking: a case study. EJC/REC, 3, 1-30.

Spender, D. (1995). Nattering on the net: women, power and cyberspace. Melbourne: Spinifex Press.

Stacey, D., Stubbs, T., & Goodman, S. (1994). The new distance learning: Email, ideology, and advanced composition. Presentation to CWC94, Missouri Western State College, March, 1994.

Truong, H. (1993). Gender Issues in Online Communications. 4.3. Bay Area Women in Telecommunications (al@sunnyside.com)

Turoff, M. (1995). Designing a Virtual Classroom (TM). Paper presented at INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON COMPUTER ASSISTED INSTRUCTION ICCAI'95, March 7-10, 1995, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan. (murray@eies.njit.edu)

Wells, R. (1995). Computer-Mediated Communication for Distance Education: An International Review of Design, Teaching, and Institutional Issues. Research monograph 6. Pennsylvania State University: American Center for the Study of Distance Education

Related Web Sites

Dr. E's Eclectic Compendium of Electronic Resources for Adult/Distance Education.
Adult Education Resources and Links created by Don Chapman, Adult Education Department, University College of the Fraser Valley, Abbotsford, BC
The Center for Teaching and Learning at Duke University has the Cynthia Sulzberger Interactive Learning Laboratory, which provides opportunities for faculty to explore the possibilities of learning technology.

last update: October 29, 1996