Exploring students' preference of the role of educators in asynchronous online discussions

The development and advancement of Information and Communication Technology has caused the creation of a borderless world. In the field of education, a borderless world means classrooms without walls where teaching and learning is conducted in a virtual environment. In contrast of their role as ‘a s...

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Main Authors: Mahmud, Rosnaini, Ismail, Mohd Arif, Nawawi, Mokhtar
Format: Conference or Workshop Item
Published: 2009
Subjects:
Online Access:http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/8821/
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author Mahmud, Rosnaini
Ismail, Mohd Arif
Nawawi, Mokhtar
author_facet Mahmud, Rosnaini
Ismail, Mohd Arif
Nawawi, Mokhtar
author_sort Mahmud, Rosnaini
building UPM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description The development and advancement of Information and Communication Technology has caused the creation of a borderless world. In the field of education, a borderless world means classrooms without walls where teaching and learning is conducted in a virtual environment. In contrast of their role as ‘a sage on stage’ in conventional schooling, educators now have multiple roles to play, particularly to facilitate online learning. Online technologies have afforded educators and students the luxury to communicate and interact synchronously or asynchronously in a virtual learning environment. As such, the role of the online educator is vital in enhancing students’ learning particularly where asynchronous computer-mediated-communication (ACMC) is concern. Thus, the aim of this paper is to present the findings of a study that explored: (i) the educator’s role preferred by students and (ii) students’ perception toward asynchronous online discussions in terms of interest, inhibition and assessment. A total of 90 students in a Malaysian college were the research respondents. The instruments used to measure educators’ role and students’ perception were the students’ posting on the discussion board and interview protocols. Findings showed that the most preferred educators’ role was as the content provider, followed by the role as the course builder. Least preferred was the role as the course facilitator. Majority of the students perceived that ACMC had both advantages and disadvantages. However, students were found to prefer teacher-centered learning approach much more than to participate in collaborative learning. This interesting finding calls for more in depth study that examine the factors that contribute to students’ learning and participation in online learning virtual environment.
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format Conference or Workshop Item
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institution Universiti Putra Malaysia
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last_indexed 2025-11-15T07:35:55Z
publishDate 2009
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spelling upm-88212015-01-23T02:07:30Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/8821/ Exploring students' preference of the role of educators in asynchronous online discussions Mahmud, Rosnaini Ismail, Mohd Arif Nawawi, Mokhtar The development and advancement of Information and Communication Technology has caused the creation of a borderless world. In the field of education, a borderless world means classrooms without walls where teaching and learning is conducted in a virtual environment. In contrast of their role as ‘a sage on stage’ in conventional schooling, educators now have multiple roles to play, particularly to facilitate online learning. Online technologies have afforded educators and students the luxury to communicate and interact synchronously or asynchronously in a virtual learning environment. As such, the role of the online educator is vital in enhancing students’ learning particularly where asynchronous computer-mediated-communication (ACMC) is concern. Thus, the aim of this paper is to present the findings of a study that explored: (i) the educator’s role preferred by students and (ii) students’ perception toward asynchronous online discussions in terms of interest, inhibition and assessment. A total of 90 students in a Malaysian college were the research respondents. The instruments used to measure educators’ role and students’ perception were the students’ posting on the discussion board and interview protocols. Findings showed that the most preferred educators’ role was as the content provider, followed by the role as the course builder. Least preferred was the role as the course facilitator. Majority of the students perceived that ACMC had both advantages and disadvantages. However, students were found to prefer teacher-centered learning approach much more than to participate in collaborative learning. This interesting finding calls for more in depth study that examine the factors that contribute to students’ learning and participation in online learning virtual environment. 2009-11-16 Conference or Workshop Item NonPeerReviewed Mahmud, Rosnaini and Ismail, Mohd Arif and Nawawi, Mokhtar (2009) Exploring students' preference of the role of educators in asynchronous online discussions. In: ICERI2009 Conference, 16-18 Nov. 2009 , Madrid, Spain.. (pp. 3356-3363). Teaching and learning Electronic discussion groups
spellingShingle Teaching and learning
Electronic discussion groups
Mahmud, Rosnaini
Ismail, Mohd Arif
Nawawi, Mokhtar
Exploring students' preference of the role of educators in asynchronous online discussions
title Exploring students' preference of the role of educators in asynchronous online discussions
title_full Exploring students' preference of the role of educators in asynchronous online discussions
title_fullStr Exploring students' preference of the role of educators in asynchronous online discussions
title_full_unstemmed Exploring students' preference of the role of educators in asynchronous online discussions
title_short Exploring students' preference of the role of educators in asynchronous online discussions
title_sort exploring students' preference of the role of educators in asynchronous online discussions
topic Teaching and learning
Electronic discussion groups
url http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/8821/