Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Improving Synchrony in Small Group Asynchronous Online Discussions

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Trends and Innovations in Information Systems and Technologies (WorldCIST 2020)

Part of the book series: Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing ((AISC,volume 1161))

Included in the following conference series:

Abstract

Online courses often select asynchronous tools for teamwork as it allows temporal freedom for students who might come from different time zones or have busy schedules. These solutions work better with larger groups, where due to the quantity of participants, it is easier to get replies faster. In this study, we investigate challenges that arise in asynchronous discussions with small group (4–5 participants). Empirical data was collected from the UNIPS pedagogical employee training online course Becoming a Teacher and its teamwork period, where Google Docs was used as a discussion platform by 42 students. We observed that (1) discussion activity peaked around deadlines (2) students often came online in vain as their team members had not replied yet and (3) when students were online simultaneously, they were not able to take advantage of this by engaging in synchronous communication. As solutions, we propose improving the synchrony of the communication via more structured instructions and increasing the affordances of the communication tools.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. An, H., Shin, S., Lim, K.: The effects of different instructor facilitation approaches on students’ interactions during asynchronous online discussions. Comput. Educ. 53(3), 749–760 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Andresen, M.A.: Asynchronous discussion forums: success factors, outcomes, assessments, and limitations. J. Educ. Technol. Soc. 12(1), 249–257 (2009)

    MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  3. Blair, B.L., Fletcher, A.C., Gaskin, E.R.: Cell phone decision making: adolescents’ perceptions of how and why they make the choice to text or call. Youth Soc. 47(3), 395–411 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Branon, R.F., Essex, C.: Synchronous and asynchronous communication tools in distance education. TechTrends 45(1), 36–36 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Caspi, A., Gorsky, P., Chajut, E.: The influence of group size on nonmandatory asynchronous instructional discussion groups. Internet High. Educ. 6(3), 227–240 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Chiu, T.K., Hew, T.K.: Factors influencing peer learning and performance in MOOC asynchronous online discussion forum. Aust. J. Educ. Technol. 34(4) (2018). https://doi.org/10.14742/ajet.3240

  7. Clark, C., Strudler, N., Grove, K.: Comparing asynchronous and synchronous video vs. text based discussions in an online teacher education course. Online Learn. 19(3), 48–69 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Day, P.N., Holt, P.O., Russell, G.T.: The cognitive effects of delayed visual feedback: working memory disruption while driving in virtual environments. In: International Conference on Cognitive Technology, pp. 75–82. Springer (2001)

    Google Scholar 

  9. Den Otter, A., Emmitt, S.: Exploring effectiveness of team communication: balancing synchronous and asynchronous communication in design teams. Eng. Constr. Archit. Manage. 14(5), 408–419 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Dennen, V.P.: From message posting to learning dialogues: factors affecting learner participation in asynchronous discussion. Dist. Educ. 26(1), 127–148 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Ding, L., Kim, C., Orey, M.: Studies of student engagement in gamified online discussions. Comput. Educ. 115, 126–142 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Graham, M., Dutton, W.H.: Society and the Internet: How Networks of Information and Communication are Changing Our Lives. Oxford University Press, Oxford (2019)

    Book  Google Scholar 

  13. Hardaker, C.: Trolling in asynchronous computer-mediated communication: from user discussions to academic definitions (2010)

    Google Scholar 

  14. Hrastinski, S.: Asynchronous and synchronous e-learning. Educ. Quart. 31(4), 51–55 (2008)

    Google Scholar 

  15. Johnson, G.M.: Synchronous and asynchronous text-based CMC in educational contexts: a review of recent research. TechTrends 50(4), 46–53 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Kay Wijekumar, K., Spielvogel, J.: Intelligent discussion boards: promoting deep conversations in asynchronous discussion boards through synchronous support. Campus-Wide Inf. Syst. 23(3), 221–232 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Laato., S., Lipponen., E., Salmento., H., Vilppu., H., Murtonen., M.: Minimizing the number of dropouts in university pedagogy online courses. In: Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Computer Supported Education - Volume 1: CSEDU, pp. 587–596. INSTICC, SciTePress (2019). https://doi.org/10.5220/0007686005870596

  18. Laato, S., Pope, N.: A lightweight co-construction activity for teaching 21st century skills at primary schools. In: Proceedings of the 52nd Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  19. Laato., S., Salmento., H., Murtonen., M.: Development of an online learning platform for university pedagogical studies-case study. In: Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Computer Supported Education - Volume 2: CSEDU, pp. 481–488. INSTICC, SciTePress (2018). https://doi.org/10.5220/0006700804810488

  20. Latchman, H., Salzmann, C., Thottapilly, S., Bouzekri, H.: Hybrid asynchronous and synchronous learning networks in distance education. In: International Conference on Engineering Education (1998)

    Google Scholar 

  21. Li, L., Finley, J., Pitts, J., Guo, R.: Which is a better choice for student-faculty interaction: synchronous or asynchronous communication? J. Technol. Res. 2, 1 (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  22. Mabrito, M.: A study of synchronous versus asynchronous collaboration in an online business writing class. Am. J. Dist. Educ. 20(2), 93–107 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Madden, L., Jones, G., Childers, G.: Teacher education: modes of communication within asynchronous and synchronous communication platforms. J. Classr. Interact. 52(2), 16–30 (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  24. Murphy, E.: Recognising and promoting collaboration in an online asynchronous discussion. Br. J. Educ. Technol. 35(4), 421–431 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Murphy, E., Rodríguez-Manzanares, M.A., Barbour, M.: Asynchronous and synchronous online teaching: perspectives of canadian high school distance education teachers. Br. J. Educ. Technol. 42(4), 583–591 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Offir, B., Lev, Y., Bezalel, R.: Surface and deep learning processes in distance education: synchronous versus asynchronous systems. Comput. Educ. 51(3), 1172–1183 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Oztok, M., Zingaro, D., Brett, C., Hewitt, J.: Exploring asynchronous and synchronous tool use in online courses. Comput. Educ. 60(1), 87–94 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Peterson, A.T., Beymer, P.N., Putnam, R.T.: Synchronous and asynchronous discussions: effects on cooperation, belonging, and affect. Online Learn. 22(4), 7–25 (2018)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Rosenberg, J., Akcaoglu, M., Willet, K.B.S., Greenhalgh, S., Koehler, M.: A tale of two twitters: synchronous and asynchronous use of the same hashtag. In: Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education International Conference, pp. 283–286. Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE) (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  30. Swan, K.: Virtual interaction: design factors affecting student satisfaction and perceived learning in asynchronous online courses. Dist. Educ. 22(2), 306–331 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Vilppu, H., Södervik, I., Postareff, L., et al.: The effect of short online pedagogical training on university teachers’ interpretations of teaching-learning situations. Instr. Sci. 47, 679–709 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11251-019-09496-z

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Watts, L.: Synchronous and asynchronous communication in distance learning: a review of the literature. Q. Rev. Dist. Educ. 17(1), 23 (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  33. Yamagata-Lynch, L.C.: Blending online asynchronous and synchronous learning. Int. Rev. Res. Open Distrib. Learn. 15(2), 189–212 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Turku, Turku, Finland

    Samuli Laato

  2. Tampere University, Tampere, Finland

    Mari Murtonen

Authors
  1. Samuli Laato
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Mari Murtonen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Samuli Laato .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Engenharia Informática, Universidade de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal

    Álvaro Rocha

  2. College of Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

    Hojjat Adeli

  3. FEUP, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Luís Paulo Reis

  4. DIMES, Università della Calabria, Arcavacata, Italy

    Sandra Costanzo

  5. Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Montenegro, Podgorica, Montenegro

    Irena Orovic

  6. Universidade Portucalense, Porto, Portugal

    Fernando Moreira

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Laato, S., Murtonen, M. (2020). Improving Synchrony in Small Group Asynchronous Online Discussions. In: Rocha, Á., Adeli, H., Reis, L., Costanzo, S., Orovic, I., Moreira, F. (eds) Trends and Innovations in Information Systems and Technologies. WorldCIST 2020. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 1161. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-45697-9_21

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation