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Learning environment design; computer mediated communication; asynchronous communication; online learning
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Designing Asynchronous Online Discussion Environments: Recent Progress And Possible Future Directions, Fei Gao, Tianyi Zhang, Teresa Franklin
Designing Asynchronous Online Discussion Environments: Recent Progress And Possible Future Directions, Fei Gao, Tianyi Zhang, Teresa Franklin
Fei Gao
Asynchronous online discussion environments are important platforms to support learning. Research suggests, however, threaded forums, one of the most popular asynchronous discussion environments, do not often foster productive online discussions naturally. This paper explores how certain properties of threaded forums have affected or constrained the quality of discussions, and argues that developing alternative discussion environments is highly needed to offer better support for asynchronous online communication. Using the Productive Discussion Model developed by Gao, Wang & Sun (2009), we analyzed current work on four types of asynchronous discussion environments that have been developed and researched: constrained environments, visualized environments, anchored …