Share Paper: Undergraduate Students’ Perceptions of the Value of Online Discussions: A Comparison between Education and Engineering Students

  1. Peggy Ertmer, Purdue University, United States
  2. Nuray Temur Gedik, Middle East Technical University, Turkey
  3. Jennifer Richardson, Purdue University, United States
  4. Dazhi Yang, Purdue University, United States
  5. Tim Newby, Purdue University, United States
Friday, March 7 2:30-2:50 PM Royale 2

Abstract: This study was designed to determine how undergraduate students in an introductory educational technology course (n=360) and an introductory computer engineering course (n=155) at a large Mid-western university responded to the use of online discussions as part of their course activities. Data were collected via online surveys and course discussion boards. After participating in three-five online discussions, spread across the semester, the students shared their perceptions regarding the usefulness of the course discussions to their learning as well as their confidence for engaging in these discussions. Students described both benefits and limitations and provided suggestions for using discussions in more ...