Patterns of Interaction in a Computer Conference Transcript

Patrick J Fahy,Mohamed Ally,Gail Crawford

doi:10.19173/irrodl.v2i1.36

Patrick J Fahy, Mohamed Ally + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v2i1.36

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Abstract

An analysis of the interaction patterns in an online conference from a distance education graduate course was conducted, using an approach that focused on the transcript's interactional and structural features. A new tool for transcript analysis, the TAT (Transcript Analysis Tool), was used to analyze interactional features, while structural elements suggested by social network theory were examined. Analysis of the patterns of interaction in the conference showed interaction was variable, and that while all participants were engaged, intensity and persistence of participation were unequal among individual participants in several ways. The TAT showed the proportions of five major types of sentences in the transcript, corresponding to different modes of interaction (questions, statements, reflections, engaging comments, and quotations/citations). The findings showed that the TAT seemed to relate usefully to other work in this area, and that social network principles were valuable in the analysis of conference interaction.

Highlights

Text-based computer conferencing often provides the primary means for interaction and the search for consensus or new knowledge in distance education (Collins & Berge, 1996; Morris, Mitchell & Bell, 1999)
Gunawardena et al.’s (1997) method coded the greatest portion (92%) of their corpus as Phase 1 (“sharing and comparing of information” p. 414). These findings suggest consensus that information-related statements are likely to comprise the largest portion of online conferences
The aspects of the network experience which encouraged the investment of time and energy, and how these motivators might be detected in network interaction, remain to be determined, a task we suggest may be feasible with the Transcript Analysis Tool (TAT) and the other tools used here

Summary

Introduction

Text-based computer conferencing often provides the primary means for interaction and the search for consensus or new knowledge in distance education (Collins & Berge, 1996; Morris, Mitchell & Bell, 1999). Despite this research record in transcript analysis, substantial gaps persist in our understanding of online interaction, both in relation to what transpires interactionally in conferences, and what factors contribute to a successful online experience from the participant’s point of view. These gaps indicate lack of a theoretically adequate account of learner-learner interaction in online situations (Anderson & Garrison, 1995), and, for practitioners, the need for a model for managing online communications effectively. Practitioners and researchers must be able to describe online interaction more than impressionistically, and measure effects more than anecdotally

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