The Effect of Peer’s Progress on Learning Achievement in e-Learning: A Social Facilitation Perspective

Abstract

AbstractElectronic learning (e-Learning) is the next generation of learning. It provides comprehensive supports to students and can overcome geographical and time limitations compared to traditional classroom learning. There is a dramatic difference between traditional classroom learning and e-Learning. One of the significant discrepancy is the nature of the social context, which is a main research issue in this study. The lack of in-person contacts in e-Learning does not isolate students from the social thoroughly, yet with the assistance of technology, there is still room for much more creative learning activities that facilitates interactivity between students. Therefore, in this study, social presence theory and social facilitation theory were reviewed and designed to examine the influence of information about peers’ progress on students’ learning effect. Forty-four students of an elective course in a senior high school at Tainan City, Tainan participated in the experiment. The result shows that students’ learning effect is affected by information about peers’ progress, and results were discussed with social presence theory and social facilitates theory. Displaying of information about peers on e-Learning system can have influence on students. Consequently, students’ learning can more or less be influenced by controlling the display of peer information.KeywordsSocial facilitationSocial presencePeer progress