Abstract
Background: Social annotation (SA) is a genre of learning technology that enables the addition of digital notes to shared texts and affords contextualized peer-to-peer online discussion. A small body of literature examines how SA, as asynchronous online discussion, can contribute to students' knowledge construction (KC)-or a process whereby learners collaborate through shared socio-cognitive practices. This case study analyzed how SA enabled student participation in seven KC activities, such as interpretation and elaboration. Methods: We analyzed 2,121 annotations written by 59 students in three undergraduate courses at a Canadian University in the Winter 2019 semester. Using a method of open coding and constant comparison, we coded each annotation for evidence of KC activities. Results: Results showed a range of KC activities in students' SA. Across courses, interpretation was the most common KC activity (40%), followed by elaboration (20%). Annotations that were part of peer-to-peer discussion included all seven types of KC activities, but some activities, such as consensus building, support, and conflict, were almost exclusively found in replies to others. Conclusions: This study suggests that SA is a productive form of online learning through which undergraduate students in multiple disciplinary contexts can interact with peers, make sense of academic content, and construct knowledge by reading and writing together.
Highlights
Online conversation—as with chat rooms or discussion forums—is a ubiquitous practice with societal implications (Paulus and Wise 2019)
This study suggests that Social annotation (SA) is a productive form of online learning through which undergraduate students in multiple disciplinary contexts can interact with peers, make sense of academic content, and construct knowledge by reading and writing together
This study examined the affordances of SA as asynchronous online discussion and analyzed how SA enabled students’ knowledge construction (KC) activities
Summary
Online conversation—as with chat rooms or discussion forums—is a ubiquitous practice with societal implications (Paulus and Wise 2019). Asynchronous online discussion is a tenet of social learning in digital environments (Hill, Song, and West 2009) with research indicating such discourse enables social and collaborative learning (Chan and Pow 2020; Hambacher, Ginn, and Slater 2018; McMahon 1997). The benefits of online discussion include social knowledge construction (KC) (Eryilmaz et al 2013; Kent, Laslo, and Rafaeli 2016), meaningful dialogue with information shared and negotiated (Gao, Zhang, and Franklin 2013; Wise, Hausknecht, and Zhao 2014), collaboration with peers (Pratt and Back 2013), and reflection (Truhlar, Walter, and Williams 2018). The respective benefits and challenges of online discussion motivates additional research on how text-based, asynchronous online discourse can productively promote learners’ interaction, collaboration, and reflection in digital learning environments. Social annotation (SA) is a genre of learning technology that enables the addition of digital notes to shared texts and affords contextualized peer-to-peer online discussion. Conclusions: This study suggests that SA is a productive form of online learning through which undergraduate students in multiple disciplinary contexts can interact with peers, make sense of academic content, and construct knowledge by reading and writing together
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