CMC Tools Research Articles

The effect of web-based peer feedback on students’ writing achievement

Peer feedback via CMC modalities has become an alternative to conventional in-class peer feedback due to the rapid rise of educational technology and the widespread use of computer-mediated communication in L2 education. Despite the fact that much research has been published on the benefits of CMC tools for enhancing L2 proficiency, the number of studies on peer feedback provided on online platforms and its effect on L2 writing achievement is limited. Therefore, the current research, with the participation of 42 university preparatory class engineering students, aimed to investigate the effectiveness of web-based peer feedback on L2 writing achievement and their views towards web-based peer feedback. For this study, the purposive sampling method was employed. To collect the data, pre-and post-tests were used and semi-structured interviews were conducted with the experimental group members. The findings have indicated that compared to traditional teacher feedback, web-based peer feedback is found to be more effective in improving students’ L2 writing achievement. Regarding the views of participants, web-based platforms to give feedback has several advantages, including practicality, ease of access, motivation, and continuous learning. The quality of the input, a lack of technological resources, or connectivity problems were regarded as the disadvantages.

Raising intercultural awareness through voice-based telecollaboration: perceptions, uses, and recommendations

ABSTRACTThis article explores learners’ uses and opinions regarding the design and implementation of an approach for developing intercultural knowledge and skills via an online voice-based telecollaboration tool. The participants were 14 pre-service teachers taking an intercultural course for English teachers at a Russian university. For three weeks, they engaged in a multicultural out-of-class telecollaboration with 14 pre-service teachers pursuing an MA degree in foreign language education in the U.S. English was used as a means of interaction. The Russian participants’ uses and views regarding the telecollaboration project were gathered through a mixed-method analysis of their oral posts, online questionnaire responses, a whole-class discussion, and individual reflections. The results revealed that the pre-service teachers appreciated the format, timeframe, and facilitation of the project as well as the affordances mediated by the voice-based tool for enabling them to develop their intercultural skills with multicultural partners. The results also indicated that, to maximize student engagement, it is important to consider learners’ contextual variables, and their individual preferences and needs when choosing CMC tools and telecollaboration partners. The study concludes with a number of pedagogical suggestions for teachers interested in conducting projects that can raise their students’ intercultural awareness via telecollaboration tools.

A Qualitative Study of the Perceptions of Iranian EFL Learners’ Attitudes towards CMC Tools Usefulness

This project examined the perceptions of Iranian EFL learners’ attitudes towards online computer-mediated communication tools usefulness. Few researches have been done to evaluate student perceptions of the helpfulness of CMC tools in online learning. In this regard, based on convenient sampling method, 60 English Language Teaching students (B.A) of Zanjan Azad University were selected. The students attended in two classes that were held by two different instructors. To homogenize the participants, PET was administered. Those participants whose scores was ±1 above and below the standard deviation were selected as the statistical sample (n= 60). Then, the selected participants were randomly assigned to one experimental (n= 30) and one control group (n= 30).The Community of Inquiry (CoI) questionnaire was distributed among the participants in groups before the treatment. During the study, the experimental group was taught using e-mail and telegram chat. In the control group, the learners were taught through traditional way of teaching. At the end of the treatment, the CoI questionnaire was re-administered among the learners in the both groups. Responses before and after the treatment revealed that the perceptions’ of the learners in the experimental group were significantly influenced as a result of instructing by e-mail and telegram.

Exploring Taiwanese college students’ perceptions of text-based, computermediated communication technology in learning Japanese as a foreign language

The use of computers as an educational tool has become very popular in the context of language teaching and learning. Research into computer mediated communication (cmc) in a Japanese as a foreign language (jfl) learning and teaching context can take advantage of various pedagogical possibilities, just as in the English classroom. This study investigates the perceptions of cmc tools held by jfl students in Taiwan. It also examines utterance length and a feature of their online writing, the use of final particles in Japanese. The overall results indicate that the use of text-based cmc tools has positive effects, and is also perceived positively by the jfl learners. The pedagogical implications are that cmc tools can be especially beneficial when integrated within an instructionally-oriented jfl course.

Joining the DOTS: A collaborative approach to online teacher training

<p>Developing Online Teaching Skills (DOTS) is one of 20 “Empowering language professionals” projects currently funded by the Council of Europe's European Centre for Modern Languages (ECML). Its principal aim is to develop an online platform for delivering teacher training at a distance. Once completed, this collaborative platform will contain a range of modular activities for self-training via a selection of interactive CMC tools. This paper describes the participative process involved in developing this platform and in creating bite-size introductory activities to online tools for language teaching based on the input of online learning experts and users from 25 European countries.</p>

Making a shift towards new CMC modes

This study examines the perceptions of Turkish nonnative speakers of English (NNSsT) concerning asynchronous mode of communication. Turkish nonnative speakers of English, native speakers of English (NSs) and nonnative speakers of English in different countries (NNSsO) exchanged online e-mail messages in English on preset topics between February 2008 and May 2008. NNSsT regard the use of e-mail as a learning tool for acquiring cultural information and facilitating foreign language learning. This experience helped them understand the conventions of the target culture and language. They stated that other CMC tools need to be used in foreign language classrooms in the future.

Comparing six video chat tools: A critical evaluation by language teachers

This article presents a critical comparison of the usefulness and practicality of six CMC video chat tools (CUworld, ICQ, MSN Messenger, Paltalk, Skype, and Yahoo Messenger) from the perspective of language teaching professionals. This comparison is based on the results of a semester-long project between graduate students at an American university and their counterparts at a university in Turkey. The language teachers were asked to pair up with a partner in the collaborating university to test and then evaluate each of these tools via video chat tool evaluation sheets. They also completed an overall evaluation sheet commenting on CMC tools in general and ranking the video chat tools in terms of their potential as language teaching tools and their usability for personal communication purposes. The qualitative and quantitative analyses of the evaluation sheets indicate a clear preference for MSN Messenger and Skype while placing CUworld and Paltalk at the bottom of the list. The article also provides pedagogical implications and applications for using tools for language teaching purposes.

Task Allocation In Team Projects

As more business organisations use global teams for solving problems or systems development, it becomes important for students to have experience of tools to support global team working and develop team skills for global as well as face to face team working. In Higher Education the team project is one of the best ways to develop a number of skills, including team working and use of CMC tools. In addition, students are learning about team working at the same time as learning about the subject matter. There is a move from face to face tuition at universities towards online provision, and many students are working from home whenever possible. Any support provided for student team working needs to be flexible, to enable students to work at convenient times and places, and should promote understanding of issues of team working, both on campus, in the workplace and globally. Many researchers have identified maintenance roles and task roles, as interrelated roles necessary to achieve successful team working. Groupware was originally designed for dispersed teams of workers, rather than students, to support the task oriented roles of team working, and offers limited support for the maintenance roles, which tend to be problematical both for learners on campus and staff in the workplace. Also groupware may not provide adequate support to help students to recognise the issues relating to team working. Previous work suggested that one difficulty the student teams experience is deciding who should do which part of the project. Thus a software support system was designed and implemented to automate the process of allocating the project tasks to individual team members, in order to study the effect of this function upon the maintenance and task roles of team working. The resulting system works by asking each team member to select from a list of team tasks those tasks they are able to do and those they like doing. The system uses reasoning to suggest which team members could be allocated to carry out which tasks, and whether any training in specific tasks is indicated by low skill levels. The team can use these suggestions as a basis for negotiation of the final allocation of the tasks of the project to individuals. Teams of 10 to 15 undergraduate students, carrying out systems development projects, as part of business information systems and information technology programmes of study, took part in trials over three successive years of study, following an action research approach to the investigation. Questionnaires, interviews and focus groups were used to gain feedback from the student users of the system. The software system did help the team leaders to allocate tasks, taking into consideration individual team members' preferences. The output from the system was used as the basis for discussion between the members, and was thought to be very useful when the team leaders did not know their team members from previous work. The knowledge base resulting from the system was useful to highlight skill shortages, requiring some training, and enable team members to be paired off to complete tasks. The teams could also mitigate project risk, by ensuring the most appropriate member was responsible for key tasks. Students felt more confident that other team members were capable of successfully performing allocated tasks, indicating some degree of trust emanating from the system outputs, even though the system relied upon individuals to provide honest input. A reluctance to try something new was noted from some students in the study, although they acknowledged the importance of team projects in providing opportunities to try out and learn new skills. Suggestions for improvements to the system ranged from linking the system to project planning tools, to providing information and guidance on what is required to carry out the different project tasks.

College students' views on using the online campus system for ELT courses

This paper examines the students' opinions in using university-provided online LMS platform based on their performative online data, a survey, a focus group and individual interviews, and the researcher's emic views in utilizing it in class as a supplementary tool. Thirty-eight students who were on the teacher certification track or interested in teaching English took two ELT courses and were guided to use the school online campus system (OCS) for various learning activities and assignments. The results showed that there was a low rate of participation in the OCS because of the heavy course load and rather non-compulsory nature of using it. However, despite rather ambivalent views on the collaborative work online and saving time when using the OCS, the students were well aware of effectiveness and benefits of using online. The analysis of the survey data also showed moderate or strong correlations at the significance level of p＞0.01 between the factors such as time-saving and future enrollment, online effectiveness and more online courses, and online effectiveness and future enrollment. These results suggest that, instead of the naive belief in the potential benefits of ICT, CMC, or other online tools, EFL practitioners probably need to carefully assess students' attitudes on the use of such tools and constantly contextualize the use of any online program whether in a blended or complementary format.

A study of peer feedback patterns in CMC modes on Korean EFL students

This study explores the differences between EFL students' peer feedback patterns using two different CMC modes, synchronous mode (chatting) and asynchronous mode (bulletin board) in Korean EFL writing classes. After writing the first draft of an argumentative essay, 20 participants received their feedback by bulletin board and 18 received theirs through chatting. Participants' attitudes towards peer feedback using either chatting or bulletin board were investigated through the questionnaire. Peer feedback editing texts of chatting and bulletin board were quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed. The results show that the participants who were grouped in the bulletin board class provided larger amount of peer feedback than the chatting class in terms of frequency. Various peer feedback patterns were identified to indicate the clear distinction from the chatting and the bulletin board. As for the questionnaire, most participants found peer feedback useful regardless of using either chatting or bulletin boards. The findings of this study support that both CMC tools helped the need and effectiveness of peer feedback in EFL writing environment.

Bridging the computer mediated communication gap

Online learners utilise sophisticated electronic communication systems and methods to engage in current distance learning environments. This paper has outlined literature discussing various CMC styles as they exist within current CMC tools, particularly in gender-related communication style differences indicated that the current 'lean' text-based electronic communication systems tend to promote a more direct 'report' communication style. Because a learner's CMC style may influence or impact the recipient's view of the message and/or the sender, and with so many online learners now utilising computer mediated communication for personal and group communication, it would seem prudent for learners to be aware of, monitor, and perhaps strategically utilise their communication styles that benefit them in being more effective in their CMC. It is concluded that learners should be familiar with the communication styles that best convey their message with the current electronic communication tools to their intended audience for their intended purpose.

Effective Use of CMC Tools in Interactive Online Learning

Instructors designing online learning can utilize an array of computer-mediated communication tools to promote student engagement and interaction. This paper surveys the tools available, focusing on uses of the tools for learning (Type II uses). Research results and implications for practice are presented for asynchronous (e-mail, listserv, discussion boards, and blogs/Weblogs) and synchronous (chat, instant messaging, and audio and video Web-based conferencing) tools.

Computer-mediated communication in distance MA programmes: the student's perspective

This paper reports on a study of computer-mediated communication within the context of a distance MA in TEFL programme which used an e-mail discussion list and then a discussion board. The study focused on the computer/Internet access and skills of the target population and their CMC needs and wants. Data were collected from 63 questionnaires and 6 in-depth interviews with students. Findings indicate that computer use and access to the Internet are widespread within the target population. In addition, most respondents indicated some competence in Internet use. No single factor emerged as an overriding inhibiting factor for lack of personal use. There was limited use of the CMC tools provided on the course for student–student interaction, mainly attributable to time constraints. However, most respondents said that they would like more CMC interaction with tutors. The main factor which would contribute to greater Internet use was training. The paper concludes with recommendations and suggestions for learner training in this area.

Skills required for participating in CMC courses: An empirical study

The development of new communication technologies and their applications has opened a broad spectrum of options to promote learning, of which a significant one is CMC – Computer-Mediated Communication. Yet, students use this medium to a relatively small extent. Our premise is that the use of these technologies depends on the level of skills and expertise of the individuals using them. The purpose of this study is to determine whether taking a Computer Literacy and Applications course (CLA) before taking CMC courses has an impact on students' participation in CMC courses and on the effective use of various CMC tools. The sample consisted of 153 students enrolled in CMC courses in the Social Sciences in the Spring 2001/2 and Fall 2002/3 semesters. Participants were divided into two groups: 80 students who had taken CLA, and 73 students who had not. A questionnaire to assess the impact of CLA on participation in CMC courses was administered to the two groups. The results of the study indicate that participation in CMC courses is more intensive in the group that had taken CLA. Based on these findings, we recommend mandating a CLA course, like the one developed at the Open University of Israel (OUI), before taking CMC courses.

‘Virtual’ learning communities beyond the classroom

AbstractAs class contact times are reduced as a result of fiscal restraints in the modern tertiary sector, language instructors are placed in the position of having to find new ways to provide experience and continuity in language learning. Extending ‘learning communities’ — sites of learner knowledge exchange, exposure to diverse learning styles and strategies, and mutual support — beyond the classroom is one solution to maintaining successful linguistic competencies amongst learners. This, however, can conflict with the diverse extra-curricular commitments faced by tertiary students. The flexibility of web-based learning platforms provides one means of overcoming these obstacles. This study investigates learner perceptions of the use of the Web-CT® platform’s CMC tools as a means of extending the community of learning in tertiary Chinese language and non-language courses. Learner responses to Likert and open-ended questionnaires show that flexibility and reduction of negative affect are seen as significant benefits to ‘virtual’ interaction and communication, although responses are notably stronger in the non-language compared with the language cohort. While both learner cohorts acknowledge positive learning outcomes, CMC is not seen to consistently further interpersonal rapport beyond that established in the classroom. Maintaining a balance between web-based and classroom learning emerges as a concern, especially amongst language learners.