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Nagel, L., A.S. Blignautb And J.C. Cronje. Essay

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Nagel, L., A.S. Blignautb and J.C. Cronje. (2009). Read-only participants: a case for student communication in online classes. Interactive Learning Environments, 17 (1): 37 -- 51. According to Nagel (2009), student participation in online classes can take many forms, some of which is highly interactive, some of which is more passive. Some students may actively strive to create a vibrant community, while other students may simply 'lurk' in the background. There is a much higher rate (20-40% more) of students dropping out of online courses, and participation and a sense of community investment is often thought to be a significant factor in students' rates of success. Precisely what type of engagement is necessary to ensure success is debatable. Some researchers indicate that active forms of engagement are essential, stating that "passive online learning through 'listening' without participation produces...

2009: 40).
Advocates of the need for participation state that only active engagement really sharpens students' critical thinking skills. Immediate feedback is enabled through online communities, and creates a greater sense of investment in the class that facilitates completion. The ability to interact is one of the great strengths of learning online, perhaps even greater than the benefits of learning in a large lecture classroom. However, contrarians who question the essential nature of participation note that all students are different, and students who are less comfortable with the subject matter and fluid in their prose may feel more comfortable listening and lurking at first: "then,…

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Advocates of the need for participation state that only active engagement really sharpens students' critical thinking skills. Immediate feedback is enabled through online communities, and creates a greater sense of investment in the class that facilitates completion. The ability to interact is one of the great strengths of learning online, perhaps even greater than the benefits of learning in a large lecture classroom. However, contrarians who question the essential nature of participation note that all students are different, and students who are less comfortable with the subject matter and fluid in their prose may feel more comfortable listening and lurking at first: "then, as students increase their expertise, they move from the periphery to the centre" (Nagel et al. 2009: 40). They contend that "student online visibility and participation can take many forms, like read-only participants who skim over or deliberately harvest others' discussions. Other students can be highly visible without contributing" (Nagel et al. 2009: 37).

The reasons for students' noninvolvement may also play a role in the extent to which they may benefit or not benefit from the online discussions. Students with a low level of comfort in English, for example, may be shy about participating rather than lazy. 'Lurking' instructors that do not actively participate may make student learning less interactive, regardless of how much the students post, since instructors' challenges and probing questions may elicit more creative thinking on the part of students.

After presenting the two opposing views, the authors of the article conducted their own experiment, studying an online learning community. Certain inhibiting factors to participating proved to be particularly difficult to overcome, such as problems with Internet connections (Nagel et al. 2009: 44). While some students persevered, overall the most frequent posters were the highest-performing students and the least frequent posters were the lowest-performing students. In fact, only students who made a contribution to the class -- even if only staying in touch with the facilitator because of technical problems -- completed the class successfully (Nagel et al. 2009: 40). There may be a 'correlation' in terms of success as well as 'causation' -- students more likely to put in the effort to participate are more likely to be diligent with their work. But the author's point that communication enhances intellectual and motivation seems valid, although more study may be needed to prove it conclusively.
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