THE ASYNCHRONOUS ONLINE DISCUSSION FORUM AS A LEARNING STRATEGY IN A DISTANCE LEARNING ONLINE COURSE: A REFLECTIVE NARRATIVE / LE FORUM DE DISCUSSION EN LIGNE ASYNCHRONE COMME STRATÉGIE D'APPRENTISSAGE DANS UN APPRENTISSAGE À DISTANCE COURS EN LIGNE: UN NARRATIF RÉFLÉCHISSANT
Abstract
The paper reflects on the personal experience of being engaged in an asynchronous discussion forum in a postgraduate online course from a leading university in the delivery of online courses. It opens with an overview of the various learning theories which give value to the application of this form of technological tool to be used to support learning in a purely online course. Then, it examines the literature review on the effectiveness of using it, followed by the reflections on the personal experiences of the researcher within this specific online learning environment. The personal narrative method is used here to share the practical insights gathered and some good practices of adopting an effective online asynchronous discussion forum are suggested. I recommend a less structured forum, and the number of registered learners in one particular cohort be reduced to a reasonable size in an attempt to increase learner engagement and participation in the discussions. The acquisition-participation metaphor of Sfard is fundamental to the successful implementation of the asynchronous discussion forum to ensure collective intelligence, through collaborative learning.
L’article reflète l'expérience personnelle d'être engagé dans un forum de discussion asynchrone dans un cours en ligne de troisième cycle d'une université de premier plan dans la prestation de cours en ligne. Il s'ouvre sur un aperçu des différentes théories d'apprentissage qui valorisent l'application de cette forme d'outil technologique à utiliser pour soutenir l'apprentissage dans un cours purement en ligne. Ensuite, il examine la revue de la littérature sur l'efficacité de son utilisation, suivie des réflexions sur les expériences personnelles du chercheur dans cet environnement d'apprentissage en ligne spécifique. La méthode narrative personnelle est utilisée ici pour partager les idées pratiques recueillies et quelques bonnes pratiques pour adopter un forum de discussion asynchrone en ligne efficace sont suggérées. Je recommande un forum moins structuré et le nombre d'apprenants inscrits dans une cohorte particulière soit réduit à une taille raisonnable dans le but d'augmenter l'engagement et la participation des apprenants aux discussions. La métaphore acquisition-participation de Sfard est fondamentale pour la mise en œuvre réussie du forum de discussion asynchrone pour assurer l'intelligence collective, grâce à l'apprentissage collaboratif.
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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejoe.v5i1.3074
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