Information management and learning in computer conferences: Coping with irrelevant and unconnected messages

The present study examines how learnersinteract with one another within the context ofa computer conference for the purposes ofpassing a test. In a faked computer conferencewith predetermined messages, both the number ofmessages irrelevant to the topic, and theexplicit threading of messages were varied in a2 × 2 design (n = 54). Subjects participated in anasynchronous fashion over a course of fourlog-in sessions. In general, learners indicateda fairly consistent pattern of reception. Theyopened virtually all messages, grouped them ina non-chronological order, and processed themaccording to their topic relevance. Thispattern was also mediated by the conferencecharacteristics. Explicit threading led tosequences of message readings that were morecontent oriented. Similarly, fewer irrelevantmessages lead to prolonged reading times ofrelevant messages. Whereas learning success wasnot affected by conference characteristics,explicitly threaded messages decreased theperceived cognitive demands.

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