Patterns of Interaction in a Computer Conference Transcript

An analysis of the interaction patterns in an online conference from a distance education graduate course was conducted, using an approach that focused on the transcript’s interactional and structural features. A new tool for transcript analysis, the TAT (Transcript Analysis Tool), was used to analyze interactional features, while structural elements suggested by social network theory were examined. Analysis of the patterns of interaction in the conference showed interaction was variable, and that while all participants were engaged, intensity and persistence of participation were unequal among individual participants in several ways. The TAT showed the proportions of ve major types of sentences in the transcript, corresponding to dierent modes of interaction (questions, statements, reections, engaging comments, and quotations/citations). The ndings showed that the TAT seemed to relate usefully to other work in this area, and that social network principles were valuable in the analysis of conference interaction.

[1]  Carl A. Ridley,et al.  8 – Social Network Influence on the Dyadic Relationship , 1979 .

[2]  Jack J. Phillips.  The Return-on-Investment (ROI) Process: Issues and Trends. , 1998 .

[3]  D. R. Garrison,et al.  Understanding Distance Education: A Framework for the Future , 1989 .

[4]  Terry Anderson,et al.  Networked learning : the pedagogy of the internet , 1998 .

[5]  C. Fulford,et al.  Perceptions of Interaction: The critical predictor in distance education , 1993 .

[6]  S. Herring.  Two variants of an electronic message schema , 1996 .

[7]  P. Fahy.  Addressing some Common Problems in Transcript Analysis , 2001 .

[8]  Farhad Saba.  Research in Distance Education: A Status Report , 2000 .

[9]  Eva Mary Bures,et al.  Computer‐supported collaborative learning and distance education , 1996 .

[10]  Patrick J. Fahy,et al.  The Development and Testing of a Tool for Analysis of Computer-Mediated Conferencing Transcripts , 2000 .

[11]  Patrick J. Fahy.  Epistolary and Expository Interaction Patterns in a Computer Conference Transcript , 2002 .

[12]  Peter S. Cookson,et al.  The Multidimensional Audioconferencing Classification System (MACS) , 1995 .

[13]  Charlotte N. Gunawardena,et al.  Analysis of a Global Online Debate and the Development of an Interaction Analysis Model for Examining Social Construction of Knowledge in Computer Conferencing , 1997 .

[14]  1.1: Introduction to Structural Analysis , 2022 .

[15]  E. Zhu.  Meaning Negotiation, Knowledge Construction, and Mentoring in a Distance Learning Course , 1996 .

[16]  Stephen P. Witte,et al.  Topical Structure and Revision: An Exploratory Study. , 1983 .

[17]  T. Anderson,et al.  Online Social Interchange, Discord, and Knowledge Construction , 1998 .

[18]  D. Randy Garrison,et al.  Transactional Issues in Distance Education: The Impact of Design in Audioteleconferencing. , 1995 .

[19]  Heinz Mandl,et al.  International Perspectives on the Design of Technology-supported Learning Environments , 1996 .

[20]  Zane L. Berge,et al.  Facilitating Interaction in Computer Mediated Online Courses , 1996 .

[21]  D. Garrison,et al.  Assessing Social Presence In Asynchronous Text-based Computer Conferencing , 1999 .

[22]  Allan Collins,et al.  Design Issues for Learning Environments. , 1993 .

[23]  D. Garrison,et al.  Critical thinking, cognitive presence, and computer conferencing in distance education , 2001 .

[24]  J. Walther.  Computer-Mediated Communication , 1996 .

[25]  F. Nye,et al.  Social Exchange in Developing Relationships , 1979 .

[26]  Verna Keller.  Adaptation and application of a transcript analysis tool to analyze a computer-mediated communication (CMC) distance education course transcript. , 1999 .