Abstract:

Introduction:
Collaborative peer interaction in online learning can determine learning achievement, satisfaction, and meaningful learning experiences (Persico et al., 2010), when learners interact online through tools like discussion forums, emails, and web annotations. As these interactions transfer to the construction and application of knowledge, it is important to understand how they might differ on various online discussion platforms.
Asynchronous online discussion forums help in negotiation, internalization of knowledge, support active and engaged learners with improved final grades, group projects, and critical thinking (Zheng & Warshauer, 2015). However, there has been criticism that threaded discussion forums prevented students from an incisive understanding of learning materials, disruption of focus, and lack of interactive, organic discussion due to their hierarchical nature (Sun & Gao, 2017). Web annotation tools that help learners with collaborative reading and writing became more important. “Web annotation is a genre of information technology that allows a user to annotate information in a web document and anchor a discussion in the annotated information” (Zhu et al., 2020, p. 262). They help students in group collaboration, with higher cognitive and meta-cognitive learning (Li, Pow & cheng, 2015; Johnson, Archibald & Tenenbaum, 2010), and promote reading performance (Rau, Chen & Chin, 2004).
In this study, we explore the differences in learner writing and engagement with peers on two platforms and add to the literature on the role of collaborative discussion forums in learner performance.

Context and Purpose of the Study:
This study is conducted in three sections of an online, asynchronous undergraduate course that focuses on ethical considerations involving technology, relevant to societies. In this 3-credit, writing-intensive, 14-week course, learners complete discussion assignments each week, on the course LMS and also annotate the scholarly readings on an annotation tool called Hypothes.is. They make individual annotations and respond to peers’ annotations, to engage in collaborative learning situations to actively co-construct knowledge.

The purpose of this study is to understand the differences in learners’ writing and engagement in three sections of the online course, taught by two graduate instructors, who are also the researchers of this study. The study aims to understand the differences in including web annotation and threaded discussion forums in supporting learners’ writing skills and how the learners’ writing skills and peer interactions differ on both platforms.

Methodology:
Using a qualitative, interpretive case study, researchers will observe and assess learners’ online discussions on both platforms throughout the course focusing on their reflection and engagement with peers. Learners’ interactions on two online platforms will be observed, coded, and inductively analyzed for patterns and themes (Saldana, 2009), based on the observation protocol developed by the researchers. Researchers will draft their interpretive and analytic memos based on the protocol. Assertions will be formed based on the group discussions, dynamics, and the scaffolding provided by the researchers on both platforms.

Keywords:

Collaborative Online Learning, Web Annotation, Threaded Discussion, Asynchronous Online Learning.