From Moodle to Facebook: Exploring students' motivation and experiences in online communities

Liping Deng*, Nicole Judith Tavares

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

    232 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    The present paper documents a qualitative study that examines the motivating and inhibiting factors that influenced students' engagement in online discussions via Moodle and Facebook. The data was collected through individual interviews with 14 pre-service teachers. Using the Activity Theory as a lens, the study reveals a set of factors concerning the technical tools, subjective perceptions, goals of online discussion, social presence within a community, rules for participation, and roles of the participants that affect their online engagement patterns. The findings of the study inform educators and software designers of how online discussions can be better promoted among students, and how a web-based environment more conducive to learning can be created.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)167-176
    Number of pages10
    JournalComputers and Education
    Volume68
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2013

    Scopus Subject Areas

    • General Computer Science
    • Education

    User-Defined Keywords

    • Computer-mediated communication
    • Improving classroom teaching
    • Learning communities

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