The OLE market in Australia is dominated by two systems and as the provision online of whole courses and components of courses grows for both distance learners and those on campus, the impact of these systems on teaching and learning in our institutions grows similarly. As a result it is critical that these systems provide online communication tools that are able to best facilitate the development of communities of inquiry online. As this paper has demonstrated, if the discussion board tool, which forms the basis of asynchronous online communication in both systems, is examined as to the degree to which it is able to facilitate the development of effective social, cognitive and teacher presence, serious doubts are raised about its suitability. Under similar examination, weblog technology can be theoretically seen to more effectively meet the needs of educators seeking to establish a community inquiry online. Consequently, while discussion boards may have a role to play in the shaping of future OLEs it is arguable that this role should be complemented by the implementation, within or alongside these systems, of weblogging functionality.
Posted by admin on November 12, 2008
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