The Impact of Using Social Media on Adult Web-based Cooperative Learning

Hsin-Ying Wu
Open University of Kaohsiung
Kaohsiung, Taiwan

Feng-Teng Lin
Shu-Te University
Kaohsiung, Taiwan

To let learners realize the spirit of teamwork, cooperative learning can be used as a learning strategy. Because cooperative learning requires a lot of interaction among learners, a friendly online environment in which participants are willing to discuss is needed when applying this method in online courses. Although a general learning management system is usually equipped with discussion forums, fewer and fewer learners interact in the forum. With the popularity of smartphones, learners are accustomed to using them to surf the Internet and browse online courses. However, due to the smaller screen of the smartphones, it is not convenient to browse messages and responses in the forums, and so learners are less likely to leave comments on them. Instead, learners prefer to use mobile social media to interact with classmates. This study used mobile social media (LINE) to engage learners in online discussion. A coaching method based on the five-stage e-moderating model advocated by Salmon (2003) was used for the online interactive discussions. It was expected that the curriculum design of this study would make learners more willing to participate in discussion through interacting with each other in a cooperative learning environment. This study used action research to see if learners can improve their learning effectiveness and satisfaction through the designed curriculum. A Community of Inquiry framework was applied for content analysis of qualitative data and statistical analysis was used for quantitative data. This study provides a curriculum reference model for future instructors who would like to adopt a cooperative learning strategy in online courses.