With wide adoption of on-line instruction as a new instruction format in higher education in the U.S. and the fast growing population of international students coming to pursue degrees in America, the exploration of international students’ perceived needs and expectations towards this new learning experience becomes critical. Chinese students are the second largest group of international students in the U.S., yet, studies on their learning needs and challenges in on-line learning are limited. This case study aims at exploring the experiences of three Chinese graduate students, who major in education and have taken at least one on-line course in their programs. Data were collected through three in-depth individual interviews with the participants. Three research questions guided the study: 1) How do Chinese students feel about taking an on-line course as compared with traditional face-to-face lecture? 2) How confident do Chinese students feel about their language competency when they participate in the discussions of an on-line course? 3) What is Chinese students’ understanding of the cultural issues as they participate in the discussions of an on-line course? There were four themes generated from the cross-case analysis. The themes were: a) preference of face-to-face courses over on-line courses; b) English language proficiency as a major challenge; c) enjoyment of cross-cultural interaction, and personal growth from the experience. Results revealed that: 1) Participants always have a preference for face-to-face format and regarded face-to-face interaction as an indispensible component; yet, since participants also welcome the adoption of on-line technology, they recommended a combination of two or more instruction methods such as an on-line method with face-to-face method or synchronous on-line chats with asynchronous discussion; 2) Limitation in English language proficiency is constantly a major challenge for participants as international students; 3) Participants enjoyed the cross-cultural communication with peers; and 4) Participants consolidated their knowledge base and developed the awareness of being a culturally responsive teacher.

In recent times, there has been a strong push for higher education institutions to offer more online courses to cater for students who otherwise would be denied university education. While this may benefit the many distance education students, the take-up rate of totally online education by current on-campus students remains uncertain. At the same time, many lecturers have started to design and develop online teaching material for their courses; many do so without the support of their employer - the university that they work in. The purpose of this study is two-fold. Firstly, to gain an insight into how on-campus students perceive online learning and to examine their readiness and willingness to make the shift from conventional classroom learning to online learning with no face-to-face contact. Secondly, to gain an insight into how lecturers approach online teaching; so as to better understand the problems they face when switching to a teaching mode that is quite different from the classroom teaching they are familiar with. The outcomes of this study will provide us with a better understanding of how lecturers and on-campus students perceive online teaching and learning. Understanding students' level of readiness to take part in online learning and their willingness to switch from the conventional classroom to cyberspace will assist universities in making decisions on the future direction of online courses. This is particularly important to those universities that intend to replace conventional classroom teaching with online courses. A better understanding of the problems faced by students and lecturers in online teaching and learning will also enable university administrators to ensure adequate resources are being allocated and the right level of support is provided. / Lecturers' experiences in designing and developing online courses also assist in forming guidelines, policies and procedures for others to follow. An exploratory study was carried out on five groups of students and their lecturers to investigate their perceptions of online teaching and learning. Each group of students was enrolled in a specific subject unit when the study was carried out. All of the students were studying on-campus pursuing bachelor or postgraduate qualifications in various disciplines across the university. Students from each group were asked to complete a questionnaire during one of their lecture sessions. Their lecturers were interviewed individually. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses were applied on the collected data. Results of the study found that the majority of the students had sufficient knowledge at using the Internet and were very positive about online teaching and learning. While they would have liked to see more online teaching and learning used in their courses, they would not want it to replace classroom teaching and learning. The lecturers felt that online teaching - the development of online course material and the constant monitoring of students progress, was a time consuming but rewarding task. They would like to see their efforts in taking up such challenges recognised and rewarded by their institution and more resources be provided to assist them in further development in the area. / In conclusion, the outcomes of this study show that if given the choice, not all oncampus students would like to enrol in online courses. The majority of them would still prefer classroom learning supplemented by online learning. Universities should invest in online teaching and learning with more resources allocated to assisting lecturers in online teaching. However, universities contemplating using online courses to replace traditional classroom teaching may find themselves losing their existing on-campus students.

The purpose of this study was to examine and describe the events of the first iteration of the Media Technology and Diversity course with an in-depth analysis of its electronic discourse. In conceptualizing the viable alternatives for delivering college-level distance education via on-line technologies, Harasim (1990) cautions that the mere introduction of computer mediated communication "does not in itself improve learning; design (or method) is crucial" (p. xx). The role of instructional design as the cornerstone of all effective instruction is relevant as new technologies are used in teaching and learning. The MTD distance education course content was delivered via the World Wide Web, where the course homepage was the on-line classroom and e-mail and Webchat communication supported participants' interaction. The participants of the study were the instructors and teaching assistants, as well as the undergraduate and graduate students who took the course. The electronic archive data, student assignments, and follow-up interviews with participants provided multiple data points for analysis. The Webchat archive data was analyzed using the NUD.DIST qualitative research software to sort and produce descriptive statistics. The analysis of e-mail and Webchat discourse revealed that participant interaction differed between media types and between asynchronous and scheduled the Webchat discussions. The differences were temporal, topical, and structural. Student initiated thought-provoking Webchat dialogue yet on-line content delivery, course structure, and reliability of computer systems reduced student participation in on-line discourse and course activities. Significantly, lessons learned from the design of the MTD experience indicate that on-line course development requires advance technical skill and accessible instructional technologies. Instructional designers should develop course materials with the end-users' lowest common denominator technologies to increase participation and learning opportunities. The lessons learned from the electronic discourse analysis indicate that the WWW is a very complex instructional environment that requires carefully designed pedagogical activities and interaction. Research results indicate that where as asynchronous Webchat discussions encourage students to initiate conversation topics, the overall participation in on-line discourse is low. On the other hand, scheduled Webchat discussions promote lengthy and more thought-provoking discussions, but students generally respond to instructor-posted questions or topics. / Ph. D.

A presente pesquisa configura-se como um estudo de caso de natureza qualitativa que procurou analisar e tecer algumas considerações importantes a respeito de um curso livre experimental de inglês básico on-line - denominado Beginner Grammar Writing (BGW)-, com enfoque no desenvolvimento das habilidades de leitura e de escrita. Esse curso foi oferecido para alunos de diferentes países cuja língua materna não é o inglês, e ministrado, concomitantemente, por duas professoras da área, residentes em países distintos. Procurou-se verificar se o curso, que adotou uma metodologia de ensino-aprendizagem colaborativa/comunicacional, veio a se tornar uma comunidade de aprendizagem, a partir das características apontadas por vários teóricos, e das quais elegemos as seguintes: interesses comuns, empatia, sociabilidade colaborativa e tempo de exposição no grupo. Os dados obtidos foram coletados ao longo do curso em questão, no primeiro momento em que foi oferecido. Esses dados consistem em documentos digitais do curso (tais como e-mail dos alunos, e-mail trocados entre as professoras, registros de participação dos estudantes no fórum e em sessões de chat) e na observação participante da professora/pesquisadora ao longo de todo o curso. O estudo fundamentou-se nas teorias da comunicação escolar, comunicação on-line, de aprendizagem colaborativa e no referencial teórico a respeito de comunidades virtuais (de aprendizagem). A reflexão sobre os dados recolhidos e a análise efetuada apontaram algumas questões relevantes a respeito de ensino de inglês on-line na perspectiva de uma metodologia de ensino-aprendizagem colaborativo/ comunicacional e mostraram que o curso BGW atingiu o objetivo de promover a aprendizagem coletiva. A análise de dados confirmou ainda que uma comunidade de aprendizagem foi criada e é mantida como tal a partir do curso BGW aqui estudado. / The present study is a qualitative case study of an experimental English basic on-line course, entitled Beginner Grammar Writing (BGW), with emphasis on the development of writing and reading skills. This course was offered to students from different countries, whose native language was not English, and was delivered simultaneously by two teachers of English, resident in distinct countries. The study attempted to verify whether the students in the course, which adopted a teaching and learning collaborative/communicational methodology, became a learning community from the characteristics described by several theoreticians and from which we selected the following: common interests, empathy, collaborative sociability and time of exposure in the group. The data were collected from the course when it was first offered. Data consisted of digital documents (such as students´ e-mail, e-mail exchanged between the teachers, questionnaires, registers of students´ participation in the discussion forum and in the chat sessions, and some others) and the participative observation of the teacher/researcher throughout the course. The theoretical framework was based on the communicative theory, the collaborative learning approach and the theoretical referential on virtual learning communities. The data showed that the BGW course reached its objective of promoting a collective learning. The data also confirmed that a learning community was created and is maintained as so from the course studied.

A presente pesquisa configura-se como um estudo de caso de natureza qualitativa que procurou analisar e tecer algumas considerações importantes a respeito de um curso livre experimental de inglês básico on-line - denominado Beginner Grammar Writing (BGW)-, com enfoque no desenvolvimento das habilidades de leitura e de escrita. Esse curso foi oferecido para alunos de diferentes países cuja língua materna não é o inglês, e ministrado, concomitantemente, por duas professoras da área, residentes em países distintos. Procurou-se verificar se o curso, que adotou uma metodologia de ensino-aprendizagem colaborativa/comunicacional, veio a se tornar uma comunidade de aprendizagem, a partir das características apontadas por vários teóricos, e das quais elegemos as seguintes: interesses comuns, empatia, sociabilidade colaborativa e tempo de exposição no grupo. Os dados obtidos foram coletados ao longo do curso em questão, no primeiro momento em que foi oferecido. Esses dados consistem em documentos digitais do curso (tais como e-mail dos alunos, e-mail trocados entre as professoras, registros de participação dos estudantes no fórum e em sessões de chat) e na observação participante da professora/pesquisadora ao longo de todo o curso. O estudo fundamentou-se nas teorias da comunicação escolar, comunicação on-line, de aprendizagem colaborativa e no referencial teórico a respeito de comunidades virtuais (de aprendizagem). A reflexão sobre os dados recolhidos e a análise efetuada apontaram algumas questões relevantes a respeito de ensino de inglês on-line na perspectiva de uma metodologia de ensino-aprendizagem colaborativo/ comunicacional e mostraram que o curso BGW atingiu o objetivo de promover a aprendizagem coletiva. A análise de dados confirmou ainda que uma comunidade de aprendizagem foi criada e é mantida como tal a partir do curso BGW aqui estudado. / The present study is a qualitative case study of an experimental English basic on-line course, entitled Beginner Grammar Writing (BGW), with emphasis on the development of writing and reading skills. This course was offered to students from different countries, whose native language was not English, and was delivered simultaneously by two teachers of English, resident in distinct countries. The study attempted to verify whether the students in the course, which adopted a teaching and learning collaborative/communicational methodology, became a learning community from the characteristics described by several theoreticians and from which we selected the following: common interests, empathy, collaborative sociability and time of exposure in the group. The data were collected from the course when it was first offered. Data consisted of digital documents (such as students´ e-mail, e-mail exchanged between the teachers, questionnaires, registers of students´ participation in the discussion forum and in the chat sessions, and some others) and the participative observation of the teacher/researcher throughout the course. The theoretical framework was based on the communicative theory, the collaborative learning approach and the theoretical referential on virtual learning communities. The data showed that the BGW course reached its objective of promoting a collective learning. The data also confirmed that a learning community was created and is maintained as so from the course studied.