Online chats: A strategy to enhance learning in large classes

Online-supported teaching and learning is a technological innovation in education that integrates face-to-face teaching in plenary lectures, with an online component using a learning management system. This extends opportunities to students to interact with one another via online chats in the proces...

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Main Authors: Muntuwenkosi Abraham Mtshali, Suriamurthee Moonsamy Maistry, Desmond Wesley Govender
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Education Association of South Africa 2015-11-01
Series:South African Journal of Education
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0256-01002015000400012&lng=en&tlng=en
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author Muntuwenkosi Abraham Mtshali
Suriamurthee Moonsamy Maistry
Desmond Wesley Govender
author_facet Muntuwenkosi Abraham Mtshali
Suriamurthee Moonsamy Maistry
Desmond Wesley Govender
author_sort Muntuwenkosi Abraham Mtshali
collection DOAJ
description Online-supported teaching and learning is a technological innovation in education that integrates face-to-face teaching in plenary lectures, with an online component using a learning management system. This extends opportunities to students to interact with one another via online chats in the process of transacting their learning. There is a need to understand how South African students experience these technologies, where many students encounter them for the first time at higher education level. We are yet to understand variations in students' experiences of online support and how it has influenced their learning. This article explores students' experiences of learning using online chats in Business Management Education. The qualitative component of this mixed-methods research draws on the tenets of phenomenography. Fifteen participants from a Business Management Education class of 156 students enrolled in a Bachelor of Education programme were sampled using pheno-menographic approach. Qualitative data sources included personal reflective journals, focus group discussions and individual interviews, and questionnaires were circulated to the respondents. A quantitative component was subsequently implemented to validate the qualitative findings. Analysis of the data revealed that participants viewed online chats as learning contexts in qualitatively different ways.
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spelling doaj.art-557bf5af6a2046a399c4a17453db6b342022-12-21T23:33:09ZengEducation Association of South AfricaSouth African Journal of Education2076-34332015-11-01354010910.15700/saje.v35n4a1215S0256-01002015000400012Online chats: A strategy to enhance learning in large classesMuntuwenkosi Abraham Mtshali0Suriamurthee Moonsamy Maistry1Desmond Wesley Govender2University of KwaZulu-NatalUniversity of KwaZulu-NatalUniversity of KwaZulu-NatalOnline-supported teaching and learning is a technological innovation in education that integrates face-to-face teaching in plenary lectures, with an online component using a learning management system. This extends opportunities to students to interact with one another via online chats in the process of transacting their learning. There is a need to understand how South African students experience these technologies, where many students encounter them for the first time at higher education level. We are yet to understand variations in students' experiences of online support and how it has influenced their learning. This article explores students' experiences of learning using online chats in Business Management Education. The qualitative component of this mixed-methods research draws on the tenets of phenomenography. Fifteen participants from a Business Management Education class of 156 students enrolled in a Bachelor of Education programme were sampled using pheno-menographic approach. Qualitative data sources included personal reflective journals, focus group discussions and individual interviews, and questionnaires were circulated to the respondents. A quantitative component was subsequently implemented to validate the qualitative findings. Analysis of the data revealed that participants viewed online chats as learning contexts in qualitatively different ways.http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0256-01002015000400012&lng=en&tlng=enlearning management systemonline chatsonline-supported teaching and learning
spellingShingle Muntuwenkosi Abraham Mtshali
Suriamurthee Moonsamy Maistry
Desmond Wesley Govender
Online chats: A strategy to enhance learning in large classes
South African Journal of Education
learning management system
online chats
online-supported teaching and learning
title Online chats: A strategy to enhance learning in large classes
title_full Online chats: A strategy to enhance learning in large classes
title_fullStr Online chats: A strategy to enhance learning in large classes
title_full_unstemmed Online chats: A strategy to enhance learning in large classes
title_short Online chats: A strategy to enhance learning in large classes
title_sort online chats a strategy to enhance learning in large classes
topic learning management system
online chats
online-supported teaching and learning
url http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0256-01002015000400012&lng=en&tlng=en
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AT desmondwesleygovender onlinechatsastrategytoenhancelearninginlargeclasses