| Optimal learning outcomes in an online classroom can be achieved by prioritizing
teaching strategies that emphasize active student participation with course material and
encourage interaction between students. An effective approach is to use the discussion
boards within an online asynchronous learning environment. Text-based discussion has
traditionally been the format for online communication. This study, however, compares
traditional text-based discussion boards with video-based discussion boards. This research
employed video discussion boards to facilitate communication among undergraduate general
education students in asynchronous, online, general education courses. With motivation and
student sense of community as the lenses through which to view these interactions, the Reduced
Instructional Materials Motivation Scale (RIMMS) and the connectedness subscale of the
Classroom Community Scale (CCS) were administered to students during weeks 2, 6, 10, and 14
of a 16-week semester. The goal of conducting surveys at regular intervals was to ascertain
whether students’ motivation and sense of community change over the semester, and to observe
any shifts in their attitudes toward the treatment method, specifically the use of video discussion
boards.
Keywords: asynchronous learning, video discussion boards, motivation, Classroom Community
Scale, Reduced Instructional Materials Motivation Scale, sense of community |