Abstract
As the integration of blended and fully online learning gains momentum in higher education in South Africa, the future of a dialogic approach has to be explored. More importantly, students’ views of the dialogic approach, facilitated through online discussion forums, has to be researched as this will determine the effectiveness and sustainability of this widely used pedagogical approach. In an attempt to establish these students’ views, this qualitative research study gathered, analysed and interpreted data while second year education students participated in dialogic Moodle discussion forums centred around fundamental principles of the Inclusive Education 1 module. Data was collected through artefact collection in the form of discussion forum posts, and also through semi-structured focus group interviews. Data was then analysed and interpreted using Conversation Analysis, the Conversational Framework and through the process of simple content analysis and coding. It was determined that second year education students were positive about their experience of dialogue through online discussion forums and recognised the potential of online discussion forums to enrich their learning and allow for co-construction of meaning through social interaction and critical reflection. The findings also showed that the role of the lecturer in online dialogue is evolving and was not found to be central to meaningful dialogue in this study.
M.Ed. (Information and Communication Technology in Education)