Title: Exploring the impact of students' motivation and self-regulation on the social nature of online learning experiences

Authors: I-Chun Tsai; I-Pei Tung; James Laffey

Addresses: University of Akron, 301J Zook Hall, OH 44325, USA ' McGill University, 3700 McTavish, Montréal, Québec, H3A 1Y2, Canada ' University of Missouri, 30 W Morning Glory, Pagosa Springs, CO 81147, USA

Abstract: This study is to explore how students' social experience of online learning is impacted by their motivation and self-regulation. Path analysis was employed to unfold the intertwined relationships among students' academic motivation, self-regulation, and social constructs of online learning. The results show that students' academic motivation has positive influence for students' social ability, sense of community, ease of use of social awareness notification tools, and learning satisfaction, while self-regulation was found to serve a central role between the relationships of ease of use and usefulness of notification tools to students' social ability and sense of community. Additional examination of sub constructs of motivation and self-regulation helped further understanding of how these constructs impact the social nature of online learning.

Keywords: social ability; student motivation; self-regulation; sense of community; technology acceptance; e-learning; electronic learning; online learning; internet; world wide web; path analysis; social nature; social experiences; intertwined relationships; academic motivation; social awareness; notification tools; learning satisfaction; ease of use; universities; higher education; USA; United States; learning technology.

DOI: 10.1504/IJLT.2013.052833

International Journal of Learning Technology, 2013 Vol.8 No.1, pp.86 - 108

Published online: 31 Mar 2014 *

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