Title: Asynchronous online discussion activities to support university students' self-directed learning: opportunities and challenges identified

Authors: Wing Sum Cheung; Khe Foon Hew

Addresses: 1 Nanyang Walk, Learning Sciences & Technologies, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637616, Singapore ' Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong, Room 116, Runme Shaw Building, Pok Fu Lam Road, Hong Kong

Abstract: Singapore has identified self-directed learning (SDL) as one of the key learning outcomes for her information technology in education master plan 3. However, teachers may not know how to design activities that could cater for student SDL, and students themselves may face difficulties in using this approach in their learning. We believe that the use of a particular social media tool, the asynchronous online discussion forum, could support students' SDL. The purpose of this paper is to share how we planned and implemented the use of an asynchronous online discussion forum along with the specific pedagogical activities. We will explain why this particular approach was able to foster students' self-direction in learning based on the empirical findings collected from 20 participants at the National Institute of Education (Singapore). We also discuss the opportunities and challenges of using this particular approach and suggest several relevant areas for future research.

Keywords: self-directed learning; asynchronous online discussion forums; pedagogical activities; higher education; Singapore; social media; student self-direction.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSMILE.2015.068438

International Journal of Social Media and Interactive Learning Environments, 2015 Vol.3 No.1, pp.63 - 70

Received: 22 Feb 2014
Accepted: 14 Mar 2014
Published online: 03 Apr 2015 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article