Graduate Students' Knowledge Construction and Attitudes Toward Online Synchronous Videoconferencing Collaborative Learning Environments

This study investigated 28 graduate students' knowledge construction and attitudes toward online synchronous videoconferencing collaborative learning environments. These students took an online course, selfselected 3 or 4 group members to form groups, and worked on projects across 16 weeks. Each group utilized Elluminate Live! for the synchronous small-group discussions. A quantitative research design was used to analyze 3 data sources including synchronous small-group discussions, a teamwork attitude survey, and a learning environment attitude survey. The findings revealed that online synchronous videoconferencing collaborative small-group discussions promoted students' knowledge construction. However, more messages were generated at Phase 1 (sharing and comparing of information) than other four phases in the interaction analysis model. Additionally, students generally had positive attitudes toward the online synchronous videoconferencing collaborative learning environment.