VITA Abdullah Alruhaimi EDUCATION • August, 2011, Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with ...

122 Pages·2011·0.32 MB·English

VITA
Abdullah Alruhaimi
EDUCATION
 August, 2011, Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with specialization in Educational
Technology, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, IN.
 May, 2008, Master in Curriculum and Instruction, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, IN.
 2002-2006, attended more than 32 training programs related to education and media
technology.
 December, 2005, training program held in Japan "School Education Improvement"
 June, 1996, Diploma Degree in Education from Imam University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
 June 1994, Bachelor degree in English Language and Teaching English as a Second
Language from Imam University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
WORK EXPERIENCE
 October 1994, English Language teacher in Ibn Aljawzi Intermediate School, Ministry of
Education, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
 September 1997, English Language teacher in Al-Shura Secondary school, Ministry of
Education, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
 September 1997, English Language teacher in Al-Shura Secondary school, Ministry of
Education, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
 October 2002, English Language supervisor in Riyadh Educational District, Saudi Arabai.
 October 2003, educational trainer and trained more than 9 educational training courses.
 April 2005, General Educational Supervisor in the Ministry of Education, Saudi Arabia.
PERCEPTION OF SOCIAL PRESENCE IN ASYNCHRONOUS AND SYNCHRONOUS
ONLINE DISCUSSION FROM THE
PERSPECTIVE OF NATIVE AND NON-NATIVE SPEAKER
_______________________
A Dissertation
Presented to
The College of Graduate and Professional Studies
Department of Curriculum, Instructional and Media Technology
Indiana State University
Terre Haute, Indiana
______________________
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Doctoral Philosophy
_______________________
by
Abdullah A. Alruhaimi
August 2011
 Abdullah Alruhaimi 2011

Keywords: Social Presence, native and non-native speakers, synchronous, asynchronous, and
online learning
ii

COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Committee Chair: Susan Powers, Ed.D.
Professor, Curriculum, Instruction and Media Technology
Indiana State University
Committee Member: Susan Kiger, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Curriculum, Instruction and Media Technology
Indiana State University
Committee Member: Jason Winkle, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Physical Education
Indiana State University
iii

ABSTRACT
The technology innovation of telecommunication gave confidence to educational
institutions to substitute some of their courses from traditional courses into virtual ones. This
switch in education inspired globalization. The learners use either synchronous or asynchronous
communication tools to interact with each other. Most previous studies in this field show that
social presence is correlated with learner achievement satisfaction and interaction. So the
researcher measured the level of social presence for both groups of learners, native and non-
native speakers, across both types of online communication, synchronous and asynchronous
communication. The researcher conducted a 2x2 split-plot ANOVA design with repeated
measure for this study. The four cells in this design help the researcher to find how every group
differs in both discussion formats. The findings of this study will lend a hand to institutions,
instructional designers, instructors, and software and hardware developers to improve and
concentrate on preferable methods of communication for global virtual institutions.
The researcher did not find a statistically significant difference between native and non-
native speakers across the methods of online communications. There was no statistically
significant difference between the learners in general across the methods of online
communications. But the reported low level of agreement toward the level of social presence in
both methods of online communication emphasizes the importance for all people who are
concerned about virtual education to work hand in hand to elevate the level of social presence in
online learning.
iv

The researcher encourages those who are concerned about online learning, and education
in general to be the early adopters of technology such as Smartphone applications and the
advanced features of social networking such as Facebook and Google wave.
v

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
First I thank Almighty Allah (God), The One, The First, and The Last for giving me the
ability and the strength to accomplish this work. Then, I would like to thank the members of my
dissertation committee for their unlimited support and guidance although of their busy programs.
With their support I was able finalize this study. Special thanks are dedicated to the chair of my
dissertation committee, Dr. Susan Powers, for her unlimited guidance and encouragement all
through my research. Her professionalism in online learning and technology gave me stable
confidence through this research. Her boundless patience and cheerful welcome pushed me to
consult her regularly to make use of her broad experience. My deep thanks are extended to Dr.
Susan Kiger for her kindness, support and encouragement. She was the source of learning and
teaching theories. She was the mother for her students although she is still young. Also, profound
thanks must be given to Dr. Jason Winkle. Although with a busy schedule, his friendly
relationship gave me more time to make use of his experiences and extensive reading. He
concentrated on the philosophical theories that pushed me to think out of the box.
Also, I would like thank Dr. Eric Hampton for reviewing the static steps of this research
and Dr. Larry Tinnerman who helped me to send my survey to the graduate students.
Furthermore, I have to thank the participants one by one for giving me part of their valuable time
to fill the survey. I thank everyone who supported me in this work especially my close friend
Daham Abdulrahman Aldaham.
vi

Last but not least deep thanks are devoted to every member of my family for their support
and encouragement. My mom with your encouragement and your prayers I was able to go over
the entire obstacle in my way. My dad, my grandmother and my step grandfather, may Allah
bless you all with Paradise; your advices and your encouragement are always in front of my
eyes. My father-in-law and my mother-in-law, your prayers and your support helped me a lot in
my work. My special deepest thanks go to my wife who did far beyond her share during my
study. My wife, your boundless support and prayers were the reason behind my success. My
children, Abdulrahman, Lana, Mohammad, and Yazan, I am grateful to you all for supporting me
and giving me the chance and the time to complete my work.
vii

TABLE OF CONTENTS
COMMITTEE MEMBERS ……………………………………………………………………....ii
ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... iii
ACKNOWLEDGMENT..................................................................................................................v
INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................................1
Background of the Study .................................................................................................... 1
Statement of the Problem .................................................................................................... 4
Purpose of the Study ........................................................................................................... 6
Significance of the Research ............................................................................................... 6
The Research Questions and Hypotheses ........................................................................... 7
Limitations .......................................................................................................................... 8
Delimitations ....................................................................................................................... 9
Assumptions ........................................................................................................................ 9
Literature Review...........................................................................................................................10
Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 10
Preview of the History of Distance Education .................................................................. 10
Native and Non-native Speakers ....................................................................................... 12
Synchronous and Asynchronous Communication ............................................................ 26
Interaction in Online Learning .......................................................................................... 36
Social Learning Theories .................................................................................................. 38
Social Presence ................................................................................................................. 42
viii

METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................................53
Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 53
Research Questions ........................................................................................................... 53
Selection of the Participants ............................................................................................. 54
Instrumentation ................................................................................................................. 54
Data Collection ................................................................................................................. 56
Data Analysis .................................................................................................................... 57
Summary ........................................................................................................................... 58
RESULTS AND ANALYSIS OF DATA......................................................................................59
Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 59
Descriptive Statistics ......................................................................................................... 59
Testing of Research Questions ......................................................................................... 65
Summary ........................................................................................................................... 66
DISSCUSION AND CONCLUSION............................................................................................68
Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 68
Summary of the Study ...................................................................................................... 68
Discussion of the Findings ................................................................................................ 70
Implication for Practice .................................................................................................... 76
Recommendation for More Research ............................................................................... 82
Conclusions ....................................................................................................................... 83
REFERENCES ..............................................................................................................................85
ix

LIST OF TABLES
Table 1 Total Returned Surveys by Nationality .............................................................................60
Table 2 Test of Normality ..............................................................................................................61
Table 3 Levene’s Test of Equality of Error Variances ..................................................................62
Table 4 Synchronous Communication Means ................................................................................63
Table 5 Asynchronous Communication Means ..............................................................................64
Table 6 Test of Between-Subject Effect ..........................................................................................65
Table 7 Test of Within-Subject Effects ...........................................................................................66
Table 8 Unfamiliarity Means .........................................................................................................74
Table 9 Familiarity Means.............................................................................................................74
Table 10 Confidentiality and Sensitivity Means ............................................................................75
Table 11 Language Means .............................................................................................................76