A Close Look at Online Collaboration: Conversational Structure in Chat and Its Implications for Group Work

Synchronous text-based interaction, where participants are logged in to the same virtual space at the same time, can be a useful tool for enhancing traditional classes or as part of an entirely online course. Synchronous chat, as it is also called, may not have always received the same amount of attention from educators and researchers as the various forms of asynchronous online discussion tools (Johnson, 2006), but research shows that chat can be used to enhance learning outcomes. Some research has focused on comparing chat to face-to-face discussions. For example, Strømsø, Grøttum and Lycke (2007) examined the use of chat and face-to-face discussions in problem-based learning for medical students. They found more communication, in terms of more words and more and longer utterances, in the face-to-face setting. The chat discussions featured more social interaction and more technical talk, whereas there was more focus on the case study issues in the face-to-face discussions. They did find that the chat had more initiative turns, but that these were not elaborated on as much as in execuTive summary