Blended Learning, a learning facilitation that incorporates different modes of delivery, models of teaching, and learning styles, introduces multiple media to the dialog between the learner and the facilitator. This paper examines online communication as the link between established theory of learning and literature on e-learning in order to better understand the appropriate use of blended lear...

Online self-presentation, defined as the way people present themselves through profiles, blogs, photo albums, etc., forms the basis of much of the interpersonal relationship building taking place in social networking platforms such as Windows Live Space. However, little is known about how people make sense of this information, particularly if presenter and audience do not have a common cultural...

Despite recent media reports regarding the negative consequences of disclosing information on social network sites (SNSs), young adults are generally thought to be unconcerned about the potential costs of this. Given the widespread use and potential dangers associated with online communication, an understanding of SNSs features and how people are using these sites is critical to educating users...

In this paper we propose a 2*2 matrix as a way of pointing at two new directions for supporting persistent conversations in mobile settings. These two directions include: 1) mobile support for asynchronous and long-term conversations, as well as 2) mobile support for synchronous and short-term conversations. The research presented in this paper builds upon both empirical studies conducted of mo...

Tor constitutes one of the pillars of anonymous online communication. It allows its users to communicate while concealing from observers their location as well as the Internet resources they access. Since its first release in 2002, Tor has enjoyed an increasing level of popularity with now commonly more than 2,000,000 simultaneous active clients on the network. However, even though Tor is widel...

Narrative analysis has both research and pedagogical advantages for use in CSCL. Narrative theory provides multidisciplinary perspectives and methods from diverse fields. Stories are a way of thinking, making meaning, and showing constructivism in action. This paper discusses the advantages of narrative analysis for interpreting online discourse; presents features, methodological challenges, an...

The recent rise of Instant Messaging systems as a centerpiece of online communication has brought with it many questions about the role this new medium will play in the communicative sphere. As the medium has evolved, it has grown to subsume many traditional communication technologies, merging their individual capabilities. In this chapter, a cross-section of popular and established technologie...

The development of instructional technology increases the use of synchronous e-learning procedures which enable real-time interactions. The study explores whether the willingness to participate as well as actual participation in synchronous group discussions is affected by participant personality (extroversionintroversion), medium characteristics and discussion topic sensitivity. The research i...

We analyze information diffusion using empirical data that tracks online communication around two instances of mass political mobilization, including the year that lapsed in-between the protests. We compare the global properties of the topological and dynamic networks through which communication took place as well as local changes in network composition. We show that changes in network structur...