Findings

For each semester, we conducted an unpaired samples t-test to assess whether the outcomes of the two groups were statistically distinct from each other. Table 3.2 summarizes the results.

The mean values for all the question statements in both groups were above the midrange point (i.e. 3), which suggested that the use of blogs in both groups generally led to positive perceptions regarding levels of interaction by the use of blogs, motivation to learn from peers, and academic achievements in course subjects. The t-test yielded statistically significant results for items 1~3 regarding H1 (Fall 2006: t=2.503, p=0.015; Spring 2007: t=2.634, p=0.010), and items 7~9 regarding H3 (Fall 2006: t=3.807, p<0.001; Spring 2007: t=3.717, p<0.001). The means for items related to H1 and H3 were higher in the interactive use of blogs than in the solitary use. These combined results provide general support for hypotheses H2-1 and H2-3. The t-test yielded statistically insignificant results for items 4 ~ 6 in connection with H2-2 (Fall 2006: t=-0.466, p=0.643; Spring 2007: t=-0.458, p=0.648).

Therefore, the statistical analysis does not support hypothesis H2-2. The statistical agreement of the two data sets from Fall 2006 to Spring 2007, evidenced reliability and consistency with

regard to the three hypotheses tested. Table 3.3 summarizes the results in connection with the hypotheses.

Table 3.2. t-test results of I-Group and S-Group in two consecutive semesters Fall 2006 I-Group

(n=23) S-Group

(n=48) t-value Cronbach’s α

Notes: I-Group= Interactive Group; S-Group= Solitary Group

** p<0.01; ^* p<0.05

Table 3.3. Summary of the results in connection with hypotheses

Hypotheses Results H2-1: Use of the comments feature in blogs is associated with positive

attitudes towards online peer interaction.

Supported

H2-2: Use of the comments feature in blogs is associated with

significantly more motivation to learn from peers than use of the comments feature is disabled.

Not supported

H2-3: Use of the comments feature in blogs is associated with positive attitudes towards academic achievements in the course subjects.

Supported

This study suggests that the interactive use of blogs in higher education, when compared with the option of using blogs in isolation, was associated with more positive attitudes towards online peer interaction among learners by at least 9% (which was found to be statistically significant), and academic achievements in course subjects by at least 13% (which was found to be statistically significant). However, interactive use of blogging was not associated with significantly more motivation to learn from peers than solitary use of blogging -- even though, as indicated by the results in connection with items 4~6 in Table 3.2, students of both groups showed above the midrange point (i.e. 3) motivation to learn from peers (with mean values of 4.17 and 4.26 in the first semester; 4.15 and 4.22 in the second semester respectively on a scale of 1 to 5), regardless of the individual groups they belonged to.

Suggested by question #9 on the questionnaire, it is interesting that students improved their academic performance though the use of blogs. At the end of the first semester grading, we examined student academic achievements and perceived attitudes towards blogs in educational settings. The academic achievements were divided into five groups (A, B, C, D, and F) according to the grades students received, where F stood for the failing grade. Table 3.4 summarizes the results.

A chi-square test for independence evaluates statistically significant differences between

proportions for five groups in the data set of Table 3.4. Based on the data analysis, the academic performance positively relates with perceived attitudes towards blogs (χ2 = 9.57, df=4, p=0.048,; Fisher's Exact Test p=0.047). This yields a statistically significant difference in student academic achievement versus perceived attitudes towards educational blogs.

Table 3.4. Level of academic achievements versus perceived attitudes towards educational blogs

Achievement Like blogs (%) Do not like blogs/ Neutral (%) # Students (%)

A 4 (5.63%) 0 (0.00%) 4 (5.63%)

B 12 (16.90%) 6 (8.45%) 18 (25.35%)

C 19 (26.76%) 15 (21.13%) 34 (47.89%)

D 5 (7.04%) 6 (8.45%) 11 (15.49%)

F 0 (0.00%) 4 (5.63%) 4 (5.63%)

Total 40 (56.34%) 31 (43.66%) 71 (100%)

Notes: Question no. 9 on the questionnaire is poised by a score on a 5-point Likert scale with anchors 5 (strongly agree) to 1 (strongly disagree). Like blogs = 4, 5; Neutral=3; Do not like blogs=1, 2.

3.5. Discussions

Both groups showed remarkable motivation to learn from peers through blogs. The data did not confirm that making blogs available to students in a hybrid-learning environment, using the comments feature in blogs, was associated with significantly more motivation to learn from peers. However, the data suggested that dialogues in the form of blog comments was associated with positive attitudes towards academic achievements in course subjects and online peer interaction, compared to no such engagement.

Critical reflection not only imparts meaning to what has been described, but also adds depth and breadth to the meanings by asking questions about, and relating meanings to, a spectrum of learning issues. In our study, we found that 61% of the comments were reflective. Based on content analysis, Chang and Chang (in press) reported that reflective comments in their

hybrid-learning environments for electronics majors ranged from 34% to 79%, depending on classes. Yang (2009) reported that 375 of 977 blog postings, i.e. 38%, were reflective by 43 EFL student teachers in a practice community during the fall semester of 2005.

The findings also suggest that dialoguing by making comments reinforced the interaction atmosphere. Some students responded more to other student comments. We observed threaded discussions that typically involved multiple users replying to particular postings within a topic thread. Although blog postings without comments do not necessarily mean they were unread, comments are a trace for blog authors to recognize that they have gotten their messages across to those who already made comments and perhaps to many more who only read. Therefore, comments seem to help foster online peer discussion, enhance interaction, and sharing culture.

We observed that a significant number of students made clever efforts to decorate their blogs to look more personal and stylish. These we viewed as signs to engage in online interaction with peers. Some students even selected special fonts to distinguish their blogs from others.

From a teacher point of view, we felt students had been motivated to pay more attention to online work on their blogs than to “offline work” that was only to be graded by instructors.

One significant factor that made the difference is the peer who can view the work of others quite easily online, but can hardly do so in an offline environment.

Chapter 4.

^3B

Implications and conclusions

4.1. Implications

4.1.1. First study implications

The purpose of the first study is to apply the media choice factors perspective and modify the TAM to explain and predict an individual’s acceptance of the IT on blogs. An online field survey was conducted to empirically examine the proposed model. The results indicate that the blog acceptance was significantly affected by technology acceptance and media choice factors. The media choice factors included media richness, critical mass, social influence, and media experience. These findings provide some contributions to both researchers and practitioners.

For researchers, this study attempts to develop a new theory by grounding new factors in a well-accepted general model (TAM) and applying them in a new context. It is important to note that the four new media choice factors - media richness, critical mass, social influence, and media experience - are placed within the nomological structure of the original model and are compatible with TAM factors. This approach is likely to ensure a consistent model of the drivers of web-based media and stable theory development. Therefore, the proposed model makes an important contribution to the emerging literature on web-based media.

The characteristics of web-based media can affect an individual’s media acceptance behavior, but the strengths of these influences may be different at different stages. The media characteristics (such as media richness) are more important than social influence and experience characteristics at the infant stage. Given the findings of this study, it appears necessary for media researchers to compare the influences of the media choice factors at different stages by conducting a longitudinal study.

Prior studies suggested media choice factors directly influence attitudes or behavioral intentions; however, this study included an mediating factor, namely perceived usefulness.

This study found that media choice factors not only directly affect individuals’ attitude or behavioral intention, but also indirectly affect them through perceived usefulness. User interest in new media results from various different characteristics of the media. However, users may first need to perceive its usefulness or uselessness, before changing their attitude and behavioral intentions. Therefore, future research could further examine direct and indirect influences between media choice factors and individual behavior to reach a deeper understanding of the media acceptance process.

For practitioners, this study also generated some practical implications for blog-hosting service providers and bloggers. First, our study highlights the importance of media richness in blog acceptance. Blogs provide a communication channel for blog posts and readers. A blog with high media richness reduces uncertainty and equivocality between users to effectively increase interactions. Accordingly, bloggers should provide a more rapid response and more diverse information to maintain with high media richness on their blogs, and blog-hosting service providers should build in more communication functions to enable the utilization of richer forms of media. Second, social influence is an important factor in blogging that affects an individual’s acceptance behavior. Therefore, the blog-hosting service providers should strengthen the development of community applications to attract more users. Third, two beliefs, namely perceived usefulness and perceived ease-of-use, have crucial influences on an individual’s acceptance behavior. Blogs allow users to communicate to the largest number of people with the least effort, providing a useful communication environment. Bloggers prepare their blog entries without having to be familiar with special coding and upload the message to their blog by clicking on the “Publish” button. Blog-hosting service providers should be committed to providing a more user friendly and accessible environment to attract more

bloggers.

4.1.2. Second study implications

This second study describes a study involving undergraduate and graduate students, majoring in electronics, from a large university in Taiwan. Of those students, approximately 68% participated in solitary use of blogs as a supplement to traditional classroom lectures, and the remainder in interactive use of blogs that were designed to enhance peer learning experiences. In this study, student feedback was collected to conduct a quantitative survey study. Our main conclusion is that engaging in dialogues in the form of blog comments is associated with positive attitudes towards online peer interaction and academic achievements, and both groups show positive motivation to learn from peers.

The study results reported for student attitudes towards peer interaction, learning motivation, and academic achievements are limited for several reasons. In the future, we will extend our study in five major directions to address some limitations of the current study. First, the learning context was narrowly defined, focusing on learning a technical, procedure-based subject, namely Electronic Commerce and Design of Internet Applications. A plan that includes investigations of blog use in other disciplines such as Business Administration and Women's Studies would be more comprehensive. Second, blogging acted as a supplement to a traditional face-to-face course, both inside and outside of school. The value of the blog for reflective learning and peer support in distance learning settings should be investigated in a separate study. Third, although student attitudes towards peer interaction, learning motivation, and academic achievements have been investigated, in-depth content analysis with more dimensions (such as subjective perceptions of reflection, stances, and tones to contrast the empirical findings) would be interesting. Fourth, the current study was designed to last for two semesters. Our future research will emphasize a longitudinal semester-by-semester study using the same methodology to indicate the overall quality of the learning experience and

outcome. Fifth, this study did not address a general concern about shared learning platforms as plagiarism. The dark side of social learning could be its openness to potential plagiarism under the disguise of peer learning. If this is a serious issue in blogs, what strategies can tackle it? The implication of using blogs to address plagiarism can be complicated and require further research.

The primary data in the study was collected between Autumn 2006 and Spring 2007. Since then, Web 2.0 includes several new applications that enable arbitrary subsets of users to communicate with each other. Such communication increasingly occurs, not just on Facebook, but also on several smaller network applications such as Twitter. While the blog includes a solitary mode, Twitter and Facebook are intrinsically collective and social. Research has found that college students who accessed the Facebook website of a teacher with high self-disclosure anticipated higher levels of motivation and affective learning and a more positive classroom climate (Mazer, Murphy, & Simonds, 2007). Twitter also shows similar potential in the educational context, and can be appropriated for conversational interaction.

Twitter users with similar intentions connect and collaborate with each other while seeking or sharing information (Java, Song, Finin & Tseng, 2007). Our results, combined with the proliferation of social networking software, suggest that future development of educational tools should pay more attention to social networks.

4.2. Conclusions

Blogs are easy to use and possess interactive features, thus attracting wide use and leading them to be regarded as communication media in web-based information technology. Blogs made it feasible for the communication process to be much larger, less technical, with a higher number of users. Therefore, blogs have become an increasingly popular form of

communication on websites, and have been adopted by users for several applications in domains such as journalism, business, and education. This thesis tried to investigate why people accept blogs, how people use blogs, and what blog applications do for people.

This thesis contains two studies. The first study incorporates the technology acceptance model with media choice factors to explain and predict the blog acceptance behaviors. The media choice factors include media richness, critical mass, social influence, and media experience. The technology acceptance factors include perceived usefulness and perceived ease-of-use. An online field survey was conducted and the structure equation modeling method was applied to investigate the empirical strength of the relationships in the proposed model. 521 experienced blog users were surveyed to examine this model. The results strongly support the proposed hypotheses indicating that technology acceptance and media choice factors influence the blog acceptance behaviors.

The second study explores the usage of blogs in education setting, and how student attitudes towards online peer interaction and peer learning, as well as motivation to learn from peers, may differ when using the blog comments feature, and when students are encouraged to read and comment on each other’s work. We contrast two ways blogs affect learning engagement: (a) solitary blogs as personal digital portfolios for writers; or (b) blogs used interactively to facilitate peer interaction by exposing blogging content and comments to peers. A quasi-experiment was conducted across two semesters, involving 154 graduate and undergraduate students. The result suggests that interactive blogs, compared to solitary blogs, are associated with positive attitudes towards academic achievement in course subjects and in online peer interaction. Students showed positive motivation to learn from peer work, regardless of whether blogs were interactive or solitary.

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