Analyzing interactivity in asynchronous video discussions

Abstract

Evaluating online discussions is a complex task for educators. Information systems may support instructors and course designers to assess the quality of an asynchronous online discussion tool. Interactivity on a human-to-human, human-to-computer or human-to-content level are focal elements of such quality assessment. Nevertheless existing indicators used to measure interactivity oftentimes rely on manual data collection. One major contribution of this paper is an updated overview about indicators which are ready for automatic data collection and processing. Following a design science research approach we introduce measures for a consumer side of interactivity and contrast them with a producer's perspective. For this purpose we contrast two ratio measures 'viewed posts prior to a statement' and 'viewed posts after a statement' created by a student. In order to evaluate these indicators, we apply them to Pinio, an innovative asynchronous video discussion tool, used in a virtual seminar. © 2014 Springer International Publishing.