ASSESSING THE INTEGRATION OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES IN ONLINE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS WITH THE COMMUNITY OF INQUIRY FRAMEWORK
ASSESSING THE INTEGRATION OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES IN ONLINE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS WITH THE COMMUNITY OF INQUIRY FRAMEWORK

Summary/Abstract: This paper examines how the efficacy of new online learning technologies can be assessed with indicators of the Community of Inquiry Framework (CoI). The CoI framework has attracted considerable interest and has been used extensively to study and design online educational environments (Garrison & Arbaugh, 2007). The CoI explains the online learning experience as a function of three overlapping presences – social, cognitive and teaching. The construct was validated through factor analysis by a multi-institutional team of researchers in 2007 (Swan, Richardson, Ice, Garrison, Cleveland-Innes & Arbaugh, 2008), however, many questions remain as to what factors influence the effective projection of each presence. As the model is based on constructivist learning theory, the impact of pedagogically based application of new technologies should impact the level and quality of interactions probed by the CoI indicators. This research examines this hypothesis through two case studies that involve both quantitative and qualitative measures.

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