Asynchronous Online Discussions (AODs) have become an essential pedagogical strategy, fostering student interaction and collaborative knowledge construction.
However, uncertainties remain regarding the impact of certain factors—such as message length and posting delay—on academic performance and students' ability to influence their peers. While some studies have examined the relationship between forum activity and learning outcomes, the specific correlation between these factors and social influence within the virtual classroom remains underexplored.
This study aims to bridge that gap by analyzing whether the number of words in a post and the time students take to participate are associated with their grades and their centrality in the discussion network.
Using Social Network Analysis (SNA), the eigenvector centrality of each student was calculated, allowing for an assessment of their level of influence within the forum. A quantitative approach was employed to address four key research questions:
- Is message length associated with students' grades?
- Does message length influence students' centrality?
- Is there a relationship between posting delay and academic performance?
- Does response time affect influence within the discussion?
The findings of this research may have significant implications for the design of assessment strategies and student engagement in online forums.
Moreover, these insights can contribute to rethinking the structure of discussion forums in Learning Management Systems (LMS) such as Moodle, promoting practices that enhance both the quality of debate and the impact of student contributions.
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How to cite: López-Francés, I., Garcia-Garcia, F. J., Gargallo López, B., & Molla-Esparza, C. (2022). Implications of Message Length and Delay in Undergraduate Online Discussions. RIED-Revista Iberoamericana de Educación a Distancia, 25(2), pp. 259-276. https://doi.org/10.5944/ried.25.2.32810
