Michael Zemblyas & Charalambos (2007)
Listening for Silence in Text-Based Online encounters.
Distance Education, 28, 1, 5-24
Note: lots of examples of illocutionary force in the examples.
Silence as an aspect of social presence.
When and why are student silent – assumes p 7 the multidimensional meanings of online silence are a critical component of social presence
FTF
They have nothing to say/add
They may feel that contributions are not valued and therefore choose to remain silent
They may feel insecure and/or shy
They may need time to think
However in online environments silence is often assumed to be down to non participation or marginialization.
Research questions
RQ1 p8 ‘ What forms and meanings do online silences take within text-based communications, and how are those forms and meanings enacted?
RQ2 “how do online instructors address silence in constructive ways, considering that silence is an important part of text-based communication?’
Method
Ethnographic perspective ‘ an ethnographioc perspective does not focus on understanding an entire culture, but rather can be used to take a more focused look at the actions of members of a group.
Two phases
1. Content analysis of all content
2. Interviews
Interviewed instructors with ‘ a focus on the different meanings and forms that silence took in their online encounters with learners’.
Used purposive sampling to select 4 students for interview ie the ones that ‘would provide optimal variation ( Patton, 2002) of interpretations about online silence’
Semi structured – prompted to make reference to events that made them feel uncomfortable, confused or concerned
Joyful and pleased
With prompts used to explore whether these feelings were related to online silence.
All interviewees asked to check researcher interpretations.
Analysis
Thematic analysis - Going from the particular meaning to generalizations p10 ‘propositional statements that indicate relationships and generalizations in the data’
Four themes
1. Silence as ‘non participation’ ie conscious decision not to participate
‘ I thought we were doing this online course because it allows us flexibility’
‘not keen on hearing the same old stuff’
‘pretty soon is was kind of pitiful’
2. Silence as confusion
Without gaze information it may not be obvious to whom a response is directed that can then lead to confusion. Emoticons , when used, did not always disambiguate.
P15 ‘ one thing, I was thinking something else, and it just didn’t match, until we talked later on the phone’
3. Silence as marginalization
P16 ‘But some postings receive no responses or are responded to without addressing the real issue…. Humour is usually a means to dismiss serious discussions…… I complained about this to my instructor. I feel that I am silenced, you know? I don’t feel welcomed and so I don’t participate in the online discussions as often as I used to’
4. Silence as thoughtful reflection
P18 ‘ not an emoppty silence but a thoughtful silence’
Due to my cultural background ‘ Having the opportunity to think and phrase my response carefully before i post it , is really important to me…..’
problem arises ‘how long do you wait for a response in a threaded discussion ….. if you go ahead and continue with the discussion , wouldn’t this be interpreted as disregarding this individual?’ In FTF some judgement could be made from NVC
Suggestions for tutors based on interview data from tutors
Ask students to post a certain number of responses and to participate
Review online discussions for quality and provide more or less facilitation as a consequence where facilitation involves 9 synthesising themes or conflicting opinions, redirecting a lagging discussion
Asking good open ended questions
Have frequent and consistent interaction with students to encourage openness and trust.
Ie fit with Salmon advice
