El comercio electrónico que se realiza en Costa Rica

Social f2f interaction common to traditional teaching does not develop in the same way as online interaction, which is often asynchronous and limited to exchanges of text-based messages. Such impersonal interaction misses out on social paralinguistic features of spoken language (McConnell, 2000), such as stress and intonation, facial expressions or eye contact. Pincas (1998) argues that while the use of colour or bold typeface may convey textual emphasis, such tools do not have the same impact as f2f cues. Despite incorporating “emoticons” in text-based messages to simulate facial expressions, these remain a form of „quasi-non-verbal feedback‟ (Locke, 2007: 190).

Vonderwel (2003: 6) also reported that a common disadvantage in online learning was the lack of „one-on-one relationship‟ with the instructor; students spoke of not having the teacher as a dynamic figure to manage classroom interaction; the delay in getting

immediate feedback and prolonged response time from peers was frustrating compared to f2f interaction, where learners receive immediate answers to their questions.

Noting the merits of personal interaction in f2f teaching, Tibbetts (2004) points out how it can score over the Internet:

Interaction with a web page is still not as immediate or satisfying as interaction with people. Teachers want to help, most teachers want to know about their students' lives, thoughts, opinions. The web page does not really care, however much the Java expert tries to humanise things (p. 1).

2.8.2 Isolation:

Due to a lack of social interaction in e-learning environments, one of the consistent problems is the sense of isolation (Bennett, Priest and Macpherson, 1999). An e-learner with little or no f2f contact is not only isolated, but is more likely to feel frustrated and

distressed (Salmon, 2002b). Such remote and solitary nature of online learning poses significant challenges for novice learners, for 'relying on well-born strategies, and working from common assumptions about how groups work in face-to-face environments, is not always the best orientation to take' (McConnell, 2000: 72).

While learner isolation is characteristic of online environments, it can put pressure on participants to manage their time more efficiently, be self-sufficient and handle the material independently with the minimum of support (Clarke, 2002). That is why new online paradigms are not entirely based on distance learning, for f2f interaction is needed not only to compensate for periods of isolated study (Salmon, 2002a; Pincas, 2004), but also to impart knowledge or teach skills that cannot be adequately conveyed through distance learning.

2.8.3 Invisibility:

The isolation of online learners is often associated with their invisibility to each other and to the tutor. Tutor invisibility, in particular, can encourage non-participation or lurking by certain users who, in the absence of tutor control, do not feel obliged to contribute

(McConnell, 2000). In this way, online learning 'seems to offer an electronic mask' behind which online participants may hide (Grint, 1989: 13), thus lurking occurs. The inherent remoteness and invisibility characteristic of online learning also enables non-contributors to make 'rapid exits from unpleasant or threatening encounters' (Grint, 1989: 13) without any pressure to participate or justify their withdrawal. To compensate for user invisibility, and create some sort of group bonding, online participants are encouraged to post their personal profiles to help them get to know each other and behave more like a group in a real class (Salmon, 2002a).

Unlike the physical world of f2f teaching, tutors are incapable of immediately knowing if learners are actually attending to a task or not. Online presence can, however, be monitored using a tracking facility (time and frequency of logging on and pages visited) in most VLEs, but this does not mean participants are actively working on a task. Such a

tracking facility is not available in web-based groups, for example Yahoo, which only show who is online (see sub-section 2.6.3.3 for more details).

2.8.4 Learner skills:

In accommodating constructivist pedagogies brought about by a transformation to Internet-supported technologies, Mallinen (2001) argues that learners need to develop a range of high-level technical and cognitive skills that include familiarity with technology (e.g. a new VLE), communication skills and the ability to be critical and reflective. Consequently, adequate „support structures are required to overcome participants‟ unfamiliarity with technological environments or with the experience of communicating primarily in writing‟ (Whitehouse et al, 2006: 26).

Active participation in Internet-based environments also requires adequate 'writing and communication skills', which are deemed 'one of the common reasons why students have difficulties with online learning' (Kearsley, 2000: 13). Reasonable reading and writing skills, as emphasised by Harlen and Doubler (2007: 448), are „central to learning from the Internet, particularly when a constructivist view of learning is embraced‟. Online learners communicating in a foreign language, however, are more likely to feel under increased pressure to convey correct meanings and perfect messages before sharing them with others (Salmon, 2002a). Increasing anxiety or pressure of perfecting text-based messages by non-native learners can also turn into what has been termed online error- phobia, as elaborated in sub-section 2.11.1.5.

2.8.5 Learner independence:

As a consequence of learner-centred online pedagogy, McLoughlin (2000: 2) observes that e-learners are faced with an expectation that 'they will have independent learning skills and the capacity to engage in activities that require self direction and self management of learning'. Encouraging 'independence from the teacher' has also been one of the impacts of ICT on pedagogy (Pachler, 2005: 133). Online earners must learn to draw less on the teacher as the „fountain of all knowledge‟, and more on available resources, such as their meta-cognitive abilities, those of their peers, and the web-based tools (Herrington, Oliver,

Herrington et al., 2000), for it is feared that learners who lack these skills are unlikely to succeed as online learners (Kearsley, 2000).

Since online interaction has the potential to free learners from immediate teacher control, online learning arguably provides more appropriate contexts for independent learner- centred pedagogy than conventional transmission models. Therefore, according to Palloff and Pratt (2001), traditional f2f courses do not necessarily prepare students for the level of independence required in online environments. It follows that online users must be supported to adapt to independent learning and seek active strategies to enhance their learning experiences and participate more effectively; to apply meta-cognitive skills to organise, plan, monitor and self-evaluate their learning, while reflecting on previous knowledge, and as a result construct their own meanings (Reed and Woodruff, 1995).

2.8.6 Collaborative learning:

Collaborative learning has been described by Lattuca and Creamer (2005: 3) as the 'personal and shared construction of knowledge' where peer learners are active

participants who seek to create personal meanings of their collective experiences. Though the climate of Internet-based interaction may seem less threatening or intimidating (no interruptions and more time to reflect on messages) compared with f2f modes, forms of online collaboration, or interdependence, require a high degree of commitment and involvement, a willingness to share knowledge with others and 'a belief that independent development is enhanced by working with others around issues of mutual interest' (McConnell, 2000: 71).

Swan (2006) emphasises that both active participation and collaboration are requirements for promoting successful online learning. As Daly and Pachler (2007: 53) argue,

computer-mediated communication should enable teachers to „develop critical and

agentive ways of thinking through collaborative practices involving the sharing of electronic writing‟. However, some self-conscious learners, who are not used to group work, may find the open and collaborative emphasis of online learning somewhat intimidating (Salmon, 2002a). That is because when working collaboratively, learners are required to

perform at higher levels of intellectual reasoning or cognitive skill than when they work alone (Swan, 2006; Unwin, 2007).

Whitehouse et al (2006) argue that

encouraging the articulation and exchange of practice knowledge, creating opportunities for collaboration around common objectives, developing a common language, and developing a culture of professional learning are among the desired educational improvements that

communities of practice are intended to support (p. 18-19).

This seems to assume that a sense of online community should be present for participants to constructively collaborate with each other and enhance understanding (Hiltz, Turoff and Harasim, 2007). Since this is not necessarily the case and that collaborative practice „is not the natural way of doing things due to participants‟ competition being the norm, it requires some scaffolding‟, for it to be successful (Miyake (2007: 257). Suggestions for facilitating collaborative peer support can be found in sub-section 2.10.5.3.