Analysis of  Asynchronous  Discourse  in  Web-assisted  and Web-based Courses

The capacity of instructors to improve online discourse is dependent on their understanding of its evolving structure and content. Social network analysis and discourse analysis provide methodological and technological means for effectively using online course data to identify and characterize evolving structural and substantive aspects of student communication. Timely information of this sort might be used by instructors to reassign struggling or discontented individuals to different groups, to reconfigure groups and/or tasks to optimize emerging capabilities and insights, and to form a leadership team consisting of individuals from each student group. This paper examines current and emerging methodologies and technologies for meeting these challenges