A conceptual framework for e-collaboration amongst postgraduate students

M. Tech. Business Information Systems.Tshwane University of TechnologyE-collaboration supports the accomplishment of learning tasks and activities, and thus, may be employed as a significant platform for learning and postgraduate studies at universities. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that South African universities have not yet tapped into e-Collaboration as a way to facilitate learning at the postgraduate level. Learning interactions between postgraduate students and their supervisors or subject instructors are often confined to formal learning spaces and time periods. This, then, means that postgraduate students tend not to have the necessary anytime, anywhere platform to address their on-demand problems or challenges, as they move away from university spaces. The limited and inconsistent learning support from instructors or research supervisors hinders a smooth learning experience, often leading to delayed or incomplete learning tasks, including research works. This constraint leaves postgraduate students with no alternative but to seek learning support from knowledgeable peers with shared background. Underpinned by theories of Activity and Social Presence, this dissertation argues that an e-Collaboration environment may provide the just-in-time learning support needed by postgraduate students. Following on the interpretive philosophy, a case study was conducted at Tshwane University of Technology, using the contextual Inquiry approach – where contextual interviews, textual interactions and observations were used as empirical data collection techniques. Informed by the empirical evidence, the framework for an e-Collaboration environment that may support sharing of learning experiences amongst postgraduate students was conceptualised