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Table 2. Survey responses – rating-scale item (N = 22) Question Very Easy (1) Easy (2) No Problems (3) Some Issues (4) Very Difficult (5) 6. How difficult was it to create your VoiceThread account? 19 3 0 0

Table 3.Survey responses – open-ended item (N = 18) Question Comments 7. Anything you would like to share about VoiceThread? Positive comments (n = 12) "Very easy and convenient." "I think that once I was able to get into the system it was easy to use. Now I need to understand why the mic[rophone] does not work, maybe my laptop." "It was actually very interesting to learning [sic] how to use VoiceThread. It was something different." "I like the way I can participate by using text. As English is my second language, speaking is really difficult for me. Also, VoiceThread is really easy and simple to use." "It was really easy to navigate and use." "VoiceThread was very easy to use and it could be beneficial in the future." "VoiceThread is easy and pretty interesting!" "I like that it is very easy to use." "It seems like a good tool to utilize for some classes." "Easy to navigate and good review before the exam." "Never done it before but I think it's pretty good tool." "Seems like a great tool we can use." Comments expressing reservations (n = 4) "I think it was very easy to figure out. My hesitation about using in the future for a course to do a presentation or recommending my peers to use it is that I don't really know much about it so that is why I responded no to those questions. I don't know how to add graphics and things of that nature like on PowerPoint." "VoiceThread is easy to register [on]. However, I'm not too sure about making a presentation." "I think it's a good form of technology. It's not my first choice of communication though. Plus if you're typing your answer the font is super small, not sure if I can change this setting." "[There needs to be a] bigger text box" Unfavorable comments (n = 2) "I do not like the interface of the VoiceThread ... [The interface] makes it hard to use on anything besides a computer." One student found it slightly difficult to "figure out how to answer the questions or how to comment on others' answers."

emphasized the need for instructors to validate all student perspectives, as well as acknowledge differing beliefs and biases, to create a safe and welcoming community that helps students become “more engaged and feel more interconnected”

who provide a structured and comfortable classroom environment that involves the participation of everyone in the learning activities

thoughtful care for instructors to help students become engaged in their learning and to design virtual classrooms that enhance a sense of community

carefully plan ways for students to interact, students can focus on achieving course learning goals

focus primarily on academic content and not as much on meaningful, interpersonal connections.

such as Facebook, twittering and blogging, might increase the social presence of all of the students as well as the teaching presence of the instructor.

collaborative decision-making related to communication protocols, and required and ongoing student postings in online discussions

instructors need to find ways to help students feel more strongly connected with each other and with the instructor and to facilitate activities that more actively involve students in their own learning.

teachers usually believe that students want to learn and they assume, until proven otherwise, that they can

pretests, survey forms, and a course overview that identified several questions that the course would help them answer.

is better equipped to gather information about students in a variety of ways that may help with success later in the semester.

The distance gap needs to be bridged in both directions. It is not sufficient for teachers to get to know their students without letting them get to know their teachers as well.

(e.g., Anderson, Rourke, Garrison, & Archer, 2001). Facilitating interpersonal contact is an important role for online teachers and creating a social presence by projecting their identities is essential

these general behaviors as teacher “presence”

that student deserves to be recognized and treated as an individual

problem-solving

participation

A characteristic of an online course design model includes the reliance of the group discussion

one of the most beneficial tools of online learning is the discussion board

participation

social presence and collaboration

interaction and knowledge construction

students' satisfaction, participation

The online and traditional groups were given the same set of guiding discussion questions

the quality of discussion that occurs in online and traditional instruction is similar when specific content-related questions are provided to structure the discussions