台灣大學生使用電腦輔助英文協同寫作的線上準備度、感受與互動之研究

Abstract

近年來在工作與教學的場域中，日益需要電腦輔助協同合作，尤其是以英語為媒介的線上溝通技巧更顯迫切。透過線上工具輔助英語協同寫作教學（Computer-supported Collaborative Writing, CSCW），可提供學習者較真實的情境，有助於提升其相關線上學習與溝通的技巧。本研究旨在探討英語學習者在線上工具（同步聊天室與小組維基）輔助協同寫作環境中的線上學習準備度、電腦輔助協同寫作的感受，與其互動過程，藉以了解線上協同寫作過程中的交互影響因素，並希望藉此提供未來教學訓練的相關建議。

本研究首先調查學習者在電腦輔助協同寫作教學前的線上學習準備度(Online Learning Readiness, OLR)，包括電腦網路自我效能、自我導向學習、學習者控制、學習動機、線上溝通自我效能五大面向；並調查學習者於使用同步與非同步線上工具進行協同寫作後，對於相關教學設計、線上輔助工具，與溝通協同三方面的感受。在電腦輔助協同寫作教學期間，學習者個人與小組協同英文寫作表現則透過其期中考、期末考、英文寫作作業，與線上協同寫作(Wiki-based)記錄的成績進行分析。本研究針對學生線上準備度、感受，與寫作成績等各面向進行相關統計分析，並收集學習者線上同步的溝通互動之質性紀錄進行編碼，針對學習者的參與類型、學習活動(認知、情意、後設認知)與建立共識(consensus-building)的過程進行內容分析。

透過學習者調查問卷資料之統計分析，與同步線上工具輔助協同寫作過程的內容分析，本研究歸納出主要結果包括：(1) 協同寫作表現不僅是單純的個人學習表現總合；(2) 學習者偏好使用同步聊天室進行協同寫作初期的溝通協調，但認為使用小組維基協同寫作可產生較高的成就感；(3) 電腦網路自我效能、學習動機、與線上溝通自我效能和CSCW整體感受有正面顯著相關；(4) 電腦網路自我效能尤其與學習者對CSCW的科技輔助面向相關，而學習動機和線上溝通自我效能則與溝通協同面向相關；(5) 自我導向學習雖然與CSCW整體感受較無關連，卻與小組協同寫作呈正相關；(6)在電腦輔助英語協同寫作中，主動積極的參與似乎比學習者的個別英語能力更形重要；(7) 在擬定寫作題目與大綱的線上討論中發現成員間有較多社交與認知活動，在小組寫作修改的討論中則有較多後設認知活動，以及(8) 線上同步討論時，學習者傾向採用快速達成共識的策略。

根據分析結果，本研究對未來電腦輔助協同寫作的教學設計者與教師提出以下建議：(1) CSCW教學前先對學習者的電腦網路自我效能、學習動機、與線上溝通自我效能進行評量，並提供相應之準備訓練，以達到最佳學習效果；如能輔以學習者線上準備度狀況進行分組，使不同型態風格的學習者可以在學習過程中互相支援；(2) 結合不同線上工具之特性，可輔助不同階段之協同寫作過程：同步線上工具可輔助學習者間的溝通協調並提高學習興趣；非同步線上工具則適合協同寫作後期的改寫與編輯；(3) 對於傾向避免衝突的台灣學習者，教師介入指導時，應適時彈性變化以促進學習者的主動參與、各種學習活動，與統合取向（integration-oriented）的建立共識過程。

總而言之，電腦輔助協同協作可以提供學習者較真實的線上英語溝通環境，並幫助建立學習者的線上溝通與合作技巧。本研究結果希望可提升台灣高等教育的英語教學場域中對學習者的線上學習準備度、相關感受、是否積極參與，與建立共識過程的重視，並提高電腦輔助協同寫作教學的成效。

Communication among people largely takes place in digital formats, and the ability to efficiently communicate with others through electronic media is imperative. In globalized electronic contexts, there is often a demand for collaboration with adequate English literacy that across national borders. The present study investigates the five dimensions (computer/Internet self-efficacy, self-directed learning, learner control, motivation for learning, online communication self-efficacy) of learners’ online learning readiness (OLR), perceptions of computer-supported collaborative writing (CSCW), and explores the critical computer-supported collaboration process learners engaged in. The interrelationships between OLR dimensions, perceptions, and individual/collaborative writing in different conditions are analyzed and discussed. Participation, learning activities (cognitive, affective, and metacognitive), and consensus-building in synchronous chat are interpreted with the teacher-researcher’s perspectives. The major findings of this study include: (1) Group performance is not found correlated with individual effort or ability of group members, and other factors seem to be involved; (2) Synchronous chat is found preferable for interaction and negotiation, and asynchronous wiki is perceived to generate a higher sense of satisfaction; therefore, different features of online tools could be applied in different stages of collaborative writing; (3) Computer/Internet self-efficacy, motivation for learning, and online communication self-efficacy positively influence CSCW perceptions; (4) Computer/Internet self-efficacy is associated particularly with learners’ perceptions regarding technical support, while motivation for learning and online communication self-efficacy are significantly correlated with those of communication and collaboration aspects; (5) Self-directed learning is not associated with positive perceptions, but it is associated with better wiki collaborative writing; (6) Active participation seems more crucial than English proficiency for successful synchronous collaboration; (7) More cognitive and social activities are found in discussions on topics and outlines; more metacognitive messages are found in the last discussions about revisions; thus, learning activities seem vary in synchronous discussion of different tasks according to the nature of the shared goals; (8) A tendency of quick consensus-building is found in all synchronous online discussion.

Based on these findings, pedagogical implications regarding learners’ prerequisites, interactions in online collaboration, and their actual writing performances proposed in this study include: (1) Need assessments, according training and grouping on students’ literacy of online tools and Internet use, along with their motivation and their online communication self-efficacy, (2) Combination of various online tools utilizing different technical features; and (3) Flexible teacher intervention to promote all types of learning activities and integration-oriented consensus-building, particularly for Taiwanese learners with stronger conformity and collective attitudes. The findings reveal further understanding of the complex nature of CSCW, especially in this case of college English education in Taiwan. The pedagogical implications, for both instructional designers and writing instructors, suggest further steps toward recognizing the connection between learners’ readiness, perceptions, individual/collaborative writing, and interactions involved in computer-supported collaborative writing. It is hoped that writing instructors will gain a better understanding of how to prepare learner for online collaboration, and help those who need more guidance and scaffolding through the progress.