A study on student voluntary contributions in asynchronous learning networks

Andrew K Lui, Philip Tsang, Reggie Kwan, Vanessa Ng and Steven Choy
The Open University of Hong Kong
Hong Kong SAR, China
Y H Y Cheung
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Hong Kong SAR, China


Asynchronous learning networks afford various types of participation, of which student voluntary contributions belong to a rather intriguing type. The presence of lurkers and help seekers reflects the rational choice when contribution is not required, yet anecdotal experiences of online instruction share the observation that students do make voluntary contributions. The contribution may include resources in anticipation of the needs of others and answers for help seekers. Such peripheral activities actually have a significant impact on the knowledge and social aspects of learning. The contributions directly add to a body of knowledge that is available to members of the learning networks. In the social aspect, voluntary activities generate social capital that lubricates collaboration of learning activities through establishing trust, reciprocity, and norms. Effective learning communities will emerge from the ensuing increment of participation, communication, and interactions.

Social exchange theory provides a foundation to explain acts of volunteerism such as students' voluntary contributions in asynchronous learning networks. The theory assumes a rational perspective to decision making. The selection of a particular action to take among various choices is based on an evaluation of perceived benefits against costs. According to existing literature, there are at least four factors that motivate voluntary acts in general asynchronous learning networks including, first, increased influence in the network through reputation building; second, anticipated reciprocal favours; third, improved usefulness of the network for personal benefits; and fourth, hard rewards such as money and assessment. It is interesting to investigate if these incentives still hold for the asynchronous learning networks employed at the Open University of Hong Kong and other institutions offering online courses. This investigation would present several significant contextual differences from the similar work in the existing literature. The asynchronous learning networks associated with each online course are moderated by the course instructors, who are expected to contribute to academic and administrative matters with a degree of authority. On the other hand, students are informed that the asynchronous learning networks are a type of learning support, and participation is not linked to assessment.

This paper presents a study on student voluntary contributions in an instructor-moderated asynchronous learning network. There are two research questions investigated in the paper. First, we will evaluate if student voluntary contributions are considered as public goods, and second, we will compare the value of student voluntary contributions with the value of instructor contributions. The research will mainly comprise a quantitative study based on content analysis of eleven asynchronous learning networks associated with online courses at the Open University of Hong Kong. The paper will describe the methodology, results, and findings, and suggest further research work in the domain of this study.