PRE-SERVICE EFL TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF ONLINE COMMUNITY OF INQUIRY IN COMPUTER-MEDIATED SYNCHRONOUS COLLABORATIVE TECHNOLOGY USING GOOGLE DOCS

Abstract

Participation in online learning environments is increasingly popular following the advent of several computer-mediated communication (CMC) tools. There has been empirical evidence about the positive impacts of using synchronous collaborative technologies on students’ classroom interactions and learning outcomes. This article reports on an examination of Google Docs as collaborative technology for group assignments in a content course on designing test items for young learners of English. A total 54 pre-service EFL teachers were examined for their perceived levels of participation, learning, social, and teaching presence in the online community where Google Docs was utilized as a collaborative platform for sharing work and receiving feedback. Main findings indicate the pre-service teachers’ overall positive perceptions of the use of Google Docs, and their perceived levels of learning, teaching, and social presence were better than those in the face-to-face meeting condition. The results suggest a cohesive community where exchange of ideas and feedback took place effectively and Google Docs was perceived to improve feedback efficiency thanks to its synchronous and asynchronous feedback mechanisms. The study concludes with pedagogical implications for the use of CMC technologies in EFL classrooms and suggestions for future research.