PREPARING UNIVERSITY STUDENTS FOR PEER ASSESSMENT IN ASYNCHRONOUS TEXT DISCUSSIONS: A CASE STUDY

Monica Liljeström, Department of Education, Umeå University, Sweden

This study reports students’ experiences of asynchronous, written communication in an on-line university course during peer assessment preparation. The data derives from their postings in the course forums and from self- and course evaluations. The results indicate that it seems like the students were able to negotiate meaning through the text communication, as many of the students expressed that their original understanding of the subject discussed were challenged by others postings. However, some students found the asynchronous text based communication restraining.