April 2012 Volume 15 Number 2 - Educational Technology & Society

Discussion
Differing from prior studies (Tsai et al., 2008; Lin et al., 2006) that utilized statistical models to visualize the
relationships among social constructs of online learning in courses, an additional variable, ET, was extension in this
study. Members’ S was found to be the only direct factor impacting ET, which means members felt the effectiveness
of NETwork for their teaching only when they felt satisfied with learning in NETwork. Additionally, S was a
mediator for the relationships of SA to ET and SOC to ET, which means members’ SA and SOC influenced ET
indirectly. These mediating relationships are new discoveries in the final path model and extend previous models.
Additionally, SA, SOC, and PU directly impact S, meaning members with higher SA and SOC felt much more
satisfied with their learning experience, as well as members who felt the Sakai tools were useful for their learning
and interaction were much more satisfied with their learning experience. SA and PU account for significant variation
in SOC, indicating members had higher SOC when they felt the usefulness of Sakai tools to facilitate their learning
and to socially interact with others in NETwork. This result supports the insight that social interaction can be
supported by CMC tools if the tools are utilized effectively and members feel the usefulness of the tools for their
learning (Tu & Corry, 2003; Lavooy & Newlin, 2003; Tu & McIsaac, 2002).
Further, PEU directly influences SA and PU, meaning that members needed to feel the ease of use of Sakai tools
before they can perceive the usefulness of Sakai tools and utilize them to socially interact with others. PU was a
mediator for the relationships between PEU and S, indicating PEU contributes to S when they also feel the
usefulness of the Sakai tool. This finding is consistent with Hillman, Willis, and Gunawardena (1994) that argued
users’ learning is obstructed if they cannot interact easily through the medium/tools. Thus, ease of use of the tools is
one of the most basic requirements for establishing an online learning community.
According to Tsai et al. (2008) and Line et al. (2006) that reported SOC fully mediates the relationships between SA
and satisfaction in online courses, it was expected that SA would not directly impact S when considering SOC and
other social constructs simultaneously. However, this study found a direct relationship between SA and S exists even
when adding sense of community in the model and failed to confirm SOC’s fully mediating role for the relationship
between SA and S. Additionally, SOC was only a partial mediator for the relationship between PU and S in the
present study, which is inconsistent with the findings of Tsai et al. (2008). These inconsistencies might result from
the different contexts in this study (an online learning community) and that of Tsai et al. (2008) (online courses).
Going beyond prior studies, this study provided further examination of the interdependent relationships among SA
sub-constructs (SN, SPi, and SPp) and other primary social constructs (e.g., SOC, SA, PEU, and PU). The results
indicate that PU was significantly associated with SN and SPi. Prior studies (Tsai et al., 2008; Lin et al., 2006) and
this study showed no significant relationship between PU and the main construct, SA; however, in the examination
of SA sub-constructs, significant relationships of PU to SN and PU to SPi were found. This indicates members who
perceived the usefulness of Sakai tools had a better sense of instructors’ social presence and appreciated being able
to use what others did as a guide for their own actions. Additionally, PU was found to fully mediate the relationship
between PEU and SN. It is possible that a direct influence from PU to SA was not identified in the final path model
in this study and that of Tsai et al. (2008). Thus, the direct relationship from PU to SA is suggested for a further
examination.
Further, SN and SPi were found to directly influence SOC and S, while SPp did not have any direct impact on SOC
and S. Similar to the final path model, SOC was not a full mediator for the relationship between SA and S. SOC was
only a partial mediator for the relationships between SA sub-constructs and S (i.e., SN�S and SPi�S). After adding
SOC in the mediator identification models, these two relationships (SN�S and SPi�S) weakened but remained
significant. In addition to the study of Tsai et al. (2008), which examined the relationships among SOC, S, and SA as
a whole, this study provides new insights for understanding how different SA sub-constructs influence SOC and S
within a CoP experience.
References
Allen, I., & Seaman, J. (2010). Learning on demand: Online education in the United States, 2001. Retrieved from The Sloan
Consortium website: http://sloanconsortium.org/jaln/v5n1/lectures-demand-aln-enhancing-online-learning-experience
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