Graduation Year

2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Ph.D.

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Degree Granting Department

Curriculum, Instruction, and Learning

Major Professor

Michael Berson, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Lauren Braunstein, Ph.D.

Committee Member

James Hatten, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Kiran Jayaram, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Joshua Scacco, Ph.D.

Keywords

community of inquiry, digital artifacts, graduate studies, higher education, presence, sense of belonging

Abstract

This mixed-methods digital ethnography investigates how video-based discussions (VBD) influence community building in asynchronous graduate education. Using the Community of Inquiry (COI) framework, this study looks at student experiences in a History of Higher Education class where traditional text-based discussions were replaced with video presentations and peer responses. The research explores how video discussions affect students' sense of presence, how video presence impacts engagement patterns, and which multimedia elements contribute to community development.

Data collection included semi-structured interviews with students and instructors, LMS analytics, video content analysis, and ethnographic observation throughout Spring 2024. Analysis revealed a notable disconnect between traditional engagement metrics and genuine community building, with analytics showing low video viewing activity while qualitative data documented rich peer interactions and ongoing academic relationships. Students reported an increased sense of social presence through multimodal communication, which facilitated emotional expression, cultural exchange, and the development of professional identity—all of which can be obfuscated in text-based formats.

Key findings show that video discussions effectively promoted cognitive presence through advanced historical analysis, social presence via genuine interpersonal connections, and distributed teaching presence as students took on instructional roles. The combination of reflection time with embodied communication in asynchronous videos created unique conditions for forming an academic community at the graduate level that went beyond technological limits.

The study offers methodological advancements in digital ethnography for educational research, theoretical extensions to the COI framework tailored for multimedia contexts, and practical insights for designing online graduate programs. Results show that carefully implemented VBDs can effectively address key isolation issues in asynchronous learning while preserving the flexibility that adult learners need.

Download

Share

COinS