Exploring the Influence of Using Collaborative Tools on the Community of Inquiry in an Interdisciplinary Project-Based Learning Context

Abstract

This study aims to explore the relationships among three presences, namely cognitive presence, social presence and teaching presence in a Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework in the context of interdisciplinary project-based learning (IPBL) through the collaborative technology Google Applications. The survey data was collected from 138 students with mixed subject specialism participated in a cultural creativity project. All participants were randomly assigned into one of two groups. The control group used online discussion boards, while the treatment group used the Google Applications as a collaborative technology to support the project learning. The results of the study showed that the students’ cognitive presence was positively influenced by the teaching and social presence, which supported the theoretical CoI framework. Moreover, in an IPBL context with the support of the Google Applications, social presence had more predictive power in explaining students’ cognitive presence than the support provided by the online discussion boards.