Online discussion in blended courses at Saudi Universities

This paper reports on an investigation of the effectiveness of online discussion use in blended courses at Saudi Arabian Universities. The study presents issues that have to be considered before employing online discussion in blended courses. Using qualitative research, a rigorous data collection procedure was developed by employing multiple data collection methods that included observations, focus groups and in-depth interviews. The participants were female undergraduate students and instructors of different courses. The results highlight the issues to be considered in utilizing efficient online discussion, which are: e-pedagogy, e-plagiarism, infrastructure, Learning Management System tools, and demands on time.