Student perceptions of online participation in baccalaureate nursing computer-conferencing courses

The purpose of this study was to examine baccalaureate nursing students' perceptions of their own and peers' online participation. The population included baccalaureate nursing students who have been or were recently involved in a computer-conferencing nursing course. Volunteer nursing students (n = 55) from three Canadian universities completed a Web-based questionnaire. The researcher-designed instrument was derived from a modified taxonomy of participation in online courses. The instrument measured three constructs of participation: interpersonal, content, and interface interactions. Overall, students perceived their participation to be at a high level with a reported mean of 3.94/5.00 (SD, 0.476). Students' perceptions of their group members' participation level were also reported as high (mean, 3.60; SD, 0.481). Significant correlations were found among each of the questionnaire's three subcomponents (ie, interpersonal, content, and interface). Results of the study lend support for the use of interface interactions to identify students who may not have the satisfactory computer skills to participate effectively in computer-conferencing courses.