The Role of Discussion Boards in Facilitating Communities of Inquiry: A Case of ICT and Sociology Courses at Zagreb School of Economics and Management

The study focuses on the use of technology to design an electronic learning community for students. The importance of social experience in education and social participation through communication is examined through discussion boards of two different freshmen courses offered at Zagreb School of Economics and Management (ZSEM). Effectiveness and communication dynamics of discussion boards is analyzed through comparison of students’participation rates according to the topic, discussion type and quality of discussion. The focus is not on individual student learning and achievement outcomes, but on student digital interaction from a pedagogical perspective. Based on social constructivist principle and the assumption that knowledge creation is a shared, rather than individual experience, the study examines how and why online discussion represents a valuable tool for enhancing online collaborative learning experience.