Abstract

In view of the high attrition rates in distance education identified in our previous studies, we focus on peer interactions through the use of an educational social networking environment (ELGG) in three Canadian postsecondary institutions, using a design-based experiment methodology. Traces show that only about 40% of the students visit the environment at least once, and that only one fourth of them become frequent users. The main obstacles to participation mentioned by the 38 interviewees are the lack of participation by other students, the classical “cold-start” problem in social media, technical problems (connection problems and user problems), and concerns about time and flexibility. Students’ suggestions aimed to facilitate participation or connections among students while increasing the associated value and rewards.