The Continuing Struggle for Community and Content in Blended Technology Courses in Higher Education Richard A.

Schwier & Mary E. Dykes University of Saskatchewan Please cite as: Schwier, R.A., & Dykes, M.E. (2007) The continuing struggle for community and content in blended technology courses in higher education. In M. Bullen, M., & D. Janes (Eds.), Making the transition to e-learning: Issues and strategies (pp. 157-172). Hershey, PA: Information Science Publishing.

Richard A. Schwier, Professor Educational Communications and Technology College of Education University of Saskatchewan 28 Campus Drive Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 0X1 (306) 966-7641 (306) 966-7658 fax richard.schwier@usask.ca ABSTRACT

Mary E. Dykes Instructional Design Group Extension Division 221 Cumberland Ave. North University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 1M3 Phone: (306) 966-1380 Fax: (306) 966-1687 Email: mary.dykes@usask.ca

This chapter reports a three-year case study of communication strategies in online discussions in a graduate seminar and extends preliminary findings from the first two years of the study (Schwier & Balbar, 2002; Dykes & Schwier, 2003). It discusses how different combinations of synchronous and asynchronous communication strategies were implemented in a graduate-level course, and examines how implementation strategies influenced the balance of community, social engagement and content in online learning environments in higher education.