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Online Article Read and Summary

Researchers often measure the success of online learning as students’ perception
of learning and course throughput rates. Drop-out rates for online courses range
from 20 to 50%, often 10–20% higher than for equivalent contact courses
(Bernard, Brauer, Abrami, & Surkes, 2004). Searching for a model to predict
student success in online learning, Bernard et al. (2004) found that students’ frame
of mind can predict readiness for learning and affect course outcomes, while ‘‘prior
achievement is still the best predictor of future achievement’’ (Bernard et al., 2004,
p. 44).

Research shows that online participation is necessary to ensure successful course
completion (Klemm, 1998; Rovai & Barnum, 2003; Swan, Shea, Fredericksen,
Pickett, & Pelz, 2000). Clark and Feldon (2005) concluded that a facilitator who
participates and interacts with students prevents them from abandoning their course.
Better cognitive outcomes occur when students engage and form a virtual
community of learners. The development of a community depends on online
interaction with their peers and the facilitator. Learner satisfaction, perseverance,
and cognitive outcomes characterize the formation of a virtual learning community.
Some contest participation as a prerequisite to learning, claiming students learn
sufficiently by observation (Beaudoin, 2002; Sutton, 2001), and lobby for leniency
towards lurking or read-only participation. This article responds to Beaudoin’s
(2002) article ‘‘Learning or lurking? Tracking the ‘invisible’ online student.’’ He
reasoned that students sometimes engage and learn even when not taking part in
online discussions with faculty and other students and showed that low profile
students:

spend a significant amount of time in learning-related tasks, including logging on, even
when not visibly participating, and they feel they are still learning and benefiting from
this low-profile approach to their online studies. (p. 147)

We investigated the importance of student online ‘‘visibility’’ apparent in the
quantity and quality of participation. We explored as a case study the successful
completion of a postgraduate online course by asking the following research
questions.

(1) How did online participation relate to learning and successful course
completion? Explain

(2) How did participation influence the learning community?