Interpreting Experiences of Students Using Educational Online Technologies to Interact with Students in Blended Tertiary Environments: A Phenomenological Study

This paper is part of a phenomenological study that examined teachers' and students' experiences using educational online technologies (EOTs) in blended tertiary environments (BTEs). Its aim was to understand how EOT engagement was experienced, to inform insights on EOT interactions, challenges, functionality and benefits. Phenomenological interviews were conducted with 10 teachers and 10 students from New Zealand and Australia, and their EOT experiences explored, under a range of different interactions. This paper reports on students' EOT interactions with other students, in reference to four types of EOTs: Online conference tools (Adobe Connect), learning management systems (LMS) (Blackboard, Moodle), online social networks (Facebook), and online collaboration tools (Google Docs). This research helps tertiary education institutes (TEIs) understand how, why and where EOT support for stakeholders is necessary. The outcomes assist TEIs to design approaches to tackle EOT challenges, deliver meaningful EOT support, and inform institutional strategies to strengthen the future of BTEs.