Asks: A system for supporting discussion for individualized study online learners

Learning in individual study distance education programs can be enriched by enabling information sharing among students. Time, distance, and unsynchronized study schedules make information sharing among students difficult to implement. The evaluation of class participation in classroom or synchronized distance education programs is inherently unfair in that it is generally subjective and students who participate first have an advantage over students who participate later. This paper presents a system that creates virtual cohort study groups out of students enrolled in an unsynchronized individual study distance education program and provides a structured process for students to share information and for instructors to objectively evaluate class participation.