As participants’ conceptions of OCW tasks move up the hierarchy, their conceptions of other key aspects of OCW also change:
- Outcome of OCW: Created document → Learning knowledge and skills
- Learning between cowriters: Low → High
- Nature of OCW process: Coordination of group members → Collaboration between group members
- Intensity of interaction: Low → High
- Values and commitment: Formal commitment → Intrinsic motivation


New York University

The four categories of conceptions represent an expansion of focus from seeing OCW as simple division of labor to seeing it as a more complex process of collaborative knowledge-construction and learning.


Students' Conceptions of Online Writing Tasks

Limbu, L., & Markauskaite, L. (2015). How do learners experience joint writing: University students' conceptions of online collaborative writing tasks and environments. Computers & Education, 82, 393-408.


How do Learners Experience Joint Writing: University Students’ Conceptions of Online Collaborative Writing

Dimensions of Variation in Conceptions of OCW Tasks

- Writers with a broader, learning-focused conception of OCW tended to favor a more open OCW environment, while writers with a more product-focused conception tended to prefer pre-arranged environments. 
- However, about 75% of the participants indicated that they preferred scaffolded environments that were well-supported and adequately managed. The researchers theorized that this focus on scaffolding was because categories higher on the hierarchy are still inclusive of the lower tiers, so someone with primarily learning-focused OCW goals would still value creating a good product. As such, some guidance in group coordination and organization to facilitate effective group writing would be appreciated by most writers.


Associations between Conceptions of OCW Tasks and OCW Environments

A few associations were uncovered between students' conceptions of OCW and some other factors, such as:
- English language proficiency
- Work experience
- Information and communications technology (ICT) skills

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