Pattern of accesses over time in an online asynchronous forum and academic achievements

In this study, the participation of 119 students in an online asynchronous forum as part of an academic course on statistical methods was evaluated. The pattern of accesses during the course was analyzed by means of the cumulative mean function. Taking into account the times (hours) at which accesses occurred, it is possible to achieve more accurate and more sensitive assessment of the role of concomitant variables (gender, final mark of the high school attended, examination outcome). As far as academic achievement was concerned, it emerged that graduating probability within 3.5 years from the end of the course was related only to a regular posting activity and not to the overall number of accesses.