The incorporation of new technologies into Malaysian education system via online learning has given rise to the use of academic online discussions as a platform for teaching and learning. However, the question has always revolved around the issue whether learners despite gender differences equally benefit from the online learning environment as promoted by earlier democracy theorists. This study explored gender influences on the way Malaysian learners interact by examining their text-based

more »

... ngs from online discussion forums of a course. Contributions by 31 introductory literature learners (26 females, 5 males) were collated. The findings accentuated the fact that the online classroom in Malaysian distance education reflects a gendered learning community, specifically a female domain, which contradicts the well-known Western belief that it has been either equal or a male one.