With the dawn of internet era, there are conspicuous changes in every walk of life and education is no exception to it. Educationists maintain that instructional technology is st the key to quality education in 21 century [13] and a "new educational culture" [2] has been created where students have the ownership of their own leaning. Educators support online learning because of its unique abilities to provide students with enriched learning experiences, to extend learning beyond the classroom, and to support more successful differentiated learning strategies that personalize students' educational experiences [4]. As our students today have grown up with technology, they are referred as digital natives. Both learning paradigms and learning styles of these digital natives are significantly different [21]. They are very comfortable with the use of new technologies because they use technologies as integral part of their life. New Web teaching and learning tools are created at a fast pace to help better address the multitude of teaching and learning styles [22]. Incorporation of social networking sites, blogs, wikis, podcasts, discussion forums, Skype, CD-ROM books, electronic books, and other technologies offer unprecedented opportunities to involve students in multiliteracy experiences in the classroom and beyond [1]. Both synchronous and asynchronous modes of technology add new dimension to teaching and learning. These tools also provide variety of materials for teaching and learning. Collaborative learning is one of the learning methods which is very much in vogue with these new technologies. Web 2.0 offers educators a set of tools to support forms of learning that can be more strongly collaborative and more oriented to the building of classroom communities [3]. In the past, collaborative learning activities have been restricted to full- time students in on-campus settings because of the logistical difficulties in finding time and space for students to work together [9]. However, little research has been done to determine how such learning environments can be created that can effectively incorporate online teaching and learning with traditional classrooms to enhance the quality of student learning. As online medium provides liberty to learners to work at their own pace and time and location, collaborative learning can be fostered for both oncampus and off-campus students. The present study has taken up online collaborative learning through on-campus LMS 'Nalanda' for inculcating speech writing.

The early twentieth century educationist John Devey has been credited with promoting the idea of building cooperation in learning on a regular and systematic basis [6]. Collaborative learning is an approach to teaching that involves pairs or small group of learners in the classroom or outside the classroom so that learning is dependent on the socially structured exchange of information among learners in groups and in which each learner is held accountable for his or her own learning and is motivated to increase the learning of others [18]. In collaboration, learning is not seen just as the product of one's individual efforts, but as deeply connected to the surroundings, tools and the overall context in which the learning takes place [5]. Creating a contextual environment is the basic requirement for communicative language teaching and the web 2.0 helps in building an online learning community which utilizes the platform to provide learning within a context which is a unique feature of classroom teaching.

Collaborative language learning offers a truly conducive environment for autonomous learning of language [17]. Due to the move towards communicative language teaching, recent innovations in classroom practice have emphasized the value of collaborative learning, learner centeredness and autonomy and shared decision making in the classroom leading to a new education system with new pedagogy and learning strategies [12]. Collaborative learning, in fact, emerges when students are engaged in problem solving activities which demand interaction and co-construction of language and expression. Collaborative learning occurs when learners work together, brainstorm, discover the key concepts, and related information for themselves. The teacher plays the vital role in building and supporting peer-to-peer interaction and removing stagnation and blocks during the process of learning. He does not teach but encourages them, questions their process and monitor each others' reasoning as and when required. Collaborative practices are being increasingly advocated in second language classrooms largely in response to the collaborative potential of web 2.0 tools [8]. However, internet as a medium for communication, it does lend itself particularly to communicative and task- based learning [24]. Web 2.0 provides knowledge sharing, communicating, collaborative creation tools which have greatly improved learning activities [19]. The popular applications of web 2.0 such as social media, forums, blogging, wikis, and podcasting help in learner centred and active learning. Forums, blogs and wikis have been identified as the important web 2.0 tools for collaborative authoring/ writing. With online learning forums (OLFs), blogs and wikis learning does not stop after the class meeting is over but can be extended beyond class hours [10]. Thoughtful use of these tools can enhance effective instructional approaches that emphasise writing for meaningful social purposes, mastery of relevant genres, and development of students' academic language proficiency [26].

The present paper highlights how the online Learning Management System (LMS)- 'Nalanda' (based on Moodle) is being used for on–campus students in BITS, Pilani. Integration process is being illustrated in Figure 1, with researcher's observations about the integration. It provides observations about collaborative learning by the students i.e. the process of writing and discussion on the speech tasks given by the instructor and about the enhancement, if any, in speech writing abilities of the students. The theoretical construct of the study is Socio- Cultural theory and its major concept of ZPD. Group collaboration during completion of online forum speech writing task is the core issue of the illustrative research design. This study, therefore, takes a closer look at the online forum as a mediating tool in the process of collaborative learning task. The study reflects the researcher's subjective interpretations of the whole learning process.

Andresen, 2009 sugested that, the process of discussions is a critical dimension of the learning process (Andresen, 2009). As discussion done on online forums is in the written form, there is a potential in the environment which needs to be explored more regarding acquisition of writing skills. Online discussion forums provide an authenticity in writing and therefore serve as a meaningful supplement to the writing curriculum [20]. Discussion forums have been an integral part of many distance education programs and many online courses. But their employment as a supplement in the regular classrooms is rarely seen. Dengler (2008) favours active learning activities in the geography classes which were complemented by the consistent inclusion of an optional online discussion forum and concluded that it provided a more comfortable space for non-native English speakers to contribute to debates. Participation in discussion forums in a topicoriented discussion that helps students to identify and solve problems related with their work, which can become a stimulus for the acquisition of the linguistic and communicative skills which the learner needs for his/her specific purposes [23].

In addition to writing done on blogs and wikis, language teachers have found that students benefit from the extra writing done in discussion forums and from its use to communicate meaningfully in real contexts [7]. Three objectives which are fulfilled in collaborative learning on online forums are: foreign language acquisition, communication skills enhancement and contents learning [15]. Through OLFs her participants have increased their level of confidence in using English to communicate with one another, something they could not achieve through face-to-face communication [29]. Online forums are integrated in the course English for Business and Accounting and came with the results, that its helped in developing students' linguistic competence, augmenting cognitive development, collaborative construction of knowledge etc [11]. The interplay between learners' Internet perceptions and their online participation in an online writing exchange program for nursing students [28], it was noted that students with more participation were more likely to make progress in writing fluency. The implementation of the online forums appears to provide reinforcement tasks to enable students practice their writing. Students could share their ideas and opinions in order to produce better quality writing as compared to if the tasks were to be completed independently [16]. Platforms like web forums, webinars, and bulletin boards in most Learner Management Systems (LMS) provide the additional platform for learning but are seldom utilized effectively to promote student interaction in language learning and acquisition [10]. The above review clearly indicates that whatever little amount of research done on the integration of forums in education is mostly in online courses but not in integration with classroom teaching. In the studies cited, almost all the studies show the integration of forums in some other streams like Geography, Nursing etc, which too in distance education or online programs. The genres of writing which have been included did not study the integration of online forums for speech writing as a supplement to the classroom learning for on- campus students.

The speech writing component can never be seen in isolation as only a writing activity. Writing the speech before delivering its gives the students an opportunity to draft their speech with proper content and arguments and then deliver the speech with perfection and conviction in the classroom. In the course of Effective Public Speaking, speech writing and speaking are seen as complementary to each other. Generally, classroom settings does not provide students enough time to practice writing the speech. It is always expected from the students to speak and perform in the classroom. So, the necessary time required by the students to practice, think over and organise their thoughts is generally not available to them during the classroom hours. So, the reason of integration of online forum for discussion is to provide necessary time to the students where writing process can be seen as an activity which promotes critical thinking and the final written product is the result of that thinking process and can be well communicated through public speaking. The present study is an attempt to integrate online environment in effective public speaking classroom as a supplement which give students an opportunity to discuss and practice speech writing with the convenience of space and time so that they can think critically and learn by doing and through peer feedback.

Vygotsky (1978) asserts that learning occurs within a social context and that interaction between learners and their peers is a necessary part of the learning process [25]. From a Vygotskian perspective [30], cognitive development is studied by examining the processes that one participates in when engaged in shared endeavours and how this engagement influences engagement in other activities. The present study examines the online forum mediated learning process of students who are engaged in discussing the nuances of effective speech writing and how this mutual interaction in the written form influences their individual writing and spoken skills. The tasks which integrate speaking and writing are more conducive to L2 learning than isolated writing [27]. Vygotsky believes in the centrality of language as a 'tool for thought' which means language is a means of mediation in mental activity [14] and this language mediated learning emphasises the use of expressive talk, expressing writing, peer collaboration, and meaningful problem solving tasks [26]. New forms of online communication, are a medium of written as well as spoken communication and can be incorporated for creating a zone of proximal development (ZPD) for language learners which further helps in reaching potential levels of development as suggested by the ZPD—what children can do with assistance in contrast to he actual level which child can demonstrate alone or perform independently. In the present study, forums have been integrated with the classroom teaching in the Effective Public Speaking course in order to create the ZPD which may be favourable for learning speech writing with a leading aim of better speech delivery in the classroom. Effective writing and speaking both require good organisational and critical thinking abilities which can be worked upon only by providing a relevant contextual support where learners can come together, interact and reflect upon.

Speech writing is an integral part of the Effective Public Speaking (EPS) course being offered at BITS Pilani to the first year degree students as an elective and the students enrolled in the course are systematically trained for writing effective speeches. The classroom activities in the course mainly consist of lectures by the instructor and of the oral assignments to the students. It is felt that time constraint of the classroom is depriving students to have enough practise in writing. During the lst semester of the academic session 2011-12, for teaching speech writing by using online forum was used by the researcher after seeking formal permission from the instructor. For this purpose, the class of 42 students was divided into 6 groups and 6 different speech writing tasks were posted on the forum. This was done to intensify the speech writing practice by students so that they are able to develop skills of organising a speech well with a better expression. Capitalising on the techno- friendly attitude of the students the teacher believed that forums would provide students a platform to experience speech writing in a new light and subsequently they would regard it as a meaningful task. The rationale behind having a forum assignment was to make students feel comfortable to express themselves in written English. The main aim of this paper is to share the researcher's experience, as a task initiator and observer, of the whole process and mark out the learning outcomes and challenges during the learning process. The stepwise integration of the forum on 'Nalanda' with the classroom teaching is shown with the help of the Figure 1.

Figure 1. Integration Process of Online Forum with Classroom Teaching

As it has been mentioned the forums were integrated with the classroom teaching of speech writing, the figure shown consists of two learning modules for the on- campus EPS students: the Classroom module and the Forum module on LMS 'Nalanda'. The instructor, in the classroom, teaches students the basics of speech writing- its importance in day to day life, outline preparation, how to write an effective introduction and conclusion, different types, importance of thesis statement internal preview, use of rhetoric etc. Emphasis is given to teach students the importance of drafting an effective speech before delivery. For this, practicing speech writing within groups is facilitated on online forums. Students were acquainted with the basic functioning of forums through proper instructions in the classroom and they were asked to visit 'Nalanda' regularly in order to check the assignments and tasks given. The instructor posted the details of the speech topics to be discussed, made groups and set a time limit for the discussion for one week. After the discussion is over, students were supposed to submit their final individual assignments on 'Nalanda' which were later on accessed by the instructor for evaluation. Finally, students were required to practice the speeches written by them and deliver in the classroom. This was the whole integration plan briefed in the figure above.

Does collaborative learning on online forums help students in better speech organisation and consequently better written and spoken performance?

The study employs a case study research method to explore EPS students' development in speech writing and speaking through the online forum discussions. Data was collected in the form of content on the discussion platform and final individual speech assignment. The researcher along with instructor observed the whole interaction and the changes in the students' level of performance. The contents gathered from the online posts and the individually submitted assignments and the classroom performance of the students served as the data for this study.

Online forums were integrated with the classroom teaching to extend interaction among learners and the instructor beyond the classroom so that the ZPD for students could be extended as part of collaborative learning process and make the learners to go beyond the prescribed classroom learning zone. The major findings of the direct observation by the researcher are discussed below:

It was observed that students got a good writing practice while participating in the forum discussions, which were often ignored by many students as the course, has emphasis on speaking. It helped students improve their performance through better expression first in the written assignment and finally in the spoken. This is quite evident in the graph shown below. The students of group 'A' which was one of the most collaborative group, benefited from the online discussion. In the final performance, all the seven students in the group were almost at par which was not the case during the classroom assessment of the students before the integration of forum discussion. In order to find out the relationship between the participation level and performance of the group, participation is measured as total number. of posts of the group (assuming it as an indicator of collaboration, interest and active nature of the group) and performance of the students is measured by the marks they get in the assignment after the discussion on online forum. Two groups have been chosen for analysisgroup A and group B. Graphs have been drawn to show the relationship between number of posts by the individual members in the group and marks obtained by them in their finally submitted individual speech assignments.

The number of posts and the marks obtained by the members of group A is graphically represented in Figure 2. It depicts that variation in level of participation is greater than the marks obtained by the students. Table 1 shows that total number of posts by the group is 92. Though all students have not contributed equal number of posts, as shown in Figure 2 and Table 1) but it can be deduced that group was interactive enough and had an elaborate discussion on the topic which is required by the students to have a comprehensive knowledge on the topic being discussed. This can be seen in Figure 3 where the variation in the marks is negligible. Students are almost at par with each other and scored almost equal inspite of differences in their participation level. But overall the group is very actively involved in the learning process and it benefited all the students in the group. The graph below shows little variation in marks obtained.

Table 1.Overview of Group A's participation and Score

Figure 2. Group A's Performance and Participation Indicator.

Figure 3. Group A's Performance

In contrast to Group A, in Group B, which can be seen from Table 2 and Figure 4, that total number of posts are 41 which is half of group A. It shows that group was not as actively involved in the discussion and learning process as it was in group A, and there is also difference in their final performance which is shown with the help of marks scored by the students. The variation of marks can be seen in the graph in Figure 5. The difference between highest and lowest marks is 4.75 which was 2.25 in Group A. 5.25 marks is the lowest score in Group A but it is 2.75 in Group B.

Table 2. Overview of Group B's participation and score

Figure 4. Group B's Performance and Participation Indicator

Figure 5.Group B's Performance

It shows that variation in the performance of the students within a group increases as the participation by the group as a whole decreases. It can be interpreted from this relationship that learning has taken place when whole group puts efforts and leads to the learning of every individual in the group.

During the online interaction, students cooperated with each other in their respective groups for carrying out the task of drafting a well organised speech. An excerpt from group C is cited below which was asked to prepare a commemorative speech by an army commandant after being reported of some Indian soldiers missing due to an avalanche in Siachin Glacier as shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6. Speech Writing-Group C

The speech was required to highlight the importance of life of each soldier for the country and what measures can be taken to combat such unexpected natural disasters in future. Anmol Aggrawal started the discussion thread with the introduction of the speech. Adesh, another member of group C suggested an effective attention grabber to motivate the soldiers. At this, Pranav shows the doubt that this can be deviating for the soldiers. Indroneil tries to justify Adesh's stand that the step is necessary to first boost up the confidence of the soldiers. Comments and counter comments by the group members helped them to think about the appropriate content for the kind of speech required to be framed.

Similar feedbacks were given regarding the proper internal preview, main body contents and conclusion. This peer feedback mechanism created a real community of practice and helped students attain refinement in speech writing.

Higher order concerns in Speech Writing comprise of thesis statement, proper analysis of the audience before deciding the content so that it fulfils the intended purpose, then organising the content into logical order by making a proper outline for the speech and development of thoughts with suitable examples, illustrations and other necessary details. It was observed that Collaborative learning among the group members through forum discussion fostered the development of critical thinking, clarification of ideas, in-depth analysis, evaluation of others' ideas and critical reflection among students which helped them focus on HOCs of speech writing. Out of the six groups, group F was one of the active and most collaborative groups. Their topic was to address the victims of a massive earthquake in the district. The first student in the group to start the discussion was Sugandha Saboo. She started with a speech outline which was appreciated by Yash followed by some suggestions like he suggested that rather than emphasising on the loses in the introduction it can be placed in the main body. In the introduction, examples from the past on how people have faced similar natural disasters and stood up even after the effect of the disaster was severe can be given. Further, Mehak who joined late in the discussion suggested to give an appropriate topic to the speech and gave some motivational quotes for the speech and a revised outline. Yash is convinced with Mehak but asks her to change the position of giving internal preview of the speech and suggests giving it just after the thesis statement. In the group, it can be seen that Yash's contribution in critically thinking over the contributions made by the group members is valuable as he gives important suggestions regarding whether they are related to content, organisation or the overall structure of the speech, as shown in Figure 7. (See excerpts from discussion of group 'F' is shown in the appendix).

Figure 7. Overall Structure of the Speech

One of the major problems with groups was, that all the groups were not equally collaborative. It has been discussed in the participation and performance section that Group 'A' and 'B' have a big contrast in their levels of participation. This affected their final performance because the lesser collaborative groups had lesser interaction and thus proper ZPD was not developed which was necessary to have appropriation of speech writing. How to ensure almost equal collaboration is a major challenge. Another difficulty observed in the discussion process was that sometimes many sub threads were created in a group due to which students felt deviated and without giving justified ending to the running thread of discussion they jumped on to a new thread. One more major problem in the process was that a few students didn't take the discussion task seriously and remained lurkers. How to motivate such students was again a problem which needs enquiry.

The study discusses the researcher's observations from a single class over a period of six months and it shows that groups which participated more had higher learning and consequently better performance. A similar study on a larger scale or a longitudinal study is further required to validate through quantitative and qualitative analysis. Measures to ensure higher and almost equal collaboration among students within a group and among the groups are needed to be taken. One important observation which sustains the interest of the teacher and motivates to continue the integration of online forum with classroom teaching is the constructive feedback mechanism which certainly works on the higher order skills of learners and enhances autonomous learning.

Group F: