Group items tagged

Describes anchored discussion. Compares regular discussion with anchored discussion.

Anchored discussion is a form of collaborative literature processing. It "starts from the notion of collaborative discussion that is contextualized or anchored within a specific content" (van der Pol, Admiraal & Simons, 2006). In this course, the discussions we participate in are based on prompts that address ideas included in each of the required resources for each module. However, an anchored discussion is a discussion that is focused on one piece of literature. As students read and digest the material, discussions about the meaning of that material occur within a window where the material is present. It is like having an asynchronous chat window open next to a research article. (van der Pol et al., 2006) As I started learning about anchored discussions, I saw many connections to shared annotation such as what we use Diigo for. Van der Pol et al. (2006) state that "shared annotation might leave more room for individual processes, but is shown to have some limitations in supporting interactivity". Anchored discussions take shared annotation a step further in that it requires conversation (as opposed to individual notes) regarding a resource. The collaborative piece of anchored discussions really got my attention in that it provides greater opportunity for the development of teaching presence by both students and the instructor. The opportunity to facilitate a discussion within the context of a required reading is an exciting idea for me. The use of anchored discussion allows for all three facets of teaching presence: instructional design and organization, facilitating discourse, and direct instruction (Shea, Pickett, & Pelz, 2003). I am wondering if there is a way to use Diigo in creating anchored discussions.

utilized asynchronous focus groups for students to share their experiences

Factors that affect the success of asynchronous online learning by looking at course design and student perceptions.

The ability to work in groups across time and space has become a frequent requirement for the workplace and is becoming increasingly more common in higher education, but there is a surprising lack of research on how online groups work. This study applies analytical approaches used in studies of face-to-face classroom "talk" to multiple groups in two asynchronous online high school courses. We investigated two activities focused on group problem-solving styles-one for deciding how to work as a group, and a second for responding to the content of the assignment. We found successful groups to have benefited from directive leadership, and the division of labor amongst most groups to be in parallel rather than collaborative.

Link to the pdf

Article analyzes types of interaction that occur during online discussions, examines levels of student cognitive engagement in each discussion, and explores their effects on and implications for learning and teaching in higher education. By combining methods of social network analysis with qualitative content analysis, the article explores new methodologies for analyzing participation, interaction, and learning that take place online, and suggests areas for research in learning and teaching online.

This article applies the concept of classroom community to asynchronous learning networks (ALNs) by taking on the issue of how best to design and implement a course that fosters community among learners who are physically separated from each other.

This article describes how audio-based feedback contributes to increased learning, content retention, feelings of increased involvement, the ability to detect nuance and inflection which convey meaning, and fosters the class community. The study received very positive results.

discusses how to add cognitive presence through reflective inquiry, self direction, and metacognition