Skip to main content

Home/ EDUC 300/ Group items tagged collaboration

Rss Feed Group items tagged

Tiffany King

EBSCOhost: Online Collaborative Learning: Relating Theory to Practice - 0 views

  •  
    Abstract: Educational institutions have rushed to provide online courses; however, too often schools have discovered the difficulty in transferring effective teaching strategies in the classroom to an online environment. A unique aspect of quality online courses is how they rely heavily on effective collaboration to create a meaningful learning environment. Unfortunately, online instruction is not as simple as replicating the community atmosphere that is found in the traditional brick and mortar classroom. New strategies are demanded for the successful transfer of knowledge utilizing the Web. Investigating the pedagogical strategies of a program that promotes dialogue and collective intellect in a community model could benefit faculty designing courses. We will present a detailed case study using a mixture of quantitative and qualitative methods (including observation, focus groups, transcripts from synchronous and asynchronous discussions, surveys, and interviews) collected over a two-year span to identify perceptions of effective online collaboration and performance. Community formation, support, and sustainability are also explored. Examples are included that not only describe what participants perceive as enabling aspects of the support system but also ways in which educators can enhance program development by learning from other pioneers in this area.
Diane Gusa

WPI Teaching with Technology Collaboratory - The Benefits of Learning Contracts, and Ho... - 0 views

  • Idea Center Assigning Multimedia Projects to Students Motivating Your Students Promoting Student Collaboration Gathering Student Feedback Enhancing Presentations Engaging Students Through Alternatives to Written Assignments Encouraging Class Discussion Benefits of Using Discussion Boards Improving Use of Discussion Boards Grading Online Discussons The Benefits of Learning Contracts Survey Design Best Practices Blended Learning How-To Center Learning Objects Faculty Technology Grants Distance Teaching Faculty Stories News & Events Technology Tips Contact Us Search ATC site only All WPI IT sites ATC Home Related Sites Distance Learning Morgan Teaching & Learning Center The Benefits of Learning Contracts, and How to Design One
  • "Allowing students to decide which grade they wish to strive for, which activities they will engage in, and how they will demonstrate that they have satisfactorily completed their studies permits a teacher to seize upon powerful motivating forces within individual students ... This notion shifts responsibility for learning from the teacher to the student, but at the same time offers an incentive by insuring success under known conditions. Students are challenged without being threatened." (Frymier, 1965)
  •  
    "A learning contract is a collaboratively written agreement between a student and a faculty member that delineates what is to be learned, how it will be learned, and how that learning will be evaluated. There are many different ways to design a learning contract, incorporating as many or as few elements as you wish. Despite this flexibility, there is a general format which the majority of learning contracts follow: Identify what content will be learned Specify the methods and strategies that will be used to learn the content Specify resources to be used in order to learn the content Specify the type of evidence that will be used to demonstrate learning Specify how the evidence will be validated, and by whom"
Diane Gusa

EDUCAUSE_2012_scaffolding.pdf - 1 views

  •  
    "Palloff, R., & Pratt, K. (2005).Collaborating online: Learning together in community. San Francisco: Jossey - Bass"
Kristie Rushing

Technology and Education Online Discussion Forums: It's in the Response - 0 views

  • participation in online discussion forums provides opportunities for responsibility and active learning through the expectation of regular participation in online discussions.
  • hey construct knowledge through the shared experiences that each participant brings to the collaborative discussions. The online web courses about teaching offer deeper perspectives and opportunities to learn because the participants are teachers from school districts around the state and other states.
  • This particular use of the discussion forum, to negotiate and construct knowledge, is an example of using the technology as a cognitive tool and not simply as another kind of blackboard or one-way communication method. Cognitive tools and environments stimulate cognitive learning strategies and critical thinking (Jonassen, 1998). Students engaged with course content in discussions and group work with other students engage in generative processing of information.
  • ...19 more annotations...
  • his involves the processes of reflection and the construction and re-construction of domains of knowledge. The resulting kinds of learning from these processes are not a regurgitation of a lecture or reading. It is a negotiated interpretation of knowledge
  • The discussion forum environment evens the playing field of opportunity and accessibility.
  • The discussion forum makes active participation by all students the price of citizenship within this learning community.
    • Tiffany King
       
      What do you think about this? I found this an interesting way of putting it.
    • Diane Gusa
       
      Cool!
  • Students quickly discover that their peers are also holders of knowledge and they initiate discussions and respond to one another's postings
  • It is possible to feel invisible in an online discussion forum if no one responds to an individual's postings. Part of a course design should include a requirement that students respond to at least 3 or more students each week and at least 1 of those should be a student not previously responded to. This helps distribute the responses. Responses are a hook to student motivation to participate above and beyond grades.
  • They recommended that, "Instructors can encourage and model this behavior from the beginning of a course, thereby creating a safe learning environment of acceptance and trust. Activities that enhance sharing and cooperation can further develop openness and solidarity within groups." (McDonald & Gibson, 1998, p.21)
  • Web environments can make use of interactive components and educators should design and look for activities that are problem oriented, interactive, and engage students in an application of knowledge, principles, and values (Hazari & Schnorr, 1999).
  • he stage for disagreement within the discussion forum is also a motivation and invitation for students to become more engaged in the discussions.
  • instructors should have the syllabus developed and the course up and online before the first day of class
  • Instructors need to be a "presence" in the virtual conference center as they monitor the discussions and provide continuous guidance to students to focus on the course goals by utilizing a technique called "weaving". This is a skill that involves using a part of a student comment in a posting and re-directing it to the main topic without an explicit negative value judgment. Instructors in a discussion forum will set and maintain the type of language and tone used in the virtual conference center. It is harder to interpret the tone and therefore the meaning of a message without visual clues or the sound of a voice. Instructors fulfill a role like that of a list moderator as they support and give students guidance in communicating successfully within the environment.
  • Feedback has long been recognized as critical to the learning process and timely feedback is potent.
  • Feedback needs to be specific, personal, and within 24 hours of the posting.
    • Diane Gusa
       
      I think the syllabus should be sent out at least a week before the class starts. What do you think?
    • Kristie Rushing
       
      I find my self doing this. I am always corious what my classmates have to add to what I have posted.
  • The need for affection is also present in a virtual discussion forum. This need is characterized by trust, self-disclosure and willingness to reveal experiences, thoughts and interpretations.
  • challenging deeply held beliefs
  • These "getting-to-know-you" scenarios are as important as course content in reaching the goal of a collaborative community of learners. The instructor needs to be sensitive to this need and find a balance within the discourse.
  • If they are left dangling for days on end, they lose a feeling of connection and begin to feel lost in Cyberspace.
  •  
    Why use Disuccion boards in online education.
Nicole Frescura

Student perception of collaborative learning, social presence, and satisfaction - 1 views

"To better understand their perceptions of collaborative learning, social presence, and satisfaction, this study aims to analyze the experiences of learners in computer-mediated communication (CMC)...

Module 2

started by Nicole Frescura on 04 Jul 12 no follow-up yet
Diane Gusa

WPI Teaching with Technology Collaboratory - Encouraging Class Discussion - 0 views

  • Idea Center Assigning Multimedia Projects to Students Motivating Your Students Promoting Student Collaboration Gathering Student Feedback Enhancing Presentations Engaging Students Through Alternatives to Written Assignments Encouraging Class Discussion Benefits of Using Discussion Boards Improving Use of Discussion Boards Grading Online Discussons The Benefits of Learning Contracts Survey Design Best Practices Blended Learning How-To Center Learning Objects Faculty Technology Grants Distance Teaching Faculty Stories News & Events Technology Tips Contact Us Search ATC site only All WPI IT sites ATC Home Related Sites Distance Learning Morgan Teaching & Learning Center Encouraging Class Discussion
  • Learning objects spanning many disciplines are freely available on the Internet, especially at repository sites such as: MERLOT NEEDS EngApplets EOE Citidel Illumina Exploratories
Diane Gusa

Learning and Ownership Realized | Alex Nana-Sinkam - 2 views

  •  
    "A couple examples, from Howard's The Art of Hosting Good Conversations Online:  A good online learning community: has a shared commitment to work together toward better communication, better conversations. is a place where everybody builds social capital individually by improving each other's knowledge capital collaboratively. a spirit of group creativity, experimentation, exploration, good will. enables people to 'entertain' themselves rather than being just the passive consumers of canned 'entertainment'."
Doris Stockton

JOLT - Journal of Online Learning and Teaching - 0 views

  • The Barriers to Online Teaching and Learning
  • Similarly, inadequate hardware and software, slow internet connections, learners’ procrastination, lack of technical expertise among the instructors, insufficient orientation for learners, and a lack of release time for instructors to develop and design their online courses have been cited as barriers to faculty participation in developing and teaching online courses (Nkonge & Gueldenzoph, 2006). The researchers recommended training and support for instructors. Supporting faculty becomes significant because of the number of faculty who begin the online teaching experience with little knowledge of the process of designing, developing, and instructing an online course (Cuellar, 2002).
  • Nelson and Thompson (2005) cited faculty time, rewards, workload, lack of administrative support, cost, course quality, student contact, and equipment concerns as barriers to online teaching practices. The researchers recommended that program leaders keep abreast of the technology issues; courses integrate more collaboration between instructors and learners; training be provided to faculty to overcome negative dispositions; leaders attempt to incorporate the need for distance education courses in institutions’ missions, and that a reconsideration of tenure and promotion decisions should be examined in an attempt to support faculty workloads.
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • Although instruction provided through the Internet offers a viable alternative to the need for “physical” space, the need for faculty involvement in online learning remains a prevalent issue for those institutions that plan to continue offering instruction at a distance (Matsom, 2006; Nelson & Thompson, 2005; Schifter, 2004). In many institutions, faculty members are expected to participate in online distance education as a part of their regular duties as faculty (Kim & Bonk, 2006). However, many faculty members are hesitant to convert their traditional courses to an online format. This resistance is attributed to a lack of support, assistance, as well as training by institutions of higher education (Allen & Seaman, 2008; Keengwe, Kidd, & Kyei-Blankson, 2009).
  • Both novice faculty, who may have been reluctant to participate, and expert faculty play a significant role in guiding the types of support, assistance, and training provided by institutions of higher education. Rockwell et al., (1999) evaluated the types of education, assistance, and support that faculty felt were needed to be successful in online teaching and learning. Faculty responded with the assertions that assistance and support for developing instructional materials, developing interaction, and for applying certain technologies were critical to their success in online environments. Faculty regarded teaching online as more difficult than teaching traditional courses (Gerlich, 2005) as well as complain that online delivery were more labor intensive because of the amount of time required to grade papers and respond to questions (Lao, & Gonzales, 2005; Wegmann, & McCauley, 2008; Sellani & Harrington, 2002). In other studies, faculty felt that additional instructional and technical support were needed because faculty were genuinely concerned about the quality of their online courses and the amount of technical assistance and training available to them at their institutions (Allen & Seaman, 2008; Keengwe, Kidd, & Kyei-Blankson, 2009).
  • Surveys conducted by Brogden and Couros (2002), Grosse, (2004), and Lorenzetti, (2004) suggest that the time and effort demands to develop online courses and to learn new technologies are also causes for faculty member’s frustrations. Additionally, some faculty members may resist online teaching because they are concerned that those courses may require more time for advanced planning (Matsom, 2006). Further, faculty members may be hesitant about this shift due to the fact that they may lose autonomy and control of the curriculum, lack of technical training and support, and lack of release time for planning. Generally, understanding the differences between traditional face-to-face learning environment and online learning environment, and the process of being able to shift from one modality to the other, will give faculty members the ability to design better online courses and focus more on course delivery (Conrad, 2004; Harlow, 2007; Marfoglio, 2006, Sugar, Martindale, & Crawley, 2007). Faculty members may also need to rethink (a) the nature of the content to be taught (b) their role as faculty members and (c) the needs and requirements of the students (Ben-Jacob, Levin & Ben-Jacob, 2000; Lee & Busch, 2005; Jones, Kollof, & Kolloff, 2008).
  •  
    This is the article that I used for response to Kelly's Speak out discussion post.
Karin Bogart

http://www.uwec.edu/AcadAff/resources/edtech/upload/Best-Practices-in-Online-Teaching-S... - 0 views

  •  
    "Group problem - solving and collaborative tasks;  Problem - based learning"
Diane Gusa

Instructional Strategies for Online Courses - 0 views

  • In an online course, with instant access to vast resources of data and information, students are no longer totally dependent on faculty for knowledge. As faculty are beginning to teach online,  learning is becoming more collaborative, contextual and active.
Diane Gusa

Instructional Immediacy and the Seven Principles: Strategies for Facilitating Online Co... - 1 views

  • Table 1. Seven Principles of Good Practice in Undergraduate Education, Chickering and Gamson (1986) 1. Encourage contact between students and faculty: Frequent student-faculty contact both in and outside of class is an important factor in student motivation and involvement. 2. Develop reciprocity and cooperation among students: Faculty should create and encourage opportunities for collaborative learning among students. 3. Encourages active learning: Faculty should require students to apply their learning in oral and written forms. 4. Give prompt feedback: Faculty should provide appropriate and prompt feedback on performance. Students need help assessing their current competence and performance, and need frequent opportunities to perform and receive suggestion for improvement. Such feedback should be an ongoing process in collegiate settings. 5. Emphasize time on task: Faculty should create opportunities for students to practice good time management. This includes setting realistic time for students to complete assignments as well as using class time for learning opportunities. 6. Communicate high expectations: Faculty should set and communicate high expectations for students. Such becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy for students and they often will rise to meet the challenge. 7. Respect diverse talents and ways of learning: Faculty should create learning opportunities that appeal to the different ways students will process and attend to information. Varying presentation style and assignment requirement will allow students to showcase their unique talents and learn in ways that work for them.
Tiffany King

Assessing teaching presence in a computer conferencing context (Terry Anderson) - Acade... - 1 views

  • “it is the teacher’s responsibility to precipitate andfacilitate learning that has purpose and is focused on essential concepts and worthwhile goals”
  • However, it is only through active interventionof a teacher that a powerful communications tool such as collaborative computer conferencing[11], or cooperative learning [12] becomes a useful instructional and learning resource.
  • We concur with Laurillard, Stratfold, Lukin, Plowman and Taylor [17] that the teacher’s task is to create anarrative path through the mediated instruction and activity set such that students are aware of theexplicit and implicit learning goals and activities in which they participate.
Diane Gusa

Should Information Literacy be reframed as a Metaliteracy … « Literacy News - 0 views

  • Social media environments and online communities are innovative collaborative technologies that challenge traditional definitions of information literacy
    • Diane Gusa
       
      This speaks to us as online educators too.
Diane Gusa

Mind on Fire - 0 views

  •  
    Open Education, the Long Tail, and Learning 2.0 The most profound impact of the Internet is its ability to support and expand the various aspects of social learning.
Diane Gusa

Pedagogical Appraches for Using Technology Literature Review January 11 FINAL 1 - 0 views

  • Connectivism Individual processing of information gives way todevelopment of networks of trusted people, content andtools: the task of knowing is  offloaded onto the networkitself Siemens
  • Communities of enquiry Building on Wenger's notionof communities of practice,(higher) learning conceived interms of participation, withlearners experiencing social,cognitive and pedagogicaspects of community.Wenger, Garrison andAnderson
  • E-learning, e-pedagogy New forms of learning andteaching are enabled – andrequired – by digitaltechnologies. Typically moreconstructivist and learner-led.Mayes and Fowler, Cronje
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • onole, Dyke, Oliver and Seale (2004), have proposed a toolkit and model for mapping pedagogyand tools for effective learning design. They say "Toolkits are model-based resources that offer away of structuring users’ engagement that encourages reflection on theoretical concerns as well assupporting the development of practical plans for action (Conole & Oliver, 2002). The models thatform the heart of each toolkit consist of representations of a ‘space’, described in terms of qualities,in which theories or approaches can be described." They emphasise that "the descriptions of these
  •     Pedagogic Approaches to Using Technology for Learning - Literature Review 23 approaches reflect the beliefs of describer. These models are thus best understood as sharablerepresentations of beliefs and of practice, rather than as definitive account of the area" (p.18).The framework they propose consists of the following six components (p.22-23):  “Individual – Where the individual is the focus of learning.  Social – learning is explained through interaction with others (such as a tutor or fellowstudents), through discourse and collaboration and the wider social context within which thelearning takes place.  Reflection – Where conscious reflection on experience is the basis by which experience istransformed into learning.  Non-reflection – Where learning is explained with reference to processes such asconditioning, preconscious learning, skills learning and memorisation (Holford, Jarvis, &Griffin, 1998).  Information – Where an external body of information such as text, artefacts and bodies of knowledge form the basis of experience and the raw material for learning.  Experience – Where learning arises through direct experience, activity and practicalapplication
  • ormier proposes a ‘rhizomatic model’ of learning in which “a community can construct a model of education flexible enough for the way knowledge develops and changes today by producing a mapof contextual knowledge” (p.4). In this model, “curriculum is not driven by predefined inputs fromexperts; it is constructed and negotiated in real time by the contributions of those engaged in the
  •    Left hand side page by Lifelong Learning UK 24   24 learning process. This community acts as the curriculum, spontaneously shaping, constructing, andreconstructing itself and the subject of its learning…” (p.3).
Diane Gusa

Learning-Centered Syllabi - 0 views

  • Learning-Centered Syllabi Workshop
  • Creating and using a learner-centered syllabus is integral to the process of creating learning communities.
  • students should progress from a primarily instructor-led approach to a primarily student-initiated approach to learning.
  • ...22 more annotations...
  • students and their ability to learn are at the center of what we do
  • facilitate student learning rather than to act as "gatekeepers" of knowledge
  • A necessary first step in creating a learning-centered syllabus, according to most sources, is to spend some time thinking about the "big questions" related to why, what, who and how we teach.
  • thoughtful discussions with ourselves and our colleagues about our teaching philosophy and what it means to be an educated person in our discipline
  • We also need to think about how we encourage responsibility for learning in our students.
  • we focus on the process of learning rather than the content, that the content and the teacher adapt to the students rather than expecting the students to adapt to the content, that responsibility is placed on students to learn rather than on professors to teach.
  • participate in planning the course content and activities; clarify their own goals and objectives for the course; monitor and assess their own progress; and establish criteria for judging their own performance within the goals that they have set for themselves, certification or licensing requirements, time constraints, etc.
  • Your first objective is to facilitate learning, not cover a certain block of materia
  • According to Johnson, "course objectives should consist of explicit statements about the ways in which students are expected to change as a result of your teaching and the course activities. These should include changes in thinking skills, feelings, and actions" (p. 3)
  • An effective learning-centered syllabus should accomplish certain basic goals (Diamond, p. ix): define students' responsibilities; define instructor's role and responsibility to students; provide a clear statement of intended goals and student outcomes; establish standards and procedures for evaluation; acquaint students with course logistics; establish a pattern of communication between instructor and students; and include difficult-to-obtain materials such as readings, complex charts, and graphs.
  • here are three primary domains of development for students in a course
  • The Cognitive Domain is associated with knowledge and intellectual skills. The Affective Domain is associated with changes in interests, attitudes, values, applications, and adjustments. And the Psychomotor Domain is associated with manipulative and motor skills
  • "A learning-centered syllabus requires that you shift from what you, the instructor, are going to cover in your course to a concern for what information and tools you can provide for your students to promote learning and intellectual development" (Diamond, p. xi).
  • Don't use words that are open to many interpretations and which are difficult to measure. Make sure that all students understand the same interpretation.
  • Clarify the conceptual structure used to organize the course.
  • Students need to know why topics are arranged in a given order and the logic of the themes and concepts as they relate to the course structure
  • Does the course involve mostly inductive or deductive reasoning? Is it oriented to problem-solving or theory building? Is it mostly analytical or applied? In answering these questions, acknowledge that they reflect predominant modes in most cases rather than either/or dichotomies.
  • Use a variety of methods.
  • "Any student who feels s/he may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact me privately to discuss your specific needs. Please contact the Disability Resources Office at 515-294-6624 or TTY 515-294-6635 in Room 1076 of the Student Services Building to submit your documentation and coordinate necessary and reasonable accommodation."
  • Identify additional equipment or materials needed and sources.
  • Critical Thinking
  • Critical thinking is a learned skill. The instructor, fellow students, and possibly others are resources. Problems, questions, issues, values, beliefs are the point of entry to a subject and source of motivation for sustained inquiry. Successful courses balance the challenge of critical thinking with the supportive foundation of core principles, theories, etc., tailored to students' developmental needs. Courses are focused on assignments using processes that apply content rather than on lectures and simply acquiring content. Students are required to express ideas in a non-judgmental environment which encourages synthesis and creative applications. Students collaborate to learn and stretch their thinking. Problem-solving exercises nurture students' metacognitive abilities. The development needs of students are acknowledged and used in designing courses. Standards are made explicit and students are helped to learn how to achieve them.
Diane Gusa

User:Arided/ParagogyPaper - Wikiversity - 0 views

  • 1. Context as a decentered center. "For learning design in a peer-to-peer context, understanding the learner's self-concept -- in particular, whether they see themselves as self-directed or not -- may be less important than understanding the concept of 'shared context in motion'." (See "Paragogy and basho", below.) 2. Meta-learning as a font of knowledge. "We all have a lot to learn about learning." 3. Peers are equals, but different. "The learner mustn't seek only to confirm what they already know, and must therefor confront and make sense of difference as part of the learning experience." 4. Learning is distributed and nonlinear. "Side-tracking is OK, but dissipation isn't likely to work. Part of paragogy is learning how to find one's way around a given social field." 5. Realize the dream, then wake up! "Paragogy is the art of fulfilling motivations when this is possible, and then going on to the next thing."
  • shared context in motion.
  • Knowledge creation in schools is the creation of knowledge by students for their own use. [
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • The view of fluid social contexts advanced by Engestrom as a move beyond the traditional "communities of practice" view is quite compatible with the most famous peer production virtue, freedom (cf. ), which is what allows people to function in a distributed and nonlinear fashion relative to a learning or production "ecosystem". Star and Griesemer[16], on whom Wenger drew heavily as he was developing the idea of community of practice[17], describe their view as "ecological". One key difference between Star/Wegner on the one hand and Engestrom on the other has to do with the nature of boundaries. In the community of practice view, boundary objects exist to effect translations or initiations. In Engestrom's view, attention is drawn to boundaries that remain in flux (via an ongoing process of co-configuration) or which are blurred (e.g. by a blurring of consumer and producer roles).
  • the modules must be small in size (noting that heterogeneous granularity will allow people with different levels of motivation to collaborate by contributing smaller or larger grained contributions);
  • basho ("shared context in motion") can help us think about how a context constrains or supports different types of (inter-)actions, and also about how we (re-)shape the contexts we find ourselves in.
  • e encourage the research community to test our ideas in practice of various forms. Some ideas for paragogical design include: Establish a group consensus for expectations/goals/social contract of the course and how each of them should be evaluated at its conclusion. Have learners designate learning goals that they then commit to stick with. Formalize a process for assisting peers (e.g. responding to questions, giving feedback on publicly posted work). Develop explicit pathways for learner feedback to translate into changes to the learning environment
1 - 20 of 28 Next ›
Showing 20 items per page