Group items tagged

quality of interaction in online discussions, rather than quantity, may be the better predictor of student achievement

Interrogating the structure of learning management systems such as Blackboard brings to light the unnoticed ways in which the software frames online classroom interaction

Rose (2004) argued in her critique of learning management systems that the mediated tools instructors use to teach their classes are not value–free. The author lamented that “there is no acknowledgment of the fundamental transformations that must be wreaked upon content imported into platforms such as WebCT and Blackboard, nor of the fact that the very structure of these systems constrains instructional possibilities and decision–making.” [4] Like a highly bureaucratic organization, once a structure is built into a learning management system, changing the structure becomes unimaginable (Sandvig, 2006).

Online class discussions typically involve more student–student interaction and less instructor–student interaction. Lobel, et al. (2005) found that instructors were the center of the interaction network during in person discussions whereas the group was the center during online discussions. Blackboard’s discussion feature allows students to interact directly with each other, bypassing the instructor. However, the degree of structural flexibility in a Blackboard discussion board resides to a large extent in the decisions the instructor makes. May students attach files? May students start new discussion threads? May students post anonymously? Do they rate each other’s messages? What is the rating system?

What has changed is the instructor’s increased ability to track students’ use of the class Web site: number of messages posted, number of messages read, and how many times various pages or sections are accessed. Mullen (2002) argued that this type of information seems to provide an objective measure of student engagement, but in fact creates a dangerously decontextualized, essentialized image of a class in which levels of “participation” stand in for evidence of learning having taken place. Students are treated not as learners, as partners in an educational enterprise, but as users

“The brave new world of digital education promises greater access, increased democratic participation, and the transcendence of discrimination through pure minds. We must interrogate the actuality of these hypes: who has access, is participation online transformative, and is transcendence of difference a goal of progressive pedagogies?” [8]

instruction that attempts to control the learner’s responses and environment

acquisition

learning goal is enculturation

Enculturation results from interactions among people, objects, and culture in a collective effort to solve problems, create products, or perform service

Carrying on a dialogue tells the student that she/he is an equal member of the community.

Conversation, discourse, talking, chat, dialogue, exchange, banter, discussion, communication, dissertation, critique, and exposition

The activation of discourse is everything

applicable to their needs when they need them, motivating learning

This convergence of tools, practice, and theory enables teachers and students to discuss, plan, create, and implement unique strategies for providing instruction within a unique environment.

enablers

Learners are collaborators in the learning process and have an equal role in setting goals.

They make most of the decisions related to what to learn, how to study, and which resources to use.

Teachers pass on information to the learner. The clearer the information the more the learner will acquire.

Evaluation is a critical strategy within traditional learning environments

Teachers focus on interacting at a metacognitive level with the learners. They help students analyze their learning deficits through questioning.

Insufficient learning or failure

Tools enable learners to contribute to the community.

learners who want to learn what they need as fast as they can to apply within their community of practice

Tools are not objects of instruction.

Scott Grabinger

Instructional Design for Sociocultural Learning Environments