This week I will be discussing the element of "Collaborative Interaction" and how it has evolved. When looking at the progression of online education the collaborative aspect of it has progressed tremendously. Online education began as a lonely road where the only interaction that occurred was between the student and the professor but as online education as expanded so as the collaborative sides. Now, students are able to communicate with one another in a variety of ways. They are able to learn from one another based on discussion boards, wiki groups, blogs, and social networking. There are many tools that facilitate this type of learning that are more readily available now. Some of those tools are skype, facebook, twitter, blogs, wikis, and personal websites. Collaboration is key to truly learing from your cohorts and developing a deep level of understanding.
http://vidamartin.wordpress.com/2011/09/29/collaborative-interaction-in-distance-education/
http://minerclass.edublogs.org/2010/12/31/collaborative-interaction-in-distance-education%E2%80%A6/
Brandi, When discussing online interactions, our sources have not yet made the distinction between synchronous online tools and asynchronous online tools. How do these tools affect our interactions, our collaborations, our learning? Instead of considering the elements of distance learning maybe we should be looking at how learners will adapt to on demand learning, just like we have adapted to on demand TV? Bill Cushard brings up two essential points for us which are echoed by Stephen Downes
ReplyDeleteCollaborative learning really does have two sides-it is a wonderful tool for people to learn from each other but if not used correctly or in the fashion it was intended to....it becomes a one way street. What are your thoughts on how collaboration can be secured as a equal method in a discussion board?
ReplyDeleteBrandi,
ReplyDeleteThe rate at which communication technologies have evolved over the last decade is tremendous. As a K-12 educator I utilize several tools with my students. My students utilize Skype and ooVoo for the video conferencing aspects of these tools. I routinely have my students publish blogs and wikis within our online LMS Blackboard. Do you have any experiences incorporating 21st-Century communications technologies into a learning environment? If so, what tools do you see as the most beneficial?
@ Durff thanks for your comments! I do agree with your point about using on demand learning to teach certain concepts. Just as we adapted to cable television using on demand so could the educational world.
ReplyDelete@ sue thanks for your comments! I believe that by incorporating grouping such as this it can mold itself into the discussion board setting. I am not sure how effective collaborative grouping would be on discussion boards because I feel that it is better to learn from a larger group of individuals, as opposed, to a smaller group.
ReplyDeleteBrandi,
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned that collaboration is the key to learning from a cohort and developing a deeper understanding, how would you encourage those students who are relutant to participate in a collaborative activity? How do you make them feel comfortable in the learning community? Shannon~