Technological Tools and Strategies to Help Engage the Online Learner

There are many technological tools learners are using outside the face-to-face classrooms to complement the educational online learning environment.  Effective teaching strategies centered on communication, content and collaboration are more easily integrated with the use of today’s technology tools. 

Content can be found in many journals, scholarly articles, periodicals, books, websites, blogs, and videos, in online libraries across the Internet. There are many hosted media sharing cites that allow users to post and share their audio and or video presentations.  Students can sign up for scheduled webinars that teach and instruct content of specific nature.  TeacherTube or YouTube provides the opportunity for users to upload video files and Slideshare allows for PowerPoint presentations to be shared among users.

Collaboration is enhanced with the use of wikis, social networking sites, student moderators and problem–based learning projects.  According to Durrington, Berryhill and Swafford (2006), one of the suggested strategies that foster student interactivity is problem-based learning.  Because this is very challenging for both the students and the instructor, both asynchronous and synchronous opportunities are imperative for students to post and discuss their findings.  The advantage to using synchronous method of communication, according to Education Blog (2003), is it provides instant feedback for student’s performance.  The advantage to using asynchronous mode of online education is it gives flexibility of more time for students to work with their members.  The use of collaborative wikis provides a blank slate for students to add and share content, give peer assessments and coordinate decisions on project-based tasks.  Other technological tools that help coordinate collaborative efforts are the use of social networking sites such as Facebook, VideoChat, Skype and Twitter.  Although these sites couple as communication tools, they provide an integral part of the collaboration process.  Lastly, the use of a student moderator helps to motivate students in an online community to build relationships, generate new ideas, and develop pride and ownership in their growth as a group with a designated purpose. 

Communication is fostered by several online technological tools as well as by personal cell phones.  The use of email, texting and or instant messaging allows students to communicate with other students and get feedback with or without sharing it with the rest of the group.  Blogs allow users, both instructors and students to post content and comments on user content which helps taper or expand learning among the users.  The use of voice, video or web conferencing is an exciting way to share ideas and communicate in real time.  Lastly, discussion boards provide a means for students and instructors to share their personal experiences as it relates to the given content.  Instructors can respond to various posts and provoke further discussion on selected ideas. 

References

Durrington, V. A., Berryhill, A., & Swafford, J. (2006). Strategies for enhancing student interactivity in an online environment.  College Teaching, 54(1), 190-193. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Anderson, T. (Ed.). (2008). The theory and practice of online learning (2nd ed.). Edmonton, AB: Athabasca University Press.

Siemens, G. (2007, September). Podcast. Curatorial Teaching. Retrieved from http://learnonline.wordpress.com/2007/09/20/10-minute-lecture-george-siemens-curatorial-teaching/

Educational Blog  Retrieved from http://www.tangoseduction.com/tag/means-of-communication/

Collaborative Learning Communities

From my own experiences, in a classroom setting, assessment of participation in a collaborative group is evaluated with a well thought out rubric designed to give students and teachers levels of expectations and  criteria for success in a task.  I think that participation in a learning community should be assessed in a similar way.  Students and instructors must have a mutual understanding of the expectations with open lines of communication so that tasks are completed by everyone in the community.  I also think that participation assessment can be achieved by inviting students to assess each other.  No professor can really know everything that occurred in a collaborative community unless the professor is one of the members.  What better way for participation to be monitored than by the students themselves.  According to Siemens (2008), educators and learners can assess each other with a rating scheme.  

Varying levels of skill and knowledge helps broaden the learning by inviting members to share information, insight or suggestions  that would not be gotten without diversity in the group.  I like to think that a rich learning experience is the reward rather than the "mark" assigned at the completion of a task.  Siemens (2008) would agree when he says that students learning is assessed with direct comments and feedback from the communities.  It is fair to say that the traditional grading with numbers or letters does not satisfy assessment in collaborative communities.  According to Swan (2004), "ongoing assessment of student performance is linked to immediate feedback," and she suggests implications for best practice would be to develop learning modules that create opportunities for students to get enrichment or remediation depending on their skill level.  

According to Downes (1998), one of the keys to a successful online community is ownership.  Members are responsible for its growth and development.  "It is a shared and constructed environment, where the members along with organizers play roughly equal roles in content creation" (Downes, 1998).  If a student doesn't want to network or collaborate in a learning community for an online course, members should continue on without that person but try to offer support and persuasion to that  person to get them to participate.  It is the role of the instructor to distinguish a non-participant and make a decision determining consequences.  If the person is not interested in being an active participant in a community, I suggest the removal of the individual from the group.  I have taken students out of a group if I felt they were negatively affecting the outcome of a group.  I have found that group dynamics, lack of interest or motivation are some of the reasons for student removal from a group.  The impact on the assessment would be predetermined by the rubric.  If a task offers students opportunities to  earn points for group participation and a member has been dismissed by an instructor, then that student forfeits those points from the rubric.  The community of learners that remain will be better able to focus on their task.  

References:

Downes, S., (1998).  The Future of online learning.  Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 1(3).  Retrieved from 

http://www.westga.edu/%7Edistance/ojdla/fall1998/downes13.html

Siemens, G. (2008).  Assessment of collaborative learning. (Vodcast). Principles of

        Distance Education DVD produced by Laureate Education, Inc., Baltimore.

Siemens, G.  (2008). Learning communities. (Vodcast). Principles of Distance Education DVD produced by Laureate Education, Inc., Baltimore.

Swan, K. (2004). Relationships between interactions and learning environments.  The Sloan Consortium. 

        Retrieved from  http://sloanconsortium.org/publications/books/pdf/interactions.pdf

Video Storyboard: Impact of Second Life on learning outcomes, student engagement, motivation and collaboration

Storyboard for video presentation.

Topic: Discuss the impact of Second Life on learning outcomes, student engagement, motivation and collaboration.

Points to address:                           Details Included:                      Implementation:

Key aspects	1.     Brief History and background information 2.     Description to explain concept	1.     Scrolling  Document similar to credits 2.     Sample snapshot from YouTube.com
Comparison to other social media	1. Demonstrate 3 major differences	1.  Live video clip of facebook,and email  gaming and then phase in attributes of an avatar
Why does it attract users in business, education and independent entrepeneurs?	1.     Demonstrate how it holds potential in the business world with 5 distinct incentives 2.     Demonstrate how using Second Life can offer a flexible learning environment for both learner and teacher.	1.     Live video clip showing each of the 5 incentives from the real world 2.     Live video clip depicting pedagogical learning with  graphical designs
Best Practices	1.  Explain and demonstrate how the authentic application of Second Life was used to engage participants in 3D geometry	1. Live video clip showing concept of fractal design by hand but then cut to more complex images found on web.               2.  demonstrate the power of Linden scripting to create 3D fractals verses 2D found on the web.
Student learning outcomes, engagement, motivation and collaboration	1.     Demonstrate how using Second Life offers : a.     enriched learning experiences b.     strong social presence c.      multi-level interaction d.     promotion of constructivism e.     enriched use of multimedia resources	1.     Live video clip showing students engaged in virtual world assignment 2.     Show quick clips of 2 universities that have embraced this technology.
Need for improvement, and  possibilities for the future	Discuss challenges and future implications	1. Voice in background with list of challenges and future implications on screen.