QUICK RESOURCE SHEET #90
Collaborative online learning
PREVIOUS TOPICS LISTED AT BOTTOM OF PAGE
One way to implement high levels of interaction among students, and thereby to increase both the quality of students' learning experiences and the efficiency of delivery, is to implement collaborative learning.
...Much online conversation occurs asynchronously, with substantial delays in receiving a reply. This may have both advantages and disadvantages for the participants. The lack of spontaneity associated with a seminar group gathered around the one table may be offset by the possibility of having greater time for reflection and generation of a considered response.
from http://www.sloan-c.org/publications/jaln/v5n1/v5n1_curtis.asp
Online discussions have become a standard component of computer mediated communication. Many educators appreciate and acknowledge the added value of asynchronous, text-based discussions (Collison, Elbaum, Haavind & Tinker, 2000). …knowledgeable use of strategies to focus and move a discussion forward are needed to keep learners sufficiently excited and motivated to deepen their dialogue with each other.
Incorporating online learning into professional development programmes on IT in education enriches teachers’ experiences and makes them comfortable with online learning. In addition to this, online learning allows for needs-based just-in-time learning.
http://asiapacific-odl.oum.edu.my/C33/F239.pdf
“In an online collaborative learning stage, the learners are expected to be the actors and the tutor is the hidden director. Both parties need to adapt to these roles, so that learners can learn actively and engage collaboratively. Learners need to acclimatise to the learning styles, learning attitudes and culture in online distance learning.”
http://ultibase.rmit.edu.au/Articles/online/mcmurry1.htm#Abstract
“There are already promising indications that the Web is a viable means to increase access to education. Evidence is not as forthcoming when the Web is used as a tool for learning, as opposed to a medium for delivering. Accordingly, this paper describes a pilot program involving the design, delivery and evaluation phases of a suite of courses within an undergraduate program at Southern Cross University. A central research question was to what extent do these newer collaborative technologies improve the quality of the overall learning of distance education students studying completely online?”
http://iet.open.ac.uk/pp/r.goodfellow/lessons/credit2.htm
“This case concerns problems that arose when tutors teaching an online MA course for the first time, attempted to assess students' contribution to collaborative learning activities...
The dilemma… was whether, in the interest of fairness, to stick literally to what was written in the course assignment guide, or impose a novel and perhaps more pedagogically appropriate interpretation of the assessment criteria, justifying it to the students retrospectively.
The more general issue concerns doubts about whether online collaborative learning CAN be made subject to objective assessment, and whether the large scale adoption of such pedagogies for economic reasons is therefore likely to lead to a decline in academic standards.”
http://ifets.ieee.org/periodical/vol_3_2000/d08.html
“Getting students to collaborate on group projects in a face-to-face scenario can be difficult enough -- but how does one approach collaborative projects in a Web-based environment? This article explores the story of one course that used asynchronous Web-based conferencing software to mediate the group process in a problem-based learning scenario. Through careful planning, assignment structure, and facilitation, this project became a success (based on comparison with previous semesters' projects, student comments and instructor's reflections). Finally, resulting from this case are suggestions that other instructors and instructional designers might use in creating their own on-line group project spaces.”
http://www.waier.org.au/forums/2003/gaynor.html
“Within many sectors of education, online learning is viewed as a mechanism for providing enhanced opportunities for improved learning outcomes, increased flexibility of meeting the needs of either the individual or groups of students, and a higher quality of educational interaction (Stacey, 2002). The use of online learning and educational technology are recognised as means of promoting opportunities for an inclusive and flexible curriculum by creating opportunities for the relevant integration of ICT and provision of appropriate depth of content, while promoting a developmental approach for the individual through collaborative learning opportunities (Curriculum Council, 1998).”
http://scs.une.edu.au/CF/Papers/pdf/Hansford.pdf
“This paper outlines the research methodology and findings of a unit development project on an online collaborative learning component, for a first year Bachelor of Education course run in 2001, at the University of New England. The original premise for the project was that the application of activity based processes that required students to participate with one another in focused discussions on a bulletin board, would result
in improved outcomes for student learning. Also, this planned approach to the use of collaborative learning activities on bulletin boards was designed to allow the teacher to adopt the role of facilitator rather than the constant monitor which is becoming all too prevalent.”
Previous editions of the QUICK RESOURCE SHEET
#1 – Creating quizzes (and more) online
#2 – Vocabulary builders
#3 – Online discussion groups for English teachers
#4 – Grammar headaches – and how to cure them
#5 – Resources for new teachers
#6 – International Education Week
#7 – Mentoring programs
#8 – Education publications online
#9 – Applied Linguistics
#10 – English for Young Learners
#11 – World AIDS Day
#12 – Online writing guides
#13 – E-mail exchanges
#14 – Free online English courses
#15 – Effective e-mail communication
#16 – Libraries online
#17 – American Studies
#18 – Teaching methodologies
#19 – Internet tutorials
#20 – Using the newspaper – Part I
#21 – Making books
#22 - Using the newspaper – Part II
#23 – Human rights in language teaching
#24 – Blogging
#25 – Poetry and language teaching
#26 – The communicative approach
#27 - Idioms
#28 – Earth Day
#29 – Alternative assessment
#30 – Peer assessment
#31 – Self-assessment
#32 – Portfolio assessment – Part I
#33 - Portfolio assessment - Part II (Online Portfolios)
#34 – Intercultural communication
#35 – Teaching Adults
#36 – Learning disorders / Special needs
#37 – Using computers in reading instruction
#38 – Use of authentic materials
#39 – English for Medical Purposes
#40 – Sources for authentic materials
#41 – Education and technology
#42 – Academic writing
#43 – Teaching and stress
#44 – Back to school
#45 – Motivating students
#46 – Action research
#47 – Internet terminology
#48 – Fluency
#49 – Curriculum design
#50 – Pragmatics
#51 - Podcasting for English teachers
#52 – Critical reading
#53 – Learner autonomy
#54 – Scaffolding
#55 – Holidays
#56 – English for Academic Purposes
#57 – Mixed-level classes
#58 – The brain and language learning
#59 – Book clubs/Readers’ groups
#60 – Teachers and technology
#61 – Using video in the language classroom
#62 – Internet-based classroom projects
#63 – Observing student teachers
#64 – Digital literacy
#65 – Group work
#66 – Giving feedback on student writing
#67 – Vlogging
#68 – Educational leadership
#69 – The first five minutes: How to get a class warmed up
#70 – Managing test anxiety
#71 – Developing listening comprehension
#72 – Discourse analysis
#73 – English for Tourism
#74 – Storytelling
#75 – Virtual Learning Environments
#76 – Sociolinguistics
#77 – Corpus Linguistics
#78 – Teaching teenagers
#79 – Lexical Approach
#80 – Humanism in language teaching
#81 – Collaborative teaching
#82 – Distance learning
#83 – Open Education
#84 – The non-native speaker as English teacher
#85 – Contrastive grammar
#86 – Plagiarism
#87 – English through drama
#88 – Lifelong learning
#89 – Global teaching and learning