Tools and Strategies in Distance Education

     Online learning can be very rich if the right tools and strategies are put into place.  The tools and strategies we use is important to develop skills in content, communication, and collaboration.  Tools that students are using outside of the classroom can be used in the classroom as teaching tools.  Social media can be used to enhance communication and collaboration.  Wiki sites, Edmodo, and blogs are good ways to increase the amount of communication and collaboration that is needed in an online learning community.  These tools provide students with familiar concepts and allow them to communicate and collaborate from a distance.  Discussion boards allow them to share thoughts, ideas, and questions with the learning community.  They can debate issues and build critical thinking skills.  Problem-based learning is a strategy that groups students to solve real world problems.  “Providing students with the opportunity to take part in a simple PBL scenario helps them develop strategies for supporting one another and sharing responsibilities for solving problems in future PBL scenarios” (Durrington, Berryhill, & Swafford, 2006, p.192). 

     The use of a syllabus demonstrates the instructor’s expectations of the students and allows the students to be able to understand what the course offers.  Mini-lessons provide straight to the point details and information about a topic.  It is a great starting point for students.  Course media are videos or clips of a professional on the topic that provides insight into a topic.  The use of the tools and strategies used in an online community can help students and instructors.  Moving from face to face to online education can be a difficult change.  The tools and strategies can relieve some of the stress and foster student learning.  The challenge, according to Siemens (2008), is finding the right technologies and tools that will be familiar for students to be able to foster learner engagement.

References:

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

Siemens, G. (2008, January). Learning and knowing in networks: Changing roles for educators and designers. ITForum.

 

 

Participation in a Collaborative Learning Environment

Participation in a collaborative learning community plays a key role in making the community work.  Assessment should be carefully considered according to the situation.  George Siemens (2013) discussed the models of assessment in a collaborative environment which included students assessing their peers, students receiving feedback from online environments, and educator assessment through collaborative involvement.  They type of activity provided by the instructor should determine the appropriate assessment.  Rubrics are an effective way to ensure that everyone understands what is expected of them.  Palloff and Pratt (2005) discuss the use of portfolios as a great way to assess individual and collaborative participation. 

“Student assessment of any kind requires that the teacher be explicit, fair, consistent, and as objective as possible” (Anderson, 2008, p.353).  Instructors must be open-minded and have an understanding of the online community.  Palloff and Pratt (2005) mention the aspect of instructors not assuming that all students understand the importance of collaboration.  One example is of myself verses many of the other students in my class.  I am a first time technology major.  All of my other degrees are in early childhood education and mathematics.  I decided to do my EdS in Educational Technology when I was asked to oversee an online program we are currently using.  I am unaware of much of the prior knowledge that many of my classmates are quite fluent in.  The same is true for those who are new to the online community.  It is difficult to transition from what we are used to as discussed by George Siemens. 

Students that sign up for an online class should be mentally prepared to collaborate.   I have taken several online classes and they all require some sort of collaboration.  Students who are not willing to work with this sort of environment should be leery of taking an online course.  Members of the community could try to ensure confidence about what can be learned from this type of environment.  “If students are clear from the beginning of the course “we are all in this together,” then  incorporating collaborative activity into the course happens much more easily” (Palloff & Pratt, 2007, p.159).  If the instructor ensures that this is stressed during the first week of the course it may encourage someone to become part of the learning community or change to a more individualized class setting. 

 

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010). Assessment of Collaborative Learning [Video webcast]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_3462449_1%26url%3D

Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (2007). Building online learning communities: Effective strategies for the virtual classroom. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

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