Engaging Learners with New Strategies and Tools

http://suebeerblog.wikispaces.com/EDUC-7102-2+Principles+of+Dista

The educational aspect of online learning is shifting as technology becomes a part of our daily lives. As new technology emerges into the 21 century, educators have opportunities to interact and collaborate with the learners, therefore establishing a learning community. Through the use of online tools and strategies from educators, online participation can enhance the learners experience in communication, collaboration and content. Online tools include; wikis, skype, instant messaging, individual study, resources, blogs, forums, discussions and small groups. Strategies include; asynchronous/synchronous learning, guidelines, rubric assessment, and problem solving activities.

Sandy Wenzel’s blog agrees that you now have a network view instead of a geographical view in the educational setting through the web by means of communication and content. The convenience of the online tools creates an atmosphere where students are able to engage and collaborate in the areas based on their learning desires. Tawana Stiff posts in her blog that “it is the learner who constructs the knowledge by creating the experience or the collaborative discourse that yields new knowledge”.

Siemens (2007) and Durrington, Berryhill, & Swafford (2006) both indicate that student satisfaction and achievement outcomes can result from strategies and tools used in an online environment. So converting face-to-face courses to online learning, the educators must take into consideration the learners needs and the availability of the 21^st century online tools. So through content, communication and collaboration, successful engagement of learning can be established by using new tools and strategies as stated in first paragragh.

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: http://search.proquest.com/docview/274679812?accountid=14872

http://drwenzel.blogspot.com/2009/10/engaging-learners-with-new-strategies.html

Siemens, G. (2007). George Siemens-Curatorial Teaching. Retrieved from:

http://learnonline.wordpress.com/2007/09/20/10-minute-lecture-george-siemens-curatorial-teaching/

Stiff, Tawana http://educ7101diffusion.wikispaces.com/file/view/BLOG+Post+Week+7.docx

You can find my graph at:

http://suebeerblog.wikispaces.com/Engaging+Learners+with+New+Strategies+and+Tools

New site:
http://suebeerblog.wikispaces.com/EDUC-7102-2+Principles+of+Distance

EDUC-7102 Principles of Distant Education mod3

Assessing Collaborative Efforts         Module 3

What are the best measures for involving students to participate in an online community environment? Siemens (2009) states in his podcast “in a society where individual contributions are highly acknowledged, collaborative learning communities can be a challenge for many students”.  Many students are unwilling to participate in discussions due to shyness/unfamiliar area, exhaustion, boredom, low self-esteem/confidence and disinterest- just to name a few.  It seems that some students are more willing to participate in a small-group discussion than a whole-class discussion as I was with my first experience in online learning. Online learning should be a great learning experience where all students are actively involved and become at ease with the process and expectations asked of them.

So the question is; how do you get everybody to participate equally in an online community? I think the basics are to include, scholarliness, encouragement towards each other, being truthful and reliable, and frequent interaction. Frequent interaction would not only encourage others to contribute more but it will also enhance their learning skills.   

 In an online learning community, you must make an honest effort to communicate with others in order to actively exist in the virtual world. However, considerations must be well planned for learners to shape the participation level, both in structure (number/kind of postings) and in content (organizing the discussion of subjects interesting to them). I believe instructors who purposefully design learning activities to create opportunities for students to learn about each other, decreases transactional distance and increases social presence are likely to improve learners’ sense of classroom community.

Siemens (2009) concurs that the greatest way to involve participation in a learning community is to use the activity of role-play and change the assessment tools with an emphasis on working together. The goal is to help each student find their voice and feel part of a community. Cooperation and collaboration seem to be the key words here.

Anderson, T. & Misanchuk, M. Building community in an online learning environment:   communication, cooperation and collaboration. Retrieved from: www.mtsu.edu/~itconf/proceed01/19.html

Laureate Education, Inc. (2008b). Principles of distance education. Baltimore: Author

EDUC-7102 storyboard

“Virtual worlds might be useful tools in online teaching because of their ability to engage students in interactions with the instructor and others in the class as well as with their environment”( Baker, S. C., Wentz, R. K., & Woods, M. M. 2009).  It provides opportunities by building a community for interactions when face-to-face is not an option. The potential of different users covers a wide spectrum from; kids, students, educators and business'. I am in the process of developing a video that describes virtual worlds and the many uses of it.

I am having troubles with my storyboard loading....so please let me know if this works.
http://suebeerblog.wikispaces.com/EDUC-7102+storyboard

EDUC-7102 Elements of Distance Education Diffusion mod2

Elements of Distance Education Diffusion-module 2Communication has come a long way in the field of education. Berge and Collins (1995) articulate that Computer Based Training (CBT) or Computer Based Learning (CBL) first focused on the interaction between the student and computer drills to the development of Computer Mediated Communication (CMC), where the primary form of interaction is between students and instructors, mediated by the computer. However, many well established K-12 online learning programs today are more than ten years old with the newest programs focusing on the structure of the early adopters. Nevertheless, online communication has noteworthy issues-good and bad.

“Communication issues online are one of the leading causes of confusion among students in online courses. Since a large portion of a communicated message comes through nonverbal means, online courses mostly rooted in text-based communication can run into communication issues that teachers must overcome to run an effective classroom online” (Pearson, 2011). Other problems that arise are: cultural misunderstandings which can lead to inaccurate assumptions about each other, students that struggle to read the text with reading comprehension problems, some students are more auditory or kinesthetic learners and of course, technical issues.

Research from Mathew Thomas (1999) indicates in the past that online discussion forums have not been productive and therefore most students prefer synchronous learning-as seen by the diagram below. This diagram represents asynchronous learning based on a subject matter presented to a class for discussion. As you can see different pods began to develop venturing away from the initial discussion point.




There are two types of online communication in the educational setting and they are; synchronous and asynchronous. Synchronous online communication takes place in ‘real time’ as to instant messaging, peer interaction at the same time and chat sessions. Asynchronous online communication takes place over time as to not requiring students to be on line at the same time (as our class). Both of these communication methods are offered in different programs.

As some issues still remain, technology has advanced to where communication is relatively easy and user friendly. Online education starts with the basics… computer with sufficient memory, an up-to-date web browser, reliable Internet access, a valid email account and word processing software. Once a student has these components, the process of learning online can begin.

Communication for online education has progressed through the use of technology. Teachers have overcome obstacles by providing online tools to facilitate learners today through the use of webcams, microphones, virtual classrooms, wiki’s, blogs, internet applications, smart phones, digital games, podcasts, Skype, texting, and online media. Fortunately, due to the interest of online learning, instructors and students have access to numerous technologies that speed up and enhance their online communication.


Berge, Z. & Collins, M. Retrieved from: //Computer-Mediated Communication Magazine// / Volume 2, Number 3 / March 1, 1995 / Page 39
Pearson, C. 2011. Online Education Communication Issues. Retrieved from: http://www.ehow.com/info_8212359_online-education-communication-issues.html
Thomas, M. 1999. The impacts of technology on communication-mapping the limits of online discussion forums. Retrieved from: http://online.adelaide.edu.au/LearnIT.nsf/URLs/technology_and_communication

The Next Generation of Distance Education

E-learning is where people discover the learning process through the use of technology anytime and anywhere in the world.  Huett, Moller, Foshay, and Coleman (2008) pose the question “Is e-learning (and the technologies that support it) truly a breakthrough or is it only the latest “miracle” which promises solutions to all the problems associated with education and training?”

There is a great demand for e-learning growth but the problem lies within the development of it. Huett, Moller, Foshay, and Coleman (2008) spotlight the need for training, development, and higher education because authorities/ administration do not understand the developmental process which can lead to a false perception.  Meanwhile, Simonson (2008) emphasis that distant/e-learning concentrates on actual education from different geographical locations. E-learning or distance learning has beyond a doubt globalized the educational field by removing the geographical boundaries of all nations and allowing people of many locations, abilities, and status to partake in an education. Successful distance educational programs begin with watchful planning and a focused concentration on the course requirements and student needs. Distance education does not happen on its own accord; it evolves through the hard work and committed efforts of many individuals such as; students, faculty, facilitators, support staff, and administrators. When all factors are in place, the melting pot of information forms a good backbone for distance learning environment

Simonsons (2000) Equivalency Theory seems to be the better of two words providing the outcomes and learning experiences favor similar results. It allows for F2F, increased investment for institutions, convenience of staying at home or not driving to campus and increase in motivation and access for students. This theory, in my eyes, benefits all who are interested in pursuing education at a distance.    

Huett, J. Moller, L., Fosay, W. & Coleman, C. (2008). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the Web (Part 3: K12). Tech Trends, 52(5), 63-67.

Simonson, M. (2000). Making decisions: The use of electronic technology in online classes. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 84, 29–34. Use the Academic Search Premier database, and search using the article's title.

http://www.springerlink.com/content/h113225160w32541/  part 1

http://www.springerlink.com/content/d725l6631v375l58/      part 2

http://www.springerlink.com/content/n1n3jvw56k639256/    part 3