"Interaction and Collaboration Online"
Learners who collaborate often have higher levels of scholastic
achievement. Collaborative interaction
is the heart and soul of an online course (Draves, 2002). Some may disagree that being an active
participant in online collaborations makes for a more successful student.
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Concentrate on Chapter 13 of the resource provided below. You may also use the additional resource
provided to gain further insight into online collaboration between students,
instructors and peers.
Based on the resources that have been provided to you below
and any additional resources you may find helpful, reflect on the interaction
and collaboration in an online environment and the benefits and limitations for
students.
- Based on the information you have read this week, are there instances where learners may feel that online collaboration is not beneficial to them?
- Reflecting on your personal experiences, have you had positive interactions with online collaboration? Give specific information on your experience without revealing the names of persons involved.
By Wednesday:
Post your thoughts and ideas
regarding interaction and online collaboration from the learner’s
perspective. Give reasons why you think collaboration
may or may not contribute to a learners participation level, self-esteem and
thinking skills. You must cite
information from the resources provided and any additional resources you have
found. Please use APA Citation formatting when
citing your sources.
By Sunday:
Read at least two selections of
your classmates’ postings. Provide insight
into their postings and any advice you would give them to encourage their continued
use of online interaction and collaboration.
As you respond to your classmates you
should offer any of the following in your replies:
· Similarities in your posting and their posting
·
Differences in your posting and their posting
· Ask for clarity of information that is not clear
to you in their posting
·
Give a personal experience you can relate to
their posting
· Ask any other questions that will encourage more
collaboration on the topic
Resource for this Discussion:
Oosterhof, A., Conrad, R.M., & Ely, D.P. (2008). Assessing learners online. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
(Concentrate on Chapter 13)
Additional Resource: Laureate
Education, Inc. (Producer). (n.d.).
Performance assessments in online environments. [DVD]
To allow for productive collaboration
and appropriate time for your classmates to respond to your posting, please
post your initial responses by Wednesday of Week 8 and respond to your
classmates by Sunday of week 8.
Collaboration should be occurring throughout the week as often as
possible.
Rubric for this discussion can be
downloaded by clicking here.
If you are unable to be directed to the link above, please see the Rubric below.
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"Study findings indicate that collaborating learners have higher levels of participation, achievement, productivity, self-esteem, peer interaction, group cohesion, and enhanced critical thinking skills than noncollaborators do" (Oosterhof, Conrad, & Ely, 2008, p. 202). Learners in an online environment experience phases: newcomer, cooperator, collaborator, and initiator/partner. Personally, I have experienced the role of newcomer, cooperator, and collaborator. I believe that the facilitator aids in placing online learners in these roles.
ReplyDeleteHi Tonya,
ReplyDeleteThank you for commenting on my blog. I have definitely participated in all of the phases you mentioned in your reply. I guess this post could be considered my initiator/partner phase. I did enjoy setting up this blog post and I hope it was easy to follow. The facilitator does play the role of guiding students where they need to be in collaborations and keeping them on task. Conrad and Donaldson (2004) have suggested that specific planning is necessary to encourage students to interact, collaborate, and form a community where all learners can feel apart (Oosterhof, et al., 2008).
Reference
Oosterhof, A., Conrad, R.M., & Ely, D.P. (2008). Assessing learners online. Upper Saddle, NJ: Pearson.
Excellent discussion prompt. Personally, I was very reticent to participate in online collaborations. I feared that my personal effort would not be given credit. I also feared having classmates who would not complete their parts. I don't recall instructors clarifying that we would evaluate each other's participation at that time. That may have eased the stress a little. Ultimately, thing worked out well, and I look forward to having the opportunity to collaborate again.
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Marc
Hello Marc,
ReplyDeleteThank you for being candid in your experiences and being hesitant to participate in online collaborations. I have had some of the same reservations you did. I must say with this group of learners I have had a wonderful experience in online collaboration and I too look forward to collaborating more with all of you.
Thank you for replying.