I chose three articles that dealt with three different
aspects of online collaboration. I viewed several articles very carefully
choosing the ones that sparked my curiosity in my professional field and those
that related to my own experiences as a graduate student.
An article published in Knowledge Quest, “Making It Real
Online” discussed what was necessary for a distance learning environment to be
successful for high school students. Library
Specialists and instructors came together to review how online high school
courses should be constructed. The article breaks down the components of online
learning, which are the features, role of facilitator and characteristics that the
online environment should exhibit. The features and design are very similar to
the distance learning format many university distance learning courses utilize.
The courses are divided into chunks of information for students to review. A
variety of supplemental materials are offered for students to gain a better understanding
of the concepts through videos and downloadable materials. The facilitators
create comfortable learning environments for the students to collaborate with
one another through forums, discussion boards, and Wimba Voice (voice messaging
system) and Elluminate (interactive tool to communicate with teacher and
classmates). Students may have group space to meet with group members, do
projects or share documents.
Another component relates to the role of the facilitator
or teacher. The article mentions some very good points related to the characteristics
of professionals who become coaches or teachers for online environments for
high school distance learning high school courses, but I think they apply to
all teaching and all levels of distance learning courses. A list of
characteristics is given in regards to whether or not an individual is cut out
to be an online instructor. For example,
distance learning instructors should have the ability to prepare comprehensive
course plans, be flexible, be willing to work with new methods and have the
ability and willingness to learn new technology. Many of the characteristics
that apply to educators apply to students as well. Many of the characteristics for success in a
distance learning environment are similar to those demonstrated in a
traditional classroom, but some skills require a higher level of emphasis such
as, level of organization, ability to prioritize, competency in computer skills, and
self-motivation.
Overall the group of Library Specialists and educators
has taken into consideration relevant factors in developing a distance learning
environment for high school students. They want to provide a great learning
environment for all students where communication and learning is evident in
meeting the needs of their learners by providing experiences, resources and
guidance.
I experienced being a mentor for high school distance
learning courses in a traditional high school setting. The students took courses that were not
offered at the school as a college prerequisite or were a part of a credit
recovery program. The distance learning
program included several concepts that were mentioned in this article to
collaborate with students such as Elluminate, and discussion boards. My role was to walk them through the
orientations of their courses, answer questions, and help students who had
trouble submitting assignments or needed to contact their instructors. It worked great for students who needed specific
elective courses to prepare them for college and students who failed a course
needed for graduation. Students are able to follow a syllabus or schedule much
like college, but have some control over their work pace. They can communicate
with their instructors, classmates and a local mentor. Experiencing distance learning environments at
the high school level can prepare students for collaborating and learning at
the post secondary level in various settings.
The second article I reviewed, “Using Synchronous
Communication to Facilitate Graduate Students’ Online Collaboration” is a study
that addressed the next level of distance learning environments, the university
level. The study was conducted to
examine how 30 graduate students collaborated with others using synchronous
communication such as instant messenger, discussion boards an email. The
participants lived in different states, various cultural backgrounds and
professions. Twenty-three of the participants had no online learning
experience.
The results of the study showed that the participants
enjoyed using various forms of the online learning environment for various
reasons from it being easy to use; it’s convenience and to gaining a sense of
community. The study revealed that many of the graduate students were more
willing to share ideas, provide feedback and challenge one another in
synchronous discussions. The conductors of this study contribute students’
responses to a level of comfort they may have behind a computer compared to
face to face interactions. The participants are able to express their true
personalities without the feelings of being judged, which has had a positive
impact on their productivity and collaboration.
I can relate to the participants of this study due to the
fact that I had never taken online learning courses before enrolling in
graduate school. I had my reservations the first semester taking traditional
and distance learning courses at the same time. Based on my schedule, I too
found the distance learning courses to be more convenient at times. I had to take advantage of the support my
instructors and classmates offered via email and campus hours. The
collaboration between classmates through online courses is great for people who
are not as comfortable expressing their ideas, or easily intimidated by
others. As an educator, I can see how I
can include lessons that involve online collaboration for group projects or
even extracurricular activities. I would
need to put more thought into how to assign identification numbers or usernames
to students so that they are not identified by their peers, considering they
are still in traditional classes. I want to include a level of online
collaboration to get honest productive communication and participation from
classmates that may not be willing to work together in a traditional classroom
setting.
After brainstorming about how to incorporate different
forms of technology into the classroom I was pleased to read “Capitalizing on
Emerging Technologies: Case Study of
Classroom Blogging”. The study focused on introducing blogging to high school
teachers’ classrooms, following specific criteria. The criteria was based on
the blogs being maintained by the high school teacher, frequently updated, high
level of student involvement, and publicly accessible. The researchers decided to focus on the blog
of a mathematics teacher, Mr. K. He implemented the blog in his classroom
following all of the criteria presented to him with the participation of his
students the blog page became a great source of collaboration and learning for
not just his students but everyone who viewed their blog page. His students
took pride in knowing that their blog page could be accessed by people all over
the world and a way to connect to the global community. The researchers share some
of the benefits of blogging such as, motivating students to do their best work,
allowing interactions beyond the classroom, allowing students to teach one
another, and capitalize on cultural literacy. They do acknowledge that
incorporating a blog into your classroom takes a lot of time and may require
some flexibility and clear direction from the teacher.
There are definite benefits to blogging, even though it
can be time consuming. Introducing a blog page to students or parents just as
an informational source could be a good starting point. Teachers can include updating assignments,
schedules, important dates and weekly reminders on the blog page. Students
could insert specific posts related to class assignments or activities to help
their classmates or inform parents in the beginning stages. Overall, the articles provided good insight
on how different forms of technology impact the learning environments educators
create. Technology is now introduced to younger
students and will provide them with the skills they will need to explore
different learning environments at the secondary and post secondary levels.
Kachel, D., Henry, N.,
Keller, C. (2005). Making it real online: Distance learning for high school students.
Knowledge Quest, 34(1), 14-17.
MacBride, R., Lachman, A. (2008). Capitalizing on emerging technologies: A case study
of classroom blogging.
School Science & Mathematics, 108(50), 173-17-83.
Maushak,
N., & Ou, C. (2007, Summer). Using synchronous communication to facilitate
graduate students’ online collaboration. Quarterly Review of, 8(2),
161-169. Retrieved March 17, 2014, from Academic Search Complete database.
