Communication & Collaboration

            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.

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