Collaborative Interaction
Siemens (2008) suggested that some of the acceptance of online education can be accredited to the increase of online collaborative interaction in people’s lives (Laureate Education, Inc., 2008). Norris (2010) lamented that her college education did not provide her with social media education which she felt was vital to compete in today’s world. Loginquitas (2010) reviewed the written work of online collaboration authors Palloff and Pratt and concluded online collaboration is an effective method of providing quality online instruction. Loginquitas traced the development of online collaboration through Palloff and Pratt’s catalog. He suggested that their later works provide evidence of deeper understanding of the educational uses of online collaboration. Garcia (2007) created a timeline that traced the evolution of collaborative online tools and predicted the next wave of changes. He predicted we were at the end of Web 2.0 and about to enter Web 3.0 which is characterized by portable access, cloud computing, and intelligent software.
There are many online collaboration tools that can be used. Palloff and Pratt (2005) assembled a list of collaborative learning activities that included “role playing (p. 57)”, “simulations (p. 60)”, “case studies (p. 63)”, “collaborative discussions (p. 69)”, “dyads (p. 73)”, “small group projects (77)”, “jigsaw activities (p. 79)”, “blogs (p. 80)”, “virtual teams (p. 83)”, “debates (p. 85)”, “fishbowls (p. 87)”, “learning cycles (p. 89)”, and “WebQuests (p. 93)”. Tangient LLC. (2010) have compiled a list of collaborative tools and descriptions on a wiki. Here is a link: http://www.kstoolkit.org/Online+Collaboration+Tools College Times (2010) collected 50 collaboration tools as well. Here is a link: http://collegetimes.us/50-free-collaboration-tools-for-education/
The two blogs I found were:
http://megologue.com/2010/09/14/socialmedia/
Norris (2010) suggested that college faculty should demonstrate social networking tools instead of merely mentioning how important they are. She evaluated her social media courses as outdated and believed they were preparing her for the past instead of for the future. Norris’ position reminds us how slow education changes in reaction to new technologies and ideas.
Garcia (2007) predicted that Web 3.0 would be here this year. Many of the features he described as Web 3.0 are indeed here including; the semantic web, smart Internet applications such as Apple’s Genius, and cloud computing. Garcia predicted we were heading toward Web 4.0 in the future. This blog reminds educators that technology is constantly changing. Students need to be educated for the future, not the past.
References
College Times (2010, April 8). 50 free collaboration tools for education. Retrieved from: http://collegetimes.us/50-free-collaboration-tools-for-education/
Garcia, F. A. C. (2007, February 9). How the WebOS evolves? Web 2.0 to Web 3.0 and the metaweb. [web log post]. Retrieved from: http://methainternet.wordpress.com/2008/01/19/how-the-webos-evolves-web-20-to-web-30-and-the-metaweb/
Laureate Education, Inc. (2008). The Future of Distance Education. On Principles of Distance Education. Baltimore: Author.
Loginquitas, E. (2010, March 5). Advancing distance learning: The Palloff and Pratt collection [web log post]. Retrieved from: http://id.ome.ksu.edu/blog/2010/mar/5/advancing-distance-learning-palloff-and-pratt-coll/
Norris, M. (2010, September 14). Social media – Why aren’t teachers and students learning it?? [Web log post]. Retrieved from: http://megologue.com/2010/09/14/socialmedia/
Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (2005). Collaborating online: Learning together in community. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Tangient LLC. (2010). Online Collaboration Tools. [wiki post]. Retrieved from: http://www.kstoolkit.org/Online+Collaboration+Tools
Dave Harms's Blog 
Wow, thanks for reading my post! You’ve got some great points here and I’m definitely going to be checking out those collab tools!
After reading some of the collaborative learning activities that you have listed–I have to make a personal note–remember this is just my opinion. I have never been one for group projects in the traditioal face-to-face classrooms, therefore I really can’t stand the idea of them in a distance education environment. I don’t like the thought of depending on someone miles away from me to complete their part of a project. I am a person that likes to get my things done early and if I am with someone that is opposite of that–well to say the least, it would cause me uneeded stress.
Brandy,
I would also include myself in the category of avoiding group projects but my students at Penta Career Center learn best by collaborative projects. Our school works hard to ask employers what they want our graduates to be able to do and they are telling us the ability to work with other people. That being said, I always have a back up plan if a student in a group disappears or does not participate. Grading groups is the most challenging part of collaborative learning for me as a teacher.
Thanks for the comment,
Dave Harms
Dave- Very good perception so far. But, as an online curriculum designer and former student of online course, I have some opinions to make as well. Mind you, these are merely my experiences on both sides of the coin. As a student, it may appear to be the best way to educate, at your own pace. But, with many students today, they NEED to be paced or they will simply fall off course. I found it exceptionally hard to take courses online because you never really knew what it was the instructor was asking of you. I would turn in courses and be completely wrong in everything I did. Now you can contact them, but in most cases, they are in graduate studies themselves and dont have much time.
In the development aspect, I find that when I write the course material, I write it to the very basic level possible, answering almost any question that may come up. WHile I was in the Navy, I had a Capt say to me ” Never bring anything to me unless you have thought of all of the possible questions or problems…and you have the solutions to those problems”. A nice way of saying, that we must always think wayyy outside of the box. It is very difficult at times. FOr me, I write for the Saudi Arabian Airforce and so I know what their basic line of thinking is because that is all they are allowed. But in the states, a college sophomore in California is alot different from a college sophomore in let’s say, Kentucky (nothing against Kentucky). So in these cases, it is extremely difficult to develop the same course for different groups. Too often the moderator?instructor of the course, hasnt had the course in many months or years and it makes it really hard to keep up to date.
Sorry, Dave, just reading your blogand wanted to make a comment. Take care and I’d love to sit down and discuss with you sometime when I am back in town to visit my parents!!
Cheers!
Mike
Mike,
Thanks for the comment. I believe you made some excellent points. My comment on working at your own pace was very vague. I agree with you that there needs to be structure and check points to keep students on track. I was trying to say that students could work at their own pace within a module so they can accommodate their work schedule.
I also agree that online courses need to be designed to answer a variety of questions for a variety of learners. I believe many of the problems you experienced with online courses could be remedied by having quality online designs and quality instructors.
I would love to talk when you are in town and thanks for checking out the blog!
I will be posting another installment next week,
Dave
Hi, Dave,
Your insight, “how slow education changes in reaction to new technologies and ideas”, really speaks to me. Do you feel that the snail’s pace is complementary or impeding the acceptance and growth of distance education? If impeding, how can we as educators, turned on to technology, collectively change the views of other educators/administrators?
Elaine Gagne
Elaine,
I believe there are two ways to look at the slow rate of change in education. For educational technologists, it can be very frustrating. At my school, student email and Google Docs are both blocked on the network. Another way to look at this is that the slow nature of change in education prevents wasted money. Ohio built a telecommunity ten years ago (see my old posts in this blog) that was very expensive. If they would have waited five years, the technology became available that made the telecommunity obsolete. Education buy in to new technology can be very expensive. It is sometime difficult to know what technology will be adopted.
Dave
Dave,this is an excellent post to my point of view. You did dissect what it takes to engage in the collaborative learning or interaction. Very good. One thing I commented on in my posting was how all these entities (collaboative interaction, and Global connection etc ) all thrive under communications. If you have the best way of communicating, all these entities work and work well. Thanks and God bless you in Jesus name.