Teaching Tools
Evaluation and Assessment | Teaching Practices | Teaching with Technology | Resources for Funding
3. Teaching with Technology
3.1. Teaching
Facilitating Online Collaboration and Interaction
Overview: Why Encourage Student Interaction and Collaboration?
- Online course communication tools enable students to interact with course content, the instructor, and their peers outside of the classroom.
- Students are given the opportunity to negotiate the meaning of course content through these interactions - creating the potential for a deeper and longer lasting learning
- A virtual learning community that provides support and sharing among its members can be built through the integration of online communication tools and course activities and sustained through effective facilitation by the instructor
Fundamental principles of constructivism support this view:
- learning is an active process of constructing rather than acquiring knowledge
- individuals learn through interaction with their world
- individuals develop knowledge through social interaction
Changing Roles in Online Learning Environments
- Instructor Role
- Face to Face vs. Online
- from lecture provider to guider and resource
- from provider of answers to expert questioner
- from provider of content learning experiences to designer of student
- from total control of the teaching environment to sharing with the student as a fellow learner
- from teacher-directed to learner centered
- Face to Face vs. Online
Source: Berge, Collins, 1996
- Learner Role (towards more collaborative/cooperative interaction with peers)
- Face to Face vs. Online
- from passive receptacles to constructors of their own knowledge
- from memorizers of facts to problem-solvers
- from passive learning to active learning
- Face to Face vs. Online
Source: Berge, Collins, 1996
How Online Tools Are Used:
The following are ways online tools can be used to supplement traditional instruction and/or delivery a course entirely online:
- Extending course activities beyond the classroom
- Replacing components/activities that used to take place in the classroom or through another medium
- Including the following activities:
- Discussion
- Interaction
- Instructor-student
- Student-instructor
- Student-student
- Problem-solving
- Resource and information sharing
- Peer review
- Collaborative work
- Cooperation
- "Divide & conquer" approach
Communication Modes in Online Learning Environments
Online tools support learning environments that involve both synchronous and asynchronous modes of communication
- Asynchronous communication:
- Different times
- Different locations
- Eliminates impediments associated with time and space
- Examples of tools
- bulletin boards
- file exchange tools
- blackboard's discussion board, e-mail, & digital dropbox
- Synchronous Communication:
- Occurs in real time
- Most likely not same location (i.e., distributed)
- Examples of tools
- text-based chats
- instant messaging
- audio & video conferencing
- virtual whiteboard applications
- WebCT/Blackboard's Virtual Classroom
Important Considerations
Before making the decision to adopt online tools for your course, there are several factors about the use of online tools to first consider:
- Is it necessary or appropriate for my particular course? Things to consider
are
- instructional objectives
- class size
- subject matter
- extra "burden" involved in adopting new tools & teaching methods:
- readiness/willingness to change behavior
- learning curve
- resources (e.g., time, support)
- students (e.g., background, comfort w/tech.)
- readiness/willingness to change behavior
- Does it support or contribute to the learning processes in the course?
- What does it achieve compared to other teaching approaches?
- Is it linked to assessment?
- Does it support all learners in the course?
- Does it increase/decrease the load for students? For the instructor?
Role of the Instructor
Reaching learning outcomes through online discussion depends on the effectiveness of the design of learning activities and the direction and facilitation of the instructor. Instructor activities in online learning environments fall under 4 categories:
- Organizational
- communicates expectations & requirements, and assigns activities
- "sets the agenda":
- objectives
- timetable
- procedural rules
- decision-making norms(Mason, 1991)
- Social
- "sets the tone"
- creates social presence - awareness that someone is at other end of computer
- provides social integration
- helps students connect with one another
- is responsive to non-participating students
- creates and "nurtures" friendly environment
- maintains harmony
- provides positive feedback and reinforcement
- promotes "active listening" - listening for substance and tone of message
- Intellectual: "Educational Facilitator" (Mason, 1991)
- structures or designs foundation for student interactions
- focuses or "molds" discussions on crucial points
- asks questions
- open-ended - ask for how's and why's, not what's
- controversial - get student riled up
- naive question - "dumb" question to get students' attention
- synthesizer - structure questions in a way that requires analysis and synthesis (Moore, Winograd, Lange, 2001)
- probes and encourages students to expand and build on comments
- integrates discussions by synthesizing points raised by students
- weaves together disparate concepts
- identifies unifying themes and points of disagreement
- corrects misconceptions
- Technical (Berge, Collins, 1996)
- must become comfortable and proficient with the technology
- makes technology "transparent"
- ensures that students are comfortable with technology
Online Tools that Facilitate Collaboration and Interaction
- Bulletin Boards (e.g., WebCT/Blackboard's Discussion Board) - asynchronous
- Chats and Whiteboards (e.g., WebCT/Blackboard's Virtual Classroom) - synchronous
- Group Tools (e.g., WebCT/Blackboard's Group Pages) - both asynchronous and synchronous components
Asynchronous Discussion Board as Learning Tool
- Promotes student reflection
- Creates a sense of community
- active communication and interaction
- students share perspectives and resources
- socially constructed meaning
- expressions of support and encouragement between students
- Students experience of sense of equality, freedom, & control
- Active learning resulting in deeper, longer-lasting learning
- students interact with content, instructors, & peers
Practical Advantages of Discussion Board
- Time and space not an issue
- Interactions and work permanently archived
- Saves class time and/or allows better use of class time
- Saves instructor time (e.g., answering student questions)
Synchronous Chats
- Requires students to take part in synchronous or real-time interaction
- Finding a time that is convenient to all the group members can be a challenge
- Interactions tend to be less organized and sometimes confusing
- Technical problems, such as connectivity failure, can impede successful group interaction
Synchronous Chat Advantages:
- Spontaneity in student exchanges
- Immediate feedback
- High level of interactivity
Strategies to minimize confusion in synchronous environments
- Plan discussion topics in advance
- Assign a moderator to lead the discussion
- Keep participants on task can minimize confusion
Group Tools
- Provide student groups with a set of tools for exchanging documents and ideas in a private area that only
their group members can access In Blackboard, these private tools include:
- discussion Board - exchange of ideas are logged and organized
- file exchange (dropbox) - an area for working documents to be exchanged amongst group members
- e-mail - messages can be sent to selected members of the group
- virtual chat - students can communicate in real time via a text-based chat tool and/or virtual whiteboard
Asynchronous Group Tools
- Provide both a convenient and reliable means to coordinate group activities and interaction, reducing or completely eliminating the need for face-to-face meetings
- Allow students the flexibility to participate at a time that fits their individual schedules while still keeping each student "in the loop" of group activities
- Flexibility may also lead to an increase in the time required to accomplish tasks and reach consensus
Challenges in the Online Environment
- Lack of gestural & nonverbal cues
- may lead to misunderstandings
- Some students may dominate discussions
- Some may only "lurk" - passively observing discussions without participating
- "fear of public writing" (Moore, Winograd, Lange, 2001)
- Technical difficulties may occur
References
- Berge, Z.L. & Collins, M. (1996). Computer Mediated Communication and The Online Classroom.vol. 2: Higher Education. Cresskill: Hampton Press, Inc.
- Mason, R. (1991). Moderating Education Computer Conferencing. Available at: http://www.emoderators.com/papers/mason.html
- Moore, G.S., Winograd, K., Lange, D. (2001). You Can Teach Online, Building a Creative Learning Environment. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Adapted from the Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence at Carnegie Mellon University
