Setting the Stage for Collaboration

In this weeks resources they discuss how collaboration can lead to improved learning outcome and a deeper understanding of the content (Horton, 2006). It can not be assumed that students will be enthusiastic about working in a group or even understand how to effectively work with others.. It is essential that the instructor sets the stage for effective collaboration.

 

The success or failure of a collaborative assignment can depend upon the decisions an instructor makes before giving the assignment to the students. In Assessing Learners Online, Oosterhof, Conrad and Ely (2008) discussion many strategies that can be used to effectively introduce and promote collaboration.

By Wednesday Post your response to the situation.

 

Situation:

You are teaching an online course. Starting in week 2 students will work in a collaborative group to develop their final project. Using this weeks resources and additional research discuss how you would prepare the students to be successful in this collaborative activity. Be sure to include the following:

• How will you introduce the activity to the students?
• How will groups be created? will you create them ahead of time or allow studnets to form groups?
• How will group interaction guidelines be established and exlained to students?
• How will group roles be determined? Will these remain the same throughout the project?
• How will group participation be encouraged and assessed?

 

By Sunday

Respond to at least 2 of your classmates by

• Build on something your colleague said.
• Ask a probing or clarifying question.
• Share an insight from having read your colleague's posting.
• Offer and support an opinion.
• Validate an idea with your own experience.
• Expand on your colleague's posting.
• Ask for evidence that supports the posting.

 

Discussion scoring rubric

 

Cheating and Plagiarism

Cheating and Plagiarism Detection

What plagiarism detection software is available to online instructors?

There are many plagiarism detention software programs available. They vary in the price and the services available. But all allow work to be checked for plagiarism. Some of the most popular services are listed below (2012).

• Turnitin - the system that we use here allows students to submit work to be check and it can be submitted to insturctor at the same time. It works on a contract.
• Grammarly is free to the student to check for plagaiarism and gramamar. It does not collect work for instructors to grade.
• Copycatch is a a software that compares that work against work collected from a selected group of students.
• Other highly reviewed software are plagscan, checking for plagiarism, ithenicate, plagarism detection, academic plagiarism and the plagarism checker.

How can the design of assessments help prevent academic dishonesty?

As an instructor I can create assignments that encourage collaboration and are designed in such a way to discourage cheating. Palloff and Pratt (2012) explained that assessments should be designed as authentic assessment. They require the students to show what they have learned by applying their understanding of the content. These types of assessments are hard for students to cheat on.

If their needs to be exams I need to utilize test making software that reandomizes test questions and answer choices so the test is different each time it is accessed. There are also exam programs that allows to create a set number of questions but only use part of them for each test. For example I could created 50 multiple coice questions and then only have 25 randomly selected for each exam. This creates exams that do not all have the same questions so it is very difficult for students to cheat off each other.

What facilitation strategies do you propose to use as a current or future online instructor?

I would start off with assessments and assignments that include clear instrcutions so students understand what to do and not feel the need to try and plagarize another's work (Jocoy & DiBiase, 2006). Any information can be found on the internet so I would design assignments that require studnets to apply the knowledge they learn and not just give me back facts that they can easily copy from the internet.

It is also important to clearly define to students what cheating and plagiarism is. Many students are not clear where the line is and often plagiarize without an intention of cheating. I need to provide tools for students to help them understand how to summarize information in their own words and how and when to cite resources.

What additional considerations for online teaching should be made to help prevent or prevent cheating and plagiarism?

It is important to understand your students. If necessary I would need to provide a lesson on cheating and plagiarism to bring attention to it and help studens prevent becoming involved in the practice. Some students may need more help in this area and this is where knowing your students come into play.

References.

Overview of plagiarism software (2012). retrieved from http://www.cshe.unimelb.edu.au/assessinglearning/03/plagsoftsumm1.html.

Jocoy, C., & DiBiase, D. (2006). Plagiarism by adult learners online: A case study in detection and remediation. International Review of Research in Open & Distance Learning, 7(1), 1-15.

Retrieved from the Walden Library using the Education Research Complete database.
Palloff, R. M. & Pratt, K. (2012). Plagiarism and Cheating. Laureate Education, Inc. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_1971765_1%26url%3D

Impact of Multimedia on Online Learnign

Impact of Multimedia on Online Learning

What Impact does technology and multimedia have on online learning environments?

Recent advances in technology have opened the doors to new ways of proving content to students. We can now deliver video, audio, animations, interactive text, simulations and online assessments. We can deliver classes through various CMS. Students can access these websites on a computer, tablets and even their smart phones. The availability of these technologies can either positively or negatively affect student learning.

Often these technologies are used out of convenience as a way to entertain students or they are used by teachers because administration is pressuring them to use them. These situation will not lead to an increase in student learning (Tan et. Al. 2010). When implemented correctly multimedia can improve the online classroom environment by allowing access to more content in a more interactive interface. This will keep students engaged.

What are the most important considerations an online instructor should make before implementing technology?

Instructors must realize that there is more to creating an effective online course than merely uploading the  information online (Tan et.al., 2010). The instructor needs to make sure that the technology being used is meeting the needs of the course. Technology should not be used just because it is there, it needs to meet be used to meet the objectives of the course. The instructor needs to carefully choose tools and communication techniques that will not only engage students but will meet the needs and accessibility issues of the student populations. (Boettcher & Conrad, 2010).

What implications do usability and accessibility of technology tools have for online teaching?

We have to remember that technology availability varies among students. We need to select technology that is available to most of the newer computer or technology systems. For example there are technologies that can be used on iphone, ipads but not on an android powered device. There are also some web tools that are only for PC or windows and will not run on apple computers. This is something as an instructor you need to be aware of.

As an instructor it is also important to be aware of accessibility issues for  students with disabilities. This could including narratives of some to some of the written text. An instructor needs to be aware of backgrounds etc on the websites used for the classed. Many students with visual processing disabilities have difficulty reading black text on white backgrounds. Changing the backgrounds to a tan or yellow will make it accessible for these students with no additional changes needed to the content. Knowing the students will provide for dealing with accessibility issues.

What technology tools are most appealing to you for online teaching as you move forward in your career in instructional design?

I am interested in the K12 area of science. I have been using Junoed as a technology this year and the students like it much better than the textbook. Junoed lets me create lessons incorporating videos, animation, graphics text and audio. It also lets me create comprehension questions along the way to check for understanding. Students can work at there own pace through the lesson. It also allows me to create tests that are more interactive and interesting to the students.

I have just finished a unit where an option for their final project was glogster. Glogster is an online poster maker where students can incorporate multimedia into their poster.

Another technology that I find interesting is using a CMS. I have a classroom website with all the work but I am interested in transferring it into a CMS to better manage the assignments and class. I think the blogs and discussion would be a useful as a tool for an online class.

References

Boettcher, J. V., & Conrad, R. (2010). The Online Teaching Survival Guide. Simple and Practical Pedagogical Tips. Jossey-Bass.

Tan, H, Wai-Jing Kwok, J., Neo, M., & Neo T. (2010). Enhancing student learning using multimedia and web technologies: Student’s perceptions of an authentic learning experience in a Malaysian classroom. Curriculum, technology & transformation. Retrieved from www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/sydney10/procs/Tan-full.pdf.

Setting up an Online Learning Experience

Setting Up an Online Learning Experience

What is the significance of knowing the technology available to you?

Technology is always changing. It is important to understand what technology is available to you in order to create effective learning experiences for students. Instructors need to not only know what technology is available but also how to use the new technology. Shijuan points out that instructors can use technology in profound ways to improve student learning or they can use the technology in trival ways that have little effect on learning. We should not add technology with all its bells and whistles if it does not lead to improved learning (Laureate Education, n.d.). As an instructor or ID it is important to make sure that any technology that is used in the course is effectively aligned to course goals. It is also to remember to make sure that the technology you want to use is readily available to the students. For example you may not want to use features that are only found in windows 8 since not all students readily have the operating system yet.

Why is it essential to communicate clear expectations to learners?

Since there is no face to face interaction between instructors and students communication i seven more important. Givin gclear expectations sets the ground work for the course. Not only should studetns be given assignments ahead of time they need to also have scoring rubrics to understand how they will be assessed. It is also helpful to show examples of expleary work so students who may not learn best by reading about the task can understand the task expectations from looking at the sample student work.Clear expectations also include giving deadlines and feedback. If a student did not mee the highest grading mark it is important that there are clear notes and feedback to students to help them understand what needs to be imporved so there work meets a higher standard the next time.

What additional considerations should the instructor take into account when setting up an online learning experience?

As an instuctor it is imporatnt that you realize the students are individuals. They will have there own learning style and personality. It is important to build a rapport with each student. It is important to make sure to give feed back to each student not just a few. As an online instructor you need to set up the parameters for the online community and make sure that interactions are appropriate. Since many classes have students who are from a variety of backgrounds, experiences and age it is important to design learning experiences that can successfully help these students to find common ground and interact in a way that will move the learning forward for all students. The instructor must take care to make sure that the activities they chose are not offensive to any race, gender, cultral or ethnic group. Sometimes we may think it is harmless but others may hve strong feels and emotions connected to the issues.

References

Laureate Education. (n.d.). Online Learning Communities [Video podcast]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_1971765_1%26url%3D

Shijuan, L., (2005). Faculty Use of Technologies in Online Coursesretrieved from http://www.itdl.org/Journal/Aug_05/article03.htm

What did you learn that would help you implement effective online instruction in the future?

Setting up an effective online learning experience is much more complicated then simply posting assignments in a CMS. Developing an effective community is key to both student achievement but also to keeping students engaged and satisfied with their education and learning experiences. An ID or instructor needs to carefully plan ahead of time how they will get the students to initially interact and start building that learning community that will be needed for a successful experience for all students and the instructor. A challenge is that you are dealing with students from various backgrounds, experiences, cultural backgrounds and special needs. It is imperitive that these conditions are taken into account so that as many groups as possible feel included and engaged. It is also important that the activities are analyzed to make sure they will not be offensive to any group.

References

Laureate Education. (n.d.). Online Learning Communities [Video podcast]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_1971765_1%26url%3D

Shijuan, L., (2005). Faculty Use of Technologies in Online Coursesretrieved from http://www.itdl.org/Journal/Aug_05/article03.htm

Online Learning Community

How do online learning communities significantly impact both student learning and satisfaction within online courses?

As distance learning becomes more popular and more cost efficient for schools we will continue to see the number of students enrolled in such courses increase. In a online learning experience students and instructors must work together to investigate and make sense of the content (Laureate Education, n.d.). In an online education setting students are not face to face with the instructor and other students to take notes and interact. This interaction has been replaced by the online learning community. In an online course students must do more reading, writing, thinking, reflecting and sharing learners (Boettcher & Conrad, 2010, p.7).

Hill and Raven (2000) found high dropout rates and dissatification was directly linked to the lack of an educational community in the online course. It is clear that a solid learning community is essential to keeping students enrolled. The sense of community keeps students engaged and working in the course. The degree that students are satisfied with the learning community has a direct relationship to their learning. If students feel that they are left out and not part of a community will lead to students dissatisifaction with the course and possibly online learning in general.

What are the essential elements of online community building?