RSA #4 Collaboration

RSA#4: ASSESSMENT AND COLLABORATION IN ONLINE LEARNING

By: Susan Mitchell

http://www-new.kent.edu/ehhs/dl/upload/assessment-and-collaboration.pdf

           

The reading for this week from Building online learning communities discusses collaborative learning. The book discusses student’s resistance to collaboration during on-line learning. It sites many reasons for this and ways to overcome them. One activity that according to the text is important is doing introductions. One important aspect of this activity is feedback or a response to the introduction. According to the text not only does this practice enable students to begin opening up to each other but it also begins creating a safe space in which they can interact. (Palloff & Pratt, 2007, p.164) In addition to the introductions to achieve collaborative learning an important addition to the process of getting to know each other is the sharing of expectations for the course. (162)

Many theoretical and empirical analyses emphasize the importance of active participation and collaboration among students in promoting the effectiveness of online learning. (Swan,Shen, Hiltz, 2006, 46) This article discusses many aspects of on-line learning and addresses the importance of collaboration. According to the article there are many important aspects to consider for successful collaboration, I focused on two. The first in online collaboration is that collaborative learning will be more successful when it is valued. (47) It suggests that collaboration should not just be a means to an end but that collaboration should be an important aspect of the assignment. Second it suggests that collaboration will only be successful if individual accountability and group accountability are valued.

These two readings complimented each other very nicely. I found that when reading the chapters in Building Online Learning Communities and this article that they both said very much the same thing in different ways.  The introductions according to BOLC failed resulting in one student dropping out temporarily when there was no feedback. This goes along with what the article discussed about doing an online activity just for the sake of doing it.

References

Pallofff, Rena, M., & Pratt, Keith, (2006). Assessment and Collaboration in Online Learning. (2nd ed., pp. 3-65). San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Swan, Karen. Shen, Jia. & Hiltz, Star Roxanne. (2011). Classroom community and student engagement in online courses. Journal of Asynchronous Learning,. Retrieved from www-new.kent.edu