Showing papers in "International journal on e-learning in 2002"

The Measurement of Social Presence in an Online Learning Environment

Abstract: Presentation of a tool to measure social presence and privacy in a Computer Mediated Communication (CMC).

Collaborative Knowledge Building in Web-Based Learning: Assessing the Quality of Dialogue.

Abstract: This paper addresses the question of how to qualify a knowledge building dialogue in Web-based collaborative learning. It investigates the idea of qualifying the dialogue through grading requirements and through providing students with meta-awareness around their dialogue. The paper investigates and analyzes the changes in quality of student interaction in three different deliveries of the course that emerge in response to three different types of instruction on expected behavior. From this, preliminary conclusions are drawn on the extent to which descriptions of expected behavior influence the interactive process and the quality of the interaction. The first section provides an introduction. The second and third sections provide some brief information on the Web-based course producing the data of the analysis and an account of the knowledge building perspective and criteria of quality used in the analysis of Web-based dialogues. The fourth section addresses the communicative conditions of Web-based environments, forming part of the rationale behind the hypothesis. The fifth section gives a more detailed account of the research design and of the method used in analysis. The sixth section provides the basic analysis. The seventh section gives a reflection on the results of the analysis, and future research perspectives are discussed. (Contains 24 references.) (AEF) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.

A Reference Model for Online Learning Communities

Abstract: Online learning communities are introduced as a comprehensive model for technology-enabled learning. We give an analysis of goals in education and the requirements to community platforms. The main contribution of the article is a reference model for online learning communities that consists of four layers designing the organizational, interaction, channel or service and the technological model of learning communities. This reference model captures didactic goals, learning methods and learning platforms in a structured way and provides guidelines on how to design and implement a medium for learning.

A Constructivist Approach to Web Course Design, A Review of the Literature

Abstract: I 1996, the National Survey of Desktop Computing in Higher Education reported that assisting faculty in course design and integrating it into the curriculum as the single most important issue facing institutions of higher learning (Green, 1996). This was five years ago, and it is still an issue today. In fact, the report issued in October of 2001 reiterates this same concern. It is still the single most important issue facing campuses across the nation and will be for the next two or three years (Green, 2001). To assist faculty in coping with this dilemma, Instructional Technology Centers (ITCs) have emerged as integral departments on most college campuses (Carr-Chellman & Duchastel, 2000, p.233). Employees in these departments are scrambling to help faculty keep current with the rapidly changing technology. Design pedagogy is a major concern (Dick, 1996; Mioduser, Nachmias, Lahav, & Oren, 2000). However, within the literature, there are limited empirical studies geared toward analyzing effective pedagogy for online courses. Faculty members’ reluctance to have their courses scrutinized could be attributed to this. Most likely, it is because teaching methodology has been thoroughly analyzed in traditional classrooms, and the hypothesis is that the same pedagogy should exist in web courses. Nonetheless, a recent study at Brevard College in North Carolina accentuates that lecturing is still the most often utilized method of learning (Newman & Scurry, 2001, p. 7). This passive learning technique is not aligned with current pedagogy. Ross and Schulz (1999), in their article A Constructivist Approach to Web Course Design: A Review of the Literature

Meeting the assessment demands of networked courses

Abstract: Networking offers new challenges and opportunities for assessment, particularly in the scope for increased interactivity between students and staff in a distance context. Assessment must reflect the aims and objectives of the course, whilst providing opportunities for the practice of relevant skills. At the same time, the pedagogy of networked courses may challenge conventional ideas on the assessment of course content. This paper describes a variety of innovative assessment strategies which have been implemented on four networked courses at the UK Open University, together with the evaluation work which has been undertaken on these courses.

Leadership and Conflict Management Support in a Cooperative Telelearning Environment

Abstract: One of the main characteristics of telelearning is the spatial and temporal distance between the instructors and their learners. The latter many of which are adults are subject to professional, family and other social obligations that limit their availability and mobility. Communication networks can contribute to efficient solutions in dealing with these limitations (Bates, 1986; Buchanan, Rush, Krockover, & Lehman, 1993). The implementation of a computer-aided tutoring system transforms the telelearning environment into a dialogue system. This allows groups of learners to enter into discussions among themselves, learn and be productive through a communication network. Such an environment not only makes possible the creation of continuous relationships between learners located in different sites and available at different moments, but also permits the formation of communication networks among groups of learners. This is the basis of the concept of cooperative telelearning, defined here as a process of acqui sition of knowledge, know-how and abilities through interactions between peers scattered in space and time (Pierre and Hotte, 1996; Hiltz, 1988; Keagan, 1990; Slavin, 1990).

Creating a WEB of Evidence of Student Performance in A Technology-Rich Learning Environment

Abstract: about student work. “The WEB Project began with a director and core group of teachers who had already done significant, collaborative work using student and teacher work samples as the point of discussion. For the year prior to the WEB Project's federal funding, 28 visual arts teachers participated in personal critique sessions led by a Vermont artist. Teachers then conducted action research studies – guided by a university professor and a soon-tobe WEB Project director – to examine how their professional critique sessions might apply to their classroom practice. While visual arts teachers were working in person, music teachers were developing an Internet-based network for their explorations in critique of student music compositions. Increased popularity of the WWW allowed the music teachers to migrate from an email system based on one-on-one mentoring to a collaborative, online learning environment.” F. Tavalin (personal communication, January 27, 2001)