Raptivity Project - Time Management for Online Learners

I created a brief pre-class trivia that can be used as part of an orientation program for novice online learners. Your comments are appreciated.

Merits of Group Assignments in Online Education

In spite of the challenges of collaborating online in group activities, learning is a social event and should, as far as possible, be attained in conjunction with others. With new technologies being ubiquitously used in distance education, learners no longer have to bear the isolation that their peers experienced in the past.

When carefully managed, both academic and social needs of the learners can be met in virtual environments. Group activities increase time on task, opportunities for expression, and provide learners with a broader perspective on their learning.

For academic activities, learners probably benefit more when such activities are monitored by the instructor, and the expectations for performance are well defined. The instructor’s role is to be a "guide on the side" and steer learners in the right direction. As Vigotsky put it, a "More Knowledgeable Other" (MKO) may help a learner achieve tasks that may be in one's Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD).

Informal collaboration should be largely voluntary but encouraged for both academic and social exchanges. However, instructors should set the tone and protocols for communication because learners benefit most when the learning environment is cordial and respect for different voices/opinions is expected.

Synchronous Communication in Online Education: The Case of Group Projects

Does synchronous communication further the efforts of online collaboration? At a glance, the answer is definitely "yes" until one looks at the logistics of getting online learners together at the same time. A good number of people choose online education because of the flexibility it affords them, and the ability to continue pursuing their multi-layered daily responsibilities. If we consider Vigotsky's Social Development Theory, much can be gained from collaborative work. Assigning group projects is one way to achieve this. The question is, what are the ideal conditions for promoting active involvement in group projects among online learners? Here, I propose a few strategies:

1. Whenever possible, let the learners select from a group of topics, the project to pursue. When learners are interested in a project, they are more likely to participate with vigor

2. Provide clear guidelines of expectations for each group

3. Have incentives for completing the project

4. Identify a group coordinator

5. Within groups, determine milestones and contributions of each member or sub-group

6. Select the best methods of communicating and brainstorming; determine tools for synchronous communication or whether they should be used at all

7. Set deadlines for reporting to the group coordinator at each stage of the project.

While synchronous communication sounds like a great idea in online education, in reality, it is not particularly convenient or easy for learners to collaborate on projects in this manner. Our own class project (with relatively few team members) has undoubtedly proven this to be so. It is likely that one is able to reach more people who are not in their group than are; these are pehaps people who are ernest about their projects or whose schedules are more aligned, and therefore, should probably have been team members. The temptation to break away and form "side groups" is high but would defeat the premise of the exercise, whose unintended lesson might be to remind us that in real life, the ideal is usually out of reach, but that should not deter action.

Certainly, synchronous communication has its place and should be encouraged in online collaborative activities, but it not the only means through which Vigotsky's merits of social interaction for cognitive development can be attained. As for me, I have learned from others through synchronous communication during these last few days.

Integrating Audio into Online Courses

Enhancing online courses with audio should be encouraged as it breaks the monotony of reading text. Like other media, audio accomodates the needs of a certain class of learners, in this case, the ones who prefer hearing rather than reading information.

As is often stated, if a technology is NOT easy to use by techies, then faculty buy-in is not to be expected. An easy to-use tool for producing audio such as Odeo Studio, allows instructors to become independent producers of their own audio content. It is important to observe the recommendations for audio length and usage, and obtain learner feedback in order to determine the "best practices" for integrating audio for a particular class.