Module 4 Engaging Learners With New Strategies

Before enrolling in Walden’s distance educational program I could not fathom the idea of continuing my education in an online learning environment.  I could not grasp the concept of not sitting in a classroom and listening to an instructor give a lecture as I took hand written notes. In our ever changing world of technology, the leaders in distance education have reformed the ways in which online learners communicate, collaborate and share information. In Andersons’ Community of Inquiry Model (2008), he mentions three components that are very vital to the success of distance education. These three components are cognitive presence, social presence, and teaching presence. Once these components are successfully implemented online instructors are setting their learners up for academic success. 

Cognitive presence is when the instructor provides their students with the necessary resources that will guide them to become critical thinkers. Resources such as on line links to articles that are relevant to the content that is being taught, course DVDs, and the required materials for the course. Social presence provides the learners with the sense of confidence that allows them to become risk takes and participate in discussion forums where they are free to express their thoughts and concerns. Instructors generally set up a meeting area like the class café where the students can freely communicate their concerns and ideas. Instructors may also set up learning communities where the members in the community come together and exchange cell phone numbers, email addresses, Skype and blog information. These tools work really well together because the students are not monitored by their instructor. As for teaching presence, the instructor is responsible for setting the tone when it comes to presenting information in such a way that engages the learners. A sure way to do this is by assigning the students to learning communities and requiring the learners to work together on projects.

In distance education, once learners are provided with the necessary tools that will enhance their learning they will have access to these tools at any given time. The goal is to integrate these tools in such a way so that the learners will obtain a genuine learning experience. These tools should promote a higher level of thinking and the learners are primary guided by the instructor through discovery learning. The learners are also forming relationships with other professionals in a globalized setting. 

References

Anderson, T. (Ed.). (2008). The theory and practice of online learning (2nd ed.). Edmonton, AB: Athabasca University Press.

Assessing Collaborative Efforts

Dr. Siemens points out that (Laureate, 2008) the challenge with assessing collaborative learning has to do with redesigning a model that was solely based on individual learning. In regards to collaborative assessments, Dr. Siemens (Laureate, 2008) elaborates on several ways to assesses collaborative learning communities. Student Self Assessment is an example that could be used to assess student learning.  Students would assess their peers based on a rating scale by the way their peers collaborated with one another throughout the course. In my classroom, the students are grouped and given their assigned jobs, once the task is completed each group member is required to complete a group evaluation assessment which allows the student to rate each group member. Once the students know ahead of time that they will be evaluated on their performance in the group they tend to put forth more effort and produce a better quality of work. Receiving feedback from your community members or peers is also a valuable way to assess collaborative group work. Providing constructive feedback is very vital in a learning community because an open line of communication is extremely important when trying to lay the foundation for collaboration. The learners will be evaluated based on their comments. With this kind of interaction the learners form closer relationships with their learning community. Student contribution is also another way to assess collaboration. This type of assessment generally generates a grade. This kind of collaboration is easily managed in a collaborative learning environment by simply looking at a contribution log. Educators can also access learners based on information gained from a learning management system this kind of assessment allows the instructor to see how many hours a student is on line, in a group activity, and how many post and responses the student contributed to a discussion question.

The primary goal of an assessment is to access what the learner knows and demonstrate bases on the content that was covered. Assessments should be equitable in regards to the students’ performance in class. It should not matter if a student made minimal gains or significant gains as long as the students demonstrated growth. Educators must move passed grade based assessments and look for assessments that are authentic in context which constitutes to be a more valuable assessment.

Unfortunately, some students are reluctant and do not want to collaborate in online learning communities. I am sure that these students have valid reasons for opting out this kind of interaction; nevertheless, when there are community members who are not pull their fair share of the load the members in the community need to express their concerns to the reluctant nonparticipant. If the issue is not resolved, then concerns need to be reported to the instructor immediately. Reason being, if this kind of behavior persists the integrity of the learning community becomes a concern and grades are in jeopardy.  The instructor’s role then becomes more of a facilitator (Palloff and Pratt 2007) and assessing the group as whole needs to be reconsidered. Once way to do this is by creating a grading rubric or scale that assess the students individually.

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (2008). Assessment of collaborative learning. Baltimore: Author

Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (2005). Collaborating online: Learning together in community. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Video Presentation Storyboard

Narration: …. Introduce the topic Plagiarism and the speaker.	Plagiarism and It’s Effects in Principles of Distance Education Presented   Dr. Jayda Bogan-Fountain
Narration: ….Introduce the location Georgia World Congress Center in downtown Atlanta, Georgia   November 18-20, 2011
Narration: ….Introduce topic and share the definition of plagiarism from Dictionary.com	What is Plagiarism? pla·gia·rism    /ˈpleɪ dʒəˌrɪz əm, -dʒi əˌrɪz-/ Show Spelled[pley-juh-riz-uh m, -jee-uh-riz-] Show IPA noun 1. the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one's own original work, as by not crediting the author.
Narration: …. What is plagiarism? According to Walden University Writing Center Staff	Plagiarism according to Walden University  You plagiarize even when you do credit the author but use his exact words without so indicating with quotation marks or block indentation. You also plagiarize when you use words so close to those in your source, that if your work were placed next to the source, it would be obvious that you could not have written what you did without the source at your elbow.
Narration: …. Share the main  reasons for plagiarism	Common Reasons for Plagiarizing —  Not knowing how to correctly cite information —  Procrastination —  Willingly plagiarize in order to complete an assignment on time.
Narration: …. Explain what happens to an institution once plagiarism becomes an issue.	The Effect of Plagiarism —  Jeopardize the institutes integrity —  Accreditation concerns  —  Government funding
Narration: …. Explain ways to prevent plagiarism.	Preventing Plagiarism —  Pose a discussion questions about what it means to plagiarize. —  Begin researching and collecting information about your topic early in order to avoid procrastination. —  Complete a rough draft early and look for patterns of plagiarism and correct before submitting the final project.