After having watched both of George
Siemens videos, I have to say that I agree with his view on the acceptance of
distance education in the corporate and educational world.
I've chosen to reflect on collaborative
interaction in distance education because I find the idea of collaborating and
interacting online, rather than in person, fascinating.
Acceptance of distance education by
corporate America and educational institutions, in my opinion, is not a guarantee
that all aspects of it will work.
Collaborative interaction with someone you don’t know who lives half way
around the world, may not turn out to be what you expect. Because these types of experiences are common
in distance education, Jane Hart talks in her blog about how many corporations
and educational institutions are looking for ways to bring ‘social’ interaction
back into the mix to help rectify this problem (Hart, 2012, Aug 25).
Collaborative interaction has
certainly evolved from students and teachers sitting in a classroom, to
learning 100% online, with the help of electronic blackboards, blogs, wikis, and
other tools that are suppose to connect students and help them learn to work
together in the electronic, or cyber world, in which we live. We also need to keep in mind that collaborative
interaction is not a new concept, it's just the new buzz term. According to Mark Guzdial's blog, he's been doing it
for 10 -20 years in the area of computer-supported collaborative learning
(Guzdial, 2012, Oct 16).
The tools available to facilitate
this type of learning grow in numbers daily.
Today, we can ‘connect’ from almost anywhere using our smartphones,
tablets or laptops. As long as you can find a ‘hot spot’ you can log in and
Skype a classmate, watch a lecture in real time, log into Blackboard and have
discussions with classmates, create posts for your blog, or post work to your
wiki for group review and feedback before going ‘public’.
Collaborative interaction and learning is here to stay. What corporations and educational institutions need to do is find better ways to make it work, and if it doesn't work in some areas, do away with it there. The focus should be on using collaborative interaction where it has a higher rate of being successful.
References
Guzdial, M. (2012, Oct 16). What I
have learned about on-line
collaborative
learning. Retrieved from http://computinged.wordpress.com/2012/10/16/what-i-have-learned-about-on-line-collaborative-learning/
Hart,
J. (2012, Aug 25). Facilitating collaborative learning: a
recipe for success. Retrieved from http://www.c4lpt.co.uk/blog/2012/08/25/facilitating-collaborative-learning-a-recipe-for-success/
Laureate
Education, Inc. (2008) Distance education: higher
education, k12, and the corporate world.
(video). Baltimore, MD; Author.
Laureate
Education, Inc. (2008). The future of distance education.
(video). Baltimore, MD; Author.
Donna everyone around me does not have a positive mind about distance education. When I first started with my first online program I found it to be easier. I was able to work and still continue my education at the same time. The collaboration among my classmates was something that I found interesting. I do see a difference in that I collaborate more online with others than when I attended classes face to face.
ReplyDeleteLatisha, I agree that not everyone is positive about distance education. What I find kind of amusing, is that corporate America is more in favor of it than educators! When taking an online course you are required to participate, but you also have time to think about what you are going to say, so from that perspective, I think it is easier to participate in an online class. In a face-to-face class it is more difficult for the less aggressive student(s) to participate, and so their mere presence becomes their "participation" in the class.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment!