In a collaborative learning community the members exchange ideas and work for the benefit of the entire group. When trying to achieve this experience in classrooms whether it is face-to-face or online similar issues arise. Some of these issues are different rates of participation from the students, lack of trust between the participants as a group or community, and participants that believe they work better alone among other issues. In online environments it is more challenging to create a social group due to the fact that there is no face contact (Hurd, T. in Ardenson, 2008). This social sense is critical for the group to become a collaborative learning community.
Siemens and Palloff & Pratt (2005) present some of these issues and give interesting alternatives to reduce them. First off is necessary to provide the participants from the beginning with what Palloff and Pratt (2005) called “the stage” which includes courses’ rules, the expectations and the dynamics that they will be experiencing in the course. Additional to this Siemens suggests starting with a group activity where participants can experience the division of roles. Siemens addresses the importance of the assessment. The assessment in online learning environment “needs to emphasize working together”. When working in groups assessment should be individual to motivate participation and collective to encourage interaction (Siemens, 2009). For Siemens to support a successful collaborative work environment it is critical to have: 1) “high level of trust”, 2) “well-connected information sources”, and 3) “external connections to tightly knit groups”. John Mak in his blog suggest as useful methodologies for collaborative participation case study activities, Brainstorming, The In-Basket Exercise, and Role Playing among others.
To deal with cases where the student does not want to network or collaborate it should be clear the individual consequences he or she will suffer. In addition the instructors as moderators should use the multiple tools in many of the content management platforms for distant learning to monitor student’s activities. If the work is done in a wikki or in a blog environment the instructor must be part of the group and actively contribute to the group development in order to show that he/she is present and is aware of each member’s participation. In addition instructors should encourage students that are behind or do not want to be part of the community to participate. Sharing an email or even by a phone or Skype call. This is why the instructor assessment plan should consider individual, peer-to-peer and collective execution.
References
Anderson, T. (Ed.). (2008). The theory and practice of online learning (2nd ed.). Edmonton, AB: Athabasca University Press.
Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (2005). Collaborating online: Learning together in community. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (2007). Building online learning communities: Effective strategies for the virtual classroom. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Siemens, G. (n.d.). Assessment of collaborative learning. Retrieved January 5, 2010, from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=3649021&Survey=1&47=5863341&ClientNodeID=984645&coursenav=1&bhcp=1
Siemens, G. (n.d.). Learning communities. Retrieved January 5, 2010, from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=3649021&Survey=1&47=5863341&ClientNodeID=984645&coursenav=1&bhcp=1.
Swan, K. (2004). Relationships between interactions and learning in online environments. The Sloan Consortium.
