On-line Collaborative Learning
Why on-line collaborative learning?
Conventional distance learning can be a pretty lonely activity
for the student.
Giving students access to each other and to their tutors on-line can completely
transform the distance learning experience. On-line collaborative learning
reduces this aloneness and goes well beyond it, with an educational basis
rooted in constructivist models of the way people think and learn.
Learning is not a matter of passively collecting concepts,
but of constructing a
conceptual edifice in which what is learned is integrated and linked to
one's entire
life experience. Understanding is not the same as remembering. For 'deep
learning',
students should be able to apply and generalise what they have learned.
In practical terms, this means that students have to manipulate
concepts they are
learning, turn them inside out, and look at their connections to other
concepts. The
job of the educator or instructional designer then is not simply to create
materials
in which concepts are clearly explained, but to create learning situations
in which
students find themselves actively engaging with the concepts they are
learning.
A particularly powerful situation is one in which students discuss what
they have
learnt with each other.
- "Putting students into groups...compels them to explain
their thoughts to
one another and this has several advantages: on the one hand, verbalisation
requires reflection (upon one's own thoughts as well as upon what the others
are saying) and, on the other, students tend to listen more openly and with
more interest to their fellow students than to the teacher."[Enst von Glasersfeld] - With the rise in popularity of the Internet, colleges
and universities around the world
are jumping on the on-line learning bandwagon as a way of extending their reach.
However, the best ways of creating effective on-line courses are not obvious. Creating
a good on-line course using collaborative learning is far more than putting lecture notes
or Open University course units on line and adding e-mail. The two crucial ingredients are:
- Course design based around collaborative activities in
which students engage
with the concepts being taught. Learning materials should support these activities
rather than be an end in themselves. - Creating and nurturing a sense of on-line community and
skills of collaboration for
the students. This will not happen automatically by itself.
In the experimental courses and production courses I have
worked on I have been
exploring these two issues. The results are described in the papers linked
below.
Papers
- (1992) Communications-centred
Multi-media Learning Systems,
From Learning Technology in the European Communities, Ed. S.Cerri and J. Whiting,
pp. 79-90, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1992. An early paper discussing prototype
on-line learning systems and proposing a European Electronic University.
- (1995) "Enhancing
Quality in Distance Learning through Collaborative
and Resource-based Learning", Gary Alexander, One World Many Voices, 17th World
Conference for Distance Education , ICDE, June 1995. This paper describes the design,
presentation, and evaluation of an experimental, international multimedia course, XT001
Renewable Energy Technology.
- (1997) "The
Experience of the Open University: Pointers Towards a Global Network
for Education and Research", presented to Twenty-first International Conference on the
Unity of the Sciences Washington, D.C., November 24-30, 1997 (Invited speaker
- (1998) "Communication
and collaboration on-line: New course models at
the Open University", presented at the Networked Life-long Learning Conference,
Sheffield University, Sheffield, 20 - 22 April, 1998. This paper describes the background
and theoretical approach informing the design of T171 You, your computer and the Net. - (1998) "This
house believes that the Internet will revolutionise teaching across
British Higher Education." A debate held in the Oxford Union, in which I spoke in favour
of the motion. This was part of a one-day colloquium organised by the Humanities
Computing Unit, University of Oxford on 23 April 1998. Requires RealAudio. - (1999) "A
large-scale on-line Open University course bringing computing and on-line
skills to novices", Paper presented at On-Line Educa Berlin, 5th International Conference
on Technology Supported Learning, November 25-26, 1999. This paper discusses the
design and development of T171 You, Your computer and the Net. - (2000) Issues
and innovations in very large scale on-line distance learning: A case
study
A draft of a paper accepted for publication in International Journal of Continuing Engineering
Education and Lifelong Learning , Vol. 10, Nos. 1 - 4, 2000. It discusses the first
presentations and evaluations of T171 You, your computer and the Net.
Courses
- XT001 Renewable energy
A landmark experimental course developing techniques for collaborative and resource-
based learning at a distance. It used the FirstClass conference system and developed
a CD-ROM library. It was developed in cooperation with the Open University's Energy
and Environment Research Unit (EERU) and built upon materials in a resource pack for
lecturers,T521 Renewable Energy for Tertiary Education.
See Enhancing Quality in Distance Learning through Collaborative
and Resource-based Learning.
- T102 Living with Technology
The Technology Faculty's 'Foundation' Course, a first-year undergraduate distance-
learning course taken by around 3-4000 students per year. I headed the team introducing
the use of computer conferencing, to allow more interactivity between students and staff.
We developed a rich environment for our students, including- separate conferences for each block of the course and on many sub-topics
- an on-line library of recent papers keeping the course up-to-date
- a seminar room for more formal discussions, some with outside experts
- student-only self-help groups and various chat conferences
- a Practice Conference for students to learn to use the system without embarrassment.
-
I prepared a Communications Guide which teaches students to use the system. It
contains a section on Netiquette, or the social conventions of computer conferencing
which has since been widely used by many other courses.
See The Experience of the Open University:
Pointers Towards a Global Network for Education and Research and
Communication and collaboration on-line: New course models at the Open University - T265
Renewable Energy
A second-year undergraduate course which included on-line work, building upon some of
the lessons of XT001.
- T171
You, your computer and the Net
An introductory course in the Technology Faculty that partly replaced T102. It introduces
beginners to the wired world and explains how it came about. The course integrates the
use of the Web, CD-ROM and computer conferencing in a single environment.
- Module 1: You: computing with confidence
- Module 2: Your computer: the story of the PC
- Module 3: The net: where it came from, how it works
- TU170
Learning on-line, computing with confidence
I am the principal author of this course. It takes Module 1 of T171 and turns it into a
freestanding course for newcomers to computing and the on-line world. It is be presented
3 times a year. It also serves to introduce students to Open University study, and so puts
a heavy emphasis on basic study skills as well as introductions to the use of a computer
and to computer communication.
The learning approach is strongly collaborative. It includes exercises to develop a sense
of on-line community and training in effective groupwork on-line. The course assessment
includes marks for the groupwork. - U316
The Environmental Web
I am a reading member of the Course Team, advising some of the authors on structure,
learning approach and the use of collaborative activities.
T171 is the first large-scale Open University taught entirely on-line.
It had 900 students
in its pilot year of presentation in 1999 and over 12,000 students in
2000.
see Communication
and collaboration on-line:
New course models at the Open University,
A large-scale on-line Open University course bringing computing and
on-line skills to novices
and Issues
and innovations in very large scale on-line distance learning: A case
study.
Sample learning materials
What follows are some small examples of teaching materials I have produced.
- Netiquette,
or the social conventions of computer conferencing -
This short paper was part of a Communications Guide, which I originally prepared for
T102 Living with Technology and which was subsequently used on various Open
University courses. - Clear
Thinking -
This short paper was written for T171 You, your computer and the Net. It was meant
to help students to evaluate the reliability of web sites they encountered during the course. - The
skilled learner in cyberspace -
Another example of material from T171 You, your computer and the Net. This was intended
to help students develop their skills of learning new software, and also to help them to create
a suitably cynical attitude towards computers and software, given the state of the industry!
- Good
web design -
An example of an exercise from T171 You, your computer and the Net, added in its
second year.