34,157 research outputs found
The influence of the e-tutor on the development of collaborative critical thinking in a students' e-forum: association levels with Cramerâs V
Most courses via Internet use the electronic forum, which allows for cognitive dialogue, namely through critical thinking. The tutorâs support to collaboration, reflection and learning can explore the characteristics of e-forums and contribute to a more positive academic experience. This study aims to identify which of the tutorâs tasks are more influential on higher levels of collaborative critical thinking, with a content analysis of 5200 messages in several on-line Masterâs and Post-graduation courses forum. 11 indicators of the tutorâs intervention and four indicators of collaborative critical thing were adopted. Then, a Cramerâs V post-test was used to assess the effect of the tutorâs posts on the highest levels of collaborative critical thinking. The tutorâs tasks which relate more to the studentsâ highest levels of critical thing were: 1) asking open questions to the students, 2) establishing associations among the studentsâ messages and 3) modelling the debate. The study provided useful information on the ways of triggering the dialogue and taking it to higher cognitive levels
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Investigating design features of a computer-mediated communication system
Computer-mediated communication (CMC) is increasingly used in higher education, but it is not without problems. The effectiveness of CMC depends on many factors, including the characteristics of CMC systems themselves. The research reported here therefore aimed to investigate how an educational CMC system might be improved, in order to support learning more effectively.
The main context for the research was distance learning at the UK Open University (OU). A two-stage, mixed methods research approach was adopted. In the first stage, interviews and observations were carried out to explore the benefits and problems experienced by users. This revealed two major issues: information overload and lack of social presence. Information overload relates to usersâ problems dealing with large numbers of messages. Social presence relates to the need for users to feel connected with each other.
The second stage investigated system features aimed at addressing these issues, implemented in a prototype computer conferencing system. Features to address overload included branched message threading and user recommendations. Features to address social presence were ârĂ©sumĂ©sâ and instant messaging. These features were evaluated using questionnaires, with several cohorts of students in an OU course.
Students expressed approval of the features, although some features were not widely used. Students preferred branched threading to chronological threading because branching helped them to follow âconversationsâ. Students were uncomfortable recommending messages, feeling that the value of a message would vary between people. They were also uncomfortable using instant messaging to contact others whom they did not know. However, the awareness aspect of instant messaging provided a sense of solidarity.
The research demonstrated that the problems of overload and lack of social presence are significant, and each has social aspects which must be addressed. Studentsâ relationships with each other affect whether and how they use the features of CMC systems. We can conclude that particular attention must be paid to the social aspects of online communication, both when designing educational CMC systems and when considering how they are used. To maximise the benefits for learning, students need to feel comfortable with each other online, and there are few short cuts to achieving this
The Tutor's Role
This chapter addresses three questions about being an effective online tutor: 1. Why do we still think that online tutoring can principally draw its basis from face-to-face group processes and dynamics or traditional pedagogy? 2. Does the literature tell us anything more than we would make as an intelligent guess? 3. Do we really know what an âeffectiveâ online tutor would be doing? The OTiS participants have gone some way to answering these questions, through the presentation and discussion of their own online tutoring experiences. Literature in this area is still limited, and suffers from the need for timeliness of publication to be useful. Intelligent guesses are all very well, but much better as a source of information for online tutors are the reflections and documented experiences of practitioners. These experiences reveal that face-to-face pedagogy has some elements to offer the online tutor, but that there are key differences and there is a need to examine the processes and dynamics of online learning to inform online tutoring
Collaboration and motivation in an online learning environment: studentsâ perceptions of collaborative activities and attitudes towards online learning
The report about distance learning in higher education in Portugal (2009) states that only a small percentage of HE enrolments are in DL courses, that the demand for the modality is growing, and that the Portuguese research in DL needs development, to support innovation in the modality. This study aimed to identify the collaborative activities that the 122 students enrolled in Mastersâ courses between 2009-2012, in two Portuguese Universities, considered more motivating, their preferred type of assignment, the toolsâ perceived ease of use, the social and cognitive aspects of teamwork, the tutorâs influence on teamwork and preferred team organization. The results indicate that the students feel comfortable participating, interacting and debating and that some collaborative activities such as designing projects, simulations, problem-based activities, discussions and written reports are more motivating than others. The results also show that the students have positive attitudes towards online learning, that online trust takes time to develop, that both face-to-face meetings and videoconference increase trust, though time flexibility is a practical advantage of online collaboration and that the way that collaborative assignments are designed can facilitate or hinder adequate collaboration
Roles and student identities in online large course forums: implications for practice.
The use of large online discussion forums within online and distance learning continues to grow. Recent innovations in online learning the MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) and concomitant growth in the use of online media for the delivery of courses in traditional campus based universities provides both opportunity and challenge for online tutors and learners alike. The recognition of the role that online tutor and student identity plays in the field of retention and progression of distance learners is also well documented in the field of distance learning. Focusing on a course forum linked to a single level 2 undergraduate module and open to over a thousand students, this ideographic case study, set in a large distance learning university, uses qualitative methodology to examine the extent to which participation in a large forum can be considered within community of practice frameworks (COP) and contributes to feelings of efficacy, student identity and motivation. The paper draws on current theory pertaining to online communities and examines this in relation to the extent to which the forum adds to feelings of academic and social integration. The study concludes that although the large forum environment facilitates a certain degree of academic integration and identity there is evidence that it also presents a number of barriers producing negative effects on student motivation and online identity
Designing an e-tutoring system for large classes: mixed-method research
This study aimed at assessing the perceptions of 167 teachers about the tutoring system
adopted in an online training course involving teachers from 20 Schools of Sesimbra, SetĂșbal
and Palmela counties. The course, called âDistributed Knowledge with Web 2.0â, was
officially certified as a blended learning modality, with the duration of 50 hours, 41 of which
occurred online in two editions, the first in February and the second in July of 2012, each one
of them involving respectively 82 and 85 teachers, divided in four classes with about 20
trainees each. This blended learning course was designed at producing educational materials
in digital format, and included autonomous and group activities, knowledge sharing and
reflection. A learning environment, supported by the Ning platform, was set up. At the end of
the course, the trainees answered to a pencil and paper survey, in order to evaluate the
adopted online tutoring strategy. Additionally the traineesâ final reports contained evidence of
how the trainees assessed the tutoring model component of the course; both the survey and
the reports were the basis for this research. The results show that the teachers who attended
the two course editions disclosed very positive perceptions about online learning, a modality
they consider adequate to their current professional status and conditions. The trainees also
showed their intention of, in the future, opting for blended training arrangements. Future
developments of this study involve a content analysis of the tutorâs posts, in order to
understand more accurately the tutorâs messages characteristics, in their social and cognitive
dimensions
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Building capacity in climate change policy analysis and negotiation: methods and technologies
Capacity building is often cited as the reason âwe cannot just pour money into developing countriesâ and why so many development projects fail because their design does not address local conditions. It is therefore a key technical and political concept in international development.
Some of the poorest countries in the world are also some of the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Their vulnerability is in part due to a lack of capacity to plan and anticipate the effects of climate change on crops, water resources, urban electricity demand etc. What capacities do these countries lack to deal with climate change? How will they cope? What steps can they take to reduce their vulnerability?
This innovative and high-profile research project was part of a larger project (called C3D) and conducted with non-governmental organisations in Senegal, South Africa and Sri Lanka. The research involved several participatory workshops and a questionnaire to all three research centres
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