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Content
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Communication
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Collaboration
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Chat Rooms can
be used to for teachers to explain content to students and as a result
students will experience increased satisfaction and therefore social presence
will increase (Swan & Shih, 2005, p. 129).
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Chat Rooms can
be used for teacher to student and peer to peer communication, and as a
result students will experience increased satisfaction and therefore social
presence will increase (Swan & Shih, 2005, p. 129).
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Chat Rooms can
be used for collaboration on assignments and as a result students will
experience increased satisfaction and therefore social presence will increase
(Swan & Shih, 2005, p. 129).
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Problem-based
learning is great for encouraging a learner-centered interactivity approach
to real world problems (Durrington, Berryhill, & Swafford, 2006, p. 192).
Go To Meeting provides video chat, audio chat, and people are able to type
and show their desk top. This means presentations and data can also be
shared.
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Problem-based
learning is great for encouraging a learner-centered interactivity approach
to real world problems (Durrington, Berryhill, & Swafford, 2006, p. 192).
Go To Meeting provides video chat, audio chat, and people are able to type,
which means communication can be visual and auditory.
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Problem-based
learning is great for encouraging a learner-centered interactivity approach
to real world problems (Durrington, Berryhill, & Swafford, 2006, p. 192).
Go To Meeting provides video chat, audio chat, and people can collaborate
through this by sharing ideas.
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Grockit is an
on-line social media community with an education feel. Students can study
with friends, predict their performance on standardized tests through
diagnostic testing, target weaknesses, find tutors, and watch video
instruction. https://grockit.com/
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Students must
feel comfortable and respected in the online community and an instructor can
create that atmosphere by showing the expectations for the course and setting
guidelines (Durrington, Berryhill, & Swafford, 2006, p. 191).
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Skype can be
used to connect with people all over the world and collaborate with them
under the same topic. http://www.skype.com/
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Educreations
allow both students and teachers to create video lessons with their iPad or
their browser. The app is free to download. Teachers can use this to clarify
information that students read or watched through video. http://www.educreations.com/
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Email can be
used to communicate and send direct messages.
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ePals is used
to connect with other learners in cultural-exchange and language learning
projects. http://www.epals.com/
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On-line
educational games (for example, www.funbrain.com) or apps on the iPad can be
used to reinforce skills being taught.
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Message boards
can be used to make public announcements, share information, critique
information given, analyze new concepts, and provide feedback to other
people.
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OpenStudy is an
interactive message board and chat room that has people logging in from 180
different countries. Students have the opportunity to log in and study with
people. They can share study plans and collaborate for information. www.openstudy.com
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Reflection
The technological tools learners are
using outside the classroom should be brought into the educational process
because students are already familiar with these tools. We are in a
technological era where it is absurd if someone does not have experience with a
computer, an Apple product, or a cell phone. Utilizing these in the educational
process can enhance student learning. There are a number of tools and
strategies that can be used to increase student learning. For example, the iPad
has thousands of apps that can be downloaded for free to reinforce skills. Different
apps mean different opportunities to reinforce skills without feeling like the
same skills are being taught over and over again. Tools that especially work
well in an on-line community are chat rooms and applications such as Go To
Meeting, because they can mimic in-person learning. For example, Go To Meeting
has a video portion and this allows for people to see others’ facial
expressions.
Resources
Durrington, V. A., Berryhill, A.,
& Swafford, J. (2006). Strategies for enhancing student interactivity in an online
environment. College Teaching, 54(1), 190−193. Use the
Academic Search Premier database, and search using the article's Accession
Number: 19754742
Swan, K., & Shih, L. F. (2005).
On the nature and development of social presence in online couse discussions. Journal
of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 9(3). Retrieved from http://sloanconsortium.org/jaln/v9n3/nature-and-development-social-presence-online-course-discussions
I really enjoyed reading your blog post! I loved when you mentioned that teachers are not taking advantage of the fact many students are already familiar with these technological tools. When I was researching various collaboration resources for online learning I was overwhelmed by the number of applications I came across. I did not recognize several of them, but after reading I started thinking how beneficial they would be. The hardest thing with webinars and chats is finding a time when everyone is available. It is strange to think how with a F2F class students are reliably present, but when it comes to online learning and webinars it is difficult to get that presence. I feel even Skype, FaceTime, and Go To Meeting are not being used to their full potential. Personally, I think many of us talk about all these great tools and resources, but will never use them because of barriers at school or lack of experience.
ReplyDeleteHi Reggie,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, kudos on the table design for this assignment. I wish I had thought of it! Great format.
In terms of the tools you addressed, I agree that chat rooms potentially fit into all three categories. I have to admit, however, that I have had virtually no success in their utilization for educational purposes. Our entire high school had access to the Google chat feature. It was such a disruptive disaster that our IT department ended up disabling it for everyone - teachers and students. This decision was both a source of frustration (because I would have liked to have figured out a way to harness its power) and a source of relief (because it was no longer a classroom management issue. Just wondering - have you had any success using chat rooms as a means to foster learning of content?
Thanks!
Jeanna