Category: Online Learning

Introduction

Virtual learning communities are those “based on shared purpose rather than actual geographical location” (Lewis & Allan, 2004). The learners from different parts of the world are drawn together and they can form their learning groups formally or informally. This is facilitated by appropriate information and communication technologies such as the internet and video conferencing (Lewis & Allan, 2004).

Since virtual learning communities are based on real-time communication, the learners can be taught at the same time by a single instructor. Consequently, most online degree programs focus on building virtual learning communities to enhance their teaching and students’ learning process. This paper seeks to analyze the importance of virtual learning communities in an online degree program. The challenges likely to be faced while building such communities will be illuminated.

The Importance of Virtual Learning Communities

Initial Cohort Seminars

Most online degree programs have an initial course that focuses on introducing the students to the online learning process. Such courses facilitate the building of social relationships among the students. Through such relationships, the online instructor and the students can easily explore both social and academic challenges faced by distance students (Assaf, Elisa, & Fayyuoum, 2009).

To build strong relationships between the instructors and the students at the beginning of the program, they must interact for a long period. This means that the normal online class time needs to be extended through a system that facilitates a seamless exchange of information among the students and their instructors. This objective is best achieved through a virtual learning community that promotes unlimited exchange of ideas among the stakeholders in the learning process (Assaf, Elisa, & Fayyuoum, 2009). This is because the students can integrate their office hours with the learning process thus enabling them to access more information.

Continuous Mentor Involvement

According to the behaviorism theory, learning is enhanced if students can follow and master the facts or skills taught by the instructors (Lewis & Allan, 2004). This means that the instructor must be constantly in touch with his or her students to impart knowledge effectively. The virtual learning communities enable instructors in online degree programs to share knowledge with the students as well as get frequent feedback from them (Brown, 2001).

This helps in assessing the students’ progress as well as recommending timely remedies for the underperformers. In addition to this, the virtual learning communities enable the online degree programs to provide a student mentor. The mentor, through the virtual learning community, works closely with the learners throughout the program (Brown, 2001). Through the mentorship programs, students can acquire skills that enable them to overcome the challenges they face in learning. The motivations accruing from the mentorship programs thus facilitates a high completion rate.

Content-Based Learning

According to the constructivist theory, students learn new ideas through active interactions with their peers (Lewis & Allan, 2004). The virtual learning communities bring together students and instructors from different walks of life. Consequently, the students can share their diverse experiences, ideas, and skills seamlessly. The learning communities enable the instructors and the students to volunteer their questions (McEliath & McDowell, 2008).

The questions and their proposed answers are normally challenged by different students. This not only enhances a better understanding of the question or the topic under discussion but also facilitates the discovery of new ideas. Besides, the insights on the question or topic under discussion will be readily available to all the students using the learning community. Thus each participant will expand his or her critical thinking as they acknowledge diverse perspectives. This will enable them to “construct a fuller understanding of the topic of investigation” (McEliath & McDowell, 2008).

Instructor’s Role in Learning

Most online degree programs are characterized by an e-moderator who presents the course content to the students. In most cases, the e-moderator dominates the video conferences used to impart knowledge. In such a case, the students play a passive role in the learning process. However, this strategy of teaching is less effective since the students tend to lose interest in the course as they lose control over the learning process. To avoid this problem, the role of the e-moderator should shift from addressing the technical or social concerns of the students to facilitating the learning process.

This means that the moderator’s task should be limited to facilitating “exchange of information, knowledge processing as well as practical processing” (Vesely & Bloom, 2007). This can only be achieved if the moderator’s authority and control over the learning process is progressively shifted to the students. The students should have greater autonomy over the learning process to encourage active participation and better results. The virtual learning communities enable online degree programs to give students autonomy over the learning process (Vesely & Bloom, 2007). The students set the pace that suits their abilities while the e-moderator clarifies communication and encourage diverse perspectives from students.

Organization of Resources

Under normal circumstances, students usually categorize and organize online resources in different ways. Their diverse organization process is meant to suit their specific searching habits and conveniences (Williams & Humphrey, 2007). However, the lack of a standard method for organizing online resources makes it difficult to access such resources. Thus the online resources will not be of any value if they can not be accessed by the majority of the students and this leads to poor quality education.

In response to this challenge, many online degree programs embark on the use of virtual learning communities to distribute the learning materials as well as enabling students to share their learning materials effectively (Williams & Humphrey, 2007). The virtual learning communities not only use standard methods of accessing information but also have a dedicated support team that assists students to access the needed materials.

Challenges of Building a Virtual Learning Community

Despite the benefits of a virtual learning community to an online degree program, building it is often characterized by several challenges. Some of the challenges experienced by online degree programs in their attempt to build an effective virtual learning community include the following.

Communication Barriers

Since most students enrolled in online degree programs are from diverse socio-cultural backgrounds, they tend to speak different languages. Most online degree programs use English as the official instructional language even though not all students are proficient in English. Lack of a good command of the language used in the virtual learning community can limit the students’ ability to share information with their peers as well as their instructors (Fontainha, 2008). Besides, the intended meaning of a text may change due to the improper use of language.

This presents a great difficulty in the learning process since information will not be shared seamlessly. Attempts to solve this problem through the translation capabilities of the internet have yielded little results since the internet can only translate English into a limited number of languages (Fontainha, 2008). In some cases, students with poor listening and writing skills have failed to benefit from the virtual learning communities by misinterpreting information. Thus presenting information in a manner that is highly understandable given the communication capabilities of the students is the main challenge in building a virtual learning community.

Diverse Technical Backgrounds

Users of virtual learning communities have diverse technological backgrounds. The students’ ability to use modern information and communication technologies depends on their prior exposure to such technologies in their countries of origin (Vesely & Bloom, 2007). However, due to disparities in economic development and technological advancements across the globe, some students have a richer technological background as compare to their colleagues. The consequence of this technological imbalance is that students with little exposure to modern communication technologies will not benefit from the virtual learning communities (Brown, 2001).

The greatest challenge thus is to develop a virtual learning community that takes into account the diverse technological background of its users. This has been difficult as most learning communities embark on modern and sophisticated technologies to enhance efficiency. Thus students who are not able to use the learning community due to their poor skills will have to invest in further training. However, such training further increases the cost of the online degree hence lowering its demand. From a learning perspective, the inability to use the virtual learning community will lead to poor learning outcomes (McEliath & McDowell, 2008). This is because the students will not be able to fully access all the needed information.

Technological Constraints

Due to disparities in financial status and technological advancement, students from various parts of the world use diverse equipment to access virtual learning systems (Fontainha, 2008). For example, students who use a fast internet based on optical cable technology will benefit more from the virtual learning community as compared to those who use outdated technologies. The computer operating systems used by the students might also not be compatible with the technology that supports the virtual learning community system. Thus the main challenge is developing a learning community software package that is compatible with a variety of both hardware and software packages. This has discouraged most online degree programs from using the learning communities.

Social Challenges

These include varying levels of understanding and the intentions of the users. Students have different levels of understanding. Consequently, some of them can not understand the course content if they do not get personalized instructions (McEliath & McDowell, 2008). Providing personalized instructions has always been difficult since most instructors focus on the “learning community as an entity rather than individuals” (Brown, 2001). Varying intentions of using the learning communities also limits the students’ ability to share information.

Conclusion

The above discussion indicates that a virtual learning community is a system that brings together learners from diverse backgrounds (Lewis & Allan, 2004). Most online degree programs have adopted it to enhance learning. Its main benefit is facilitating the seamless sharing of information and networking among students. However, implementation has been difficult due to the reasons discussed above. Thus to overcome the above challenges, the system should be flexible enough to accommodate the communication and learning needs of the students. Besides, real-time support should be available to enhance usage.

References

Assaf, W., Elisa, G., & Fayyuoum, A. (2009). Virtual eBMS: a virtual learning community supporting personalized learning. International Journal of Web Based Communities, 5(2), 238-254.

Brown, E. (2001). The process of community-building in distance learning classes. Journal of Asynchronous Learning,5(1), 18-35.

Fontainha, E. (2008). Communities of practise and virtual learning communications: benefits, barriers and success factors. Journal of Online Teaching and Learning, 3(2), 120-130.

Lewis, D., & Allan, B. (2004). Virtual learning communities: a guide for practitioners. New York: McGraw-Hill.

McEliath, E., & McDowell, K. (2008). Pedagogical strategies for building community in graduate level distance education courses. Journal of Online Teaching and Learning, 4(1), 117-127.

Vesely, P., & Bloom, L. (2007). Key Elemnts of building online community: comparing faculty and student perceptions. Journal of Online Learning and teaching, 3(1), 234-246.

Williams, R., & Humphrey, R. (2007). Understanding and fostering interactions in threaded discussions. Journal of Asynchronous Learning, 11(1), 129-143.

Virtual high school is an example of an educational institution that offers distance learning to students all over the world. It is an institution of learning that provide education and training through the use of internet or online. Virtual High school is an appropriate educational institution in the world. The concept of Virtual high school can be appropriate in most district schools because of the rapid spread of technology in schools.

Many district schools around the world and in particular America have introduced computer discipline in their teaching program or syllabus. The teaching of computer as a subject in school has made the use of computer easier among the students and teaching staff. Students are capable of searching for information online, and through such practices, many students have stood a better chance of acquiring education through or by distance learning.

In recent times, the quality of distance learning has gained bountiful improvement in the last few years as educators and students become friendly with technology. Virtual High school is appropriate for many district schools because students can study in the U.S while still in their home country. Distance learning, as portrayed by Virtual high school, is deemed necessary since it cuts down the inconveniences associated with the acquisition of student visa. This is to say that students from district schools can access education in the United States, regardless of their location from the training centres (Zucker & Kozma, 2003).

Distance learning is quite flexible to many people with irregular schedules of work. To some extend, distance learning is considered crucial because it offers students or people with restricted mobility the opportunity to access education. People with restricted mobility include injured, handicapped and elderly, among others. This implies that district schools in lines with virtual High school are of much importance to both the educators and students.

There are several distance learning providers that include Florida Virtual high school, Michigan virtual high school, Apex Learning, Class com and K-12 Inc. The similarity experienced in such distance learning providers includes online teaching. These distance learning providers offer education programs to their target students through the internet (Zucker & Kozma, 2003)

Another similarity is that they offer people with restricted mobility the opportunity to acquire education through the internet. Such providers are not biased since they could offer education to people of different races and origin-based to the fact that they possess the required qualifications. They offer a wide range of subjects to students all over the world. For instance, law, medicine and zoo are among the most disciplines treasured by such distance learning providers.

The difference among these distance learning providers is that some of them target their citizens more than non-citizens. The criteria used by these providers in the selection of students differ very much. Through studies, it has been evident that the quality of education offered by distance learning providers differs based on their curriculums (Zucker & Kozma, 2003).

References

Zucker, A. A & Kozma, R. (2003). The virtual high school: Teaching Generation V. London: Teachers College Press.

Tone and Presence

Weiss (47) creates a pragmatic reasoning behind the appropriate way of designing the tone of an online class. An online class must be stationed to develop a personal touch between all participants and allow the formation of an interactive learning and teaching conditions. In a bid to set up a class tone, I will develop the following activity during the initial session of the course.

I will develop an interactive group work at different times. Each of these groups will comprise of 10 compulsory students and any other class member willing to participate in the topic. The 10 student will be expected to attend the group for a period. Since the group work will be scheduled at different times of the day, other registered students will be allowed to participate during the sessions. I will setup 20 minutes towards the end of the discussion to assess and attend issues of every group. In this way, the students will not only argue the purposes and significance of the course to their life, but also create an interactive session among the students and their instructor. This topic has been selected to elevate the vigor of participation in order to provide a broad coverage. Furthermore, the group members will come up with 20 ideas on purposes and significances of the course. The ideas will be submitted to the facilitator during the 20 minutes intervention. As the instructor, I will assess the group chats and video sessions in order to guide the students. In this regard, the learners will be directed according to their comments and participation on the group. Essentially, all students should participate and interact adequately when meeting in order to make it lively.

Application of Principles

Videos are among the multimedia learning objects most applied in presenting better learning of online courses. From the MerlotPlace on Youtube, I chose a video explaining the use of e-learning while using Merlot. The video titled as “Announcing MERLOT II: Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching” has been recorded through the modern HD image capturing systems to facilitate clear visualization (Ferlazzo 15). The flow of ideas and organization of the presentation is organized in a smart way (Valdes 143). There is no wastage of time while explaining the various ideas regarding the use of Merlot. Coherence of the video presentation is a standing principle in this multimedia. Essentially, the coherence of the video assists student to understand the ideas. The video allows the student to internalize the ideas discussed by the facilitator.

The video can be incorporated into a blackboard as a reference for students. Furthermore, it can be enhanced by creating suspense to make it appealing. For instance, the topic can be presented as a question, which may trigger the learners to seek answers. Redundancy can be handled through enabling students to rewind or fast-forward the video (Ferlazzo 87). This multimedia allows students to observe the physical expression of the instructor, which is a fundamental factor in learning effectively. It has also enabled the learners to study the voice of the facilitator, which dictates the tone of a presentation. Videos can boost the interactive capacity of an online class. I would setup a principle to use videos maximally in order to integrate them into the learning system. In this way, the learners will get insight and become motivated to use them often. I can implement this ideology by referring students to MerlotPlace for video lectures.

Planning the Learning Object

The learning object will be a video covering how to make an effective e-learning platform (Clark and Mayer 47). The video will be used to enlighten students on creating multimedia presentations that will not depict time wastage during presentation. The video lesson will be a passive fashion allowing all learners to observe through the lesson. Essentially, this will imply that there will be illustrations and discussions while explaining how to create an effective e-learning class. The lesson will be conducted using a projector and board like most physical classes. This class will happen in real time to involve the students in direct participation and clarifications. At the end of the lesson, the learners will understand:

1. The advantages of time management while participating in online classes
2. The application of various tools facilitating interaction
3. The organization of students in the platform

The video will be released to the learners as a movie to be streamed using electronic devices during class progress. Its format will enable accessibility through such devices as Android, iPhones, iPads, and computers among others in order to ensure that most people watch (Dewey 13). Furthermore, the movie will be set at various qualities including high definition formats. This factor will enable devices to select the most fitting quality depending on the speed of internet connections. The lesson will be delivered using the blackboard where other materials such as texts and ideas about the instructions will be posted. An assistant will attend the discussions and enquiries in order to deliver relevant questions to the instructor. The instructor will use the discussion board to provide responses regarding other questions after the presentation.

Developing the Learning Object

Researchers have paid attention to various applications of video modeling in the education system while paying attention to mentoring research, cyber-bulling, and satisfying the teachers’ needs through VSM. The procedures of developing a 5-7 passive video for the learners is prudent in online classes. The first approach will be to set up a class meeting time at the available time. It will start by making an introduction regarding the topic. The instructor will navigate the PowerPoint presentation using a projector to show images and any other illustration. There are various factors that can be implemented to enlighten the learners on avoiding time waste. These factors will be delivered directed by encouraging students to avoid interactions that will not assist in the class improvements. It may also be implemented by motivating learners to pay attention on the learning procedures.

The second learning outcome will be addressed by showing the tool used for learning online and explaining the relevance to online learning. In a bid to manage the learners, the instructor will show how the class should be organized by selecting one consultant. The consultant will seek and receive information from the lecturer in place of all the other students. A consultant can mediate questions and provide answers that have been provided by the instructor. It is about the use of VSM by the larners and the effects of online applications of videos through such social sites as Facebook and MerlotPlace. It shows how these videos propagate issues and create tensions among the learners. It also depicts how cyber bullying has led to huge emotional influences and suicides among students. However, the review informs that appropriate use of videos may assume the role of counseling in bullying as well as guiding the people affected.

Finally, the literature review addresses how video modeling has satisfied the requirements of the instructors (Foster 212). It informs that diverse teaching methods and replicable capabilities have managed to instruct learners continuously. It presents current information about various forms of content knowledge and predicts the future trends for of the education system.

Introduction

As a part of my module in information literacy and communities of practice, I have created a website that has a couple of resources on the module. On the homepage, I have put my picture and a short self-introduction. Still, on the homepage, on the left side, there are links to my university and notes on communities of practice, information literacy, and theorist of learning. Also, there are links to other web pages like the university library, Harvard Referencing Guide, and YouTube video on communities of practice.

This site has been created via Google Sites. This required me to first of all create an email account with Google so as to create my site. During the creation, I had to choose one of the coloristic themes and then insert the contents I wished. Since this site is a tool for information sharing, I have created a space where readers are able to leave their comments on feedbacks.

An individual is said to be information literate, if he is able to know when he needs information, find it, assess it, and utilize it successfully to his need (Snyder 2000, p.386). On the other hand, a community of practice has been known to mean a crowd of people who are in the same career or share the same interest (Allen 2009, p.309). Within these communities, individuals are able to share knowledge and experiences, thereby, learning from each other. Through these communities, people are able to improve their professionalism and also develop personally (Wenger 2009, p.78). It has been found that people tend to seek information from their peers rather than reading books and journals (Wenger E. 1998, p.89).

This is because the communities of the same practice formed are more welcoming. Therefore, communities of the same practice become very crucial in helping one to be information literate. The tools commonly used in this 21^st century include discussion boards, file sharing, and blogs (Salmon 2004, p.46).

Reflective discussion about your own learning space

Before the creation of any E-learning space, it is crucial to investigate what the characteristics of a community are. All members of this community have a certain common interest. In this area of interest, each one among them has a certain level of proficiency such that he is able to share valuable information with the other members (Stephenson 2001, p.231). The interest is what is called a domain, and all members must be committed to it. The members of these communities have to re-organize their social setting in a way that it will make it easy for them to actively engage in learning and teaching (Penelope 1999, p.213).

This means that they have to meet in one way or the other. It might be a meeting where they are all present physically or through the internet. Either way, they have to be in a situation where their thoughts are aired and discussed at the same time. Sometimes, these meetings happen in unexpected ways. Since the interest revolves around what members practice, the meeting can occur on a bus with a stranger or a person next to you in a cafe (Giddens 1994, p.67).

Before I started creating my learning space, I had to look at other already created learning spaces, such as Etienne Wenger’s web site, so as to learn one or two things. A learning space is where members of a common practice share information or where the actual learning takes place. In this case, the learning space is a website. I built this site for the purposes of developing myself personally, and to give others an opportunity to learn more and to receive inspiration. Obviously, learning spaces influence the way teaching and learning is done. Therefore, I had to ensure that the site was in accordance with some theories of learning that deeply consider social settings.

Albert Bandura is one of the education theorists who believed that the social setting greatly influenced the way people learn. Adding to the popular belief that the environment influences one’s behavior, he said that, one’s behavior is capable of influencing the environment (Lave 2009, p.80). The learning space (website) created, has the potential to influence other people. Similarly, Lev Vygotsky seemed to have the same idea when he projected the social-cultural learning theory.

This theory stipulates that children have an area slightly past the normal understanding called Zone of Proximal Development. One is able to reach this zone if he has the guidance of an adult who is thoroughly conversant with the area of interest. This means that, with correct guidance from an expert, one is able to comprehend more complicated subjects than would otherwise have.

Jerome Bruner could not agree with the above fellow theorists more. He acknowledged Vygotsky’s idea of other people influencing the learning of children. However, he added that learning is done through 3 main modes; words and numbers, actions, and pictures. His belief was motivated by the fact that these three modes surround us every day and everywhere. Thus, there is no way learning and socialization can be separated (Cooper 2010, p.58). He actually emphasized the use of these modes in learning and teaching. This ideology is common in E-learning. This is seen through the use of images, written text, and sharing of videos.

From the adult learning theory, it is seen that adults prefer to be actively engaged in the learning practice and also prefer to have some suppleness. Adults would rather have a model that gives them more freedom when it comes to participating. Websites and other E-learning tools just offer that.

The site I created is more personalized (since it has my picture and favorite colors) and is an ideal place to exchange information; due to the possibility of leaving a comment. It is also flexible and interactive in the sense that people can leave comments and access information at any time they wish. Comments are posted in real-time allowing the bloggers to collaborate and solve problems simultaneously. There is also a search option where readers are able to search for specific content on the site.

Evaluation of the online learning experience

From the CoP theory, I have been able to evaluate my site to see if it is effective enough. From the module, the objectives should be clearly identified. On my homepage, I have introduced myself and clearly explained the intention of building this site. Also, I have tried to make it as attractive as possible even though I had to choose one of the many color schemes provided. I choose to have my texts in white hoping it would look bold and clear for the reader.

I have used the Basic English language which is okay with many readers since now it’s almost an international language. The site is easy to use since all the links are clearly visible on the left side of any page. Furthermore, the links are arranged in a logical manner from top to bottom. Links start with my university and the following links dive straight into the subject matter.

When evaluating the pedagogical dimensions, I found that the domain here is information literacy and communities of practice (Benedict 2000, p.142). The community comprises students who have a similar module and may wish to find more information regarding information literacy. However, this does not exclude individuals who have the same interest since the information present is easy to understand (McDermott 2008, p.35).

The community that will be attracted to this site will be (are expected) to practice education or are in the field of education. The specific interest is as mentioned earlier; information literacy and communities of practice. The community is expected to participate by leaving comments on the site and also sharing their thoughts on the main subjects (Annalee 1996, p.342).

After reviewing my site and my peer’s site and reading reviews, I found it to have some strengths and also weaknesses. My greatest strength lies in the fact that I have used many differing sources. Every piece of information is properly referenced and well presented. To avoid boredom, I have presented my information in three ways, through text, pictures, and a video (Leigh 2006, p.62). I have used pictures of various theorists and also I have a YouTube video of Wenger explaining what communities of practice are.

Other than that, my site has brilliant colors making it very attractive. The greatest weakness of my site is that it does not have more information on some of the definitions used in my module. So, on its own, it does not give full comprehensive information. Some of the strengths of my peer’s site are; enough referenced information that has been well presented. This means that more research was done and articles and book sections were posted on the page.

A lot of focus was given to the theory; something which I did not do. However, their sites were plain and boring. There were no attractive blends of colors. Also, most of the information was in the text, thereby, the reader is likely to get bored somewhere in the middle. Other sites like Home Communities of Practice are more advanced than mine in the sense that they have weekly activities and numerous resources. I believe my site could be improved if I add more materials; especially on theory.

Working collaboratively

As a group, we held meetings regularly to discuss what should be on our sites. In these discussions, every one of us contributed by sharing ideas, hosting the meeting, and providing resources. However, everyone had to do individual research in the library and the internet so as to come up with relevant materials. It is through these meetings that we agreed on an article on which we would work on. I researched the material that I put on my learning space from the library and the internet. Also, I have given others the opportunity to add any information they feel is necessary through the comments/review page. I have contributed to my peer’s site by leaving comments and my thoughts on the site and the information in it.

Conclusion

Through this module, I have learned how to search and find relevant information on the internet. The information on the internet is vast; therefore, I had to choose the information which I thought would be relevant to my readers. That meant I had to go through numerous pieces of information so as to get the relevant ones. Through the research, I have also gained a great wealth of information regarding education theories and the different types of communities of practice.

On top of that, I have learned to effectively work with others in a group. Group discussions meant that we had to meet at a specific time. This taught me how to organize myself such that I would be in time for the meetings and ready to make a contribution. Occasionally, we had to change our meeting venue and time so that most of us would be present. This taught me how to be flexible and accommodating to others.

What I found to be very useful are the lecturer’s notes and mostly the lectures themselves. They helped me a lot when it came to deciding what the content and layout of my site should be. Group discussions were also helpful, especially when it came to creating the website. However, I had some difficulties in the initial stages of using a program to create a website. Also, I could not quite locate the necessary information I needed. Online learning space provides a lot of information on various topics. In the future, I intend to use such information to build on my career as a teacher and also share my experiences with other readers.

References

Allen, C., 2009. Information Literacy. New York: Sage.

Annalee, S., 1996. Culture and Competition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Benedict, A., 2000. Imagined Communities. London: Verso.

Cooper, B., 2010. Seeking Information in the Twenty First Century. Seattle: Handy Lave.

Giddens, A., 1994. The Dynamics of Science and Research. London: Sage.

Lave, J., 2009. Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Leigh, S., 2006. Communities of Practice: Who are They? Stanford CA: Stanford University Press.

McDermott, R., 2008. Learning Across Teams. Knowledge Management Review , 8 (4), p.32-36.

Penelope, E., 1999. Social Categories In High Schools. New York: Twachers College Press.

Salmon, G., 2004. E-Moderating, The Key to Teaching and Learning OnLine. London: Taylor and Francis.

Snyder, W., 2000. The Organizational Frontier. London: Verso.

Stephenson, J., 2001. Teaching & learning online : new pedagogies for new technologies. London: Kogan.

Wenger, E., 1998. Communities of practice: learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press7.

Wenger, E., 2009. Digital Habitats: stewarding technology for communities. Portland: Cpsquare.

Evaluating Online Tools and Effective E-Learning Practices

There are four fundamental elements of a typical online classroom. These elements include students, curriculum, facilitator and technology. Each of these four aspects is conjoined to work together. If one of them fails, then the overall functionality of a virtual classroom becomes compromised. Essentially, the students represent the most basic part of these elements. They give purpose to the setup of online class by making learning practical and funding its progress. The students study the curriculum set by a state, country or globe. This curriculum allows education to reach the acceptable learning standards, which are capable of directing people with the reliable skills and experiences. In a bid to attain such standards, the online classroom needs an instructor referred to as a facilitator to guide learners across the curriculum.

Finally, all these elements are brought together through an online platform designed to reach people in various parts of the globe technologically. The delivery of online learning sessions is implemented by organizing these four elements strategically. For instance, they can use discussion boards and video session to discuss and interact. Assignments are issued and received using the same platform where such plagiarism checkers as Turnitin are used to evaluate the originality of work. The class management should setup a timetable for online classes and discussion in order to ensure that learners and their teachers are socially present in a concurrent manner. Students who fail to attend such classes should be made accountable by using LMS fully.

Keengwe, Onchwari, and Agamba argue that technology should be infused constructively to fit the teaching and learning principles (Keengwe, Onchwari and Agamba 887). The Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 Learning Management System (LMS) should be customized to register and log in to classes, submit assignments, receive accountability messages from student who fail to attend, and collect the overall level of responsiveness in online activities. Finally, it is prudent to create a reliable digital library to ease the accessibility of multimedia that students can use to study in an online class. In fact, the multimedia can be used to create and invite students into online seminars. The learners can be referred to reliable wikis and blogs to integrate the ideas learnt from the class. A facilitator may decide to post such learning materials by connecting the discussion board with the sites.

LMS and PLN Decisions

The LMS enables learners to study and interact regardless of separations caused by distance. It creates an affordable learning system that would be expensive due to cost of travelling over long distances. In this manner, the desires of people to learn are not limited by distance and time. It is also a very accessible learning platform where issues can be handled remotely (Fuchs 763). However, LMS can boost or encourage deceit. The students registered in various courses may not necessarily be real. Furthermore, the originality of submissions made by students may not reflect the actual knowledge of learners because it can be completed by another person. Such platforms of LMS as Blackboard are effective in creating online learning environment. This popular software can be customized to fit the learning processes of World University.

It does not only provide reliable LMS, but also allows students and facilitators to make customizations on their LMS accounts (Black et al. 36). The other pros of LMS include; provision of instant results, convenience of educators in terms of time and cost, provision of a discussion platform for students, as well as diverse learning tools availed in it. On the other hand, the implementation of the system is costly especially because each learning system is independent (Siemens 204). This aspect is attributed to the needs of each learning platform where procedures are entirely distinct per course. Apparently, LMS has been facilitated by the prevalence of social media and PLNs. These factors have allowed people to accept and embrace the use of computers and mobile devices in their life processes. This aspect has facilitated the marketing of online LMS. In this respect, the emerging Blackboard intended for World University should endorse similar capabilities to facilitate personal touch amongst students within and outside the class sessions.

Web Tools and the Classroom

The improvement of information technology has facilitated the delivery of varying and significant learning materials. In this regard, learners are able to use videos and books when seeking clarifications on various issues. First, research and development is creating reliable tools to facilitate learning on online courses (Naik and Shivalingaiah 499). Naik and Shivalingaiah informed that the accessibility of social participation is a credible outreach throughout the globe. Secondly, researchers have endorsed this argument by providing the constructivism procedure of the web 3.0 from earlier models (Aghaei, Ali and Khosravi 1). In this manner, LMS is expected to improve and make education highly efficient. This aspect has been enhanced by progressive internet penetration and software engineering (Rajiv and Lal 335).

The other point is that the advancement of study tools is making the virtual classes effective and interactive. In fact, the growth of interactive behaviors ordained by learners is making online learning acceptable throughout the world (Rajiv and Lal 335). However, it must be recognized that some learning activities cannot be learnt theoretically. There must be strategies to perform experiment and boost physical interactions between students. This aspect implies that the virtual classes must have physical meetings when required. They can be represented through connecting universities across the globe or building institutions to reduce the physical distances between learners and their instructors. The development of the Web 2.0 to Web 3.0 has contributed to LMS improvement. Such an advancement system initiates the sequential progress of new and better teaching and learning tools. Therefore, it makes online learning an acceptable way of delivering instructions especially in respect to its exceptional advantages. Researchers have postulated progressively about the positive effects of online learning with the Web 3.0 technologies (Rajiv and Lal 336).

Works Cited

Aghaei, Sareh, Mohammad Ali and Hadi Khosravi. “Evolution of the World Wide Web: From Web 1.0 to Web 4.0.” International Journal of Web & Semantic Technology 3.1 (2012): 1-10. Print.

Naik, Umesha and Dean Shivalingaiah. “Comparative Study of Web 1.0, Web 2.0 and Web 3.0.” International CALIBER 5.4 (2008): 499-508. Print.

Rajiv, Singh and Manohar Lal. “Web 3.0 in Education and Research.” International Journal of Information Technology 3.2 (2011): 335-341. Print.

What factors must be considered when implementing an innovative technology internally? What factors must be considered when implementing an externally acquired innovative techology? How do the implementaion issues differ? How are they the same?

The recommended innovative technology will support the goals of this institution. The online school will use social networking technology to realize its learning objectives. The institution should consider some factors before implementing this innovative technology. The first issue is the financial capability of the institution. The technological expertise at the high school is also necessary. The school should evaluate the students’ ability to use the suggested networking technology. The school should examine the availability of the best resources in order to support this innovative technology. The preparedness of the school is also critical towards the success of this innovative technology (White & Bruton, 2007).

These considerations will ensure the innovative internal technology is successful. The decision to implement an externally acquired innovative technology can make the high school successful. The institution should also investigate the technological developments and challenges encountered by the school. The school should also examine the benefits and bottlenecks of the new technology. The complexity of business partnership is also critical before making the best decision. Implementation issues differ in terms of financial costs and preparedness. The decision to come up with innovative technology will affect the financial position of the organization. The strategy will also require proper training and orientation. The school should employ new workers in order to support and manage this innovative technology. An externally acquired innovative technology will be cheaper and applicable. The school should examine every issue associated with business partnership and acquisition. The approach will support the institution’s goals.

What factors must be considered when evaluating an internally implemented innovative technology? Why?

The technologists involved in the implementation process should assess the effectiveness of the system. This practice examines the gains and challenges encountered after acquiring the system. The relevant committee should also examine how innovative technology will support the school’s culture. The evaluation approach should examine the effectiveness of the system in order to support the needs of every learner. The preparedness of the staff is critical throughout the implementation and acquisition process (White & Bruton, 2007). The school should appraise the training and support programs in order to realize its goals. The evaluation process should assess the needs of the learners and the institution. The practice will make these systems relevant and meaningful. The financial aspects associated with the newly implemented system are critical. The institution should allocate the best resources and support systems in order to make innovative technology successful. The evaluators should also consider the challenges and failures associated with this technology. The strategy will make the new system effective towards realizing the targeted goals.

What factors must be be considered when acquiring an innovative technology externally? Why?

Technologists should consider some factors whenever acquiring innovative external technology. The nature of the business agreement or contract is critical. The institution should have a proper guideline before acquiring this innovative technology. The school should also analyze its competitiveness. The practice will ensure the innovative technology does not threaten the company’s goals and objectives. The effectiveness of innovative technology is also necessary. The institution should analyze the possible benefits of this external technology (White & Bruton, 2007). The company should also examine the success rate of the social networking system. The strategy will ensure the company makes the best decisions regarding this new technology. The high school’s position is critical towards the success of the innovative technology. The firm should examine the effectiveness of its support strategies and resources. The school should ensure its financial strength supports the implementation process.

Reference

White, M., & Bruton, G. (2007). The Management of Technology and Innovation. Mason, OH: Cengage.

The rapid rise of technologies and the evolution of communication means resulted in the appearance of new approaches to the learning process. At the moment, individuals have a wide range of opportunities to improve their knowledge and acquire additional information. The Internet and mediated means of communication contributed to the reconsideration of the existing methods of studying and to the creation of an individualized approach used to take into account the needs of all learners and satisfy them by suggesting different learning specifications (Jain, Sharma, Joachims, & Saxena, 2015). Under these conditions, developing a checklist that might be used to identify and design online learning specifications becomes crucial. It will help to create the most efficient and, at the same time, a convenient method that will guarantee improved outcomes and outstanding final results.

First of all, creating an efficient checklist should be preceded by the assessment of the basic needs of primary learners who are engaged in the studying process. To understand the main directions in which the course should be developed and elaborate an appropriate theoretic framework, learners should be asked questions to determine the current state of their knowledge, basic needs, and ideas about the specification courses (Chen, 2016). In this regard, the need for a checklist becomes obvious. It could be used as the primary assessment tool to collect the most critical data and create the methodology which could be considered appropriate for a particular case. For this reason, the creation of a checklist becomes an integral part of the online learning specification practice.

Besides, the checklist consisting of several important questions could be suggested

1. What are your basic learning needs?
2. What is the sphere of your interests?
3. What is the appropriate design for your online courses?
4. What is the main reason for taking this learning specification?

Thus, the list of questions could be continued depending on the learning specification and the desired outcomes.

The given checklist will help to collect the data needed for the improved specification and choice of the most appropriate methodology. Therefore, there is an excellent need for storing this data. It could be used to create standardized mechanisms of assessment using similarities in needs and demands. For this reason, personal data about preferences should be stored. It will help to choose courses more efficiently and become more helpful. Moreover, statistical information related to the most frequent choices should also be collected and processed. In the course of the operating room’s functioning, new sets of data will be collected and contribute to the improved outcomes (Smith, Basham, Rice, & Carter, 2016).

Therefore, considering the character of the above-mentioned data, we could assume that at least two types of databases should be created. The first one is needed to collect, process, and structure the information about the choices and preferences of all individuals who are suggested online learning specifications. This same database will help to consider the main tendencies in different spheres and increase the efficiency of offered services. The second database should incorporate personal data related to individuals who have the need for additional learning specifications. This sort of information contributes to the creation of logical links between spheres of interest and learning specifications. The usage of both these databases will result in the increased efficiency of an operating room and help to work faster. Therefore, both these databases should be relational. The tables containing the most critical data rows will be needed to increase the efficiency of data search and the whole process.

References

Chen, R. (2016). Learner perspectives of online problem-based learning and applications from cognitive load theory. Psychology Learning & Teaching, 15(2), 195-203. Web.

Jain, A., Sharma, S., Joachims, T., & Saxena, A. (2015). Learning preferences for manipulation tasks from online coactive feedback. The International Journal of Robotics Research, 34(10), 1296-1313. Web.

Smith, S., Basham, J., Rice, M., & Carter, R. (2016) Preparing special educators for the K–12 online learning environment. Journal of Special Education Technology, 31(3), 170-178. Web.

Introduction

Technology has brought massive changes in the field of education as the stakeholders try to develop an improved learning environment. According to the research by West & West (2009), there has been an effort by the stakeholders to come up with an interactive communication system in the field of education that would allow learners to share ideas through online means. The learning environment has been changing rapidly over the years as the stakeholders try to come up with virtual classrooms.

Albadri (2013) says that, in the current society, the physical learning environment is fast losing its relevance as people try to eliminate the geographic barriers. It is now common for Harvard University to admit students from various countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, and other parts of the world without the need to have them in a physical classroom on the campuses of this university. This has been enabled by some of the modern interactive technologies that are currently in use in some of the learning institutions.

However, the fact that students can learn from different parts of the world through an online platform does not mean that the need for collaborative work among students has been eliminated. Collaboration among students has become even more necessary than before, as students struggle to learn and share new ideas. It means that there is a need for interactive platforms that would allow learners in different geographic locations to share their ideas without the need to converge in a physical classroom setting. Wikis have been considered as some of the most appropriate interactive platforms that can be used by students to encourage collaborative work in online classes. In this research, the focus is to determine the importance of using wikis to encourage collaborative work in online classes.

Justification of the research

The use of wikis among learners has gained popularity in the recent past as stakeholders try to develop interactive platforms for online students. Online learning eliminates the physical classroom that was traditionally used to pass knowledge. In its place, it is introducing a platform where learners can attend their lectures online, get the notes and assignments online, and even do their assignments through online means.

The problem is that the entire process seems to ignore the relevance of enabling students to interact and share their ideas in the learning environment. This explains the reason why the use of interactive platforms has been regarded as being useful for online students to enable them to share ideas and build a strong base of knowledge. According to Folio and Kreinberg (2010), wikis have been considered the most important interactive platforms that can be used by online learners to promote collaborative work. Although this field has attracted a number of researchers, it is worrying that there is yet to be a consensus on this issue.

While a section of the scholars argues that wikis have enabled learners to share their ideas and critique the works of their peers, another section believes that the impact of this technology is almost negligible as far as the promotion of collaborative work is concerned. It is important to have a clear path that should be taken to promote collaborative work among online learners. These contradictory opinions affect the development of this aspect of learning. For this reason, this research seeks to determine the relevance of wikis in encouraging collaborative work in online classes. Using both secondary and primary data collected through observations and sharing with the relevant stakeholders, the research seeks to give a position on the relevance of the wikis to the learners.

Current status of research in the field

The field of online education has attracted the attention of many scholars who have conducted massive researches on various aspects of this field. Online learning has received attention in the recent past as people try to balance their work-life and education. However, the scholar notes that the use of wikis in the learning environment is yet to receive adequate attention from the researchers. Most of the researches have been concentrated on online learning and the relevance of the emerging technologies on education (Allwardt, 2011). When some of the interactive platforms such as Facebook and Tweeter were introduced into the global society, many educationists complained that it would kill the culture of learning. This was so because people used the sites to share issues about their own life. Learners who had access to the World Wide Web no longer had time for study because most of their free time would be spent on social media.

When the wiki was finally introduced, many people did not expect that it would play an important role in promoting a healthy learning environment. In fact, others thought that it would have negative consequences on the learners. It is because of this reason that the field has not received adequate attention from the relevant scholars. It would be vital to appreciate the current works that are underway in this field, but many of them are yet to be published. This is why there is yet to be a consensus on this issue. This makes this research an important source of information that can be used by the policymakers, learners, educators, and other relevant stakeholders to define their opinion towards the use of wikis to promote collaborative working environments.

The Relevance of Using Wikis to Encourage Collaborative Work in Online Classes

The field of online classes has experienced massive transformations over the past decade. At first, online learning was very popular among the working class individuals who were interested in advancing their education but had limited time to attend classes. However, the stakeholders realized that it could be very useful even for other learners. Currently, online learning is very popular, especially in the social sciences. According to recent researches, it is a fact that online classes will define the future of the classrooms not only for the social sciences classes but also for the pure sciences (Wagner & Majchrzak, 2007).

There has been a concern among the stakeholders that online classes are eliminating the collaborative works that exist in a physical classroom setting. The best way of making learners understand different concepts is to allow them to share amongst themselves. Such interactive forums allow these learners to give an output of their own understanding of what is taught. These forums help in correcting any misconceptions and in coming up with new ideas that would advance their knowledge. This would be easily executed in a physical classroom setting where learners can form learning groups. It has widely been believed that it may not be possible to develop such groups in online settings (Koopman, 2011). However, the interactive online platforms have confirmed that even in online classes, forming collaborative groups is possible.

Wikis have been widely used as online interactive platforms by the learners to promote collaborative learning environment.

Wikis can support audio visuals, which makes it possible to share knowledge among learners. A student can conduct research, make a presentation, record the presentation, and then post it online for members of his or her group to review. He or she will also be able to review the presentation of other learners through these wikis. The learners can then settle down and share their views about the presentation of others and what their opinions are over a given topic (Kissel, Hathaway & Wood, 2010). In such forums, students will easily correct one another, share some new knowledge that could have been learnt in the process of conducting research, or ask other classmates the relevant questions that one could not get valid answers to during the research process. The audio-visuals are very effective when it comes to the issue of demonstrating an issue to the colleagues.

Wikis offer learners a rare opportunity to develop collaborative study notes that they think can be of benefit to other learners in the same field. In fact, the Wikipedia offers learners the opportunity to publish their ideas about a given field or topic to the entire world. They are provided with a framework that they should follow, and then allowed to develop information over that topic. Peers are given the opportunity to review the information provided by the previous author and make the relevant amendments whenever this is necessary. It means that the original author will get to know about the points that were missed in his or her presentation. According to McLeod & Lehmann (2012), learners have greatly benefitted from the collaborative notes found in the wikis. Most learners would rush to Wikipedia whenever they want to learn a new concept or topic in a given field. The notes would help offer them the basic knowledge upon which they can advance their researches.

Wikis provide the discussion forums to learners where they can debate over different topics and arrive at a consensus. These debates are always initiated after giving an overview over a given issue. Through these discussions, one can easily get to learn of new information about the topic under discussion. They also get to share new knowledge they have on the topic. This knowledge sharing approach in handling a topic makes it easy for learners to advance their knowledge on a given field. Such processes are always very successful when they are guided by the educators who may act as regulators.

The educators will act as observers who allow learners to share their views, but only comes in when the discussion gets off the track. In such forums, the educators will be able to determine the level of understanding of a topic that was taught previously. This will help the educator understand the effectiveness of his or her teaching techniques. Wikis have been lauded for their simplicity and availability for the learners whenever they need them. Once posted on the wikis, the information will always be available for individuals who are interested in them at any time (Reich, Murnane & Willett, 2012). Learners heavily rely on them, especially when there is a need to conduct a mini-research on a given topic within a short period. They are also easy to use because they do not require any special skills from users. Whenever there is a debate on a given topic made on the wikis, scholars can always make follow-ups, to understand the views of different people over the topic.

Challenges of using wikis to encourage collaborative work in online classes

A large section of the stakeholders in the education industry now believes that wikis have the potential to encourage collaborative work in online classes. However, a number of problems have reduced this potential, making the wikis highly unreliable, hence inappropriate for the learners (Albadri, 2013). The freedom offered in this platform gives the opportunity for unscrupulous individuals to give a misleading information about the topic under discussion. This is always common in cases where the debates are not closely regulated by someone in authority. The constant editing of these sites creates a scenario where the information that one finds in these platforms today may be very different from what will be found tomorrow. This makes it almost impossible to verify the information in these sites. Most learners rarely look for educative information when they get to the website.

The massive sources of entertainment easily sway them from educative forums, making it difficult for them to engage in online discussions. In some cases, a learner may post information on the wikis, expecting the peers to review it and give their feedback on time so that the research may proceed (Qian & Johnston, 2012). However, some are forced to wait for very long as these peers rarely get to read the materials. Some may not receive the reviews at all. These issues should be addressed amicably for the wikis to be relevant in the promotion of collaborative work, in online classes.

Research gaps

It was mentioned previously that this is a relatively new field that is yet to receive adequate attention from the relevant researchers. Although there is a general agreement among the current scholars that wikis have the potential of promoting collaborative work among the learners, a consensus still lacks on the current status of this technology in promoting an interactive academic relationship among the leaders. There is a gap in the knowledge about specific issues that need to be addressed in order to solve some of the problems that have been identified in this area of online education. This is what this research seeks to address so that wikis can be turned into an integral part of online education.

Conclusion

Online education has gained popularity in the recent past because people have realized the importance of education, but lacks the time to attend classes, or learners have been barred from attending classes because of the geographical factors. However, there has been a claim that online classes have eliminated collaborative work among the learners that may boost their understanding on various issues. Wikis seek to address this problem by introducing an interactive online platform where learners can share information and new concepts. Although some stakeholders have identified a number of issues that may make wikis be inappropriate platform for creating a positive collaborative environment for learners, there is a consensus among the stakeholders that this platform has a potential that is yet to be fully exploited. It is important, therefore, to find a way of addressing these issues in order to make this platform support the collaborative work in online classes.

References

Albadri, F. (2013). Information systems applications in the Arab education sector. Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference. Web.

Allwardt, D. (2011). Teaching Note: Writing With Wikis: A Cautionary Tale of Technology in the Classroom. Journal of Social Work Education, 47(3), 597-605. Web.

Folio, C., & Kreinberg, S. (2010). Blackboard and Wikis and Blogs, Oh My: Collaborative Learning Tools for Enriching Music History and Music Theory Courses. College Music Symposium, 50(49), 164-175. Web.

Kissel, B., Hathaway, J., & Wood, K. (2010). Research into Practice: Digital Collaborative Literacy: Using Wikis to Promote Social Learning and Literacy Development. Middle School Journal, 41(5), 58-64. Web.

Koopman, B. (2011). From Socrates to Wikis: Using Online Forums to Deepen Discussions. The Phi Delta Kappan, 92(4), 24-27. Web.

McLeod, S., & Lehmann, C. (2012). What school leaders need to know about digital technologies and social media. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Web.

Qian, H., & Johnston, E. (2012). Using a Wiki-Based Course Design to Create a Student-Centered Learning Environment: Strategies and Lessons. Journal of Public Affairs Education, 18(3), 493-512. Web.

Reich, J., Murnane, R., & Willett, J. (2012).The State of Wiki Usage in U.S. K–12 Schools: Leveraging Web 2.0 Data Warehouses to Assess Quality and Equity in Online Learning Environments. Educational Researcher, 41(1), 7-15. Web.

Wagner, C., & Majchrzak, A. (2007). Enabling Customer-Centricity Using Wikis and the Wiki Way. Journal of Management Information Systems, 23(3), 17-43. Web.

West, J. A., & West, M. L. (2009). Using wikis for online collaboration: The power of the read-write Web. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Web.

Tutors often face the challenge of effective delivery of lessons in the classroom given the diverse categories of students. However, technology has now made their work easy with the possibility of wider student coverage as well as availability of large variety of interactive methods. Virtual learning environments not only allow for ease of access to learning materials, but also electronic submission of assignments (Jisc Infornet, 2006).

However, virtual learning environments may curtail tutor-student interactions characteristic of a classroom situation, but this can be solved through discussions. Tutors should be careful not to become too engaged in creating learning materials at the expense of student. Tutors need to learn how to balance between content generation and delivery mode for the greater benefit of students. Focus should be on methods that can help students grasp the concepts faster as such methods facilitate learning.

Given the dynamic nature of technology, tutors should also consider applying dynamic learning methods. Virtual learning environments should be modified to ensure that they are effective not only in teaching, but also in learning. According to Jisc Infornet (2006), the idea of personalised learning environments (PLEs) is taking shape with advances in development of interoperability standards. The author identifies three key areas of focus namely learners’ ability to define and use learning support tools, link with institutional systems when needed, and keeping personalised learning environment.

Jisc Infornet (2006) also advises that sustainable and scalable courses should be problem-based, group work oriented and small chunked to cater for learner diversity. The author encourages reuse of resources, but also considers making own resources available for reuse across a number of different courses within a VLE an equally important strategy for efficient use of time.

Features of Design Sustainable to Learning

Virtual Learning Environments come in a variety of forms including videos, flash animations and learning objects (Jisc Infornet, 2006). Learning objects basically refer to blocks of content that can be interlinked to produce a course. These blocks of content can be recombined in different ways and reused across a number of courses. According to Jisc Infornet (2006), learning objects approach to course building is simplistic in nature, because it implies that ‘teaching’ is simply the transmission of blocks of content while ‘learning’ is the consumption of information. The author states that designing courses in small, reusable chunks may seem intuitive if paper based content from several sources are reused and repackaged into a single course. Courses should be designed in small chunks to help improve learner diversity, choice and selection.

Students should be able to reflect on and solve a problem within a group. However, students are inexperienced in assigning roles to group members and timetabling activities. Tutors can solve this problem through asking students to provide a weekly account of the progress of their project (Jisc Infornet, 2006). Students should be motivated to work together and share resources as this allows for mind jogging to come up with solutions, hence team building.

Face-to-face interaction is also very important as it allows students to grasp the content faster and with ease. Story boards and engaging in learning activities would be best suited for this. The tutor should consider each learner as an individual with different needs and apply different methods for each student needs (Jisc Infornet, 2006)

Reference

Jisc Infornet (2006). Effective use of VLEs: Designing for sustainability. Web.

Introduction

Online learning has been a primary topic of discussion during the last few years due to the changes that happened in the academic environment. The recent pandemic has caused educational institutions to apply a remote system for students, which was an unprecedented decision that has never occurred before. While the solution allowed students to access information and continue their studies, there was apprehension in regard to the efficacy of online learning and the outcomes such shifts have on students’ academic performances. However, researchers have examined online education and provided insight into certain factors that can ameliorate difficulties. Moreover, relevant literature exemplifies the overall reception of such concepts and the factors that can increase student satisfaction and perception of remote classes. The research questions are “How do students perceive online learning” and “How can online education become more effective?”

Online Learning

Online learning is a way for students to access academic information and attend classes remotely. This, however, correlates with difficulties such as the inability to interact with other students, possible difficulties with accessing the needed material, and the lack of direct communication with teachers. Researchers have conducted surveys, given questionnaires, and interviewed students in regard to their subjective opinion and objective measures in terms of the limitations and benefits of attending school without being physically in class.

Online Learning from the Students’ Perspectives

Much of the research on online learning was the student’s perspective on systematic change. Thus, studies have been performed to determine whether students perceive the shifts as effective or not and how their performances have changed when the environment implies online learning. One example is the research performed by Fetzner (2013), in which students who failed online classes participated in surveys in regard to their opinions on why the results were unsatisfactory. As exemplified by the author of the study, a common response was that the participants had gotten behind in the assignments and were not able to catch up (Fetzner, 2013). The findings suggest that students who have failed online courses may have been more successful if attention was directed toward the subjects that were properly understood or explained in-depth by the instructors. Such conclusions illustrate that students perceive online learning as less effective when the necessary resources are not allocated to ensure each person fully emerges in the learning process.

Another study that has exemplified students’ perception of online learning has examined engagement. Thus, to which extent students engage in classes illustrates how well the classes are being perceived and which factors create circumstances in which participants are less interested and prone to learning. The study performed by Muir et al. (2019) relied on relevant research and weekly questionnaires that students filled in in accordance with engagement. The findings reveal that online learning correlates with alienation and dull work, which leads to a decrease in overall engagement (Muir et al., 2019). Thus, students perceive the classes as less interesting, which ultimately makes them less resilient to studying remotely.

Student engagement has also been examined by other researchers in terms of the perception of different strategies that can be applied to enhance it. Researchers found that students are most engaged when collaborative effort and discussions are present among learners, teachers send regular announcements and well-organized rubrics, and the projects are related to real-world implementations (Martin & Bolliger, 2018). This relates to the perception of online learning as a way to mimic in-person classes through team effort, teacher involvement, and practical tasks.

Maximizing Effectiveness of Online Classes

It is certain that maximizing the effectiveness of online learning is the critical objective that has been examined by researchers through analyses of implementations and factors that facilitate a higher success rate. An example is research performed by Britto and Rush (2013), in which the author exemplified how a support team who can assist students in regard to online classes can contribute to high student satisfaction and, ultimately, high retention. Thus, the support team hired for the university examined by the researcher was to provide help and assistance to individuals who have encountered difficulties related to remote courses. The findings reveal the implementation to be successful since students attending in-person classes were also willing to receive such support (Britto & Rush, 2013). Thus, hiring people to provide instructions and assistance if needed can be an excellent addition to academic environments with available online courses.

Other researchers have focused on determining the factor that can enhance online learning by examining the perspective of students in regard to the aspects that are lacking. Thus, the study conducted by Kuong (2015) has determined that the concept that is missed in online courses compared to in-person ones is the lack of social connection. Moreover, the researcher has determined that using technology as a way of improving communication and interaction among individuals is an effective way of enhancing the experience. As a result, it is certain that communication is essential despite the lack of in-person interaction, and it can be improved through the use of online platforms. This can increase the level of satisfaction with the approach and academic performance as a result of higher engagement and retention.

Studies have also identified the support systems that appear to be most beneficial in regard to maximizing the success rate of students attending online courses. Milman et al. (2015) conducted surveys showing that master-degree students perceive course-level support to be the most efficient for reaching their academic goals. Thus, the support teams are to assist them in certain tasks and assignments by giving instructions and guiding them. Moreover, the researchers found disparities when it comes to white and non-white students in relation to the other support services that individuals find helpful. Non-white students have externalized the need to have career and counseling support compared to the responses of white students. The findings reveal that course-level support is crucial in allowing participants to understand and retain course information successfully. Moreover, additional services such as career and counseling assistance are also beneficial for those enrolled in online classes.

Conclusion

The topic of online learning is often reviewed by researchers with the purpose of determining how it affects students and which measures can be applied to mitigate potential problems. This is especially relevant due to the technological advancement that has narrowed the gap between information and learners. Relevant literature shows that students have a relatively positive perception in regard to remote courses, yet certain aspects are to be improved. Specifically, the areas of concern are the lack of appropriate assistance and communication with fellow students. The issues found by the authors correlate with the techniques that have been observed to be successful in making online learning effective. Namely, studies show the positive effects of having support systems and implementing online communication among peers to create interactive and team-based classes. As a result, it is inevitable that the limitations linked to a switch to remote learning can be ameliorated through strategies such as a focus on communication and the establishment of a support team that can assist students attending online classes.

References

Britto, M., & Rush, S. (2013). Developing and implementing comprehensive student support services for online students.Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 17(1), 29–42.

Fetzner, M. (2013). What do unsuccessful online students want us to know?Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 17(1).

Kuong, H. C. (2015). Enhancing the online learning experience: From learners’ perspective.Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 191, 1002–1005.

Martin, F., & Bolliger, D. U. (2018). Engagement matters: Student perceptions on the importance of engagement strategies in the Online Learning Environment.Online Learning, 22(1).

Milman, N. B., Posey, L., Pintz, C., Wright, K., & Zhou, P. (2015). Online master’s student’s perceptions of institutional supports and resources: Initial survey results.Online Learning, 19(4).

Muir, T., Milthorpe, N., Stone, C., Dyment, J., Freeman, E., & Hopwood, B. (2019). Chronicling engagement: Students’ experience of online learning over time.Distance Education, 40(2), 262–277.