Learning Communities Presentation

Editor's Notes

• #2: "Welcome, tonight we are going to explore the topic of learning communities.
• #6: "Our goal is to be able to identify various types of online learning communities and choose appropriate tools for our needs."
• #7: "What qualities or characteristics do you think of when you hear the word community?" [pause] "Please come up and write a one/two word description."
• #8: "Let's take a brief look at how the idea of a community is changing with the use of technology." [read on screen text]
• #9: "You may be wondering: How on-line learning communities fit into the scope of Instructional Design? … Communities are part of Constructivism Theory." [Read slide]
• #10: "In general communities are a way to share knowledge. They extend learning through informal interactions."
• #11: "There are two types of Learning Communities: Blended Learning Communities and E-learning Communities. LTMS 510 is an example of a blended learning community. We meet F2F and we share knowledge through various online tools. In contrast, an E-Learning Community is a group that connects solely via technology.
• #12: Theteachingpalette.com is one example of an e-learning community. Let's take a look."
• #13: "Now let's look at some leading tools!" "We can break community tools down into two categories - Synchronous and Asynchronous. Synchronous: learners working at the same time. Asynchronous: learners work at different times."
• #14: "Horton describes chat & instant messaging 'as a spontaneous exchange of messages.' Popular service providers include AOL and MSN. [share Pros and cons of this tool]
• #15: Can you think of or have you ever experienced a situation where IM slang would not be appropriate to a learning situation?
• #16: Webconferencing used to be used to describe a group discussion board or forum. Now the term is used to describe synchronous meetings or presentations held via the Internet. A Webinar is a specicific type of webconference that is typically one-way, speaker to audience. Many features can be incorporated into a webconference. The most common are slide shows and chat, but also include screen sharing, Polls & surveys and VoIP. VoIP is the ability to use real time audio communication via the internet. Another feature of web conferencing is the ability to record the meeting session. A CON of webconferencing is control. You are often at the mercy of your service provider and their fees. There are various web conferencing providers. Two examples are GoToMeeting and Webex.
• #17: let’s look at a sample of a recorded webinar
• #18: Videoconferencing allows for two or more locations to conference via video simultaneously. Skype is a simple example of videoconferencing.
• #20: The oldest and simplest form of asynchronous collaboration is Email. Most everyone has access to email and a variety of file types can be shared via attachments. As with all asynchronous tools, a major con is that they can be slow, because they rely on various peoples time constraints.
• #21: Short for Web log. A blog is an online journal or diary that includes dated entries. In e-learning a blog can be used for learners to document experiences. PRO: Learners are able to concentrate on content verses authoring a webpage.
• #22: In the architecture of learning communities forums and Message boards exist somewhere in between chatting and blogging tools. They are asynchronous like blogs, but allow back and forth communication like chat - except slower! They are a great way to extend classroom discussion. You can find message boards on a variety of topics, for example check out iVillage.com.
• #23: In the architecture of learning communities forums and Message boards exist somewhere in between chatting and blogging tools. They are asynchronous like blogs, but allow back and forth communication like chat - except slower! They are a great way to extend classroom discussion. You can find message boards on a variety of topics, for example check out iVillage.com.
• #24: As the concept of Web 2.0 grows, I predict that we will see more collaborative tools. At the forefront right now are wikis and googledocs. Wiki is Hawaiian for fast. It also is a backronym for What I Know Is. Wikipedia is the most popular wiki on the web, but you can create your on wiki for classroom or corporate use. Googledocs is an online document sharing source. It allows for synchronous or asynchronous collaboration without the hassle of multiple email attachments and revision sharing.
• #26: Most of us are familular with Moodle from our course work at HU. In addition to be a course management system, Moodle incorporates other types of community learning tools, like forums. The advantage of using a content management system is that all course information is in one place. Learners only need to access one site.
• #27: What is the role of social networking sites in the learning communities architecture? Leadding example include Facebook, Flickr, Twitter
• #28: When designing a learning community you first need to consider your instructional goals and the level of learning that you want to reach. For example: forums are a great way to discuss higherlevel questions that require the learner to analyze information, but they would not be the best tool to use for simple T/F or yes/no questions. This could be done more effectively with polling or survey tools or chat tools. Another consideration is your learner motivation. By their vary nature learning communities are informal and spontaneous. Too many rules or rigid guidelines may sqaush the learning experience.
• #29: Here is a long list of things to consider when developing a learning community. More than just a MAC verses PC issue… for example HU eportfolio was created using share point and uses ActiveX controls which are only "active" in IE. A client is an application or system that accesses a remote service on another computer system, known as a server, by way of a network. Setting up a webconference could save you/your company travel expenses if multiple attendees are scattered across the country/globe. However setting up a webconference for everyone in your office building would not be cost effective. How much? What kinds? Where? - You will need to work closely with your IT department. Does your company have its own webserver or will you rely on an outside service provider? For example, when my school district first introduced Moodle we accessed it through the IU. Connection times where slow and the tool was ineffective. Now we have our own Moodle server for the district and we have more control over connection speed and content. Who is your audience of learners? I might create the best art criticism learning communty for my students using high level questions that allow learners to analyze information and receive feedback BUT if half of my learners don't have access to the web at home then it will not be effective. OR if I have students that can not read on grade level my classroom blog of "What did I miss?" will not help them.
• #30: COST: The ultimate consideration is cost. Before you buy, see what tools your company may already have. Also research free tools. EASE of USE
• #31: In closing: The goal of learning communities is "to foster the sharing of information, knowledge, skills, and experiences among learners with common interests and goals, through online communication, collaboration and interaction." (Snyder)