Online Learning In The Social Web: social media, web2.0, elearning, education

Online Learning in the
Social Web
Michelle Pacansky-Brock
email: mpb@teachingwithoutwalls.com
blog: http://mpbreﬂections.blogspot.com

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Wednesday, April 7, 2010

The skills and tools necessary
for effectively teaching an online
class are changing along with
the learning trends of our
college students.

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Objectives:
Trace the current learning trends of college
students, stressing the relevance of
participatory learning.

Identify skills and tools necessary for teaching
interactive online learning environments

3


Who is Learning Online?
•In 2008, 1 in 4 college students were enrolled in
at least one online class (4 million+ total)

• 82% of online college students are undergrads

•Undergraduates (18-24) do not remember life
before the internet

Allan and Seaman. Learning on Demand: Online Education in the United States, 2009.
Babson Research Group and Sloan Consortium. http://www.sloan-c.org/publications/
survey/learning_on_demand_sr2010 4


New Generation, New Society

Haaaley on Flickr Taminator on Flickr
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A Student’s Life Outside the “Classroom”
• Socialize face-to-face and online
• 95% of 18-24 year olds use a social network (70% daily)
• Create & share online content
• 45% share videos online (YouTube)
• 42% contribute content to wikis
• 37% contribute to blogs
• 35% use podcasts

• Have immediate access to information
• 86% own a cell phone
• 51% own a hand held internet device

Source: Smith, Salaway, Borreson Caruso. ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and IT, 2009.
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http://www.educause.edu/ecar

Participatory Learning is Commonplace
“Since the current generation of
college students has no memory of
the historical moment before the
advent of the Internet, we are
suggesting that participatory
learning as a practice is no longer
exotic or new but a commonplace
way of socializing and learning. For
many, it seems entirely
unremarkable.”

The Future of Learning Institutions in a Digital Age by Cathy N. Davidson and David Theo Goldberg with the assistance of Zoë Marie Jones. From
the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Reports on Digital Media and Learning. MIT Press: Cambridge, Massachussets, 2009.


Use of Technology in College Learning -
Is It Relevant for Today’s Students
89% of undergrads have used a Learning
Management System (Blackboard, Moodle, etc.)

• 67% used PowerPoints • 28% used social networking
• 47% used Spreadsheets • 12% used blogs for learning
• 73% used college website • 6% used podcasts for learning

Source: Smith, Salaway, Borreson Caruso. ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and IT, 2009.
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www.educause.edu/ecar

Learning Management System Marketshare

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Observations
• Online classes are now an expectation of today’s
student.
• Colleges/universities have responded with
increasing offerings each year
• 17% increase in online in 09, 1.2% overall higher ed (Sloan-C)

• The learning environments within online classes are
reﬂective of tools provided within the LMS package
and lack opportunities for student-generated
content and participatory learning in a visual,
multimedia context.
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New Approaches to Online Teaching

“In reviewing the literature,
many suggest that while the
content and the learning
outcomes are the same, the
manner in which that content
is delivered and the
interactions with students
are quite different.”

Watwood, Nugent and Deihl. “Building from Content to Community: [Re]Thinking the Transition to Online Teaching and
Learning,” VCU Center for Teaching Excellence, 2009.
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http://blog.vcu.edu/cte/2009/05/cte_white_paper_on_online_teac.html

New Approaches to Online Teaching

•Web 2.0 and social media hold enormous
potential for 21st century online learning

• delivery of content
• interactive, participatory student learning

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What has not changed?

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Effective Teaching Online Practices
Remain Unchanged
Chickering and Gamson, 1987
• Encourage student-faculty contact
• Encourage cooperation among students
• Encourage active learning
• Give prompt feedback
• Emphasize time on task
• Communicate high expectations
• Respect diverse talents and ways of learning

14


Online Instruction Models
Rubric for Online Instruction (CSU Chico)
http://www.csuchico.edu/celt/roi/

Best Practices for Online Delivery Instruction (FSU)
http://wiki.ferris.edu/fckb/index.php/
FSU_Best_Practices_for_Online_Delivery_of_Instruction

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Effective Online Course Design Models
Remain Unchanged

Learning Management System (Blackboard, Moodle, etc.)

asses smen t

asses smen t

asses smen t
unit 1 unit 2 unit 3 unit 4 unit 5 unit 6 unit 7 unit 8 unit 9

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Effective Design of an Online Learning Unit
Remains Unchanged
Anatomy of a Learning Unit

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What has changed?

Delivery of Content

Interactions with Students

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How does Web 2.0 differ from Web 1.0?

content created by web specialists

web users read, collaborate,
content created by anyone
web users “read” content

edit, and participate
http://docentesenextremadura.wikispaces.com/PALE.Web+2.0+applications 19


New Tools for Online Learning
Web 2.0
• collaborative, participatory learning
• encourage social connections

• critical thinking through content creation

• opportunities for real world learning

• text, images and video (the human voice!)

• personalized learning spaces

• community building powerhouses

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New Skills and Challenges
• Staying current on new tools
• Writing rubrics for participatory learning activities
• Rethinking your online course assessment plan
• what weight will participatory learning
activities carry?
• formative vs. summative assessments
• Stronger emphasis than ever on
facilitation skills
Laurie Burruss
• Community building is paramount

21


Course Delivered in an LMS & Enhanced with Web 2.0 Tools

Blackboard

Blackboard
• announcements
• weekly units
• grades
• collaborative learning activities
• students apply new concepts/ideas in a peer-
to-peer setting w/feedback from instructor
• students maintain a reﬂective blog responding to
speciﬁc prompts (writing enhanced with media)
• environment provides for personalization and socialization

• students complete summative evaluations (3 times/semester)
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http://www.voicethread.com 23


Comments from students in response to video feedback to
a speciﬁc prompt (on ﬁrst slide). student(s) from
Comments in text, audio or video. instructor

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Student text
comment.

Student audio
comment.

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Compare to the Blackboard Discussion Board
text-centric

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please view this VT presentation for more examples and
student comments, survey feedback
http://voicethread.com/share/908650/ 28


Student Survey Results
101 students surveyed, 87 responses received
(88% response rate)

80% strongly agreed or agreed that
VoiceThread contributed to
establishing a sense of community in
the class.

VoiceThread enhanced their ability to
understand visual concepts (vs.
learning in Blackboard alone).

(Pacansky-Brock, 2008)

(88% response rate)

94% strongly agreed or agreed
that hearing their online
instructor’s voice through
VoiceThread’s audio comment
feature increased their sense
that she was actively present in
their learning experience
(versus text-only feedback).


(88% response rate)

receiving video communications
from their instructor through
VoiceThread’s webcam video
comments increased their sense
that she was actively present in
their learning experience (versus
text-only communications).


Student Comments
I think that the rapport is equal if not more between the
students in this particular class compared to actually
attending one on campus. ... In a campus-based class
no one would hardly ever have the chance to read each
others' work.

When signing up for this class I thought it would be the
same as the others… a bunch of reading, no interaction
and the occasional test. This class was nothing like I
had ever taken before. I really enjoyed all the interaction
between the students. It is pretty close to actually
having a class without actually being present.


Student Comments
(cont’d)
VoiceThread is an amazing tool and a great way to bring
the students/teacher together and to learn. I really feel
that this tool was a big part of our learning and I hope to
see more teachers utilizing it in their on-line classes. ... I
truly am not looking forward to the end of this class.
[The professor] has created a virtual world for her
students to communicate with each other and learn
from each other. The VoiceThread provided an
opportunity for all of us to see each others' comments.
It helped me to learn and feel like I was a part of a class
even though I was in class from my home.


a simple, FREE way to leverage social networking
interface for learning, within a closed-environment 34


Active Learning with Blogs
Weekly Prompts to Apply New
Ideas, Learn from Each Other

2 images: same object
phographed by student in
two different lighting
conditions

500 word written
analysis of
observations, applying
color and light terms .

Comments from other
students, noting additional
observations and replying to
students’ analysis.
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Active Learning with Blogs Art Visit:
• attend a major art museum or
two gallery openings
• view artworks, apply key terms
learned in class
• write a 1,000 word reﬂection of
your visit
• document visit with photos
• post to your blog in Ning

Outcomes: Collaborative blog
environment promotes sharing of
different perspectives and ideas.
Students often attend the same
exhibit and have completely
different experiences, identify
similar or different “favorite”
works of art. Connects
curriculum to real world. 36


Sample Reﬂective Blog Rubric

Adapted from http://edweb.sdsu.edu/courses/edtec296/assignments/blog_rubric.html 37


Ning Student Page Sample
Options for Personalized Learning Environment

may add images
(this student chose to scan and
share a collage assignment that
was submitted as part of an exam)

may share videos
from YouTube

blog (only required Ning
element for the course)

38


Communicate “Community” as a Course Value

•establish “community
groundrules”
•hold students
accountable to them
• participate in the
community, modeling
these deﬁned
behaviors
•students will feel safe,
ensured that they’re
working with shared
values and goals
39


Customize Proﬁle Questions
build community, get to know your students,
identify concerns immediately

‘open’ questions are posted
to the student’s proﬁle page
for other students to view

‘locked’ questions are private
exchanges btw student &
instructor

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Be Creative!

Masterpiece Blog Award:
Peer-nominated award for
blogging excellence. Winner
receives prestigious extra
credit prize.

Builds community.
Enhances engagement,
morale.

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(86% response rate)

81% of students surveyed reported the use of Ning
created a sense of community in this class.

(Macfarlane, Molina, Pacansky-Brock, 2008)

(86% response rate)

68% of students surveyed
reported they spent more time
to write their blog posts in Ning
than they would to write a
traditional discussion board
post.

83% of students surveyed
reported the use of the blogs
and comments in Ning was an
effective discussion tool.

(86% response rate)

76% of students surveyed reported
the sharing of pictures and videos in
Ning resulted in a more personalized
learning experience than text-based
learning alone.

90% of students surveyed reported
seeing pictures of their fellow
classmates helped them feel more
connected to the class discussions
than text-based learning alone.


Student Comments
Please provide some feedback about the way Ning has been used in
this class. Has it been helpful? Why or why not? How would you
change the way it's being used?

Ning is a great way to keep the atmosphere upbeat.
Makes the class seem less cold as an online class tends to
be, makes it friendly and very interactive with other
students.

I love Ning! There is such a sense of accomplishment when I
look at my page. Knowing that I wrote all those blogs and
other students read and appreciate them is such a motivator
to continue the good work.


Student Comments
(cont’d)
I really enjoyed NING because honestly it reminded me a lot of
myspace/facebook. I could talk with my peers whenever I
needed to and it was really effective to blog my thoughts and
assignments and see other students do the same.

It was odd at ﬁrst, seeing people's pictures and 'blogging', as I
have never participated in this kind of forum before, but I found
that I liked it, I felt more like I knew my fellow classmates than
in other classes.

Ning makes it feel like a classroom, I mean we're all here at some
time or another interacting with one another.


Teaching with Ning Resources
www.teachingwithoutwalls.com/resources

10-minute video
showcasing the Ning
interface and how to
integrate it with an LMS for
PDF - how to create a online learning
closed Ning network 47


Teaching with VoiceThread Resources
www.teachingwithoutwalls.com/resources

PDF - how to comment in PDF - how to create a
a VoiceThread VoiceThread 48


by Valerie Everett on Flickr

Michelle Pacansky-Brock
mpb@teachingwithoutwalls.com
49


Online Learning In The Social Web: social media, web2.0, elearning, education

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