Using Discussion Forums to Foster Interaction in Online Courses

One of the challenges in online courses, especially online courses that are asynchronous in nature, is creating opportunities for interaction among students and their instructor in a format that encourages iterative dialogue.  For online courses, the most widely use method for this kind of interaction is the discussion forum (Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2015).  Boettcher & Conrad (2010) state that the discussion forum in an online course is the equivalent of a whole class or small group discussion in a traditional on-ground course.  Additionally, discussion forums allow students to engage in learning at higher intellectual levels than a focus that is solely upon the recall of information because they are interacting with other viewpoints and perspectives brought by their peers (Morrison, Ross, Kalman, & Kemp, 2013).

Think back on your own experiences of a student and reflect upon an online discussion forum you were involved in.  Did the prompt to which you were responding relate to the content presented in the rest of the module?  Was the discussion prompt written in such a way as to encourage critical thinking and dialogue?  How did you and your fellow students interact with each other?  Was discussion lively and robust or was there minimal interaction?

By Wednesday: After reflecting upon the discussion forum above, answer the following questions:

• Was the writing prompt effective?  Why or why not?
• If you could change the prompt to make it more effective in encouraging robust interaction, what would you change and why?

By Sunday: Read a selection of your colleagues' responses to the writing prompt.  Respond to at least two of your colleagues with the following:

• Support what your colleague stated with examples of your own.
• Take a "devil's advocate" view and respond to a colleague from a different perspective.
• Share something you learned from reading your colleague's response.
• Ask a question or make a suggestion.

Be sure to support your initial response and follow-up posts with academic resources from this module as well as adding some that you have researched on your own when addressing this topic.

Review the scoring rubric to understand how your work will be assessed.

References

Boettcher, J. V., & Conrad, R. M. (2010). The online teaching survival guide: Simple and practical pedagogical tips. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Morrison, G. R., Ross, S. M., Kalman, H. K., & Kemp, J. E. (2013). Designing effective instruction (7th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., & Zvacek, S. (2015). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (6th ed.). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

EIDT 6510 - Plagiarism Detection and Prevention

One of the concerns that always seems to be leveled at online education is that online education is rife with cheating in general and plagiarism in particular (Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2015).  While this may be the case in some situation, as Dr. Pratt states in this weeks learning resource video, plagiarism exists just as much in on-ground courses as it does in online courses (Laureate Education, 2010).  To assist with the detection of plagiarism, there are several technological tools available to instructors.  Below is a list of just a few of these.

Turnitin: This is one of the more popular plagiarism detection programs on the market.  Turnitin allows students to submit their papers prior to submission to get a sense of whether or not their paper contains plagiarized sections.  The program scans the paper and gives a rating of how much similar content is contained in the paper.  It also goes into detail about which areas are possibly plagiarized and provides suggestions on where it may have come from.  Turnitin can also be used by instructors to check student submissions with the same results above.  In either case, Turnitin provides a robust scan of student work to detect possible violations.

Grammarly.com: While Grammarly is for the most part a tool to help students write better in terms of grammar and mechanics, it also provides a plagiarism detection service to both students and instructors.  Like Turnitin listed above, grammarly provides an overall rating of the submission and highlights specific portions that may be plagiarized.  This is another excellent choice for students and instructors that may be concerned about plagiarism in their classroom.

iThenticate: iThenticate also performs a scan of uploaded documents and/reports for similarity matches.  It then highlights specific phrases and/or sections that appear to be similar to other documents.  Again, instructors and students can take advantage of the service to detect problems in papers and act accordingly based upon the academic integrity policies of their specific institution.  In this case, as with the others, the software performs the scan relatively quickly and delivers easy to read results.

How can the design of assessments help prevent academic dishonesty?

While plagiarism detection is certainly of value, a better strategy would be to try and prevent plagiarism from occurring in the first place.  One of the best ways to prevent plagiarism in assessments is to design them with a clear and precise definition of what plagiarism is according to the academic integrity policies of the institution (Simonson, et al, 2015).  When designing an assessment, be sure to leave no doubt in the mind of students what plagiarism is in relation to the assessment.  Also, place this description/definition right into the instructions of the assessment, do not rely upon the student to read the syllabus or academic policies handbook.  Leave no doubt in the mind of the student.  A second strategy that could be used is provide separate but intensive instruction about plagiarism in the course (Jocoy & DiBiase, 2006).  Students that received specific instruction about plagiarism are half as likely to commit plagiarism than students that received no instruction related to plagiarism (Jocoy & DiBiase, 2006).  If possible within the confines of the course, having students analyze sample assessments for plagiarism can reduce plagiarism occurrences and give students a greater understanding of how to avoid plagiarism (Jocoy & DiBase, 2006).

What facilitation strategies do you propose to use as a current or future online instructor?

As an online instructor, I will facilitate a combination of technological tools (such as Turnitin) with some of the strategies listed above.  Specifically, I believe that one can never share information enough so I would design assessments with plagiarism definitions built into the instructions as well as provide a workshop early on in the course for students as a means of trying to reduce plagiarism when they get to the assessments.  I will have them look at samples and highlight and/or define the elements that are plagiarized as the assignment for the workshop.  This will of course need to be a graded assignment to ensure participation.  Additionally, I will provide tutorials on how to use turn it in so students can take advantage of the product before turning in their submission.

What additional considerations for online teaching should be made to help detect or prevent cheating and plagiarism?

In addition to what was listed above, I believe that one additional consideration that should be made is the opportunity for students to re-work their papers if plagiarism is detected.  In cases where the occurrence of plagiarism is relatively low, it is likely that the similarity is accidental and/or the student forgot to cite the appropriate work or did not cite it correctly.  In these cases, students should be directed again to the definition relating to plagiarism and offered the workshop once again.  The student can then revise their paper and run it through the Turnitin software again and see how it rates.  If it rates in the acceptable range, they can submit the paper as is.  If the paper is still in the unacceptable range, they will need to continue their revisions.  The student needs to be made aware that he/she must submit the paper for review prior to submitting it to the instructor.

References

Jocoy, C., & DiBiase, D. (2006). Plagiarism by adult learners online: A case study in detection and remediation. International Review of Research in Open & Distance Learning, 7(1), 1-15.

Laureate Education (Producer). (2010). Plagiarism and cheating [Video file]. Retrieved from: https://class.waldenu.edu.

Simonson, S., Smaldino, S., & Zvacek, S. (2015). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (6th ed.). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

EIDT 6510 - Week 5 Application - Impact of Technology and Media

For this week's blog assignment, we were asked to consider the impact of technology and media on setting up online learning experiences.  To that end, we were asked to answer four questions related to the topic given what we have read this week in our learning resources and our experience in designing an online learning experience in EDUC 6153.  My answers are below.

What impact does technology and multimedia have on learning environments?

The short answer is, a great impact.  Technology-based instruction offers many benefits over traditional teaching methods (Morrison, Ross, Kalman, & Kemp, 2013) and these benefits greatly change how education can be delivered in the online environment.  For example, the video in this week's video (Laureate Education, 2010) talks about how in a training course on presenting a sales pitch, Web 2.0 multimedia tools such as YouTube can allow students at a distance to present their pitch via video without having to travel long distances.  Clearly this is a far cry from the early days of having to give a class presentation while standing in front of the course at a lectern.  In addition, much of the technology included in the course management system we used to build our course allowed students to interact in ways that would not be possible otherwise.  For example, the use of blogs, wikis and discussion forums allowed students to interact with each other and with the instructor and have a great impact on the individual learner's feelings of connectedness and overall satisfaction with the course.

What are the most important considerations an online instructor should make before implementing technology?

When planning to design a distance education course, an instructor must first consider what makes up essential content that needs to be delivered to the learner (Simonson, Smaldino, Zvacek, 2015).  What are the important pieces of information that need to be delivered to the learner?  What activities will be created to deliver that information in a way that assists learners in meeting the learning outcomes for the course?  These are the first consideration that must be taken into account.  Once that is determined, an instructor needs to examine and evaluate the available technology tools and decide which those are best suited for the learning goals of the course (Boettcher & Conrad, 2010).  There are a vast number of tools available for use but not all of them will be effective for specific courses and activities.  It is the responsibility of the instructor or designer to make the appropriate choices that will best serve his/her students.  Additionally, the potential for learner interactivity must be considered (Simonson, et al., 2015).  In an online environment, interaction with peers and the instructor is imperative so what tools encourage said interaction?  These tools should be a priority in the planning process.

What implications do usability and accessibility of technology have for online teaching?

The implications for usability and accessibility are great for online teaching.  As an instructor or designer of a course, it is critical that you understand that the technological tools being used are intuitive for learners to use (Simonson, et al., 2015) or at least are easy to use with the help of a tutorial.  Additionally, the interface with the online course should also be intuitive (Morrison, et al., 2013).  If the students can't figure out how to use and access the course or the tools contained in the course, the experience will be a negative one and students may be less inclined to seek out further online learning experiences.  When planning for online teaching, instructors and designers should always try to put themselves in the place of the student and see if it makes sense and is easy to access and use from their perspective.

What technology tools are most appealing to you for online teaching as you move forward in your career in instructional design?

For me personally, I try to take advantage of the Web 2.0 tools that already exist as well as attempting to find new and better ways to deliver content and experience through gamification or simulations.  I believe with the prevalence of synchronous meeting tools listed in the course text (Boettcher & Conrad, 2010), creating group projects in which students can meet together synchronously can be effective.  Obviously there is the challenge of learners living in different time zones and/or countries that may not have the infrastructure to support such tools, but wherever possible, I believe synchronous meetings, if done properly can really add an excellent opportunity for interaction.  As for games and simulations, I believe that these will become more and more important as the gaming generation enters the education marketplace and competition for these students intensifies.  While there is no empirical evidence that shows adding games or simulations influences student achievement (Morrison, et al., 2013) there is no question that technologies such as these can present students with engaging experiences that may be closer to real world situations they may face in their workplace.

References

Boettcher, J. V., & Conrad, R. M. (2010). The online teaching survival guide: Simple and practical pedagogical tips. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Laureate Education (Producer). (2010). Enhancing the online experience [Video file]. Retrieved from: https://class.waldenu.edu.

Morrison, G. R., Ross, S. M., Kalman, H. K., & Kemp, J. E. (2013). Designing effective instruction (7th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., & Zvacek, S. (2015). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (6th ed.). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

EIDT-6510 Week 3 Assignment - Setting Up an Online Experience

For this week's assignment, we were asked to examine some of the factors that go into setting up an online course.  When designing an online course, decisions at the outset of the process can have positive or negative effects on the rest of the design and execution of the online course.  To that end, there are 3 questions that should be answered by an online designer prior to and during the very initial stages of analysis.

What is the significance of knowing the technology available to you?  As a designer working with an online learning experience, understanding and subsequently selecting the appropriate technological tools can make or break a course.  Simonson, Smaldino and Zvacek (2015) state that when an instructional activity is heavily reliant upon technology, selecting the right tool and platform is imperative.  To begin the process of analyzing and selecting the appropriate technologies, the course text suggests focusing first upon the essential tools you will need and then build your course around those tools (Boettcher & Conrad, 2010).  Essential tools may include the ability for students to upload documents of various type, access readings and videos and engage with discussion forums.  This of course is a baseline for what kind of technologies you will need.  Likely, you will want to really think about what you would like the student to do to make the course engaging and then include that in your analysis of what technologies are available.  Most Course Management Systems (CMS) that are available on the market today include all of these elements plus significantly more.  Knowing what each of these platforms has to offer will increase your ability to deliver engaging and effective courses.

Why is it essential to communicate clear expectations to learners?  One of the misconceptions of online learning is that there is less communication and guidance provided and that much of the time you are on your own to try and figure out what needs to be done.  Malcolm Knowles (1990) one of the foundations of andragogy states that course design must include clear descriptions, objectives and resources in order to be effective.  The course text restates this point by saying clear and unambiguous guidelines about what is expected of learners and the instructor can contribute to understanding and satisfaction in an online course.  In addition, Simonson, Smaldino and Zvacek (2015) further state that at the beginning of a course, it is important to guide students as to expectations for participation, use of tools and location of resources.  This cannot be stressed enough.  If students in an online environment do not feel that they are supported, do not understand the expectations or feel that their instructor is unavailable, the potential for attrition increases as does the likelihood that the student will view online education negatively.  Taking the time to ensure expectations and instructions are clear from the student's point of view can make all the difference between an effective online learning experience and a critical failure.

What additional considerations should the instructor take into account when setting up an online learning experience?  One of the most important things an instructor can do is work to create a learning community within the online course.  This was discussed previously in this course and others but it needs to be stressed again here.  The course text states that the goals of a learning community are to build knowledge and competencies within learners as well as build a network of mutual respect which includes the sharing of ideas and perspectives (Boettcher & Conrad, 2010).  In addition, a learning community encourages student and instructor participation which can in turn lead to a more effective online learning experience and higher satisfaction among learners (Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2015).

Given all of the above, my own thinking on successfully launching an online learning experience haven't changed too much.  As someone already working in online instructional design as well as being an online learner myself, I have seen first hand when the elements listed above are employed and when they are neglected.  Understanding the technologies available has been something that I have stressed with my subject matter experts I collaborate with.  In some cases, they have desired to do something that the learning management system we use here at work can't handle and I have had to provide alternate suggestions.  Additionally, I have had to work with some SME's to ensure that they are clarifying instructions for students so that assignments and assessments are easy to understand and resources are easy to access and use.  Finally, I have been a part of some great learning communities in online courses and have worked to implement similar experiences into the courses I currently design.

References

Boettcher, J. V., & Conrad, R. M. (2010). The online teaching survival guide: Simple and practical pedagogical tips. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Knowles, M. (1990). The adult learner: A neglected species (4th ed.). Houston, TX: Gulf.

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., & Zvacek, S. (2015). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (6th ed.). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

EIDT-6510 Learning Communities

As an instructional designer seeking to learn how to create engaging and dynamic courses understanding what learning communities are and how they impact student learning and satisfaction is imperative.  Drs. Palloff and Pratt (Laureate Education, 2010) define a learning community as way for students to come together to support one another and co-construct knowledge about the content of the course.  Additionally, learning communities create a dynamic where facilitators and learners are equal participants (Laureate Education, 2010).  Oftentimes, students in an online program struggle with feelings of isolation and separation that they may not feel in an on-ground face to face classroom experience.  Simonson, Smaldino and Zvacek (2015) state that learning communities in distance education environments contribute to greater student engagement and success.  Boettcher and Conrad (2010) further state that a learning community in an online course is just as important as faculty presence for keeping students engaged and successful.

What are essential elements of an online learning community?  Drs. Palloff and Pratt (Laureate Education, 2010) list five essential elements of an online learning community:

1. People:  Quite obviously a community cannot exist without people.  In the case of an online course, the people involved in the learning community would be the learners enrolled in the course.
2. Purpose:  A common purpose must exist among the people in order for a community to arise.  For example, in an online course, the common purpose of the people in the course would be to access and process the content and information.
3. Process:  This is the way in which the online course is designed that encourages the building of community.  This is the where the role of the instructional designer is key.  The activities within a course should always seek to foster and build the community among the learners.
4. Method:  This relates to the way that students will interact and communicate.  There must be some way for them to talk to each other else no community can exist.  Again this is where designers play a critical role.  A course should be designed to encourage as much interaction as possible among learners.
5. Social Presence:  Each learner should be able to establish their own social presence within the class and it is that presence that each learner interacts with in the course of communication.  Once again, the designer is key here in ensuring that students have the opportunity to do so.

How can learning communities be sustained?  One of the main ways to sustain a learning community in an online environment is to ensure that the facilitator of the course remains engaged.  For example, in discussion forums, learners want to know that the facilitator is reading and responding to their comments.  They want to see the presence of the facilitator.  A second way of sustaining a learning community is to create learning experiences that allow the group to continue to work together.  Group projects and student cohorts are just two examples of how this can be accomplished.

As stated above, learning communities can increase the engagement and success of students (Simonson, et al., 2015).  As a designer, it is important to look at some of the best practices presented in the text (Boettcher, et al., 2010) to create a positive experience for learners in the online environment.

References

Boettcher, J. V., & Conrad, R. M. (2010). The online teaching survival guide: Simple and practical pedagogical tips. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Laureate Education (Producer). (2010). Online learning communities [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu.

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., & Zvacek, S. (2015). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations for distance education (6th ed.). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Press.

EDUC 6135 - Distance Education Reflection Assignment

The Future of Distance Education

           

            Distance education has come a long way since the early days of correspondence study where students would receive materials in the mail, fill them out, and then mail them back to be graded.  As technology has advanced so has the ability to create and employ effective distance education courses and programs (Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2015).  These advances have required professionals that design and develop curriculum to think about new ways of offering programs that may have traditionally been classroom based (Pina & Mizell, 2014).  This evolution has brought us to the present where, in 2013, one study showed that 70% of institutions indicated that online instruction was critical to their long-term plans (Simonson, et al., 2015).  This is the picture today, but how will distance education fare in the future?

            According to Simonson, et al. (2015), there is evidence that suggests that students are increasingly demanding to be allowed to take courses at a distance.  This seems to pan out with other evidence that exists regarding distance education at all levels.  According to Berge and Clark (2009), virtual schools are becoming more and more important as a means of delivering education from kindergarten through college and graduate studies.  I believe that in the next 5-20 years, these kinds of institutions will become more and more prevalent and, as more and more students complete their education via distance, perception of the usefulness and effectiveness of distance education will continue to increase.  Evidence suggests that perceptions about distance education are already changing According to Allen & Seaman (2007) who state that the proportion of people who felt that online learning outcomes were superior to face-to-face learning outcomes increased 34% since 2003.  Since that study was published 9 years ago, that proportion has most increased even more (Simonson, Schlosser, & Orellana, 2011).

            As an instructional designer, one of the roles that can be filled is that of an ambassador for distance education.  According to Simonson, et al (2015), a majority of people currently state that they would prefer to take a course in a face-to-face environment as opposed to taking a course via distance education.  There are many reasons for this attitude among learners.  Some learners feel that they would not be able to handle the workload of a distance education course (Dobbs, Waid, & del Carmen, 2009).  Others feel that their learning style may not mesh well with a distance education format (Dabbagh & Bannan-Ritland, 2005).  Still others feel that they will not receive the interaction they need (both with the instructor and peers) to be successful (Simonson, et al., 2015).

            To be a proponent for improving these perceptions, the effective instructional designer will engage in the creation of effective courses.  To address the problem of students feeling as if they cannot handle the workload of a distance education course, instructional design must take into account the general abilities of the class (Simonson, et al., 2015).  As the “tablet” generation matures and begins taking courses via distance, an effective designer will take this into account when designing distance education.  In addressing the learner’s perception that their learning style may not mesh with distance education, effective designers will address multiple learning styles in their design and help learners understand the context of the learning experience (Morrison, Ross, Kalman & Kemp, 2013).  Finally, instructional designers must take into account how learners interact now and in the future.  This may be completely different than what see now but in order to increase positive perceptions of distance education, ID’s need to analyze the potential for learner interactivity (Simonson, et al., 2015).

            How will I be a positive force for continuous improvement in the field of distance education?  First and foremost, as an instructional designer, it is imperative to assess new and better technologies for distance education as they become available (Simonson, et al., 2015).  An example of this is the advent of affordable virtual reality systems like the Oculus Rift.  As an instructional designer, how could this be used in a distance education context?  Additionally, professional organizations such as EDUCAUSE provide annual conferences where new technologies and techniques are presented as well as smaller workshops relating to best practices.  Keeping abreast of an implementing these best practices will greatly increase my ability to be a positive force for continuous improvement in the field of distance education.

References

Allen, I. E., & Seaman, J. (2007). Making the grade: Online education in the United States,

            2006: Midwestern edition. Wellesley, MA: Sloan Consortium.

Berge, Z., & Clark, T. (2009). Virtual schools: What every superintendent needs to know.

Distance Learning, 6(2), 1-9.

Dabbagh, N., & Bannan-Ritland, B. (2012). Online learning: Concepts, strategies, and

application. Columbus, OH: Merrill/Prentice Hall.

Dobbs, R., Waid, C., & del Carmon, A. (2009). Students’ perceptions of online courses: The

effect of online course experience. Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 10(1), 9-26.

Morrison, G. R., Ross, S. M., Kalman, H. K., & Kemp, J. E. (2013). Designing effective

instruction (7^th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Pina, A. A., & Mizell, A. P. (2014). Real-life distance education: Case studies in practice.

            Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

Simonson, M., Schlosser, C., & Orellana, A. (2011). Distance education research: A review of

the literature. Journal of Computing in Higher Education, 23(2), 124-142.

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., & Zvacek, S. (2015). Teaching and learning at a distance:

Foundations of distance education (6^th ed.). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing,

Inc.

EDUC 6135 Week 7 Application Assignment

This week we were asked to create a user's guide for an individual that is planning to move much of his training program (including all of the associated training manuals online.  To address this conversion, I created a user's guide that includes elements that the trainer will need to consider as he moves his training from face-to-face to a hybrid model.  In addition to taking the time to really understand the learners completing the training and creating learning outcomes that reflect what students will be expected to take from the training experience, the user's guide also covers how the trainer's role with change from being the "sage on the stage" to a facilitator of learning.  The user's guide also covers how the trainer should consider various technological tools and learning activities and how to encourage the learners to collaborate and communicate with each other.

Click here to view the PDF document of the user's guide.