Accepting the benefits of social connection in DE makes the desire for appropriate methods to reach one another expected. Terry Anderson's blog on social networking makes the case by including well known pedagogical rationales for the value of interaction on the learning process.
What I'm unsure of is how connected are these web developers are to educators in DE. While I was blown away by the massive number of applications on http://www.go2web20.net, I would hazard to guess that more could be done to have these web-savvy entrepreneurs work more closely with DE educators and students themselves.
The more popular online tools (at least ones I am familiar with) such as Facebook and Linked In were not designed at ways to bring classmates together as peers or to breach the gap between student and teacher. Why not have a program that mimics the classroom space and reinforces the positive dynamics of a lecture hall or a library?
It appears that current online tools provide more ways to socialize and share (two of the three "s's") rather than to sojourn. In traditional educational settings, not much socializing and sharing actually occurs, but the feeling that everyone is in the same boat is a shared attribute whether in DE or in face to face settings. What's missing in DE is the ability for students to "talk behind the teacher's back" in a way to foster solidarity, share experiences, and to validate assumptions. Of course, these interactions would be in line with the integrity of academic honor systems regarding collusion, collaboration, etc. that we expect in all educational environments.
Hi Keesha,
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree wholeheartedly! This is the piece that is missing. I think that through this kind of communication, students begin to form their opinions. They try ideas out with their classmates and think more deeply.
Well said.
Regards,
Todd
I have learned on last semester that there are software like Google Hangout that students are using to complete tasks from their courses or even voice their opinions, complaints or any issues they need to discuss. You have to be invited to participate in the hangout and the instructors do not have access to them unless you grant it to them. There are other online programs that supports this same type of setting for students.
ReplyDeleteI believe the environment for which you wish already exists, it’s called Blackboard! However, it would seem there’s also a challenger afoot – Canvas by Instructure.
ReplyDelete