Professors as Learners: Analyzing Forum Interactions from a Collaborative Virtual Learning Experience (original) (raw)
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This study looks into the collaborative pedagogical strategies employed in an e-learning course, "Learning and Teaching Portuguese as a Non Native Language", promoted by a partnership between the Coimbra University Distance Learning Project and the Camões Institute. Data analysis focuses on the students' interactions during a group activity, while using wiki and forum tools. Since we aim to understand how to design and stimulate discussion and collaborative work in order to induce engagement and knowledge creation, a qualitative methodological approach was chosen for data analysis. INTRODUCTION Educational contexts are increasingly challenging due to the diversity of solutions offered by technology. Besides knowing how to operate with technology, learners also need to be prepared for higher-order skills to be able to work in online collaborative teams where information is shared and knowledge is attained collaboratively [3]. While both "cooperative" learning ...
Virtual Forums: A Pedagogical Tool for Collaboration and Learning in Teacher Education
Implementing technological tools in EFL classes has not been easy for language teachers, they often struggle to make class activities consistent with the curriculum, policies, students' needs and likes and lately, with computer and internet-based ICTs. The problem regularly is that EFL teachers do not possess the pedagogical and technological knowledge to use technological tools to foster communication and interaction among students to learn collaboratively. This study deals with a teacher education experience in which tools such as blogs, learning software, e-mail, forums and internet-based tools were used to improve EFL learning and teaching. Data were gathered from the group of EFL teachers in two phases: the first phase included participants' planning, discussion, and implementation of a pedagogical project for young EFL learners; the second phase consisted of the participants' reporting and evaluating their performance using forums and blogs with their students. The study demonstrated that teacher education experiences are crucial for teacher learning to integrate the use of forums and blogs in the EFL Curriculum. It also showed that the use of blogs and forums requires addressing language pedagogy from a perspective that values communication, collaboration and participation as central elements of learning.
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The main goal of this article is to analyze the implications of computer supported collaborative learning in higher education. To achieve this goal, we will describe the situation of the current research in this field and will focus our attention on the issues relating to the design of the conditions to promote collaborative processes and knowledge building. In the second part of the article, we will concentrate on the analysis of the results that we have obtained with the use of the programme Knowledge Forum as a support during the collaborative process in higher education.
Towards the Development of Collaborative Learning in Virtual Environments
International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Applications, 2019
The objective of the research is to evaluate strategies such as Wikis, Forums and Chat in the development of collaborative learning in higher education students. A collaborative experience was developed with 25 students in an asynchronous e-learning environment. The activities consisted of forum discussions, chat and project development in a wiki environment. The research method includes a quantitative analysis whose forum rating was developed by applying a rubric. The use of didactic strategies such as Wikis, Forums and Chat in the learning sessions promotes collaborative learning where the main factors for this to happen are the degree of appropriation of these technologies by students and the mastery of their use by teachers. It is not possible to affirm the superiority of one tool over another because each has its own characteristics and could be used for different purposes, besides having complementary functions, they must organize and complement each other to develop collaborative learning.
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The goal of studying interactions in online environments is to know the kind of interactions which take place in discussion forums. This article contains the results of an exploratory, descriptive research that analyzes, with both quantitative as well as qualitative approaches, a virtual learning environment for comprehensive teacher training in their whole: the course, the platform, the tutor's role, the exchanges between the tutor and the participating teachers in the discussion forum, analyzing those exchanges, to whom they are addressed and their collaborative or personal natures. Regarding this experience, the results show a positive evaluation for the course, the tutor's role and the platform; as to the interventions which arise between the tutor and the participants in an interactive context, at the beginning, the participants' interactions are personal, though, little by little, they become more collaborative. Keywords Virtual teacher training; analysis of virtual interactions; virtual environment for learning. training systems, focused on collaborative work and construction of knowledge in a network, originate in theoretical frameworks built on the notion of constructivism, especially social constructivism. Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) are spaces relying on a system of communication through a computer, in order to facilitate interaction between the participants and the tutor. Such interaction is key in educational processes present in the social construction of knowledge (Garrison & Anderson, 2005). In an environment which encourages the construction of knowledge in a network, interactions are essential to achieve quality learnings (Schrire, 2006, Stacey & Rice, 2002). These virtual environments are used preferably in pre and postgrade formation, although they are starting to become valuable spaces to help in professional development, like continuous teacher training, making it necessary to analyze virtual interactions, in the particular context of the formation of that body of professionals. The research on interactions and collaborative work is done using different methods and reliability levels (De Wever et. al. 2006). This article features the results of an exploratory descriptive research which analyzes, with quantitative and qualitative approaches, the virtual learning environment for comprehensive teacher training: the course, the platform, the tutor's role and the interventions between the tutor and the teachers present at the discussion forum, examining the contents of those interventions, to whom they are addressed and their personal or collaborative nature. ICTs and Communication The impact of ICTs on communicative aspects is such that we call "Computer-Mediated Communication" to all instances of synchronous an asynchronous communications carried out through technological resources. Research has demonstrated that computer-mediated communication can affect communication models, organizational systems, identity and society as a whole Dahlberg (2004). These communicative instances facilitate agreeing on ideas, sharing, reflecting, developing cooperative and/or collaborative tasks, having feedback and guidance from the tutor (Cook, 2002; Nussbaum et al., 2004; Murphy et al., 1998). The correct insertion of these communication tools into learning and formation processes, when they are well assisted, can favor collaboration. The advantages of online collaborative learning are well-known, however, it is also clear that, due to a series of reasons, some implemented learning experiences have different degrees of success (Macdonald, 2003). Among communicative tools, there are discussion forums (Computer-mediated Conference), an asynchronous communication mode that allows for a dialog based on written text (Ryan, et. al, 2000). Discussion forums have a great potential to transform teaching-learning processes, allowing for group discussion and other participants' access to socialization and communication (Salmon, 2000;
STUDYING COLLABORATIVE LEARNING IN ONLINE DISCUSSION FORUMS
We present part of a research project on the teachinglearning processes afforded by e-Learning. We detail a system of categories that allows us to analyze formative processes of online teaching-learning. The system was created through content analysis of discussion forums in web-based training in higher education. The forum appears to be a potent tool that positively affects collaborative and critical learning.
Studing collaborative learning in online discussion forums
2013
We present part of a research project on the teachinglearning processes afforded by e-Learning. We detail a system of categories that allows us to analyze formative processes of online teaching-learning. The system was created through content analysis of discussion forums in web-based training in higher education. The forum appears to be a potent tool that positively affects collaborative and critical learning.