scholarly journals DESIGNING AN ONLINE LEARNING COMMUNITY AMONG TEACHER EDUCATORS

2008 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 71-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shironica Karunanayaka
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Learning Environment ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Community Building ◽  
Online Course ◽  
Educational Technologist ◽  
Online Learning Environment ◽  
Online Learning Community ◽  
The Impact

Online course delivery is rapidly growing among educational institutions all over the world, especially in Open and Distance Learning institutions. The frequent criticisms on distance education for having only limited interactions between teachers and students as opposed to traditional face to face teaching can be significantly minimized with the increased use of online methods, due to its unique instructional capabilities. Online learning provides ample opportunities for students learning at a distance to constantly interact with their teachers as well as peers, sharing experiences and working collaboratively. The creation of a sense of social presence is essential to establish a collaborative online learning environment, as it is a most important factor that helps people actively collaborate, thus increasing a sense of belonging to the learning community. The Faculty of Education of the Open University of Sri Lanka offered the online course, "Teacher Educator as an Educational Technologist" in December 2007, using the learning management system Moodle. The course was designed using a collaborative learning model, allowing adequate opportunities for the distant learners to actively engage in their learning process, engaging in a number of learning and assessment tasks with the support of learning resources and instructor guidance, while collaborating and sharing experiences among each other, mainly through discussion forums. Using the case study approach, an investigation was carried out to find out the specific strategies and techniques adopted by designers, instructors and students in enhancing community building among the participants in the online learning environment. It further explored the impact of community building on the distant learners, who were also novices to online learning. This paper discusses the development process in the building of an online learning community and emphasizes on the roles of designers, teachers, and learners.

Influence of psychological safety and social presence on knowledge sharing behavior in higher education online learning environment

2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Putra Endi Catyanadika ◽  
Jay Rajasekera
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
Learning Environment ◽  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Social Presence ◽  
Online Learning Environment ◽  
Online Learning Community ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose The absence of physical interactions in online learning environment brings psychological influences on learning participants in interacting and sharing knowledge with others, such as ignorance of other member’s presence and insecurity to share something in online environment. The purpose of this research was to examine the knowledge sharing behavior (KSB) by online learning community members in terms of their psychological safety (PS) and social presence (SP) perceptions. In addition, this research also identified the influence of PS to promote SP and the mediation impact of SP in the relationships between PS and KSB. Design/methodology/approach The data were gathered through self-administered questionnaire distributed to 133 online class members at a university in Indonesia where online learning has created a new learning experience. To represent key behavioral attributes, 12 items were used to represent PS, SP and KSB. The relationships among the variables were analyzed using the structural equation modelling method. Findings The result showed that PS positively influenced SP and KSB. SP also brought a positive impact on promoting KSB and fully mediated the relationship between PS and KSB. Research limitations/implications The result may not have fully captured the reflection of the influencing factors of KSB, as this research focused only on two psychological factors, namely, PS and SP. The research may be further enriched by including additional factors and expanding the data collection to include more online learning institutions. Practical implications The results implied the importance of PS and SP perception to promoting KSB in online learning environments. The results highlighted an important message to universities and schools to be more concerned on students’ feeling safe personally and students’ awareness of others’ presence to maximize knowledge sharing activities in online class environment. Originality/value This paper revealed the importance of PS and SP to promote KSB in the higher education online learning community. To the best of the researchers’ knowledge, this is the first study to link PS and SP to KSB and identify the importance of the mediation effect of SP on the relationship between PS and KSB specifically in higher education online learning environment.

scholarly journals Designing an online learning environment on Open Educational Resources for science education

2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Shironica Karunanayaka ◽  
Chandana Fernando ◽  
Vajira de Silva
Keyword(s):  
Science Education ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
Learning Environment ◽  
Science Teachers ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Open Educational Resources ◽  
Educational Resources ◽  
Online Learning Environment ◽  
Design Decisions ◽  
Course Content

The concept of Open Educational Resources (OER) is a major breakthrough in education, which promotes sharing, adaptation and contextualisation of course content. Promotion of using OER can be very cost effective, since development of new course content would be both expensive and time consuming. However, awareness raising and capacity building of teachers and learners is crucial, in order to exploit the full potential of OER.The Faculty of Education at the Open University of Sri Lanka, initiated a research project to create an Online Learning Environment (OLE) on OER for science education, witha view to raise awareness, develop competencies and enhance adapting, adoption and creation of OER by teachers. This is developed in Moodle Learning Management System, as a supplementary material for science teachers enrolled in a distance mode professional development programme. The research team, together with a group of science teachers and teacher educators, who are their students, is engaged in this action research conducted in several stages: analysis, design, development, implementation and evaluation. This paper discusses the first three stages, concerning the following objectives: to identify sources of OER for science education, to make key design decisions of the OLE, and to design and develop the OLE on OER for science education.The analysis of need, learner, task and context, resulted in making decisions on information, instruction, interaction and interface design. Some initial design decisions are: Structuring of information on finding, using and creating OER related to teaching science, while making it relevant and meaningful for teachers; Use of exploratory instructional strategies enabling teachers to select OER; Incorporate frequent interactions encouraging teachers to adopt, adapt, create and share OER; and Use of different media elements to make the visual layout motivating. A prototype will be pilot tested with science teachers with a view to revise and improve the OLE on OER. Allowing student teachers/teacher educators to work collaboratively with their instructors, as a team, enable both parties to face challenges together, in this novel experience of designing and developing an OLE on OER.

A User Driven Learning Environment in Botany

2011 ◽  
pp. 255-275
Author(s):  
J. M. Garg ◽  
Dinesh Valke ◽  
Max Overton
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Learning Environment ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Special Interest ◽  
Lived Experiences ◽  
Online Community ◽  
Information Resources ◽  
Online Learning Community ◽  
Conversational Learning ◽  
Group Members

This chapter introduces the reader to a sample ‘User driven learning environment’ created in an online community with a special interest centred on trees and plants. It traces the development of an online learning community through the lived experiences and thoughts of its founding members and also includes conversational learning experiences of other users to illustrate the process of ‘user driven learning’ in online communities. It illustrates innovative sense making methodologies utilized by group members to create a more meaningful ‘User driven learning environment’ while simultaneously contributing in a positive way to create information resources at no cost along with creating awareness & scientific temper among members.

Social Presence in Online Learning

2021 ◽  
pp. 1580-1601
Author(s):  
Rachelle Dene Poth
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Learning Environment ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Social Presence ◽  
Online Learning Environment ◽  
Technology Usage ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Opportunities For Learning

Studies have focused on social presence and its meaning in both traditional face-to-face classroom settings as well as an online learning environment. Technology usage is increasing in classrooms, making opportunities for learning available to many more people than in prior years. The theme of social presence continues to be studied as an important element in fostering student learning and growth. In particular, the focus is on the meaning of social presence, how to develop it as an instructor or learner in the learning community, and how social presence can positively impact all members of the learning community. The main questions that this chapter addresses are: Why study social presence? What is the meaning of social presence? What is the research behind social presence? How does an individual cultivate and project social presence in a learning environment?

scholarly journals Teacher-Student Online Interactions During First and Second COVID-19 Related School Closures: Effects on Students’ Academic Achievement

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus Spitzer ◽  
Korbinian Moeller ◽  
Sebastian Musslick
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Academic Performance ◽  
Learning Environment ◽  
Online Learning Environment ◽  
School Closures ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Teacher Student ◽  
Mathematical Problems ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Second Period

A growing number of studies seek to evaluate the impact of school closures during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. While most studies reported severe learning losses in students, some studies found positive effects of school closures on academic performance. However, it is still unclear which factors contribute to the differential effects observed in these studies. In this article, we examine the impact of assignment strategies for problem sets on the academic performance of students (n 24,000 from classes 4-10 who calculated 560,000 problem sets) in an online learning environment for mathematics, during the first and second period of pandemic-related school closures in Germany. We observed that, if teachers repeatedly assigned single problem sets (i.e., a small chunk of on average eight mathematical problems) to their class, students’ performance increased significantly during both periods of school closures compared to the same periods in the previous year (without school closures). In contrast, our analyses also indicated that, if teachers assigned bundles of problem sets (i.e., large chunks) or when students self-selected problem sets, students’ performance did not increase significantly. Moreover, students’ performance was generally higher when single problem sets were assigned, compared to the other two assignment types. We conclude that teachers’ way of using the online learning environment in general, and their strategy of assigning problem sets in particular can have a positive effect on students’ performance in mathematics.

scholarly journals Student Initiative Empowers Engagement for Learning Online

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Houston Heflin ◽  
Suzanne Macaluso
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Learning Environment ◽  
Student Perceptions ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Online Course ◽  
Online Learning Environment ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Amount Of Information

Assessing the degree to which students engage and learn from their online courses will be important as online courses are becoming more ubiquitous. This study sought to capture student perceptions of their independence as learners, their level of engagement, their effort exerted, and the amount of information they learned in online courses. The study was conducted over three years with 455 students who completed a self-assessment at the end of an intensive summer online course. Results showed an equal number of students agreeing and disagreeing that online courses help students learn the same amount of information encountered in a face-to-face course. The majority of students reported they were more independent (84.4%), were more engaged (54.5%) and exerted more effort (57.4%), in their online course than a typical face-to-face class. Recommendations are made for faculty creating online courses who have the opportunity to coach students on how to succeed in the online learning environment.

scholarly journals The Efficiency of Online Learning Environment for Implementing Project-Based Learning: Students' Perceptions

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 76
Author(s):  
Atef Mohammad Abuhmaid
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Learning Environment ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teaching Method ◽  
Project Based Learning ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Online Learning Environment ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Strongly Agree ◽  
The Impact

Project-based learning is gaining increasing popularity supported by research studies regarding its effectiveness for teaching and learning. In addition, the widespread of digital technologies and sudden disruptions to traditional in-person teaching have accelerated the adoption of online learning. The current study examined students' perceptions of the impact of online learning environment on project-based teaching method. Most universities worldwide have considered online learning encouraging their faculty to use online learning tools, and Hashemite University in Jordan is no exeption. 154 students studying Computers in Education course were selected during the first semester of the academic year 2019/2020 and were devided into two groups. The experimental group consisted of 75 students who studied the course online and 79 students in the control group who studied the course in a face-to-face mode. For the purpose of gathering data, a questionnaire was developed which consisted of 17 items and students' answers were on a four-point Likert scale: 4= strongly agree, 3= agree, 2= disagree, and 1= strongly disagree. Means, standard deviations, and One-Way ANOVA were used to analyze the data. The results of the study showed positive attitudes among students (both online and in-class) toward project-based learning. In addition, the results showed that in-class students had a stronger views of project based-learning than online learning students.

Can Geometry Achievement and Geometric Habits of Mind Be Improved Online? Reflections From a Computer-Aided Intervention

2020 ◽  
pp. 004723952096523
Author(s):  
Buket Özüm Bülbül ◽  
Mustafa Güler
Keyword(s):  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
Learning Environment ◽  
Positive Development ◽  
Habits Of Mind ◽  
Online Learning Environment ◽  
Online Application ◽  
Computer Aided ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Impact

This article aims to examine the impact of an online learning environment enriched with computer activities on geometry achievement and geometric habits of mind (GHoM). The study includes reflections from an online application of a one-term computer-aided mathematics teaching course in which the participants were preservice teachers (PTs) enrolled in a faculty of education. A test was used to measure all participating PTs’ learning outcome and determine their GHoM. In addition, clinical interviews were administered before and after the intervention to examine the opinions of the PTs regarding the online learning environment. The results revealed that the design provided for positive development in terms of both geometry achievement and GHoM. However, the impact was found to be very limited for some components of GHoM. The article presents a discussion of the effective aspects of the intervention.

Using a synchronous online learning environment to promote and enhance transactional engagement beyond the classroom

2014 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 264-275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Wdowik
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Learning Environment ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Student Perspective ◽  
Online Learning Community ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Synchronous Online Learning ◽  
Synchronous Online

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to create a synchronous online learning community through the use of Blackboard Collaborate! to promote and enhance transactional engagement outside the classroom. Design/methodology/approach – This paper employs a quantitative and qualitative approach where data were sourced from a third year finance unit across one semester using a survey instrument. SPSS v20 was used to perform basic descriptive analysis. Findings – The study revealed that by providing an online learning community through the use of Blackboard Collaborate! significantly enhances transactional engagement beyond the classroom. In particular the use of Blackboard Collaborate! allowed the teacher to be more accessible, supportive, expect and support high standards and provide challenging activities that generated rich and meaningful interactions and promoted higher order thinking skills. Research limitations/implications – The positive results emanating from this study may encourage other educators and their institutions to adopt a synchronous online learning community to enhance student's engagement levels and increase the quality of student learning and their university experience. This study was conducted at only one university so it may not be feasible to form generalisations resulting from the findings. Originality/value – This study adds new insights towards the scarce amount of literature on engagement in a blended learning environment. In particular the study adds a student perspective to the student engagement literature and to what constitutes quality in higher education and/or improved student experience.

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