Collaborative work in a distance education program is a challenging task for not only the university but especially the professor. It is often difficult to create a sense of community and a collaborative environment without the face to face interaction. Students do not know each other at all in an online classroom and it is often very difficult to be required to work with each other to complete a particular task. However according to Siemens (2008) , it is critical to have a collaborative community in distance education and in corporations in order to build knowledge and achieve tasks.
Participation needs to be assessed to ensure that students are doing their part in the collaborative assignments. If I were an instructor, I would suggest that the students be assessed by looking at their amount of communication between group members and their amount of input on the assignment. The students have varying amounts of knowledge and skills particularly in a distance education program, but as long as each individual puts in a sufficient amount of communication and effort into the assignment they should be graded the same.
If a student does not want to participate or collaborate with the group members it is a difficult situation for the other group members and the professor. However, if it is considered part of the assignment and the student chooses not to participate, their grade should reflect it. Group members should just go on without that person and do their best to complete the assignment. The student who has chosen not to collaborate or participate in the assignment will not receive credit because it is part of the class and it is failing to complete an assignment.
Resources
Siemens, G. (2008). Assessment of collaborative learning. Vodocast. Laureate Education, Inc.
Rachel,
ReplyDeleteIt is hard when someone does not want to network or collaborate with the group. I can not imagine why someone would not want to. I do know that in my last class there were a couple of people who stated the online learning was not for them. They are no longer taking online classes. Online communities are a challenge! There are times when I wanted to ask a question and get immediate feedback. I have learned to google my questions and seek help from anywhere I can get it. One thing that was not mentioned in our readings is that maybe there should be some type of assessment to see if a student is a good candidate for online (distant) learning. A survey would be a good tool to provide information to the student, professor, and administrators. Just a thought!
Tracy
Collaboration plays important role in a distance education program. It is important because everyone has a different viewpoint on things, which can bring new ideas to a project or an assignment. Every so often people are able to look at situations from so many different perspectives. When you collaborate with another person or other people in a distance education program, their views may be different from yours and tend to learn things or ideas that you didn’t think of. So in other words you all can benefit from each other. This makes for a more knowledgeable and intriguing opportunity.
ReplyDeleteKeith
Tracy,
ReplyDeleteI agree that online learning is difficult and that it is not for all learners. I like your idea of possible distance learning students being required to take a survey to determine if it is the program for them.
Rachel
Keith,
ReplyDeleteI agree that having multiple people's perspectives on a particular topic help other's learn. Distance learning students are from all over the world. Having that many different opinions is very beneficial!