Global School: Online Collaborations
in the
ECE Classroom
A Website Created by: Sarah L. Normandie
What is Online Collaborative Learning?
Benefits
of Online Collaborative Learning
Guidelines for Effective Use of Online Collaborative Learning
Ensuring
Positive Educational Usage
Getting Connected: Online Collaborative Learning Sites and Projects
What is Online Collaborative Learning?
The term “collaborative learning” refers to an
instructional method in which students at various performance levels work
together in small groups toward a common goal. Each student is responsible for the
other’s learning as well as their own. The success of one student will also
help the success of the others. Often times, teachers will put students into
groups to complete a project on an area of study. For example, the teacher may
group the students into small groups, giving each group a specific
culture/country to study. With advancements in technology, this classic project
can become more exciting, and open more doors to learning for students by
including an online component. This traditional project is now an example of
Online Collaborative Learning: A Collaborative Learning experience which
includes an online component (Rajala,2002).
Benefits of Online Collaborative Learning
Providing students with the opportunity to be involved with an
online collaborative learning provides them hands on experience in their
exploration of their topic. The theory of Constructivism, the philosophy that learning
is done through reflection of our experiences which we construct as our own
understanding of the world we live in; is applicable to the online
collaboration experience. Through exploration and hands on opportunities,
students are able to find understanding of concepts, facts, processes, and
other items learned so that it makes sense to them. Constructivism does not
support memorizing as learning, but encourages the student to think,
understand, and to journey through the learning process. By being involved in
an online experience, students are able to connect with people and information
from all over the world, gaining experiences that otherwise would not be possible.
Effects on Children and Teachers
Benefits for Children:
Children are influenced in several ways in
promoting their growth and development in learning through the online
collaborative experience in domains such as:
Language Development:
Personal communication plays a prominent role in learning a language. Students
learn more effectively when they can express ideas both orally and written to
each other in a meaningful and purposeful context (Liu, 2002). For example,
through typing to each other they become familiar with language symbols and
structures. Also, through pen pal experiences can be used as an English as a
second language activity, or could help English speaking students become
familiar with another language (Liu, 2002).
Social/Emotional
Development: Students gain confidence in their computer ability, as well as
social interaction skills with their collaborative group, and/or pen pals.
Fine Motor Development:
Students gain more experiences to enhance their eye/hand coordination as well
as their typing skills.
Other
Important Benefits for Children:
Cultural Awareness: Students gain cultural
awareness by interacting with people from all over the world, as well as the
opportunity to “visit” places they may never have had the opportunity to visit
before. Children are given the opportunity to explore cultures through research
and reflection using the internet as a “ticket” to their learning resources.
Problem Solving Skills: Computers sometimes freeze, breakdown, or do
other unpredictable things. Students are able to enhance their problem solving
skills as they may encounter some of these issues while doing their online
collaborations. Students are also teambuilding, and learning how to collaborate
with others on a project enhancing cooperation and leadership skills that they
will need.
Effects
on Teachers
Teachers must first decide
what topic the students will focus on, as well as projected goals as to what
the teacher hopes the students will learn and benefit from by doing an online
collaboration project. This will ensure clarity on expectations and goals for
the students. Teachers must also remember that project goals should fit their
technology resources (Rajala, 2002).
Teachers must actively
research online collaboration projects, finding which project is best for their
students.
Teachers must understand
the unique nature of online communication. For example, in traditional
communication, the tone of someone’s voice can express their emotions. With
online communication, visual and auditory clues are used to interpret meaning.
For example, Emoticons such as : ) to express a happy face is used (Yoder,
2003).
Teachers must deal with
inappropriate behavior and attitudes. Bullying, inappropriate language, and
other bad behaviors can occur online as well as in the classroom. Teachers must
make sure they are monitoring their students to ensure that these behaviors are
not taking place (Yoder, 2003).
Guidelines
for Effective Use of Online Collaborative Learning
Ensuring Positive Educational Usage: There are many ways to
ensure that your online collaborative project is going to positively influence
your students and their learning. The following are some tips on how to ensure
learning is taking place:
Use Effective Facilitation Skills: In a traditional classroom
discussion the teacher is able to carefully listen to what is being said.
However, online the teacher must read online written contributions and “decide”
when to intervene. The teacher must then use effective practices of
facilitating communication by using strategies to keep students on task. The
teacher must observe their students and think about what guidance they may need
at what time (Yoder, 2003).
Social Opportunities:
Provide students the opportunity to get to know
each other as individuals by asking them to post info about themselves
at the beginning of the collaborative project.
Thematic Discussions: Give
students the opportunity to be involved in thematic discussions in which they
can share their views with their classmates, or online E- Pals.
Modeling and Coaching: Make sure
that as the teacher, you actively participate with your students in the online
project. Stay current with discussions, and provide rubric guidelines when
necessary to help keep students on task.
Getting Connected: Online Collaborative Learning Sites and Projects
The following is a list of some online sites
that provide information on current online collaboration projects.
http://www.schoolsonline.org/whatwedo/gems.htm This is a website which provides additional information on online collaborative
learning, as well as links to several projects.
http://www.cotf.edu/
This is the “Classrooms of the Future Website” sponsored by NASA, which
sponsors many online collaborative projects.
http://www.globe.gov This is a K-12 program that provides a worldwide network of students, teachers, and scientists to study and understand the global environment.
http://www.siec.k12.in.us/~west/online/join.htm Any online project you could possible think
of is listed here with links!
1. Liu, Ping. (2002).
Developing an E-Pal Partnership. Childhood
Education, 81-86.
2. Rajala, Judith (2002).
Online Collaborative Learning. T.H.E.
Journal EduHound Extra. Retrieved on
3. Rienhart, Slowinski &
Anderson (2003). Techniques for Facilitating Web-Based Collaboration:
Reflections of a Cross Country Collaborative. Journal of Computing in Teacher Education, 11-15.
4.
Yoder, Maureen. (2003). Seven Steps to Successful Online
Learning Communities. Learning & Leading
with Technology, 15- 17.