TOPIC 1

STARTING OFF ONLINE

CREATING A GOOD SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT ONLINE

Ronda Haverland & David Kendall Clapp

THE

IMPORTANCE ON

SOCIALISING IN

ONLINE

COURSES

A LEARNING COMMUNITY IS…..

“a group of individuals who collaboratively engage in purposeful critical discourse and reflection to construct meaning and confirm mutual understanding.” (Garrison, 2007)

SOCIAL PRESENCE IS….

the ability of participants to identify with the group, communicate in a trusting environment, and develop social relationships by way of expressing their individuality (Wilcoxon 2011).

As in f2f courses it’s important to start the course with a couple of get to know you activities. Because of the distance and the fact that collaboration is a core part of an online course, the initial socializing activities are crucial in setting the tone of the course.

If the course gets off on the wrong foot it would be difficult to try to re-establish a comfortable environment. Then it might be in danger of the participants losing interest. Once the course has moved on to more collaborative tasks participants might not feel a sense of belonging to the group.

Activities should be:

neutral

fun (maybe even silly)

interesting

open

something for everyone

creative

lighthearted

easy

personal (but not too personal)

friendly

interactive

Activities should create:

an interesting atmosphere

a sense of belonging to the group

personal connections

trust

Without a clearly defined socialising phase within the environment, no group dynamic or sense of belonging will emerge, and all those fancy tools may remain unused. And unless tasks are specifically designed to encourage participants to interact, communication may not spontaneously emerge……The whole point of creating a sense of community is to be able to draw on this collective sense of belonging during the learning process. In other words, to encourage collaborative work in which effective learning will take place through the collaboration (Hockly 2004).

Perhaps the most important point about introducing online collaborative group work is that participants cannot be thrown in cold. Careful socialising of the group, through a building of group identity and shared responsibility and trust must be built up through less complex task types before full-scale project work is attempted. Only then is it possible that not just response but responsibility will emerge in group work (Hockly 2004).

ONLINE SOCIALISING TASKS AND TOOLS

Question-of-the-day (JOY)

Tools: email

Procedure:

Ask each SD to think of three things that he or she would like to share. Use the letters of the word “joy” to structure what is to be shared. i.e.J: something in your life that just happenedO: one thing you would like to do fo9r yourselfY: a part of you that makes you a special person

*Note: The best questions are those relevant to the participants´ interests and cultures

Self introduction (Glogging)

Tools: Video, audio, imageshttp://www.glogster.com/

Use different technologies to introduce yourself

Interview CircleCollaborative discussion threaded discussion

Tools: Synchronous chat/ discussion/ jigsaw

Small or large groups

Explain that we will interview one SD who will sit in the main spot light and answer one question from each participant. He or she has the right to “pass” on any questions that he or she chooses not to answer

Our World is ChangingShare information/ brainstormOpen forum

Tools: Wiki/ Blogs

SD 2 SDPost a discussion question on the main window, and each SD is to take turns responding to the question.

Divide your SDS into groups of 2 or 3. Have each group brainstorm and write lists of how the world has changed since their parents (or grandparents) were born. Give each group a designated time to brainstorm. Have the community meet. Have each group one or two changes that have made an impact on their lives.

Watch video and commentGroup research

Tools: Youtube*Select video according to SDS interests and needs

SD 2 SD

Face 2 face discussionLive conversation

Tools: Skype, video conference

T 2 SDSD 2 SD

Written/ visual communication

Tools: facebook

SD 2 SDT 2 SD

THE ROLE OF

THE TUTOR IN

ONLINE

SOCIALISING

designer

monitor

manager

role model

moderator

conversationalist

chairperson facilitatorweaver

organizerinstructional

engineerelicitor adviser

host

guide

Like a ring master leads a circus, a tutor or e-moderator runs an online course. From the minute the first student logs in until the platform closes; the e-moderator performs a variety of roles throughout the evolution of a course.

The course starts with some social orientation, where the tutor establishes a friendly, encouraging presence inviting participants to get to know each other. At the same time the tutor sets the tone by establishing guidelines and modeling appropriate behaviour. This moves on to organising tasks and facilitating movement in the right direction with discussions or activities, while the whole time making sure that everyone is feeling comfortable, involved and on task. As students’ input begins to flow the tutor reacts to it or even extends it to give further insight. The tutor may even weave the discussion in order to ease understanding and move toward solutions; providing a concise summary as activities come to a conclusion.

The tutor is ever present by encouraging participation or putting out fires if need be; all done with full purpose of creating a conducive learning community. A circus without a ring master is just a bunch of lame animals and sad clowns under a colourful tent. Likewise, without the presence of a tutor, an online course could be just a bunch of pdf files hanging in an idle platform on the world wide web.

References

Hockley, Nicky; “Activities for online courses: The Beginning” ,www.emoderationskills.com ; 26, Jan. 2010

Hockly, Nicky;“Working together in Virtual Darkness”;the Guardian Weekly; 25, June 2004

Wilcoxon, Kevin; “Building an Online Learning Community”; www.Learningsolutinosmag.com; 3, Oct. 2011

Roundtree, Derek; “The tutor's role in teaching via computer conferencing”; British Journal of Educational Technology; Sept. 1995