Essay Computer-supported Collaborative Learning

This essay will discuss how my use of online information has grown from being merely a consumer, to now being able to critically evaluate online sources for credibility and suitability for use in academic work. My role in producing an online informational resource has been enhanced by both the readings, and the experience gained in the collaborative process involved in working as a team. This is my first experience at online collaboration and I will examine the challenges encountered using this medium of communication, how I dealt with them, the lessons learned, and what I would do differently during future collaborative work.

Furthermore, by analyzing the different modalities in the online class such as looking at the discussion posts of each student, quality of assignments, and participation in the collaborative group assignments Nagel et. al.(2007) were able to draw their own

The article "Read-only participants: a case for student communication in online learning" by L. Nagel, A.S. Blignaut and J.C. Cronje, appears in Interactive Learning Environments. The article asserts that communication and active participation in online class increases the chance of the student’s success in an online class. Immediate feedback from peers and instructors and social interaction built into the online discussions contribute to learning (Collins, A., Brown, J.S., & Holum, A., 1991).

Collaboration: In a community of learners, students work together in teams, partners, or groups. This allows students to gain social skills and increases students’ motivation for the project. Students share ideas and gain a new understanding of the content.

Mission: The use of technology in education is influential to a student’s success. Students will use technology to research topics and take assessments in the classroom. Collaboration among groups will also take place in the classroom, where critical thinking skills, problem solving, and

Even though technology does not fully resolve the problem with education, it leads to a change and a greater emphasis on collaborative learning and thinking at new levels, previously unseen in the educational system. Davidson details an experiment she initiated to understand how the new generation learns with technology. Her study focused on “crowdsourcing [which] means inviting a group to collaborate on a solution to a problem,” in this case the group being the students from Duke University (53). Davidson’s study lead to an immense amount of collaboration between the students and it could all happen in real time. For example,

By using the artwork of the fantastic four (John Haward 2001) Appendix 1, I will explore how a team is different from a group. For this I will describe an award given to me as part of a team while working in a nurse led minor injury unit (MIU). By comparing the differences I shall highlight what makes a team effective rather than a collection of people.

This section of the encyclopedia talks about what students and teachers can contribute to online learning environment. It talks about who the average online learner is and the online relationship between the student and the teacher, and the student and their peers. Above all the author stresses that thinking differently is important to make online education work.

Public education in America needs reforms to adjust to today's fast paced, technology based society. "Changing Educational Paradigms Animation" by RSA Animate and "Reinventing Education for the 21st Century" by Tony Wanger, prompted me to wonder how does teaching problem solving and critical thinking skills in schools socially and economically benefit students? Both of these videos touched on critical thinking and problem-solving skills and their importance in educating today's work force, but Tony Wanger blew me away with High Tech High, a Sandiego high, middle, and elementary school dedicated to teaching problem solving skills to a wide range of students (Wanger). This school system was an excellent model of students working on their own to create, utilize problem solving skills, and display their hard work. This gave me the idea that we need to shift our education to focus on critical thinking and problem-solving skills to better benefit students entering the work force.

Currently, students around the country, even the world, have the choice to either attend a class face-to-face with a teacher inside a classroom or computer-generated classes in online colleges or Universities. Even though they are similar, the differences between the two are somewhat remarkable. Obviously both types of learning require instructions and some form of assessment and they differ in terms of the learning process and communication.

Receiving an education via an online course is one that has begun with many challenges. I have come from having no knowledge of researching information to feel like I have journeyed a long way finding the confidence to research pertinent and quality resources. Through this particular unit I have been given the implements to develop a sound knowledge of online group collaborations and the programs to allow the communication to take place.

Computer based learning, as it stands, has plenty of disadvantages, but many in business and educational arenas remain optimistic about its future. There are two indisputable truths about computer-based learning, or e-learning. First, it will revolutionize education and second, such a future is just around the block. Educational experts agree that most types of study are not yet effective when delivered purely online, mainly because of bandwidth limitations, expensive set-up costs, continued resistance to the medium and a shortage of quality course content.

Distance learning (education) has become an integral part of the education process over the past few decades and is growing in popularity as technology advances.(Willis 1992) describes distance education (as) "the organizational framework andprocess of providing instruction at a distance. Distance education takes place when ateacher and student(s) are physically separated, and technology…(is) used to bridge theinstruction gap." (Coutts 1996). Furthermore, "distance learning activities are designedto fit the specific context for learning, the nature of the subject matter; intended learningoutcomes, needs and goals of the learner, the learner's environment and the instructional echnologies and methods." (American

E-learning has come to dominate the strategic thinking of employers over the past decade in several countries. Only in recent years in India, there has been focus on e-learning, this is due to the recent development in MNC, BPO and IT concerns. This is widely seen due to the connected economy, become intangible and fast growing among organizations. Due to emerging MNC’s, globalisation has become one of the most important criteria to increase flexibility of communications, and hence become vital among the organization. Despite the emphasis on e-learning and large investments made on training it is still not clear and ongoing success have not yet been recognized, due to the ongoing structural changes among managements. The problem in

The online era is beginning to change the way we deliver the message to the students. As brokers of information, we have to seek new mediums to reach our students or consumers. Online learning is becoming more popular to reach students to help increase their reading and comprehension of what they read. As a history teacher, it becomes frustrating to assign homework that the students do not do, because they can’t.