Read Only Participants Case Study

Their primary findings was that participation and communication is certainly a requirement for successful completion of online courses. When instructors are involved and encourage students to participate it motivates students to not give up or drop the class. They were able to classify students into different categories, and they found these types of students in the online class:

engage and learn even when not taking part in online discussions. The context of this

Online Education is rapidly developing and many people wonder what determines the success rate of the students. One of the questions asked by many researchers is whether or not there is a correlation between student communication and participation for success. Nagel, Blignaut and Cronje (2009) wanted to specifically examine how online participation such as answering discussion questions and engaging in collaborative behavior helps the entire learning environment succeed.

Learning online is a unique experience and it has provided myself as a learner with a new and extensive learning environment. Prior to beginning my academic studies at Swinburne University, I had previously study a number of units online through another institute, so when arriving here I had an idea of what online learning entailed. Prior to beginning my academic studies, and in particular, I had previously read a myriad of sources online, and although I considered that I was able to determine what was fact or fiction, I had never realised how important it was for information to be evaluated. In the study conducted by

Her project idea of improving communication and engagement in online courses using strategies found in research will be helpful in the Augusta University’s DNP program. It will help faculty deliver the information

Some of the problems associated with online classes include; some students can be very visible without participating in the discussion forum. Online visibility and involvement can take many forms, such as read-only participants who slide over or harvest others’ work. Also, students who absent or rarely participate in the online

During my online studies, I expect to engage as a high performing student. I will not take the curriculum for granted and read the forums on a daily basis. Realistically, I do not expect to be able to read and respond to all of the responses to the forms but I will make every effort to read a majority of the replies. My takeaway from the article is that the online learner has to remain focused and diligent to the online learning experience. Similar to the typical classroom environment, there is a value to others viewpoints during a classroom discussion. Online classes are great forms of communication. The online learning environment gives access to students in remote areas who would otherwise lack or have limited exposure to higher education. Also, the facilitators feedback to the forum questions could prove to be beneficial in obtaining a scholastic

The majority of her feedback centered on the lack of alignment between some of my course activities and existing district protocol and procedures-particularly regarding discussion. It is the current practice of the district to offer a fully asynchronous learning environment in which there is no interaction or discussion between participants. Participants only interact with the content and the instructor (via feedback on assignments and discussion prompts). One can perhaps make the assumption that this is done in an attempt to make the online learning courses accommodating for busy educators. However, current research suggests that offering participants a combination of discussion approaches (student-to-student, student-instructor and student-content) is advantageous (Nandi, Hamilton & Harland, 2012). By offering only one or two modes, learners could potentially be left

This article discusses the Read-Only Participant (ROP). The “read-only-participan[t] disrupt[s] the formation of a virtual community of learners and compromise learning” (Nagel, Blignaut, &Cronje). This student views posts and discussions made by his facilitator and peers, but contributes nothing to his online learning community. He reaps the benefits of another man’s hard labor without himself interjecting any work. “Research shows that online participation is necessary to ensure successful course completion” (Klemm, 1998, Rovai &Barnum, 2003; Swan, Shea, Fredericksen, Pickett, & Pelz, 2000). He is subtracting from his peers’ learning experience and from the possibility of them graduating. This community is supposed to be one of trust and

Cost and convenience entice increasing numbers of students to pursue their higher education goals through online classes. One type of student is problematic for instructors as well as for peers who depend on classmates to participate meaningfully on discussion boards and contribute fully to group projects. The "read-only" student is one who participates minimally and appears to skim over postings, contributing little substance (e.g., "I agree," or "Good point"). There is often the perception by other students that the "read-only" student is not doing his/her fair share and is not a full member of the online community. Nagel, Blegnaut and Cronje (2009) sought to investigate participation levels in online courses and whether learning took place among "lurkers" -- students who did not appear to be fully engaged in the course, as indicated by their minimal online presence.

Reasons why engagement is relevant and significant are variously described in the literature. For instance, Chen, Gonyea and Kuh (2008) claim that “by being engaged, students develop habits of the mind and heart that promise to stand them in good stead for a lifetime of continuous learning” (para. 2). Academic engagement includes identifying and managing student and staff expectations, both within the formal ‘classroom’ environment and outside of it. Success in the university context requires interdisciplinary knowledge and skills. This element encompasses the capacity for students to take “active control... by planning, monitoring and evaluating their learning” (Scevak & Cantwell, 2007, p. 37). This might include monitoring their development of such attributes as personal, computer, and information literacy, academic writing, referencing, note-taking, and time management (Brick, 2006; Clarke, 2008). This article provides online educators with a tested list of engaging video tools to enhance formative assessment in the online classroom. This article will explore eduCanon, Zaption, EDPuzzle, TED-Ed, Vialogues and Blubbr.tv.

Students taking online courses are not engaged in their academic life. These students are not taking advantage of their education while on campus. By being on campus, there is the opportunity to be connected with their faculty members. From my own experience, interacting with my professors promotes the concept of learning with purpose through the process of socializing, mentoring, and networking.

Massey, Brown, and Johnson (2005) suggested that active learning techniques provide opportunities for faculty to increase social presence, engage students, and positively enhance performance. Studies have shown that students tend to learn more when they actively participate in the learning process through discussing, practicing, reviewing, and applying knowledge to develop new meanings (Mcalpin, 2015). Maki and Maki (2007) found that online instruction required the application of strong methodology along with providing students with opportunities to interact with each other and the instructor. Aside from purposeful course design, active learning in an online course requires instructors to be actively involved in the learning process (Gayton & McEwen, 2007; Young, 2006). This involvement includes, but is not limited to, minimal participation in discussion boards, course announcements, e-mail, and other forms of web-based communication (Dixon, 2010). However Dennen, Aubteen Darabi, and Smith (2007) warned that too much active participation by the instructor has been shown to result in decreased student participation.

In the words of Zephe and Leach (2010, 171), my preferred teaching style is aimed to “create learning that is active, collaborative and that fosters learning relationships”. It is quite common for my student to comment and describe my teaching approach as highly interactive. It was important for me to reflect on the usefulness of web-based resources as a tool of engagement in bringing about improvement in the individual learners at my annual appraisal, as well as how it can expand participation for part-time and distance learners and other with additional needs.

Development in the education sector has given people many choices of learning to meet their educational goals. The current and popular systems of learning are classroom learning and online learning. I used to think all ways of learning are the same, until I had taken a couple of classes and had to overcome some challenges classroom learning and online learning are different in terms of support network, quality of peer interaction, decision - making, and success