activities 1.4 and 1.5

What with the weather and all I got a chance to get ahead for once ... it probably won't last ...

Activities 1.4 and 1.5 related to reading one
Research questions: What research questions are being addressed?
“1) Is the Virtual Classroom a viable option for educational delivery? (On the whole, are outcomes at least as good as those for traditional face-to-face courses?)
2) What variables are associated with especially good and especially poor outcomes in this new teaching and learning environment?”p431

Setting: What is the sector and setting? (e.g. school, higher education, training, informal learning)
HEI in USA

Concepts: What theories, concepts and key terms are being used?
“A "Virtual Classroom" is a teaching and learning environment located within a computer-mediated communication system. Software tools to enhance teaching and learning activities were added to the standard features of a computerized conferencing system to produce a prototype Virtual Classroom. A variety of courses was offered, some totally on-line with matched face-to-face sections, and others in mixed mode, partially on-line and partially in the traditional (physical) classroom.” P431

“Students who take courses in a Virtual Classroom are expected to learn the course material in a variety of ways. Many of the concepts and skills should be learned independently through reading texts or assigned articles, watching videotapes, and/or using other computer tools such as computer-assisted learning software on a PC or software to run large programs on a mainframe.” P432

“In the on-line class conference, the instructor presents supplementary "electures" (electronic lectures in a written form; see Exhibit 1 for excerpt) and leads a discussion. Here the students must express in their own words what they have learned, answering questions about the material raised by the instructor and responding to the other students' contributions.” P433
“CMC is particularly suited to the implementation of collaborative learning strategies or approaches, in which both teachers and learners are active participants in the learning process. Knowledge is not delivered to students; instead it emerges from active dialogue among those who seek to understand and apply concepts and techniques (Bouton and Garth 1983; Whipple 1987).” P433

Methods: What methods of data collection and analysis are used? (e.g. the number of participants; the type of technologies; the use of interviews, surveys, observation, etc.)
· Observations and comparison of students on completely VC courses, completely TC courses and mixed mode courses, in two different institutions.
· Over a period of 2 years.
· 204 students? Not clear
· Pre and post course questionnaires
· Grades and raw scores
· Amount of on line activity
· Participant observation in conferences – transcripts of courses
· Personal interviews with students
· Case reports by teachers

Findings: What did this research find out?
· Apart from the computer science students (who did significantly better in the VC), there was no marked difference between grades in each type of presentation.
· Interest levels seem to be higher in the VC
· Almost half the students felt that they communicated better with their peers on VC and mixed mode courses. A third did not.
· 65% felt that VC and mixed mode were more convenient – especially in terms of time management
· Procrastination was more likely with VC than TC
· 58% felt that VC offered increased interaction with their teachers
· More self discipline is needed with VC than TC

Limitations: What are the limitations of the methods used?
It was difficult to state that the courses compared represented like for like. I felt that a thematic analysis of interview data and course transcripts might have enhanced the instrument validity. How were students encouraged to interact and collaborate?

Ethics: Are there any ethical issues associated with the research?
None other than any usual ones. Are there any issues concerning power relationships between participants?

Implications: What are the implications (if any) for practice, policy or further research?
Further research could look in more detail at the quality and content of the on-line participation and involve a detailed analysis of interviews and case reports. In terms of practice, students need to be guided carefully to the course which best suits their needs. Those who admit to difficulties with deadlines and self-discipline, or who have less well developed literacy or numeracy skills should have some face to face contact. Nonetheless, the increased interaction with teachers is interesting in this respect.

Further reflections
1. What counts as evidence in this work? Most of the evidence is quantitative and in the form of basic percentages.
2. How do the two explicit research questions relate to the design of the research? The first of the two research questions (Is the Virtual Classroom a viable option for educational delivery? (On the whole, are outcomes at least as good as those for traditional face-to-face courses?)) was clearly related to the analysis of scores and grades. The second (What variables are associated with especially good and especially poor outcomes in this new teaching and learning environment?) used the questionnaire responses to good effect.
3. In what ways is the wider literature used in the paper? The literature looked not only at CMC in education and business, but also at the issues surrounding collaborative learning and students’ development during their undergraduate years.
4. What views of education and learning underpin the research? The authors are interested in the amount of self-discipline and independent study skills possessed by learners. They are thinking primarily about the development of relatively young (traditional) undergraduates. It might be interesting to compare with the concept of ‘andragogy[JM1] ’ – related to more mature students.

[JM1]Need to find ref for this

starting the study activities

Here's my first posting on the forum too.

I thought I'd make a start and looked at activity 1.3 :-

Phew it’s a long time since I did my Cert Ed (1978 to be exact) and some people don’t even know what they were as they don’t exist anymore. However, my Dip Ed was more recent – 1996.

For this, I studied (with the OU) three modules:-
• Curriculum and Learning
• Managing Schools: challenge and response
• Educational management in action

In each case, I was expected to carry out a short piece of action research within my own school. I got better as I went on (like James Aczel’s point in podcast one about getting better at research). The main method I used at that stage was what I suppose you could call thematic analysis of qualitative data. I went on to do an MA and EdD with the OU, basing my work for the latter on a Grounded Theory framework.

Where am I from? I was born in East London but grew up in St Ives, Cornwall. I went to college in Oxfordshire and started teaching in Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire. Later, I taught in Inner London, followed by a long stint in the outer London borough of Croydon – where I still am. I live on the junction of Kent, Surrey and Sussex.

My previous experience of technology enhanced learning, I taught for five years on the OU’s EZX836 – the global version of E836. This is the second year that I have taught on E891 which has a blended approach – using moodles and wikis. I have also recently introduced wikis for GCSE students and as a collaborative approach to teacher Continuing Professional Development (CPD).

What online courses, if any, I have previously studied. None.

What I hope to get out of this course:- A real appreciation of existing and developing research into technology enhanced learning for all ages. I am also hoping that it will enhance my pedagogy both at GCSE and MA level.
January 30, 2009 2:38 PM

the start

Just started study again after a couple of years - I've been missing it - oh no! Got the study materials a couple of days ago. I've done the first few activities and posted on the forum. I've skimmed through the first reading - now I have to do it again and make some notes.

I've started thinking about my final project (due end June) and am hoping to use a project I've been working on with my 16 year old Maths students - using a wiki and a reflective learning journal.

I will try to keep this blog going - never succeeded before.

Jan