Beverly's Academic World: Online Collaboration

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Online Collaboration

I spend a tremendous amount of time online (personally, professionally, and academically). My personal experience with synchronous online collaboration has been great. It has allowed me to keep in instant touch with family and friends around the world. Not only am I able to know how they are doing by what they are typing, I can now see and hear how they are doing with the use of webcams and microphones. I was so happy to be able to chat, see, and speak with a friend of mine who was serving over in Afghanistan through the use of Yahoo Instant Messaging. With Facebook, I am able to chat with people all the time for free. Furthermore, my small group has prayer every Monday via a phone conference. However, due to the lack of face to face time, there is a higher chance of misinterpretation and miscommunication due to not being able to read a person's facial expression and body language. For me, the benefits of synchronous online collaboration for personal communication far outweigh the negative.

As far as professionally and academically, most of my online collaboration has been asynchronous. This form of collaboration allows for people in different time zones and with different schedules to still be about to communicate. I mainly use blogs, emails and discussion boards, and for me, they are a lot less personal and leave a lot more room for interpretation of what people say. With today's society being a lot more instant, this form of communication forces me to wait for a response from the other person, because people's schedules are so different. Although it is not my preferred way of learning (I actually prefer learning in a classroom setting) asynchronous online collaboration has afforded me the opportunity to start and finish my Specialist Degree completely online.

3 comments:

David BennettJune 19, 2011 at 3:15 PM
Beverly,
I find it interesting that you state that you would prefer a traditional learning atmosphere. In the textbook reading, the same phenomenon was cited, that the majority of online students would prefer traditional education despite their requirement for distance education.
I have attended virtually all of my higher education through the distance environment, and believe it is a far better fit for me. The traditional environment seems, to me, to have nothing but cons. So I wonder if you would explain some of your reasons. Why would YOU prefer a traditional setting?
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Alan BaggottJune 19, 2011 at 7:54 PM
I as you have done the majority of my online collaboration in an asynchronous manner. It is simply easier than coordinating a meeting where all people have to work out timing to attend. I imagine it would be different in an employment environment where the boss says we have a meeting at 10AM. Then i imagine that synchronous meetings would be better, but the environment would be completely different. I can see benefits of both.
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BeverlyJune 21, 2011 at 1:37 AM
My preference for a traditional setting over an online one is based on my preference for the face-to-face interaction. Although the online format is more convenient (I can do my assignments in my pajamas and pretty much in my own time), I prefer to be able to ask and answer questions in person. I like having the professors' expertise shared (which I have not had much of that in the courses I have taken here). For me, building relationships is the number 1 reason for my preference.
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Lesson Plan Summaries

Lesson Plan #1: The objective/goal of this lesson is for students to demonstrate their knowledge of 3-D figures. Students will do this by drawing and identifying the shape when a 2-D shape is rotated and translated through space. The procedures for this lesson include: 1) Pre-assessment, 2) Direct Instruction-the class will be broken down into 6 groups of 4 and rotate through stations. In the first station, students will rotate 2-D shapes on straws and draw and identify the 3-D shape formed. The next station includes students translating 2-D shapes through moon sand and drawing and identifying the 3-D shape formed. In the 3rd station, students will explore 3-D shapes further on the following website: http://www.learner.org/interactives/geometry/3d_pyramids.html. Students will then log onto their blogs and answer the following question: Which activity did you enjoy and most and why? Students will be assessed in a variety of ways. First, the pre-assessment will be an Anticipation Guide in which they will answer a series of questions. Throughout the lesson, they will fill in a graphic organizer for their rotations and translations. For the post-assessment, students will fill out the Anticipation Guide again.

Lesson Plan #2: The goal/objective of this lesson is for students to add integers using counters, number lines, technology, and the rule. The procedures for this lesson include students taking a Pre-assessment over adding integers. Next, students will be divided into 6 groups of 4 and rotate through 3 stations. In the first station, students will explore adding integers with red and black counters. They will see if they are able to come up with the rule for adding integers. In the second station, students will use number lines to explore adding integers. They will see if the rule they came up with in the 1st station also works in the 2nd station. At the 3rd station, students will continue exploring adding integers by using the following website: www.explorelearning.com/. Students will then log into their blog and explain how to use counters, number lines, and the rule to add integers. Students must include diagrams. The assessments include students taking a pre-test, using the counters, number lines, and rules to add integers, and creating a SmartBoard page and presenting it to the class.

Plan #3: The objective/goal of this lesson is for students to find the prime factorization of a whole number using the factor tree and upside-down division methods. The procedure for this lesson was for students to complete Prime Factorization WebQuest (included in the WebQuest links). In the WebQuest, students watched videos and read summaries of how to use the factor tree and upside-down division methods to find the prime factorization of whole numbers. Students kept tracked of what they learned which will be used in designing their final project. The assessments throughout the lesson include taking notes on how to use the factor tree and upside down division methods in order to find the prime factorziation of whole numbers. Students will then use that informatin to choose one of the following activities: PowerPoint presentation, comic strip, rap, poem, song, or a storyboard. Students will present their projects to the class.

Lesson Plan #4: The objective/goal of this lesson is for students to create an online animation to show what they learned over the course of the school year. The procedures for this lesson include: 1) Students creating an ABC book (using Word) to define and show an example of the vocabulary words they learned in the 7th grade. 2) Students will then use the site www.exploretree.org.uk/explore/?notice=new_user to create graphic organizers for their vocabulary words. 3) Students will use either of these sites: http://goanimate.com/studio or http://www.xtranormal.com/ to create an online animation. The animation must include a topic/unit covered in the 7th grade, define key vocabulary terms and pictures, explain how to solve at least 3 problems, and give example problems for others to solve. Students will then post a link to their animations on their blogs. The assessments for this lesson include the ABC book and the animation (which will be graded using a rubric).

WebQuest Links

1) Prime Factorization -This WebQuest has students exploring how to find the prime factorization of whole numbers using the factor tree and upside down division methods. Students are then given the choice of presenting what they learned by choosing one of the following activities: PowerPoint presentation, comic strip, storyboards, creating a rap, poem, or song, or creating another method to find the prime factorization of a number.

2) Graphs - This WebQuest has students exploring various types of graphs (bar, line, histogram, line plot, box and whisker plot, scatterplot, circle, and pictograph). Students have to define, explain when best to use, and draw an example of each graph and create a foldable with this information. This page also includes the Hangman Game and a Quiz.