A Mixed Methods Study of the Implementation of Collaborative Technology Tools for Enhancing Collaboration and Student Engagement in Online Learning

A Mixed Methods Study of the Implementation of Collaborative Technology Tools for Enhancing Collaboration and Student Engagement in Online Learning
Author: Ayshah Abdullah Alahmari
Publisher:
Total Pages: 235
Release: 2019
Genre:
ISBN: 9781392262870

The appropriate implementation of collaborative technology tools in online courses leads to a culture of social learning where technology empowers students to take central roles in their learning. Yet, critical questions still exist about how faculty design, develop, implement collaborative eLearning activities using technology tools that support collaboration and student engagement in online courses, and what perspectives students have toward their experiences while participating in these activities. The purpose of the study is to explore the experiences of faculty members implementing collaborative technology tools in online courses to support collaboration and student engagement, in addition, to obtain the perspectives of students toward their experiences while participating in these activities. The study attempts to better understand the potential and use of technology for enhancing collaboration and student engagement in online settings and the factors that influence the selection of collaborative technology tools for incorporating collaborative eLearning activities in online courses. An explanatory sequential mixed methods approach was utilized to collect data from a total of 210 faculty and student participants who met the participation criteria and volunteered to participate in the study at a large Midwestern state university. Out of the 210 participants, 29 faculty members and 181 students were surveyed, and after a review of the results, follow-up interviews were conducted with four faculty members and two students. The findings of this study confirmed that collaborative technology tools have the potential to create a virtual collaborative environment that enables instructors to establish a learning community within online courses where students can synchronously or asynchronously work together toward a common task, in which each student adds to an emerging pool of knowledge of the group. This study provides evidence that the use of collaborative technology tools positively affects students' experiences with collaborative eLearning activities in online learning. The instructor's ability to successfully select and implement collaborative technology tools that effectively support collaborative eLearning and student engagement in online courses is a primary concern. This concern raises the demand for online instructors who are well-prepared and fully-supported to integrate collaborative technology tools into online settings and design eLearning activities that engage students and foster interaction and collaboration. Possible implications of the study and practical recommendations drawn from the findings of the study for professional and meaningful practice are discussed.

Handbook of Research on Facilitating Collaborative Learning Through Digital Content and Learning Technologies

Handbook of Research on Facilitating Collaborative Learning Through Digital Content and Learning Technologies
Author: Keengwe, Jared
Publisher: IGI Global
Total Pages: 518
Release: 2022-12-28
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1668457105

Digital content and learning technologies are now the norm at all levels of education. However, there is evidence to suggest that this digital shift is on a spectrum and the spectrum impacts learners in different ways. This means that some instructors who seek to integrate digital content may do so using traditional teaching methods while others use innovative practices to engage learners. Those who integrate innovative digital practices align their instructional practice with theories to facilitate student-centered pedagogies that support and improve the depth and scope of student learning. A primary characteristic of student-centered learning is facilitating collaborative learning using digital content and learning technologies to engage students as well as to enhance meaningful learning. The Handbook of Research on Facilitating Collaborative Learning Through Digital Content and Learning Technologies provides K-20 educators with alternative pedagogical and andragogical models that are innovative and incorporate digital content and learning technologies that promote constructive learning. Further, this book explores the relationship between constructivist learning, digital content, and learning technologies. A primary argument in this book is that constructivist teaching strategies such as collaborative learning coupled with digital content and purposeful learning technologies could benefit student learning in ways that are different from those practiced in traditional, non-digital learning environments. Covering topics such as instructional design, self-efficacy, and library engagement, this major reference work is an essential resource for pre-service teachers, teacher educators, faculty and administrators of K-20 education, librarians, researchers, and academicians.

Technology-Enhanced Systems and Tools for Collaborative Learning Scaffolding

Technology-Enhanced Systems and Tools for Collaborative Learning Scaffolding
Author: Thanasis Daradoumis
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2011-04-01
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 3642198147

Technology-Enhanced Systems and Tools for Collaborative Learning Scaffolding is a major research theme in CSCL and CSCW research community. This book presents up-to-date research approaches for developing technology-enhanced systems and tools to support functional online collaborative learning and work settings. It comprises a variety of research topics that span from the study of frameworks and infrastructures that foster collaborative learning and work through the application of different methods (distributed e-learning repositories, content creation and customization, social networks, collaborative ontologies building, and educational games) to the use of personalization and adaptation techniques to support the development of more powerful e-collaboration settings, including methodologies and tools for analyzing students' interactions with the aim to increase students' collaborative behaviors, performance and group organization. Researchers will find in this book the latest trends in these research topics, which gives them the opportunity to deepen further on the above issues and to extend their knowledge to other areas. Academics will find practical insights on how to use conceptual and experimental approaches in their daily tasks. Developers from CSCL community can be inspired and put in practice the proposed models and evaluate them for the specific purposes of their own work and context.

The Wiley Handbook of Collaborative Online Learning and Global Engagement

The Wiley Handbook of Collaborative Online Learning and Global Engagement
Author: Deirdre Johnston
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 382
Release: 2022-07-13
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1119634814

Presents best practices for faculty and administrators developing globally-connected courses, including learning objectives, collaborative assignments, and logistical planning As political instability, pandemic risks, rising costs, new requirements for experiential learning, and other factors make it increasingly difficult for students to study abroad, there is growing interest in globalizing and internationalizing the curricula of colleges and universities worldwide. The Wiley Handbook of Collaborative Online Learning and Global Engagement is designed to help educators develop and conduct high-impact, globally-connected courses across the humanities, the fine arts, and the social and natural sciences. This comprehensive guide covers collaborative practices, course design variables, student learning approaches, logistical planning, and more. An international team of contributors from diverse geographic, cultural, and academic backgrounds offer insight into enhancing pedagogical practice, coordinating study abroad experiences, and promoting both students' and faculty's global competencies. Throughout the text, numerous real-world case studies, interactive and experiential assignments, sample syllabi, course bibliographies, and links to web and media resources reinforce best practices for course design, learning objectives, and pedagogy development. Based on a detailed assessment of 500 students in collaborative courses across 14 countries, this innovative guide: Covers co-development of learning objectives across different courses, disciplines and cultural contexts, co-coordination of course content, technology, and resources, and intercultural learning assessment Explores new and innovative ways to engage students in distant locations in collaborative learning Provides advice for overcoming logistical challenges, managing group dynamics, controlling costs, and implementing connected courses with limited resources Discusses the impact globally-connected courses have on cultural curiosity, knowledge, strategy, and behavior Offers approaches for addressing cultural transgressions and miscommunication, and for collaborating with other faculty members across cultures and educational systems Featuring multiple cultural perspectives and international contexts, The Wiley Handbook of Collaborative Online Learning and Global Engagement is a valuable guide and reference for faculty and administrators involved in teaching, planning, implementing, or assessing courses with global learning outcomes.

Collaborating Online

Collaborating Online
Author: Rena M. Palloff
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 132
Release: 2010-04-15
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0470876018

Collaborating Online provides practical guidance for faculty seeking to help their students work together in creative ways, move out of the box of traditional papers and projects, and deepen the learning experience through their work with one another. Authors Rena Palloff and Keith Pratt draw on their extensive knowledge and experience to show how collaboration brings students together to support the learning of each member of the group while promoting creativity and critical thinking. Collaborating Online is the second title in the Jossey-Bass Guides to Online Teaching and Learning. This series helps higher education professionals improve the practice of online teaching and learning by providing concise, practical resources focused on particular areas or issues they might confront in this new learning environment.

Technology-Enhanced and Collaborative Learning

Technology-Enhanced and Collaborative Learning
Author: Stewart Martin
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 110
Release: 2018-07-26
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1351981102

Technology-enhanced, collaborative and blended learning settings can promote more effective approaches to teaching, learning and assessment when context, agency and individual characteristics are taken into account. This book presents critical insight into the theoretical and practical progress made towards establishing effective, valid and reliable strategies for using and evaluating such approaches, and the challenges and implications of doing so. Topics explored include technology-enhanced learning and student evaluations; student engagement and the perception of teaching quality; instructional design and assessment strategies; blended network and mobile technologies for enriching learning and for monitoring and assessment; and the motivations of students to engage with evaluation. Contributors examine issues such as the underlying variabilities in student evaluation of teaching; the implications of inherited cultural and pedagogic practices for educators using collaborative and blended learning; and the international empirical progress in research to understand and measure interactions between cognition, successful learning, and individual difference in technology-augmented settings.

Blended Synchronous Learning

Blended Synchronous Learning
Author: Matt G Bower
Publisher:
Total Pages: 192
Release: 2014-11-07
Genre:
ISBN: 9781743616857

Blended synchronous learning - where remote students participate in face-to-face classes by means of rich-media synchronous technologies such as video conferencing, web conferencing and virtual worlds - is an emerging phenomenon in education. More and more teachers are attempting to teach in this challenging mode, but without any systematic research evidence to help guide their blended synchronous learning practices. The Blended Synchronous Learning Handbook is a definitive resource that addresses this issue. It includes a Blended Synchronous Learning Design Framework that offers pedagogical, technological and logistical recommendations for teachers attempting to design and implement blended synchronous learning lessons. It also includes a Rich-Media Synchronous Technology Capabilities Framework to support the selection of technologies for different types of learning activities, as well as a review of relevant literature, a summary of the Blended Synchronous Learning Scoping Study, detailed reports of seven blended synchronous learning case studies, and an in-depth cross case analysis to underpin the recommendations that are drawn.

Student's Perceptions of Collaboration Tools in a Higher Education Online Collaborative Learning Environment

Student's Perceptions of Collaboration Tools in a Higher Education Online Collaborative Learning Environment
Author: Kirk C. Henry
Publisher:
Total Pages: 150
Release: 2010
Genre: Distance education
ISBN:

Higher education funding and student behavior has been changing rapidly (Dervarics,2008). Because of this, there has been an increased focus on the use of alternative tools for course delivery. One of the emerging areas of focus has been an increased interest in the use of communication and information technologies (Curtis & Lawson, 2001). Currently, there are a wide variety of flexible delivery methods that have been used as well as their associated tools. Naturally, questions have been raised about the efficacy of these tools on the quality of student-student, student-teacher, and student-content interaction (Curtis & Lawson, 2001). Interaction and Collaboration may be versatile tools within the online learning environment, but the main concern for instructional designers and instructors is improving student outcomes within the online learning environment. Unfortunately, there isn't much research to guide instructors and developers as to which online collaboration tools promote transformative pedagogy, and research appears non-existent indicating the preferences of students and faculty regarding specific online collaboration tools. A host of interactive events are possible within an online learning environment. Some are viewed as essential and others may assume a more supplemental role. Participants reported that they preferred to interact with other students and their instructor using the discussion board within the online learning environment. Additionally, the participants believe that their interaction with the text was of less importance than their interaction with the instructor. Learners indicated that the discussion board was valued over all other collaboration tools available within the course. However, it is certainly possible that in other learning environments such findings may differ. Further study is needed to determine whether the initial insights of participants reflect reasonable trends in interaction or merely an isolated instance. This study was conducted using a mixed methods research approach. Mixed methods research allows the inclusion of issues and strategies that surround methods of data collection, methods of research, and related philosophical issues (Johnson, Onwuegbuzie & Turner, 2007). When qualitative and quantitative datasets are mixed, the datasets often provide richer insights into the phenomenon than if either qualitative or quantitative datasets alone were used. Additionally, using a mixed methods approach provides strengths that offset the weaknesses inherent in each sole approach (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2007; Jick, 1979). Rather than limiting the study to a single ideology, the research was able to utilize all possible methods to explore a research problem. The results of this study provide guidelines for instructional designers developing instructional strategies for online environments. The importance of well-designed instruction was reinforced by this study. The components of "well-designed instruction" can span beyond stimulus-response or drill and practice activities to include a wide range of dynamic interactions using a wide range of increasingly specific tools. Such diverse interactions using the correct tools collectively comprise a dynamic learning environment encompassing one or more learning communities that can expand well beyond the restrictions of any single course selection, thereby connecting learners in unique ways.

Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Creative Multimedia 2023 (ICCM 2023)

Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Creative Multimedia 2023 (ICCM 2023)
Author: Fauzan Mustaffa
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 412
Release: 2023-12-16
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 2384761382

This is an open access book. The Faculty of Creative Multimedia (FCM), Multimedia University will hold the 3rd International Conference on Creative Multimedia 2023 (ICCM2023) on 26–28 July 2023 (Virtual Conference). ICCM2023 invites prospective authors to take part by submitting research papers in pursuing the vibrant discourse of creative multimedia. ICCM2023 aims to bring together related research scholars, educators, practitioners, policymakers, enthusiasts, fellow students, and design entrepreneurs from various perspectives, disciplines, and fields to share and exchange their research experiences and results on all aspects of arts, design, and creative media technologies. ICCM2023 embraces possibilities, provides an interdisciplinary forum for all stakeholders to present and discuss current trends, innovations, and concerns, as well as practical issues and solutions in the field of creative multimedia. We welcome high-quality research contributions dealing with original and unpublished results on fundamental, conceptual, empirical and experimental work in all areas of arts, design and creative media technologies.