1. Collaborative Learning Using Online Tools
Module One:
An Overview of Online Tools

2. Module One
Objectives
Learn about the effective use of online tools for communication and collaborative learning
Learn the differences between asynchronous and synchronous communication tools
Page 3
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3. Benefits of Online Communication
Module One
Benefits of Online Communication
Online tools make it possible for the
Visual learner to learn by “seeing” online discussions
Tactual learner to learn by actively participating in online discussions
Auditory learner to learn by “listening” to online discussions
Pages 4
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4. Educational Objectives
Module One
Educational Objectives
What are your educational objectives/strategies for your class?
Which of these objectives can be met by using online tools?
Page 4
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5. Possible Educational Objectives
Module One
Possible Educational Objectives
More options for students with different learning styles
Create more meaningful interactions with students
Extend the classroom boundaries
Enable all students to participate (the shy student, the reflective thinker, the disabled student, etc).
Offer students more opportunities to use the language of your discipline
Page 4-5
What other objectives can you think of? (pp 4 & 5)
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6. Asynchronous vs. Synchronous Tools
Module One
Asynchronous vs. Synchronous Tools
ASYNCHRONOUS
Communication without regard to time or place
Listservs
Bulletin Boards / Forums / Discussions
SYNCHRONOUS
Communication without regard to place, but with designated meeting times
Chat
Instant Messaging
Virtual Reality Environments
Whiteboards
Teleconferencing
Videoconferencing
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7. Email Benefits Example Activity A closer look at asynchronous tools
Module One
A closer look at asynchronous tools
Benefits
Opportunity to provide individual attention to students
Students can conduct group projects via
Shy students may be more apt to participate via
Example
Student Introductions (pp 6 & 7)
Activity
Page 6
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8. Listserv What is a Listserv? Benefits Example Activity
Module One
A closer look at asynchronous tools
Listserv
What is a Listserv?
Benefits
Students can continue class discussions after they leave the classroom
Answer questions and post to the entire class at once
Example
Content Experts (page 8)
Activity
No Listserv for this class
Page 7
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9. Bulletin Boards / Forums / Discussions
Module One
A closer look at asynchronous tools
Bulletin Boards / Forums / Discussions
What is a Bulletin Board / Forum / Discussions?
Sample of a bulletin board (link to your bulletin board sample here)
Benefits
Post important information for your students (schedule changes, grading information, reading lists, etc.)
Stimulate student discussions by posting questions, which are threaded and make following discussions easier
Example (pp 11 & 12)
Activity
Log into eGroups account
Page 9-11
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10. Chat What is chat? Benefits Example Activity
Module One
A closer look at synchronous tools
Chat
What is chat?
Sample of a chat room (link to your chat room sample here)
Benefits
Introduce content experts from outside the class
Online office hours
Example
Online office hours (page 14)
Activity
Chat area
Page 13
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11. Virtual Reality Environments
Module One
A closer look at synchronous tools
Virtual Reality Environments
What is a Virtual Reality Environment?
MOOs, MUDs, and MUVEs
Benefits
Similar to chat, with these added benefits
Ability to express non-verbal gestures (different from chat)
Users help build the virtual environment or community
Example
Classes work together across different universities (page 16)
Activity
Read MOO transcript (page 17)
Page 15-18
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12. Practical Considerations
Module One
Practical Considerations
Preparing Yourself
Use your college schedule of classes, catalog, or web site to inform your students that your course will use online tools.
Make sure students have the facilities available to access the tools (campus labs, local library, home)
Use a separate account for communication with students
Set up the bulletin board , listserv and chat room facilities you plan to use before classes begin & test everything prior to first use
(More info on page 19)
Page 19
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13. Practical Considerations
Module One
Practical Considerations
Preparing Your Class
Privacy considerations
The class survey
Find out what your students already know about using online tools
Facility Considerations
Must make sure tools are accessible to students before requiring them to use the tools for class
Page 20
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14. Collaborative Learning Online
Module Two: Using Asynchronous Communication Tools

15. Module Two
Module Two Objectives
Learn to enhance faculty-student communication using asynchronous tools
Learn to enhance student-student communication using asynchronous tools
Learn to manage class communication using asynchronous tools
Troubleshoot strategies and backup plans when using asynchronous tools
Page 23
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16. Benefits of Asynchronous Learning Activities
Module Two
Benefits of Asynchronous Learning Activities
Participation in group projects is easier
Students can participate at any time
Online resources can be easily shared
Learning process can continue when class is cancelled
Student may be more comfortable writing than speaking
Personalized attention can be given to students in need
Any other examples? (page 26)
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17. Teaching Strategies One-to-One Communication One-to-Many Communication
Module Two
Teaching Strategies
One-to-One Communication
to an individual student
One-to-Many Communication
Communication to groups of students using , listservs, or bulletin boards
Page 25
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18. Teaching Strategies Communication Styles (page 27 & 28)
Module Two
Teaching Strategies
Communication Styles (page 27 & 28)
Students and faculty must be aware of different communication styles
Instructor must set the tone for messages
Let students know at the beginning of class your policies regarding response time
Use “clues” to help convey the meaning of your messages
Clues refer to emoticons and acronyms
Page 25-27
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19. Teaching Strategies Emoticons :-) or : ) Smiley (most common)
Module Two
Teaching Strategies
Emoticons
:-) or : ) Smiley (most common)
;-) or ; ) Wink
:-o or : o Gasp
:-( or : ( Unhappiness
Any others?
Page
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20. Teaching Strategies Acronyms BTW: IMO: IMHO: FAQ: FYI: ROTFL: LOL:
Module Two
Teaching Strategies
Acronyms
BTW:
IMO:
IMHO:
FAQ:
FYI:
ROTFL:
LOL:
F2F:
Any others?
By the way
In My Opinion
In My Humble Opinion
Frequently Asked Question(s)
For Your Information
Page
Rolling on the Floor Laughing
Laughing out Loud
Face to Face
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21. Teaching Strategies Providing Feedback
Module Two
Teaching Strategies
Providing Feedback
Students like the instant feedback they are able to receive when using online tools to communicate
Instructors must set up their standards for responding to
Turn-around time
Different response time for different types of questions?
What are the standards for students?
Page
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22. Teaching Strategies Editing Student Writing (pp 31 & 32)
Module Two
Teaching Strategies
Editing Student Writing (pp 31 & 32)
Comment within the reply so the original message is set off from the regular text with >.
Comment in all CAPS
Use arrows, quotes, or brackets
Use * with detailed explanations at the bottom of the message.
Be sure to let your students know your strategy at the beginning of the class and let them know what strategy they should use.
Page
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23. Teaching Strategies Additional Suggestions
Module Two
Teaching Strategies
Additional Suggestions
Copy and paste from a word processor if the program doesn’t have a spell checker
Realize material may lose formatting
Use attachments when formatting is necessary, but warn students about viruses and make sure students save their attachments in rich-text format
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24. Activity One What are some classroom activities you do?
Module Two
Activity One
What are some classroom activities you do?
What’s involved?
What online asynchronous technology could be used?
What would be needed?
Can you think of any more uses in your classes?
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25. Practical Considerations
Module Two
Practical Considerations
Setting up student accounts:
If you’re not using a secure course management system that provides , encourage students to use a free account so they are not giving out their personal accounts to the class
Students must have their own individual, personal account, not shared with family members or friends. Why?
Have your students send you an as their first assignment; that way you’ll be sure to have their address
Add addresses o your address book
Set up folder for each course
Require course# in subject to filter to course folder
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26. Email Management Let your students know your response policy
Module Two
Management
Let your students know your response policy
Use folders and filters to help organize your messages
Have your students put keywords in their subject line to make filtering easier
Use signature files
Set up auto-responses to your s so your students immediately know you received it
Offer students alternatives to to turn in papers in case of problems
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27. Bulletin Board Management
Module Two
Bulletin Board Management
If your campus has local bulletin board software, use it
Tech support should be easier
Students may be using the system in other classes
Free web-based bulletin boards are listed in the appendix
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28. Collaborative Learning Online
Module Three:
Using Synchronous Communication Tools

29. Benefits of Synchronous Learning Activities
Module Three
Benefits of Synchronous Learning Activities
Expand the boundaries of your classroom
Schedule guest speakers, have your students participate in existing chat sessions regarding current events, join two class together for discussion periods
Schedule online office hours
In-class tutors can set up chat sessions to help students
Facilitate group work and collaborative learning
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30. Teaching Strategies Communication Styles
Module Three
Teaching Strategies
Communication Styles
Require your students to be prepared with questions and comments before participating in online discussions
Provide focused tasks/assignments so students don’t get “lost”
Act as the moderator and keep students on track
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31. Teaching Strategies Providing Feedback
Module Three
Teaching Strategies
Providing Feedback
Reserve feedback for a more private venue
Chat rooms will often allow you to send private messages to individuals
Make sure students understand how they will be graded when participating in synchronous activities
Students should know what you expect regarding behavior
Inform students if you will be keeping a printed log of chat and MOO sessions.
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32. Teaching Strategies Netiquette & Best Practices
Module Three
Teaching Strategies
Netiquette & Best Practices
Confine remarks to one or two lines
Avoid extremely personal comments
Do not use all uppercase letters (this is SHOUTING)
Use only common emoticons or acronyms
Link to --
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33. Activity One What are some classroom activities you do?
Module Three
Activity One
What are some classroom activities you do?
What’s involved?
What online synchronous technology could be used?
What would be needed?
Can you think of any more uses in your classes?
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34. Practical Considerations
Module Three
Practical Considerations
Chat
Make sure there is a clear objective of the chat session and keep people on track
Learn the features of the chat software you are using before introducing it to students.
Is Instant Messaging a built-in capability? Do you need it to be?
Can people easily find your chat room?
You may need to divide your class into groups before using a chat session, rather than having the entire class log in at once.
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35. Practical Considerations
Module Three
Practical Considerations
MOO
Make sure your are completely comfortable with MOOs before introducing them to your students.
(See story page 50)
Take small groups to MOOs for their first visit.
MOO assignments should be designed as individual or small group efforts..
Provide a handout of the basic MOO commands that gives examples of their uses.
(More guidelines on page 51.)
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36. Collaborative Learning Online
Module Four:
Creating Effective Lessons Using Online Tools

37. Objectives Identify learning objectives for students
Module Four
Objectives
Identify learning objectives for students
Select tools that will help students achieve learning objectives
Learn how to design online groups and activities
Develop a short lesson/activity to take back to the classroom
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38. Tools and Their Attributes
Module Four
Tools and Their Attributes X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
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39. Developing a Sense of Community
Module Four
Developing a Sense of Community
Setting the Tone
The tone you take (formal or informal) will likely be the one most students will assume
Remind students of your response-time policy
Provide guidelines for online behavior--“lurk” to make sure the guidelines are being followed
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40. Developing a Sense of Community
Module Four
Developing a Sense of Community
Modeling/Coaching
“Lurk” in order to provide feedback to students who are having difficulty collaborating online. (pp 58 & 59)
Suggestion: make copying you on messages a requirement when communicating with
If there are few interactions online; send a message to the students asking for feedback
Watch small group discussions for comments about members who are not participating
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41. Developing a Sense of Community
Module Four
Developing a Sense of Community
Designing Effective Groups
Survey the class
3-5 students per group
Place one technologically-savvy person in each group
Decide what to do about “flakes”
Group students with similar schedules
If you don’t want to set guidelines, you could ask each group to set its own standards for participation
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42. Developing a Sense of Community
Module Four
Read story in Module 4, page 62 about cheating before going through this slide
Developing a Sense of Community
Valuing Student Contributions
Quality of contribution. For example, point will be given when:
The source of the idea is clearly stated
The comment clearly communicates the topic or issue
Level of participation. For example:
Participation is required at least ___ times per week
Posts will be counted and points will be awarded for them
Points will be given if you start a relevant thread of discussion
Points will be awarded to the first person to contribute to each topic
Discuss ideas for grading (Page 65)
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43. Developing a Sense of Community
Module Four
Developing a Sense of Community
Quality of Assignments
If a documents is received and you notice lots of problems in the first paragraph, send it back
Use peer editing to refine assignments before you see them
Post successful papers from previous classes to motivate students
Post sample papers with corrections for modeling
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44. Developing a Sense of Community
Module Four
Developing a Sense of Community
Managing Assignments
You don’t have to be so reactive, you needn’t read every message
As you become more comfortable with groups, read only the top-level report, not all the lower-level chat
Collect group reports instead of individual ones
Have students collaborate on assignments and only send you one message
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45. Identify Learning Objectives (Why use online tools?)
Module Four
Identify Learning Objectives (Why use online tools?)
Offer a variety of options to students with different learning styles
Create more meaningful interactions with students
Extend classroom boundaries
Improve communication with your students
Offer students the opportunity to use the language of your discipline
Encourage the development and growth of the learning community
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46. Activity One: Objectives
Module Four
Activity One: Objectives
Review the objectives on (pp 70-71)
Select objectives for your class.
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47. Activity Two: Select Tools
Module Four
Activity Two: Select Tools
You will be paired with a person in the class. Read the scenarios on page 71 and discuss the best tool for each scenario:
Listserv
Bulletin Board
Chat
Instant Messaging
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48. Activity Three: Lesson Plan
Module Four
Activity Three: Lesson Plan
Use the worksheet on page 74 to design a lesson plan that incorporates the use of an online tool with your class.
Be sure to address the objectives you wrote down in activity one (page 71).
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49. @ @ O N E Empowering through technology @ONE Evergreen Valley College
3095 Yerba Buena Road
San Jose, CA 95135
Empowering
faculty & staff
to enhance their work
through technology