EDT 8130 - Making Online Courses Interactive
Smart Learning Objectives
Specific - Measurable - Attainable - Results-focused - Time-focused
After completing this workshop, the participant will be able to do the following.
1. List and define the three components of a Community of Inquiry
2. Provide examples of activities which contribute to Social Presence, Cognitive Presence, and Teaching Presence.
3. Describe how properly designed assessments facilitate learning.
4. Give two methods students may use to take advantage of the e-learning environment to cheat on assessments or assignments.
Specific - Measurable - Attainable - Results-focused - Time-focused
After completing this workshop, the participant will be able to do the following.
1. List and define the three components of a Community of Inquiry
2. Provide examples of activities which contribute to Social Presence, Cognitive Presence, and Teaching Presence.
3. Describe how properly designed assessments facilitate learning.
4. Give two methods students may use to take advantage of the e-learning environment to cheat on assessments or assignments.
Community of Inquiry - Summary
Education is a transaction that involves the teacher and the learner and includes a collaboration between these two elements. The conceptual framework of a Community of Inquiry (CoI) defines components of this transaction and further examines details of these components that make up an learning experience. A competent and effective CoI is necessary for learners to make meaning through guided presentation of knowledge and reflection. While originally conceived for all educational experiences, it is useful to use this framework when considering the design and implementation of online and other e-learning activities.
Components of the CoI
The CoI is divided into three conceptual components, social presence, cognitive presence, and teaching presence. These components share considerable overlap as shown in the accompanying figure. The remainder of this presentation will describe each of these components and their contribution to the educational transaction. We also will examine how these components can be developed and maintained in an e-learning environment.
The CoI is divided into three conceptual components, social presence, cognitive presence, and teaching presence. These components share considerable overlap as shown in the accompanying figure. The remainder of this presentation will describe each of these components and their contribution to the educational transaction. We also will examine how these components can be developed and maintained in an e-learning environment.
Social Presence
Social presence represents the level to which participants in the CoI identify with the learning group, can express themselves in a trusting and open environment, and develop relationships by projecting their own personality and points of view. Social presence will establish the learning environment and support discourse among the participants of the CoI – including communication between and among the learners and the teachers. While social presence is important for an effective CoI, there is an optimum level of social interactions in the CoI. Social interactions beyond the bounds of those necessary to maintain the learning community can be disruptive to the cognitive presence component of the CoI.
In the e-learning environment, social presence can be developed through textual, visual, and aural communication channels. The current technologies by which e-learning is facilitated support robust capabilities for these interactions. It falls to the e-learning educator to design the activities to develop and support social presence in the CoI.
The following video is a recording of an online session which summarizes the components of the CoI, especially as it relates to the e-learning environment. The session then describes social presence in some detail and is practical application to e-learning.
Social presence represents the level to which participants in the CoI identify with the learning group, can express themselves in a trusting and open environment, and develop relationships by projecting their own personality and points of view. Social presence will establish the learning environment and support discourse among the participants of the CoI – including communication between and among the learners and the teachers. While social presence is important for an effective CoI, there is an optimum level of social interactions in the CoI. Social interactions beyond the bounds of those necessary to maintain the learning community can be disruptive to the cognitive presence component of the CoI.
In the e-learning environment, social presence can be developed through textual, visual, and aural communication channels. The current technologies by which e-learning is facilitated support robust capabilities for these interactions. It falls to the e-learning educator to design the activities to develop and support social presence in the CoI.
The following video is a recording of an online session which summarizes the components of the CoI, especially as it relates to the e-learning environment. The session then describes social presence in some detail and is practical application to e-learning.
Cognitive Presence
To paraphrase D. Randy Garrison (2011), cognitive presence is the creation of the environment which facilitates making meaning of knowledge within the CoI through exploration, discourse, and discussion. The processes involved in the cognitive presence are manifest in the four phases of the Practical Inquiry model – Triggering, Exploration, Integration, and Resolution.
Cognitive presence is dependent on the existence of social presence. Without an adequate social presence, the necessary discourse among the community of learners will be absent or muted.
The following video is a recording of a workshop on the attitudes of educators to e-learning technologies and ways that e-learning technologies can facilitate the developing high quality activities for the Practical Inquiry model.
To paraphrase D. Randy Garrison (2011), cognitive presence is the creation of the environment which facilitates making meaning of knowledge within the CoI through exploration, discourse, and discussion. The processes involved in the cognitive presence are manifest in the four phases of the Practical Inquiry model – Triggering, Exploration, Integration, and Resolution.
- Triggering is the spark that should get the learners interested in the subject. It may be a presentation of the dilemma or the promise of a solution to a problem that the learners have experienced or can imagine experiencing. This typically will be an activity designed by the teacher that will encourage the students to become engaged in the CoI.
- In the exploration phase, students seek information or generate ideas to solve the problem or resolve the dilemma. These can be independent searches for information or may be orchestrated by the teacher into community discussions where ideas are shared and refined.
- During the integration phase, the information gained during exploration is applied and focused on the subject material. Learners should become reflective during this phase to evaluate their own meaning of the problem and whether their acquired new information is complete enough to come to a rational solution.
- Finally, in the resolution phase, learners make meaning of the new information in the context of their own prior knowledge and experience. Their knowledge can be tested and further refined in this phase as the mental model of the information is consolidated.
Cognitive presence is dependent on the existence of social presence. Without an adequate social presence, the necessary discourse among the community of learners will be absent or muted.
The following video is a recording of a workshop on the attitudes of educators to e-learning technologies and ways that e-learning technologies can facilitate the developing high quality activities for the Practical Inquiry model.
Teaching Presence
Teaching presence is not to be confused with teacher presence. In the classical model of teacher presence illustrated in the image here, new information is delivered by the teacher to the students who hopefully absorb, digest, and integrate the information with their prior knowledge to make meaning of it. In the CoI framework the emphasis on the teacher is replaced with an emphasis on the learning. Thus, the teacher’s role goes beyond providing information. Teachers must also design adequate course organization and facilitate discourse in the learning community throughout the phases of Practical Inquiry. Thus in this framework, the students take responsibility for their own learning and also take on some of the classical roles of teacher. The strength and utility of the discourse among the learners is highly dependent on the quality of the social presence.
Finally, teaching presence requires assessment of student learning and deep understanding. The assessments should be determined periodically as formative assessments as well as at the end of the course of instruction to assign grades to the learners and determine the learning effectiveness of the course. This responsibility is at the intersection between teaching presence and cognitive presence in the CoI framework.
The following video is a recording of an online session which explores the value of well-designed assessments for furthering the learning experience. The workshop also examines the potential for cheating in the e-learning environment and ways that technology can detect and/or minimize the potential of cheating.
Teaching presence is not to be confused with teacher presence. In the classical model of teacher presence illustrated in the image here, new information is delivered by the teacher to the students who hopefully absorb, digest, and integrate the information with their prior knowledge to make meaning of it. In the CoI framework the emphasis on the teacher is replaced with an emphasis on the learning. Thus, the teacher’s role goes beyond providing information. Teachers must also design adequate course organization and facilitate discourse in the learning community throughout the phases of Practical Inquiry. Thus in this framework, the students take responsibility for their own learning and also take on some of the classical roles of teacher. The strength and utility of the discourse among the learners is highly dependent on the quality of the social presence.
Finally, teaching presence requires assessment of student learning and deep understanding. The assessments should be determined periodically as formative assessments as well as at the end of the course of instruction to assign grades to the learners and determine the learning effectiveness of the course. This responsibility is at the intersection between teaching presence and cognitive presence in the CoI framework.
The following video is a recording of an online session which explores the value of well-designed assessments for furthering the learning experience. The workshop also examines the potential for cheating in the e-learning environment and ways that technology can detect and/or minimize the potential of cheating.
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References
Garrison, D. R. (2011) E-learning in the 21st century. New York, New York, Routledge.
Garrison, D. R. (2011) E-learning in the 21st century. New York, New York, Routledge.