Collaboration Trends in Distance Ed

Ortiz, Amy

CO

Beldarrain, Y. (2006). Distance education trends: Integrating new technologies to foster student interaction and collaboration. Distance Education, 27(2), 139-153.

As distance education becomes increasingly popular, instructors seek ways of fostering an online environment where students can more easily interact and collaborate. There is a unique pedagogy behind distance education, which requires a distinct approach to curriculum design. Online interactivity will make use of web 2.0 tools such as wikis, blogs and podcasts. Students and instructors will be able to communicate in real time and delayed time. These types of activities will help students feel connected to their learning experience. This connectedness is constructivist in ideology. The more active a student is in his or her learning process, the more likely they are to comprehend the curriculum. Creating information in the form of a wiki or blog and then exchanging ideas with peers and instructors is a great way to raise questions and nurture an environment where discussion is valued. This phenomenon of online social learning processes is a direct reflection of modern society’s fascination with social networking and digital communication. New learning management software is delivering an educational experience that encourages contact between students and faculty, develops reciprocity and cooperation among students, and gives prompt feedback. A bit of information that I found particularly helpful in this article was the distinction between instructional and learning theories: “Instructional theories explain how to achieve the desired learning outcomes, while learning theories describe how learning actually occurs.” This was helpful in my mind because up until this point I had trouble distinguishing between the concepts. Ultimately, technology will influence the way instructors design courses and the theoretical approaches they use to reach students who are separated from the institution by distance. Collaboration is an integral aspect of learning, so it is important that opportunities for interaction and collaboration combat the restrictions of time and space present in distance education.