This entry can also be accessed on the communication tools page.
The social nature of learning is emphasized by many learning theories such as Vygotsky’s social development theory, Wegner’s communities of practice, and constructivism. In online learning environments, Anderson (2008) purports that establishing a social presence is key to fostering deep and meaningful learning. My Biology 12 LMS is designed to support and enhance a face-to-face learning environment. My hope is that the LMS will serve as a platform where students can extend the social negotiation of learning beyond scheduled class time. As such, I have embedded communication tools into my LMS. Under Unit 2: Cell structure, I have included the following four communication tools: forum, chat, wiki, and database. In the following, I will discuss the affordances and limitations of the Moodle forum and wiki.
1. Forum:
a. Why I chose it and affordances:
I chose the include a forum because it is an informal and asynchronous platform where students can present, challenge and develop ideas. In addition, the instructor can track participation and monitor discussions to seek out and correct possible misconceptions. The forums are informal in the sense that students are not expected to present perfectly formed ideas. Rather, the goal of the forum is to provide a space where students can feel free to explore the material by posting partially formed ideas and responding to others, thus engaging in the social negotiation of learning. Additionally, some students who do not feel comfortable speaking in class, may feel more comfortable expressing their ideas in this manner. Because the forums are asynchronous, students can post and respond at their convenience.
b. Limitations:
The text-based nature mandates that students have a minimum level of literacy and typing skills. Without the benefit of the visual and auditory cues (body language and intonation) afforded by f2f discussions , miscommunications can result. If clarification is required, there can be a significant time delay before it is addressed. Clear rules of etiquette should be established to foster a climate of respect.
c. Does it work?:
In my experience, discussion forums are more focused and developed when the instructor provides a prompt and a minimum number of required responses. In the forum under Unit 2: Cell Structure, I have provided the students with a prompt, I have asked them to develop an analogy for the cell, for example “the cell as a city” or “the cell as a school”. The students are required to post their analogies and then read and respond to at least two other students’ posts.
2. Wiki:
a. Why I chose it and affordances:
A wiki is a tool for organizing ideas that are contributed socially. Wikis are searchable, and can serve as a resource for information. Because wikis can serve as a source of information for others, wiki contributions are more formal than in forums. Students are accountable to each other and must collaborate to present well developed and accurate contributions. This added accountability of authorship can serve as a motivator for the students to spend time covering the material and preparing accurate contributions. The end result of a wiki is an artifact that represents the collective learning of the group. It can be published for outside viewing and is a valuable resource for reviewing course content. . In Moodle, the administrator can determine the level of editing access different student groups have.
b. Limitations: A study conducted by Vratulis and Dobson (2008) investigating the implementation of a wiki in a teacher education course found issues with power dispersal. Some students “became frustrated when their ideas were misrepresented to the balance of the community”. One student, “struggled in asserting her voice within her group because of dominant-member control over the group postings.” This result suggests that roles need to be established as well as a protocol of respect for negotiating what should be included in a contribution.
The wiki writing tool in Moodle appears to be quite basic without many bells and whistles. This rudimentary wiki tool in does not provide much opportunity to incorporate aesthetic design elements. However, this may allow the students to focus on the content and not the design. Finally, the wiki can only be accessed by signing in to the Moodle course and is thus not accessible to those who do not have access to the course.
c. Does it work? I have included a wiki in Unit 2: Cell Structure where students can contribute information about each of the organelles.
3. Chat (Live Forum): I have included a weekly chat scheduled for Sunday evening at 5 pm. This forum is intended to summarize and address any remaining questions from the previous week’s lessons. The advantage of the live forum is that it is synchronous and in real-time ,affording immediate feedback and responses to questions. As they are not mandatory, issues regarding availability are not an issue. Moodle has an option that allows users to view archived chats.
4. Database: Moodle has a database tool that allows users to contribute quantitative and qualitative data. In Unit 2: Cell Structures, I have set up a database for students to contribute links to useful websites that cover topic content.
References:
Anderson, T. (2008). Teaching in an Online Learning Context. In: Anderson, T. & Elloumi, F. Theory and Practice of Online Learning. Athabasca University. Accessed online 3 March 2009
Vratulis, T., Dobso, M. (2008). Social negotiations in a wiki
environment: a case study with pre-service teachers. Educational Media International, 45 (4) p. 285 – 294
