For my A3, I wanted to look at a way to foster connections and relationships in online courses. Participating in an online course can make learners feel isolated, anxious, and even frustrated at times. Sometimes asking simple questions can seem difficult as the only options available are to email your instructor or post your question in a class-wide discussion board. In addition to this, finding people to work with who are compatible with your learning, work, and communication style and who share similar interests, modes of communication, and time zones can be tricky. My proposed Pick.Me program would help to address these concerns. Please note that this is a fictional creation.
There are two options for presentation style and I have also created a mock-up website for Pick.Me. If you have any questions, comments, or feedback, I would love to hear it!
Option 1 – Voice-Recording:
Option 2 – Voice-Recording with Images:
Site Mock-Up:
Group Generators Mentioned:
- Class Dojo: https://www.classdojo.com/
- MOOCLab: https://www.mooclab.club/pages/study_buddy/
- Picker Wheel: https://pickerwheel.com/
- Random Group Generator: https://www.randomlists.com/team-generator
- Random Student Generator: https://www.transum.org/software/RandomStudents/
References:
- Bolliger, D. U., & Martindale, T. (2004). Key factors for determining student satisfaction in online courses. International Journal on e-Learning, 3(1), 61.
- Fosnot, C. T. (2013). Constructivism: Theory, perspectives, and practice, 2nd Ed. Teachers College Press.
- Hall, R. A. (2015). Critical thinking in online discussion boards: Transforming an anomaly. Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin, 81(3).
- Kupczynski, L., Mundy, M. A., Goswami, J., & Meling, V. (2012). Cooperative Learning in Distance Learning: A Mixed Methods Study. Online Submission, 5(2), 81-90.
- Thanh, T.N., Butler, M., Morgan, M., & Marriott, K. (2019). Perfect match: Facilitating study partner matching. SIGCSE ‘19, MI, USA.
- Yuan, J., & Kim, C. (2014). Guidelines for facilitating the development of learning communities in online courses: Development of online learning communities. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 30(3), 220-232. doi:10.1111/jcal.12042
Hi Julia,
This is wholesome!
I definitely like the idea of a solution that connects classmates with one another — especially within the current remote context, as a lot of us here have noted. If integrated into the course (and if the preferences could be carried over to future / other courses), that would be great as well.
I wonder if it would be a good idea to keep matches anonymous at first. This way, the relationships might develop more organically and be more “professional” to begin with?
Hi Julia,
What a great, timely presentation as many educators are faced with the prospect of starting a new school year without having had any face to face time with their students. The question of how to build a positive and supportive classroom community and engage students is one I have seem come up in many places and this has some great ideas and implications for that. Thank you!
Thank you, Julia, for putting forth Pick.Me as a solution to the problem that exists in creating community and peer relationships in online courses. Community and peer relationship building is an often neglected area in online courses that must be further explored and facilitated by technology, instructors, and students as more courses are fully online in response to the pandemic. Your proposal of the problem and solution is solid, and I like the way you focus on connecting peers on a more social/personal level as a way to ease into more academic or work-driven conversations. I also appreciate how this is something students can opt into if they feel they need the support. I can see this being integrated as a part of an LMS or a simple extension of completing one’s profile.
Feeling disconnected or isolated from peers is one of the things I often discuss with others who inquire how my online learning experience is going, and conversations with friends who have been working remotely have resulted in this same issue coming up. I agree that when we’re in a classroom environment or office, we don’t hesitate as much to reach out and ask a simple clarifying question or have a chat with people we’re unfamiliar with, but reaching out to do this through in email/discussion board can be daunting, especially when social relationships are weak or have yet to be developed.
In 522 last semester I created a different but similar solution for a collaborative group work app that might interest you: https://mddrake.wixsite.com/hiveapp
This is such a simple concept, but spoke very powerfully to my own experience with online learning. I appreciated that you provided two options for experiencing, and feel that the mock up demonstrated the concept very well. Your presentation flowed naturally, and made the case for the need as well as providing research offering greater insight into an experience that is commonly shared.
Linking this to social constructivism provides a strong case that this is not just reducing a sense of isolation, but could be considered demonstrative of best practice in terms of enhancing learning.
In all honesty, when I saw that the video was 9 minutes long I hesitated, but one benefit of hosting on YouTube is that you can speed up the playback, and within the first two minutes you had me hooked by connecting it to a personal experience. I found myself wanting to know more after watching your presentation.
I wonder if this feature is something that should be integrated directly into the learning management system (such as Canvas). I also wonder if integrating longer term information about a student’s learning styles/habits gathered from their past usage of the LMS could be used to inform group composition?
Thank you for a well laid out and thought provoking presentation.
HI Julia, in a world of apps where there is one for everything, it’s nice to see entrepreneurial app ideas making that way out from this course. Your app and concept are great with the pick.me app. I find your app more useful in larger classroom groups or with larger project teams. I can see a potential that perhaps this app could also create study groups and teams based on compatibility of other peers. I have been in online classes for the last 2.5 years and I can say that the downside of online learning is the team collaborations. Some work, some do not, and can negatively affect performance in the academic space. However, as you mentioned this can be used by teachers to create groups themselves based on similarities and attributes of the learners that will work well together.
There are few potentials of the app. You mentioned about community building at the start. I have developed a prototype on my A3 called Pod Class which might be reflecting on this idea on community.
Great work on the presentation.
Hi Julia,
I felt as though you were speaking directly to me during this podcast. I am finishing up my 9th online course with the MET program, and at the start of each class, I still feel lonely, anxious and out of place. It is very isolating working online and the nervousness reaching an apex when I post my first discussion. It is a luxury to find a peer group to reach out to for clarification, motivation and guidance. At the beginning of ETEC 523, it was Anne Emberline’s initiative to ask the entire class if anyone was interested in a weekly chat. Not every course has a student like Anne, but with your proposed app, the same idea is achieved. I would be the first one to sign up for this service. The connections between students build engagement and allow for more discussion without the feeling of being judged.
You presented a solid list of the pros and cons of this program, and I believe the voluntary aspect is key to success. Some students are not as engaged in the subject matter as others and would not benefit from a group discussion. During your presentation, you mentioned pairs and partners, but when I went through your site, you had an option of groups, I believe groups of 3 or 4 is better than just groups of 2. This would create more of a community and would allow different personalities and opinions to shine through.
I think your project would enhance mobile learning. Well done.