Blogtracks 2006Emerging Trends in the Research on Online Learning

Environments

Blog: Presence & Connections

Janette R. Hill

Instructional Technology

Image from: myvie.ws/ archive/12/2002-11

What I Knew about Blogs…

• Blog (weB LOG): A blog is basically a journal, updated on a regular basis and arranged in chronological order

• Used before…– Information seeking– Class

• Eager to explore how to use for other forms of info sharing and connecting

Adapted from Matisse Enzer's Glossary of Internet Terms : http://www.matisse.net/files/glossary.html

Image from:http://www.lyptonvillage.org/shutterfly/writing%20copy.jpg

Presence & Connections

• Why this topic? – Long standing interesting in HCI

• Considerable research is out there….

- Short, William and Christie (1976)- Gunawardena (1995+), U New

Mexico- Picciano (2002), Hunter C. NY- Tu (many studies), George Wash.- Biocca et al. (M.I.N.D. labs), global- International Society for Presence Re

search

• Many sessions here at AECT that you can explore…

Presence & Connections

• What did I learn? – It’s harder than it appears!– Can be very lonely

• My insights on making it work….– Frequent and consistent posting– Blend of opinion and “fact”– Reading and connecting with others

• How to get in touch...

Janette Hill

janette@uga.edu

706-542-4035

Denise Domizi: Informal Learning

Audio presentation

Michael Barbour: Virtual Schools

Online Learning at Work

Frankie S. Jones, PhD

• Blog Discussion– Very little rigorous research exists on the effectiveness of

online learning at work– Online learning is a significant portion of training, but it

needs to be interactive and well-designed– Instructional designers should design courses that are

appealing to learners in order to increase the likelihood that workers will apply what they’ve learned

• Future Blogtrack Presentations– Motivation– Public participation

Rick West: Trends in the DL Literature

Cognitive Dimensions of TEDLEs

Course Management Systems

History of Distance Learning

Metacognition in TEDLEs

The use of hyperlinking and repetition that is common in these environments provides cognitive cueing and supports metacognitive awareness

• BUT nonlinear environments require more cognitive load to mentally organize material, reducing metacognition.

• SO, metacognitive prompting is a helpful strategy.

• FUTURE QUESTIONS?: Whether, and in what ways, students are more or less prone to use metacognitive strategies in an information-overload, nonlinear Internet

Intrinsic Cognitive Load in TEDLEs

Not very much done!

• We could learn from information literacy research.

• Example: Jones, Ravid, and Rafaeli (2004) reported a trend towards high intrinsic load in informal online spaces, causing less participation.

• FUTURE QUESTIONS?

• Is ICL a predictor of attrition in DE?

• Can design compensate for high ICL in DE?

• How can you measure the ICL?

• Can a strong online community keep participation high in

subjects with high ICL?

Extraneous Cognitive Load in TEDLEs• Limited prior knowledge of the technology used

to facilitate the distance learning environment could lead to increased extrinsic load

• Web-based hyperlinking, in the absence of organizational guides, increased extraneous cognitive load associated with learning.

• FUTURE QUESTIONS?

• More replication of studies to verify results

• How can design improve material organization and lower ECL?

• How can we ease ECL with new technologies?

Germane Cognitive Load in TEDLEs• Not very much done in online environments, although

heavily researched by many IT and DL folks!

• We could learn from communications research on navigation and surfing patterns.

• Example: Eveland et al. (2004) reported participants learned factual information best from linear websites, but nonlinear sites improved knowledge structure density.

• NOW WHAT?

• How do you use standard GCL-building methods online?

• How are mental models constructed online?

• How do you measure GCL online??

Course Management Systems• Literature audit found 70+ research articles

• Most of these were one-shot, convenience studies

• Less than 10 were studies of more generalizable impacts

• But 95% of colleges and universities use CMS tools!

• Discussion Questions:

• Why isn’t more research conducted about CMS technologies?

• What kind of research should we be conducting about CMSs? What outcomes? What measures?

• Have we missed the opportunity to really see what happens from implementing a CMS because the tools are now ubiquitous?

Generations of Distance Education• First Generation: CBI/CAI

• Second Generation: Distance transmission

• Third Generation: Distance interaction

• Fourth Generation: CMS tools

• Fifth Generation: Mobile learning

• Sixth Generation: Read/Write Internet

Other Topics I’m Discussing …• What can we learn from popular social networking sites?

• Are we different personalities online?

• Social Network Analysis and DE

• Can “cool” be created?

• The Creative Digital Divide

• Educating a global economy

•No family left behind

• Digital natives

• Sexy research

Making a Successful BlogTracksHave defined goals that are discussion-based.Define your boundaries.Engage nontraditional conference participants.

Come join the chatter!Michael Barbour, University of Georgia (Virtual Schooling)

* http://mkbvs.edublogs.org/Denise Domizi, University of Georgia (Informal Learning)

* http://denisedomizi.edublogs.org/Janette Hill, University of Georgia (Trends and Issues)

* http://janettehill.edublogs.org/Frankie S. Jones, University of Georgia (Corporate Settings)

* http://frankiejones.blogspot.com/Rick West, University of Georgia (Research History)

* http://rickwest.edublogs.org/