Learning in the Social Web: Online Teaching and Learning 2.0

Today I presented a webinar about "How to Build an Interactive Learning Environment" and presenting the content really tied together a lot of my thoughts, teaching experiments and recent readings.  The presentation, enhanced with research results, is available on Slideshare, with my preferred title "Learning in the Social Web" if you'd like to see it.

Online Learning In The Social Web

View more presentations from Michelle Pacansky-Brock.

Effectively building online community is a topic receiving quite a bit of attention lately and online instructors who are focused on developing and facilitating quality, relevant learning experiences should be part of this dialogue.  Community building has been an integral element in online learning research, guided by the work of many including Palloff and Pratt (1999, 2005), and Swan and Shea (2005), and Yuen (2003).  Within the many flavors of theories and importance of fostering community is the embedded idea that learning online is learning in physical isolation and void of socialization, unless collaboration, interactivity and social presence are effectively integrated into the design of the course.  Research has shown that the feeling of being isolated is a factor that contributes to the lower retention rates in online classes (Galusha, 1997; Hara & Khling 1999; Kubala, 1998; Soles & Moller, 2001).

Now as we sit in the corridor of the 21st century, we need not look too far for community building powerhouse tools that offer educators and students the opportunity to share and collaborate through video and voice.  Much of the research I've shared in past posts about how the use of VoiceThread (a web 2.0 tool that integrates options for leaving text, voice or video comments) in online classes increases community.  Web 2.0 is our opportunity to explore these new philosophies in our teaching. Many other educators are exploring web 2.0 tools as a more interactive, participatory way to share content and engage students in online interactions.  

One of my favorite recently literature contributions on this topic is a white paper shared by Virginia Commonwealt University's Center for Teaching Excellence, From Content to Community: [Re]Thinking the Transition to Online Teaching and Learning.  The concept of "rethinking" a course redesign to deliver it effectively for online learning, suggests that we have now moved into a new phase of online pedagogy, one that engages the social wonders of the web -- where are students are actively engaged when they aren't in a formal online class. 

While new literature about online teaching and learning is encouraging applications of social media into formal learning, unfortunately, few LMSs currently integrate dynamic video and audio discussion tools into their basic toolkits nor do they offer opportunities for students to generate multimedia content. And this is a major reason that dynamic social presence in online classes isn't mainstream.  Many faculty adamantly defend the ability of text-based interactions to facilitate social presence but many studies today are proving that audio and video simply outperforms text in this area (not really a surprise, is it?).  

In the past week, a terrific article has been shared in many venues about the work of Douglas E. Hersh, Dean of Educational Programs and Technology at Santa Barbara City College (SBCC).  Hersh has developed a customized version of Moodle that integrates Skype for student-student and instructor-student interactions.  Skype is a free web 2.0 tool that enables free video and voice and instant messaging communications between users anywhere in the world.  The Moodle learning environment also providees students with "voice boards" in which they discuss topics.  Students can also anonymously rank learning experiences, providing a quick and effective way for instructors to obtain feedback throughout a course.  

Hersh embarked upon a study at SBCC that sought to investigate whether increasing the "Human Element" in onlne learning through the creative learning environment in their customized Moodle version, would result in students feeling more connected to their online learning environment and, in turn, improve the low student satisfaction, low levels of student achievement and high attrition rates (that are typically 10-20% higher than face to face classes). 

The results?  Class completion rates increased by nearly 10 and student satisfaction and student mean grade point averages also increased by a similar number.  As noted in the CCC TechEdge article, "A 10 percent increase in class completion reduces the 10-20 percent greater chance of attrition for online learners and begins to even the playing field between traditional classes versus online classes."

Now, here is what we all need to take away from this.  First, while Hersh's model doesn't explicitly reference "community building," I would argue that by enhancing social presence of the instructor and students through video and voice, and providing collaborative activities in the course design, these classes are triggering many essential elements of community building. 

The use of audio feedback for increasing community was explore by Ice, Curtis, Phillips and Wells (2007) and my own students enforced these results through their 2008 feedback about using VoiceThread.  As I've shared, 94% strongly agreed or agreed that hearing their online instructor’s voice through VoiceThread’s audio comment feature increased their sense that she was actively present in their learning experience (versus text-only feedback) and 98% felt this way about video comments.  Students feel more distanced through text-only communications and video and audio reduces this feeling of isolation, resulting in greater retention and increased motivation to succeed.  

So, why aren't audio and video integrated more regularly into online learning?  My hypothesis is that online instructors rely upon the toolkit within their LMS to teach -- just as I did in my first two years of online teaching.  Few faculty work at institutions that will take an innovative approach, like Hersh did, and craft a specialized LMS.  That, I'd put money on -- although I long to see the day higher ed puts an emphasis on innovation in instruction.  We need more thinkers and doers like Hersh. 

But do not fret my friends!  We are amidst a world that has been transformed by web 2.0!  95% of college age students (18-24) now use social networking and 70% do so every single day!  (ECAR, 2009)   Half of our students share (not access) videos on YouTube and more than a third report contributing to blogs and wikis.  Times are changing and these are tools we need to be mastering and using as tools to teach our "distanced" students.

The truth of the matter is that it's EASY to record a video in YouTube via your webcam, copy the embed code and paste it into an LMS.  I am always amazed at how many professors have no idea how to do this in Blackboard or Moodle (the only two LMSs I've really had experience with).  It's NOT difficult and it WILL change your students connection to the class.  Here is a simple screenshot of a video I recorded using my webcam in Viddler.com and simply pasted the embed code into a basic Moodle version (nothing customized here). 

Additionally,  VoiceThread and Ning are simple ways to integrate collaborative activities that offer students opportunities to connect with each other through video and voice and also see pictures of each other.  A recent survey I conducted with Michelle Macfarlane and Jennifer Molina demonstrated that 90% of our online students reported that seeing pictures of their fellow classmates helped them feel more connected to the class discussions.  

Let's do this...web 2.0 is a road towards empowering faculty to integrate community building tools into a students' online learning experience.  The area that we need to work on, however, is accessibility.  We, all of us in education, need to voice our concerns about tools that are not compliant with 508 regulations.  We are not there yet.  But, I believe, that if we engage with the tools now and integrate them thoughtfully and appropriately and share our expectations with web 2.0 developers (through blogs, Twitter, writing to the developers themselves) then things will change.  

Thanks for reading -- although this really should be a video post, shouldn't it?  ;-)

Come Learn with Me! Building Online Community with Emerging Technologies starts March 1

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Cultivating an effective community of learners is an essential element of success in online education. This is not earth shattering news, as community has been a foundational topic of online learning research for years (Palloff and Pratt, 2007; Clark and Mayer, 2003; Richardson and Swan, 2003; Ko and Rossen, 2008; Graham et al, 2001). However, what is new and critical to the professional development of online instructors, instructional designers and other faculty or program support related positions (and arguably administrators providing the strategic direction of online programs), is the new suite of web based tools that have recently emerged that offer community building powerhouse potential.

On March 1, I will begin teaching a 4-week online class for @One, an organization that is able to offer very low cost professional development training for online educators as it is funded through a grant from the California community college Chancellor's office. The class is titled "Building Online Community with Emerging Technologies" and it is an overview of tips and strategies for cultivating community online, couched within hands-on experience with web-based collaborative technologies that demonstrate potential for bringing students together, sharing ideas, crafting participating learning environments and knitting the foundations of community. Specifically, you'll gain hands-on experience working with your peers in Ning, VoiceThread and WetPaint (a web-based wiki tool). I focus on free to low cost web 2.0 tools that educators can turn around and integrate into their classes, regardless of whether or not their institutions subscribe to them (this one reason why web 2.0 is so empowering for educators -- and you'll learn that you don't need to be a techie!)

@One classes are something to be taken advantage of (!11). The 4-week class is only $50 to faculty and staff of California state supported schools, colleges, or universities (that is an amazing price!!). The courses cost $100 for educators outside the California state systems. Share the word!! Register before Wed, February 28th. Class begins on March 1st. For more information, please visit www.onefortraining.org

Online Social Presence: a success story

About five years ago, I attended a commencement ceremony after my first year of online teaching. I sat in the faculty section of the audience as the graduates names were called, applauding excitedly as I heard names of my own students. But that year I realized something very interesting. It occurred to me that my online students wouldn't be extending celebratory handshakes and hugs to me after the ceremony, which really is one of most rewarding and heartfelt aspects of teaching, because they wouldn't be able to recognize me.

I was deeply bothered by this because I knew I spent much time with my online students in dialogue but it was text-based dialogue which didn't allow for us to exchange facial gestures, emotions in our voice, etc. There was a lot that was lacking from our dialogue, this I knew all along, and this empty moment at graduation is when it all became poignant to me.

That was a turning point for me. I then began to integrate podcast lectures (hosted on iTunes U); engage students in VoiceThread discussions that allow for me and my students to discuss topics in text, voice or webcam comments; and leave weekly announcements embedded in video format (recorded live from my webcam with viddler.com). The video announcements and podcasts all were accompanied with text-based transcripts to help promote accessibility and give students options for how they wanted to engage the content.

Yesterday I had a great moment. I was on campus (it was actually my very last day there before beginning my new position) and I was in my car stopped at a stop sign. A young man walking along the side of the parking lot flagged me down as if he wanted to ask me something. I assumed he needed directions. When I rolled down my window he said, "Excuse me, aren't you Michelle Pacansky-Brock?" When I replied, "Yes, do I know you?" He said, "Yes! I'm Cameron. I was in your online class this semester!"

It was really a cool moment. We proceeded to talk about his experiences -- I asked him about his new baby, as I recalled he had a newborn as the semester was beginning, and we talked about his wife who is an artist. I recall in his final class blog post he mentioned that the class (art appreciation) actually brought him closer to his wife because he now had the vocabulary to discuss visual arts with his wife intelligently.

We said our good-byes and I went on my way. To me that moment is evidence of the potential for multimedia communications to increase social presence in an online class and foster and deeper sense of community. If anything, bridging the gap between virtual learning and face-to-face relationships really makes the experience feel more valuable and meaningful.

Animoto: Engaging and Motivating Students with Video

This semester, my online Art Appreciation students were required to keep their own blogs in our class Ning network (a closed social network to which only my enrolled students have access). I'll be posting survey results about Ning soon (stay tuned!) but I wanted to reflect on a strategy I employ for motivating students to submit blog posts on time, use creativity and be reflective in their writing. I teach five classes each semester (a regular full-time load at my community college) and two of my online classes currently utilize Ning. So I have about 65 students who keep blogs. It's been quite an endeavor to develop a strategy for effectively ensuring the blogs are done on time and the posts fulfill the criteria of the prompts I assign in each learning unit. Here is what I do: I grade the blogs thoroughly twice a semester (at weeks eight and sixteen). In between, I randomly visit and read the blogs. I leave comments and when I find a blog that is "behind" or missing a post or two I will leave a "Nudge" comment. I track the number of "Nudges" each student receives throughout each blog grading period. At the end, when I grade the blogs, each "Nudge" results in a five point deduction from the max blog score. I then grade for completeness and effectiveness of meeting the prompt criteria.

The second element of my blog grading strategy employs a little friendly competition and a fun reward at the end of the semester. Beginning around week 12, when the students are running out of gas, I ask each of them to evaluate their fellow students' blogs and identify one blog that excels in "blogging excellence." I leave the criteria somewhat subjective but I do ask them to consider 1) completeness 2) creativity and 3) quality of posts as general evaluative categories. I secretly tabulate the nominations and all students who receive at least three nominations are awarded the Masterpiece Blog Award and receive 10 extra credit points which, by the way, are prestigious points because they may be awarded to students even if they've already reached the max extra credit in the class.

This strategy seems to work well and last semester I even had a student create a special icon for her blog that said, "Vote For Me!" In previous semesters I simply created a text announcement with the Masterpiece Blog Winners. This semester I tried something a little different. I took screen shots from the winning blogs and created a video on Animoto (which, by the way, now offers free All Access passes to educators!!!). Check it out! This is a fun way to reward great work, encourage students to go above and beyond the required expectations and building online community.

Masterpiece Blog Award Winners from Michelle Pacansky-Brock on Vimeo.