When it comes to working in groups I think the difficulties are the same in the classroom as in an online course. The research that have been performed have of course mainly been done on “off-line courses” and have then been applied (maybe slightly modified) to the on-line courses. The main difference as I see it for an on-line course, is that it is more difficult to get students to engage in group activities. If you do not know the people in the group you are less likely to commit and it is hard to compete with a face-to-face meeting. However, during this ONL course I have really felt that it was much easier than I thought to get a “group feeling”. I think that the key-point is that we had video meetings. I really felt that I did not want to make my group disappointed and I felt a responsibility to continue with this course to not let them down. The first weeks of the course were very important to get to know each other and to understand the expectations. However, I have also realized that even if the information, expectations and tasks are out there on the web-page etc. and even repeated for each topic, they can still be lost…. No matter how clear it is stated. It is also a matter of slowly building up your knowledge (as discussed more in Topic 4 and the five stage model) and being able to gasp the information at a certain level.

Topic 3 made me reflect on collaboration and learning communities as a way of not just merge the work from each group member but making the value of the work become more than the sum of all individual contributions. If the work is divided the knowledge might be very fragmented but still, depending on how the course is organized, the final product of the group might add to each individual’s knowledge. Working with topic 3 I always come back to discussing group work instead of learning communities… Well a group is maybe a small network but it depends on how the group work is planned. One should also not neglect the power of the pressure a social network can put on an individual (similar to what I expressed above with not wanting to let someone down). I also think that a network may be more efficient if it is not too large or if it at least can be subdivided. Of course you would like a large network to gain in diversity and new input but it can be difficult to feel that you are an important part of the puzzle and should contribute and the massive flow of information can also be a bit overwhelming. I for example think that the ONL181 community (i.e., input from other PBL groups) is great but it could be improved if it was possible to group and organize the network a little bit more (not only in your own PBL group and topics) but with posts still visible for everyone. Personal learning networks (PLN) should feel personal! In networked collaborative learning the students will teach each other and in discussions you will create new knowledge. To obtain this it is important that the community have the same aim and are engaged, then magic can happen!

References:

Brindley, J., Blaschke, L. M. & Walti, C. (2009). Creating effective collaborative learning groups in an online environment. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 10(3).

Capdeferro, N. & Romero, M. (2012). Are online learners frustrated with collaborative learning experiences? The International review of research in open and distance learning, 13(2), 26-44.

PLNs Theory and Practice by Kay Oddone