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Running head: SOCIAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES                      1

 

Social Learning Communities

Mengyuan Yang

University of Victoria 

 

 

Abstract

Online social learning communities are communities that explore and share this knowledge using the emerging technologies. They include Khan Academy, Peer 2 Peer University (P2PU), Smarthistory, MIT’s OpenCourseWare, and Udacity among others. The benefit of these type of learning is that it promotes inclusivity and accommodation of all learning styles, education needs, native abilities, all skills sets, and personalities. However, there are various challenges and issues related with online learning communities. The most common challenge in this kind of learning is isolation of online social learning community members during the learning process. Some of the causes of isolation include difficulty in using some technologies involved in online learning and lack of interaction with other learners as they had been used to during physical learning. This paper recommends that collaborative learning be improved to increase interaction between students. The paper also recommends the promotion of literacy of the technology. Finally, distractions should be minimized and learning enhanced through liveliness.

 

   Social Learning Communities

 

Introduction to the Problem

          In the current information age, the desire for knowledge is driven by the diverse emerging and contemporary technologies of the 21^st century. Knowledge is known to cross all barriers, and numerous communities have emerged to explore and share this knowledge using the emerging technologies (Bates, 2019). Communities often referred to as social learning communities are increasingly finding ground through online platforms. Among the most common online social learning communities include Khan Academy, Peer 2 Peer University (P2PU), Smarthistory, MIT’s OpenCourseWare, and Udacity among many others. These communities are gaining popularity due to their inclusivity and accommodation of all learning styles, education needs, native abilities, all skills sets, and personalities. However, the growth of online social learning communities introduces various problems that might challenge learning. One of the challenges with online social learning communities is the feeling of isolation or loneliness among students. This is primarily due to the lack of physical engagements with the rest of the community during learning. Another challenge with online social learning communities is the distraction that might be experienced as students acquire knowledge. Normally, the traditional brick-and-mortar classrooms cater for such due to the presence of a physical tutor who monitors and controls the external factors that might cause the distractions. Meeting the challenges posed by isolation,  distractions, and recommendations are made to increase the collaboration among learners and to make online learning more lively through graphics and similar features.

Review of Literature

          According to Major (2015), a community gives us the privilege of being close to people who have like-minded interests and through that our own experiences and beliefs are verified. Besides, joining in a community is known to bring in a sense of belonging and identity. Before the advent of technology, such communities were always ‘onsite’. According to Major (2015), ‘onsite’ communities are those that involve physical gathering. However, technology has introduced another form of gathering which is hereby referred to be online or virtual community. In virtual community, the community gathers and shares ideas, experiences, and beliefs through online platforms (Major, 2015). Major (2015) states that such communities overcome the barriers to entry and inclusivity which are common problems with physical communities. Kebritchi, Lipschuetz, and Santiague (2017) find that online social learning communities have altered how higher education is undertaken in the 21^st century. The researchers find that online learning has numerous opportunities which has increased its adoption globally. Furthermore, online social learning communities minimize the financial burden associated with the traditional brick-and-mortar learning in a classroom (Kebritchi, Lipschuetz, & Santiague, 2017). However, Kebritchi, Lipschuetz, and Santiague (2017) find that this kind of learning raise serious questions on the quality of education offered. The quality of online learning through online social learning communities is affected by issues which include technology differences, communication issues, pedagogy, time management, and assessment (Kebritchi, Lipschuetz, & Santiague, 2017). Due to these, issues either due to the learner, the content, instructors, or institution support arise which challenge these communities. According to Cox (2012), Issues in online learning mostly arise due to the ever changing technologies that introduce variability in the quality of learning within one online social learning community. For instance, some learners might have more IT literacies than other learners which might provide them with an unfair advantage over learners in the same social community. Chou and Tsai (2002) focus on the difficulties that curriculum designers and teachers face while creating a web-based curricula based on the existing frameworks of brick-and-mortar learning. Markova, Glazkova, and Zaborova (2017) found issues with communications patterns and effective teaching practices to be the main challenges in online learning. Arasaratnam-Smith and Northcote (2017) tend to redefine the face-to-face communication in the context of an online social learning realm. The authors attempt to explain how the uniqueness of online social learning communities are advantageous compared to physical learning. Finally, Gillett-Swan (2017) states that various barriers exist with online learning include participation barriers and the need for instructors and academic staff to undergo higher levels of technological competencies needed to teach through online platforms.

Discussion of the Problem in Light of the Literature

          While reviewing the different literature sources that contribute to online social learning communities, at least each source mentions some challenges brought up by the new approach to learning. A common barrier is mentioned by almost all the reviewed sources. This involves the isolation of online social learning community members during the learning process. Gillett-Swan (2017) mentions that learners feel and experience isolation which might limit their full participation to the online social community learning. According to Gillet-Swan (2017), isolation occurs due to a combination of reasons which include the difference in using the technologies involved and the fact that the learners have to multitask while learning. Arasaratnam-Smith and Northcote (2017) also mention that isolation is a significant problem among online social learning as some of the learners experience lack of belonging. This idea is also shared by Markova, Glazkova, and Zaborova (2017) who find that online environments attract the feelings of confusion, isolation, and frustration which minimizes the effectiveness and overall satisfaction of online learners. Kebritchi, Lipschuetz, and Santiague (2017) list isolation as a significant learner’s identity issue where members of the online social community feel disconnected while participating in the learning process. Finally, Major (2015) affirm that online courses can leave learners feeling isolated and alone which contrasts the aspect of socialization which is entailed by the norms and ideologies of a community. It is, therefore, ironical that online social learning communities, which are expected to provide members with a sense of belonging, end up contributing to feelings of isolation and lack of identity. 

Summary, Conclusion, and Recommendations

          Online social learning communities would be expected to improve and maintain the feelings of identity and belonging in members as normal physical social communities. However, research reviewed in this essays shows that this is never the case. In developing recommendations to counter this barrier to online learning, it is important to understand issues that cause learners or members of online social learning communities to become isolated. One of such issues is the difficulty in using some technologies involved in online learning (Gillett-Swan, 2017). Another cause of the disconnect is the lack of interaction with other learners as they had been used to during physical learning (Major, 2015). Kebritchi, Lipschuetz, and Santiague (2017) explained that the social constructionist perspective dictates that learners create their identities when they interact with others within the same group. Moreover, Markova, Glazkova, and Zaborova (2017) stated that ICT has an enormous interactive potential which is underutilized by the designers and instructors of the online social communities. 

Giving the issues that cause or evoke feelings of isolation in an online social learning communities, the following recommendations are developed:

1. Enhancing collaborative learning – According to Major (2015), collaborative learning allows the learners to work with each other. While learners might be aware that there are other users in the same boat with them, some online social learning platforms are not designed to allow interactions among users. Designers and instructors of online social learning platforms should understand that online students value interactions significantly. Most importantly, online students always look forward to forming relationships with their peers just as in an ordinary physical learning setting. This is based off social constructionist perspective where interactions between people within the same social group lead to constructive identities (Kebritchi, Lipschuetz, & Santiague, 2017). When students within an online social community are allowed to interact, their individual overall experiences are improved. Rather than viewing themselves as isolated, they start viewing themselves as part of a larger interconnected community working towards a common goal. Markova, Glazkova, and Zaborova (2017) also promote the need for interaction between individual participants of online courses in addition to the instructor-student interactions. As such, students or users of the online learning community should be integrated into the instructional design rather than just delivery (Markova, Glazkova, & Zaborova, 2017). The instructor could support such interactions by including more online discussions and engagements than in physical learning settings. 
2. Promoting literacy of the technology – All users of online social learning communities must understand and be able to use the technology appropriately. Designers should ensure that the platform is easy to use for the intended learners. Also, instructors should ensure that all learners are well oriented with the system before learning commences.
3. Minimizing distractions and enhancing learning through liveliness – According to Gillettt-Swan (2017), isolation among users of online social learning communities can be minimized by minimizing distractions. As such, students have to nominate days and hours which they would participate in online learning just as in physical learning. This would ensure minimal distractions from other factors unrelated to the learning. Kebritchi, Lipschuetz, and Santiague (2017) mentioned that learning can be enhanced through three instructional design approaches. They include the focused-more-is-more, more-is-more, and less-is-more. These instructional approaches are aimed at countering the difficulties among the learners in using the online platforms. In focused-more-is-more, learners are provided with more time to study and understand the materials. Further, graphics and similar features are provided to assist them to understand difficult content. More-is-more involves including multiple features and graphics that make learning exciting. This will also increase the motivation among the students. In less-is-more, the instructor understands that more features and graphics might evoke distractions. As such, extraneous materials are eliminated or reduced to minimize distractions in the learning process. 

References

Arasaratnam-Smith, L., & Northcote, M. (2017). Community in online higher education: challenges and opportunities. The Electronic Journal of e-Learning, 15(2), 188-198.

Bates, T. (2019, June 24). Back to the Future: open pedagogy, learning design, and ETUG’s 25th anniversary conference. Retrieved 12 August 2019, from https://www.tonybates.ca/2019/06/24/back-to-the-future-open-pedagogy-learning-design-and-etugs-25th-anniversary-conference/ 

Chou, C., & Tsai, C. (2002). Developing web-based curricula: Issues and challenges. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 34(6), 623-636. doi: 10.1080/00220270210141909

Cox, M. (2012). Formal to informal learning with IT: research challenges and issues for e-learning. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 29(1), 85-105. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2729.2012.00483.x

Gillett-Swan, J. (2017). The Challenges of online learning: Supporting and engaging the isolated learner. Journal of Learning Design, 10(1), 20-30. doi: 10.5204/jld.v9i3.293

Kebritchi, M., Lipschuetz, A., & Santiague, L. (2017). Issues and challenges for teaching successful online courses in higher education. Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 46(1), 4-29. doi: 10.1177/0047239516661713

Major, C. H. (2015). Teaching online: A guide to theory, research, and practice. Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press

Markova, T., Glazkova, I., & Zaborova, E. (2017). Quality issues of online distance learning. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 237, 685-691. doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2017.02.043

feedback summary

The topic of my paper is the social learning communities. According to learning pod’s feedback, I think I should add more arguments. Although even it is good that I quoted many other authors’ sentences to prove my point, I think it would be better to add more of my own thinking.
And I believe that using more of my own point to prove my position will make it easier for readers to understand my point. Also, I feel that my paper lacks some clarity. For example, writing more arguments in my opinion. And after that I should use many instances to prove this argument.
In addition，adding more references will make my article more convincing. It can show that how many articles I have read for my paper.
I think I also can add some comparisons. For example, what is the difference that the social learning community work in different countries? Is the community of sociology a good influence in every country? Does it really provide help for people of different level in the society? In addition, I can also add some data to express the survey results.
Finally, I should pay more attention to my grammar. Because the good grammar will make my article looks more professional.

Social Learning Communities

Introduction to the Problem

In the current information age, the desire for knowledge is driven by the diverse emerging and contemporary technologies of the 21^st century. Knowledge is known to cross all barriers, and as such, numerous communities have emerged to explore and share this knowledge using the emerging technologies (Bates, 2019). Such communities, often referred to as social learning communities, are increasingly finding ground through online platforms. Among the most common online social learning community include Khan Academy, Peer 2 Peer University (P2PU), Smarthistory, MIT’s OpenCourseWare, and Udacity among many others. These communities are gaining popularity due to their inclusivity and accommodation of all learning styles, education needs, native abilities, all skills sets and personalities. However, the growth of online social learning communities introduces various problems that might challenge learning. One of the challenges with online social learning communities is the feeling of isolation or loneliness among students. This is primarily due to the lack of physical engagements with the rest of the community during learning. Another challenge with online social learning communities is the distraction that might be experienced as students acquire knowledge. Normally, the traditional brick-and-mortar classrooms cater for such due to the presence of a physical tutor who monitors and controls the external factors that might cause the distractions. 

Review of  the literature

According to Major (2015), a community gives us the privilege of being close to people who have like-minded interests and through our own experiences and beliefs are validated. Apart from this, being in a community is known to bring in a sense of belonging and identity. Before the advent of technology, such communities were always ‘onsite’. According to Major (2015), ‘onsite’ communities are those that involve physical gathering. However, technology has introduced another form of gathering which is hereby referred to as online or virtual community. In virtual community, the community gathers and shares ideas, experiences, and beliefs through online platforms (Major, 2015). Major (2015) states that such communities overcome the barriers to entry and inclusivity which are common problems with physical communities. Kebritchi, Lipschuetz, and Santiague (2017) find that online social learning communities have altered how higher education is undertaken in the 21^st century. 

References

Bates, T. (2019, June 24). Back to the Future: open pedagogy, learning design, and ETUG’s 25th anniversary conference. Retrieved 12 August 2019, from https://www.tonybates.ca/2019/06/24/back-to-the-future-open-pedagogy-learning-design-and-etugs-25th-anniversary-conference/ 

Kebritchi, M., Lipschuetz, A., & Santiague, L. (2017). Issues and challenges for teaching successful online courses in higher education. Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 46(1), 4-29. doi: 10.1177/0047239516661713

Major, C. H. (2015). Teaching online: A guide to theory, research, and practice. Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press

 

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In my opinion, the reasons for choosing print books are as follows: they have collection value, reading quality, convenient to write down modify and annotate; and print books make students more able to settle down to accept new knowledge, which is relatively healthier than to read books by using electronics. Also, “students are offered limited licenses to these books and so they are, in a sense, only renting access to a digital file that is much less flexible than a print book” (para, 4). Moreover, for the online book, “either they get access for a limited period, they get the material in a proprietary format, or they have to use restrictive platforms to engage the material”; it means most of the e-book are not transferable. 

However, students required to buy textbooks which pushing up the cost of textbooks. More and more students like to use online reading. According to the Stommel, the author proved that textbooks became more and more expensive; “when I was an undergraduate student in the 1990s, I would budget around $250 each semester for all my books. Now, students find themselves commonly paying more than that for a single book”(para. 3).The reasons for choosing e-books are low cost, convenient to carry out, low carbon environmental protection, renewable, and diverse sources. In a word, e-book will become more and more suitable for users with the development of technology.

With the current situation of more and more students using online textbooks; will the paper books be replaced by online books in the future?

The open university with online courses bring convenient to lots of students, but students used to study in a traditional way. Is open education better than traditional education？I believe it is a controversial topic.

 

 

References

Stommel, J. (2018, September 12). Textbooks, OER, and the Need for Open Pedagogy. Retrieved from https://criticaldigitalpedagogy.pressbooks.com/chapter/textbooks-oer-and-the-need-for-open-pedagogy/

image1&2 https://www.google.com.hk/search?q=textbooks+vs+ebooks&client=safari&prmd=insv&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi-17m6ufLjAhXX3J4KHbQvBSEQ_AUoAXoECBEQAQ&biw=1112&bih=732#imgrc=4DeqmzRSC350gM

How does social media connect with community

“Communities are ‘collections of people who are bound together for some reason, and that reason defines the boundary of the community’” (Major, 2015, p. 227). Based on Major’s points (2015), community set up a platform for people to collect and share information, experience and knowledge. It allows community members to learn from each other so that to achieve their goals. In addition, technologies create an opportunity for us to be convenient but not limited by time or place. It means people now can connect with others via social media. We do not have to gather by face to face. In other words, the emergence and development of technology has redefined the word “community”. It enable us to expand and enlarge our social relations.

Community brings the all different places people who have the same idea and ideal together, sharing experiences and beliefs with each other. Community can be many types; for example, onsite community is different from online community( also called virtual communities).An onsite course usually has a specific time and place, students used to work together and learn what the instructor teaches at that time and place. “Often an online course is asynchronous and ongoing, without a specific end to each session”(Major, 2015, p. 245).

Nowadays, social media has become an important communication tool for people’s study and life especially in online classes. Using social media to carry out online learning activities can achieve learning in life and social communication. The implementation of online learning activities can lead learners’ participation and interaction, and get inspiration from the design of online learning activities based on social media: Setting up a social presence, sharing information and experiences, creating a safe and common atmosphere, using effective and efficient online tools, working in groups to improve interest of learning.

Reference

Major, C. H. (2015). Teaching online: A guide to theory, research,    and practice. Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press

Personal data surveillance #post 2

Before I learned this unit I never gave much thought about whether the educational tools are safe. Through my research I surprisingly found that google keeps everything about me. Here is the data that Google has recorded me today；

 

• What do you think about what Google knows about you?
• Does the fact that Google (possibly) has that much information about your location for any given day concern you?
• Should we tell K-12 learners that they can trust Google by normalizing the use of Google Apps? Should we use this data to predict which learners are at-risk?
• Does collecting data put students at risk?

As the development of technology, data privacy has become a top concern of parents and policymakers. In my opinion, there’s no secret that Google knows about its users. The technology can collect all the information from users, also the technology memory is forever. Google can keep search history including delated, our location, all apps that we used, and voice searches that help improve Google’s services, thus I usually have to watch some relevant advertisements which I am interested. It means that the data can be used by the company to sell targeted advertising. According to the Gary Kovacs (n.d.), as he mentioned in TED talks there are some Google recorded information without our permission, and they can do almost whatever they want to do with these web data.

I have to recognized that online tools are convenient and useful to learn knowledge. Nevertheless, it is important to learn how to protect privacy. As a student, learning to protect our personal information can help to reduce the risk of identity theft. I call on everyone to do real action to protect privacy. 

Now I’d like to share a personal experience, my credit card data was stolen by lawbreakers three times after I shopping online, with my information they made illegal charges. I’m lucky that the bank realized the problem of my account and they intercepted the payment. Therefore, I think collect data will put students at risk. Teaching and academic integrity shouldn’t evacuated by third-party technology solutions, it’s belong to teachers (Morris,2018).

 

References

Morris, S. M., & Stommel, J. (2018, September 12). A Guide for Resisting Edtech: The Case Against Turnitin. Retrieved from https://criticaldigitalpedagogy.pressbooks.com/chapter/a-guide-for-resisting-edtech-the-case-against-turnitin/

TEDTalks: Gary Kovacs–Tracking the Trackers [Video file]. (n.d.). Retrieved August 2, 2019.

How digital web tools support the learning environment

In the new era of learning, digital web tool plays a fundamental role in the processes of teaching different ages people. After reading Claire Major’s chapter, I have a basic understanding of five faculty members take different approaches to teach online courses by using different tools and methods. They introduced moodle system, social media:blogs, online meeting and word-press blog and so on…

Firstly, I considered that WordPress blog can support online learning. In Lisa Lane history, asynchronous online course, “she have offered the class as a hybrid in WordPress”, she pointed out that the technology works very well for creating a format (Major, 2015, P.90). Also, In the fourth instructor Alan Levine computer science online course, it is hosted in WordPress Platform. Students use WordPress blog publish creative work in this class. “Students manage their own personal cyber-infrastructure”(Major, 2015, p.99). By using WordPress platform, Students learn online from a variety of sources, such as video, audio, visual, design, and web. Students share what they create and get reflection. Furthermore, the overlapping community of students from different places; they learn how to acquire what they need from the software.  Moreover, users can decide to use real name or use a pseudonym, and to choose blog private or public.(Major, 2015). 

In my opinion, I like WordPress blog not only because these useful functions, but also because this online tool is free, it provides more opportunities to enrich every blogger’s knowledge, especially for these learners who didn’t study at school. 

Secondly, I was interested in a free, downloadable digital-story tool which is called “photo story”. This tool allows adding narration, effects, transitions and background music to create movie file. The photo story could be uploaded to the “About Me” part or a page welcoming visitors to users’ site, thereby users can share digital stories by creating and customizing their digital stories to get to know each other better. What I though was most piratical function in this online tool is the highlight important or special topic (Major, 2015, p.176). 

Above all, Nowadays, “many faculty who teach decentralized courses tend to make extensive use of social media.”(Major, 2015, p.87). Online social learning provides students efficient and effective learning environment. 

Reference

Major, C. H. (2015). Teaching online: A guide to theory, research,    and practice. Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press.