Webheads in EVOnline 2003
Week 6

Communities of practice online: Reflection through experience and experiment with the Webheads community of language learners and practitioners

What's this week about?

Aspects of the quality of instruction utilizing computer mediated communication

Week 6: Mon. Feb 24 to Sun. March 2, 2003

Why are we here?

Dafne and Arif will be your moderators this week to discuss about the quality of online learning. You can read the abstract and questions to learn what are our plans and topics for the week. We have also included some online references regarding the topic. However, we would like to hear your personal comments, questions, or any idea that you would like to share with us, to be posted to our yahoo group (link on the menu bar on the left.

To start with, we have created a survey, and we will publish the results by the end of the week!

Take our Survey!!

During the week we will a be available for chats. Check out our chat schedule. And, to close our discussion, we cordially invite you to join us in our regular Saturday and Sunday chats at Tapped In, to get to some conclusions about the quality in e-learning, and generate questions for further discussion and research.

We are all ears, or should we say all eyes?.

All the Best, :-)

Dafne and Arif.

Abstract and Questions for Discussion:

Computer mediated communication is at the core of most web-based instructions. Both synchronous and asynchronous communication tools are preferred by the instructional designers to better serve their content to their participants on the web. However, the issue of quality in web-based instruction and the ways CMC tools are used in those settings are less discussed among practitioners. Therefore, We would like generate a discussion about the different aspects that can affect positively and negatively the quality of e-instruction, and how online communities can handle them. It is our intention to approach the topic from the practitioners' perspectives. Finally, the issue of digital divide and how CMC practitioners would approach this issue will further be provoked.

The following questions will be probed so as to give it a start:

• What are the elements that provide quality to e-instruction?
• Are these elements the same for f2f instruction?
• Is interaction a fundamental element of quality? Or, what is the role of interaction in promoting quality in e-instruction?
• How important/what is the role of the e-moderator?
• How should we evaluate the quality of e-learning?
• How does e-literacy affect the e-learning process?
• How can online communities handle the Digital Divide? How would they manage their long-term existence?
• And any other question or topic proposed by Webheads.

We will be available for chats during the week. Check out our chat schedule. After the discussions through the forum,and chats, we would like to close the week with a our Saturday and Sunday chats at Tapped In, where we can get some conclusions for the topic, questions for future research, etc.

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References:

We have gathered some articles that could help us for the discussion:

1. Relationships On the Line. Available at: http://ausweb.scu.edu.au/aw02/papers/refereed/quayle/paper.html.

2. Quality On the Line: Benchmarks for Success in Internet-Based Distance Education. Available at: http://www.ihep.com/Pubs/PDF/Quality.pdf.

3. Quality in On-line Learning: The Learner's View. (a survey). Available at: http://online.tafe.swin.edu.au/quality/students.cfm.

4. Review of E-moderating - The Key to Teaching and Learning Onlline. Open and Distance Learning Series. Gilly Salmon; Reviewed by N. A. J. Moore. Language Learning & Technology. Available at: http://llt.msu.edu/vol6num3/review1/default.html.

5. Preservice English Teachers Acquiring Literacy Practices through Technology Tools.Aaron Doering and Richard Beach University of Minnesota. Language Learning & Technology, Vol. 6, No.3, September 2002, pp. 127-146. Available at: http://llt.msu.edu/vol6num3/doering/default.html.

6. Changing Technologies, Changing Literacy Communities? Denise E. Murray Macquarie University, Sydney. Language Learning & Technology, Vol. 4, No. 2, September 2000, pp. 43-58. Available at: http://llt.msu.edu/vol4num2/murray/default.html.

7. Digital Divide. Visit: http://www.digitaldividenetwork.org/content/sections/index.cfm?key=2.

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Page created by:
Dafne Gonzalez on November 24, 2002.
Updated: January 30, 2003