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Post by terrywinkle62 on Jan 14, 2010 4:00:02 GMT -5
I found this article very interesting. I wonder if any comparative studies have been carried out to compare online learning with traditional classroom instruction. As the article points out however, "Online may not be for everybody" and this may make such a study difficult to evaluate.
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Post by carlosbarrera1975 on Jan 14, 2010 12:16:47 GMT -5
You're right, Isabel. I totally agree. I forgot about that important aspect. Maybe because I have learned the traditional way: individually and almost no cooperative learning. I definitely think that cooperation helps autonomy and autonomy leads to cooperation, as you stated. When a person learns something new, they just want to pass it on to others, it's natural and this brings about cooperation. When you teach, you learn more.
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Post by isabelteixeira on Jan 14, 2010 19:37:18 GMT -5
Thanks for your comment, Mounia! Now you know the path to a successful online learning!
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Post by Daf on Jan 14, 2010 22:27:03 GMT -5
I'm currently doing a distance MA and have recently discovered that helping my peers with theoretical issues contributes to my own learning a lot as while doing my best to formulate my messages as clear as possible I myself get some new concepts I think, 1 point is missed in the article - a successsful learner shoud have perfect eyesight as reading numerous pages of e-books, articles etc. every day doesn't make any good to my eyes and I'm looking at the screen in tears at times, poor thing Dear Lada, Regarding eyesight, do you know you can make the fonts larger on any computer? There are also text-to-speech applications (some are free) that can read any text for you. Cheers, Daf
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Post by dimivalmi on Jan 15, 2010 2:59:49 GMT -5
That is the problem - reluctance of younger students to 'speak up' - that bothers me most of all. Here in the BaW10 I see that all teachers are eager to ask and clarify this or that point.
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Post by Pamela Arraras on Jan 15, 2010 7:37:20 GMT -5
There are things that I completely agreed with, others that I didn't and a couple I think are worth mentioning that were not included there. Agree with:Be Self-motivated and self-disciplined. There is just NO way to be an online student without those qualities, which makes you wonder about how to work with children or teenagers 100% online...I think that's why most online offers are for adults. I think that blended learning is more appropriate for k-12 students, but I can be convinced otherwise ;D Don't agree with: Have practically unlimited access to a computer and Internet Service. I think this is not necessary. Although it is true that you need to have regular access to a computer connected to the internet, to say that you need "unlimited" access is a bit too much and it would leave 3/4th of the world's population out of online learning immediately. Maybe this statement applies to this course in particular where the article comes from, but I don't think it is fair to say that this applies as a condition for online learning in general. Not included:Students' lack of tech skills As a language teacher I find it very frustrating when I have to teach my students how to use, for example, forums, in order to later do the language activities. My students lack experience in using technology as a study tool. I wonder if their future employers will be as frustrated when these students start working...
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Post by Stella on Jan 15, 2010 8:02:39 GMT -5
Dear @ll, perhaps what we agree or disagree with is connected to our own learning experience. Personally a good organization is key, moreover as tme goes bye and motivation starts to blurr. Well, perhaps this could be a must for e-tutors, too Stella
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Post by Batrice on Jan 15, 2010 9:15:59 GMT -5
Hi, I agree that all the required qualities featured in the article are important, most of all the “Be self-motivated and self-disciplined” It takes a lot of commitment to study online and to keep up the motivation. I would add "Be willing to meet others and get engaged into mutual assistance." Good networking skills are useful, so that communication can flow among students; sharing, being part of a community will help to enjoy high morale. The assistance, the reminder of the need to keep up, shouldn’t rely on the instructor alone, but on the peer-to-peer support too. Besides, you learn better when you help others.
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Post by Juan PinoSilva on Jan 15, 2010 12:12:35 GMT -5
To me the key issue is learning to become an autonomous learner. Such learners are not easy to find in our classrooms but our role here might be vital. Are we good autonomous learners? If the answer is yes, then we can help and ask our students to go the extra mile. Best, Juan
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Post by attilio on Jan 15, 2010 13:05:01 GMT -5
I think that online learning can be more motivating, more challenging and more effective simply because the teacher-centred approach is reversed. In a "traditional" class teachers often ask too many questions and students just have to answer them. Learning online fosters a student-centred approach which means that students ask questions and they are just helped find the tools they need to answer these questions. They are not passive receptors, as they can create their own knowledge.
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Post by anisoara on Jan 15, 2010 13:29:52 GMT -5
Dimivalmi – from what I have observed reluctance to ‘speak up’ can come from not enough knowledge of the problem, if students make little progress, they begin to have questions.
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Post by anisoara on Jan 15, 2010 13:31:48 GMT -5
Pamela, I am with you regarding the so much disputed ‘digital native’ quality of our students. I also taught my university students how to join a YG or post on a blog, etc. , with a 10% exception, of course. However, when they discover and learn something new in the field, it's a lesson for life, because they have been taught a tool, not information.
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Post by anisoara on Jan 15, 2010 13:32:21 GMT -5
3. Beatrice, indeed peer-to-peer definitely represents more enhanced synergy than one-to-all. Off the record, a very confused student asked me a couple of days ago, how come some students working on the blog could enter in the self-evaluation database 14-20 tasks accomplished, when I only gave them a maximum of 10. He was vexed to discover that those students were actually extending their conversations beyond T-S to S-S. Those had discovered the beauty of posing challenging questions to one another and answering outside my “task”, which is the essence of any blog writing tasks.
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Post by anisoara on Jan 15, 2010 13:43:09 GMT -5
Juan Pino and Attilio, both of you have hit the nail on the head. I also consider that the student who is still teacher-addicted will not be able to survive in the XXIst century, autonomy and cooperation represent key-elements of lifelong learning.
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Post by vesile on Jan 16, 2010 17:37:00 GMT -5
I totally agree that being an online student is not easier then being a traditional student and yes it takes time. On the other hand having my first online course makes me a bit worried about keeping up with the others. In order to be a successful online student I think the most important thing is to be self-motivated and self-disciplined.
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