Interventions to Increase Online Learner Involvement LincoTower Associates

Audience 1.Where are you from? 2.Blend Ed? 3.Moodle users 4.Teachers 5.Administrators

Action Overview Moodle – course management system Review three action research studies Counter-intuitive findings Posting prompt requirement protocol Group discussion format Group assessment Interventions to Increase Learner Involvement Question and Answer

Focus on the learner: My class id=8 id=8

Blended Education Sloan Consortium’s 30-79% - Blended Web-facilitated 1-29% Online Courses “at least 80% of seat time” Honors English 10 – 35% of coursework online 45% Non-white / 55% White 1700 Students 40 % Free and Reduced Block system

Why Action Research? Practical – ease, ethics, IRB Immediate Listening to the learner

To something new How will students respond to one another? The Fun Theory Video The Fun Theory Video – Moodle Can Be Fun The Fun Theory Video Responding

Study 1 Research Question: How will a teacher mandate for replies impact student engagement, interaction, and learning ? How does the design of an online classroom impact the interaction and participation of its members?

Data Pre-Prompt Number of words in the original posting Post-Prompt Number of words in the original posting Pre-prompt Number of replies Post-Prompt Number of replies of 30 posts19 of 12 posts Pre-Prompt Number of words in longest posting Post-Prompt Number of words in the longest posting Pre-prompt Number of words in the longest reply Post-Prompt Average number of words in reply

Data “Nothing is bad but some people use the comment box to say funny things or just to have something to do say nothing at all about your topic” (Respondent #14, December 2007)“Nothing is bad but some people use the comment box to say funny things or just to have something to do say nothing at all about your topic” (Respondent #14, December 2007) Another commented that “sometimes feedback is bad” (Respondent #17, December 2007).Another commented that “sometimes feedback is bad” (Respondent #17, December 2007). In Survey 1, twenty students checked that they got “to respond to a question they” might not have in class while four indicated that they would rather have responded verbally in class. In the same question, 12 students checked that they felt their “voice [was] heard” compared to 1 who felt it was not.In Survey 1, twenty students checked that they got “to respond to a question they” might not have in class while four indicated that they would rather have responded verbally in class. In the same question, 12 students checked that they felt their “voice [was] heard” compared to 1 who felt it was not.

Conclusions & Implications How will a teacher mandate for replies impact student engagement, interaction, and learning ? Answer: Students will negatively be impacted depending on the teacher’s purpose for the posting.

Through the numbers, noise, and new postings, what can teachers do to hear their students?

Study 2 Research Question: How will grouping students impact interaction and engagement in a blended Moodle environment? Based off of best practice suggestions to group.

Procedure Students from one class were put into Moodle groups for forum postings. They could not see postings other than those from group members. In theory, it would allow them to be more engaged and focused on their singular group. Surveys on Moodle-use administered

Survey on Moodle Use (with assessments): I prefer to do Moodle assignments versus equivalent written assignments. Ungrouped Class

Survey on Moodle Use: I prefer to do Moodle assignments versus equivalent written assignments. Grouped Class

Survey on Moodle Use (with assessments): I find Moodle to be a convenient tool for school. Ungrouped Class

Survey on Moodle Use: I find Moodle to be a convenient tool for school. Grouped Class

Survey on Moodle Use (with assessments): I find Moodle to be an easy tool to do assignments. Ungrouped Class

Survey on Moodle Use: I find Moodle to be a good means of doing assignments. Grouped Class

Conclusions & Implications How will grouping students impact interaction and engagement in a blended Moodle environment? Answer: In a blended setting, grouping students for forum postings may not result in positive student engagement. Implication: Be attentive to what is happening within the classroom.

Limitations Action research Not generalizable Small sample size Inherent Bias Not random Primary advantage: practical and centered around student experience

Action Research is Practical

Both learner and instructor roles evolve during different stages of an online learning experience (whether a lesson or fully online course). LincoTower Associates

Stage 1 - Access & Motivation Visual: frustration logging on (the one with the hatchet!). Instructor’s role:  To help with access, be welcoming and encouraging.  To provide a gentle introduction to technology use  To acknowledge feelings surrounding use of new technology and meeting new people through the online environment. Even apparently confident individuals need support at the beginning. © 2004 All Things in Moderation,

LincoTower Associates Stage 2 - Socialization Visual: taking the first steps into a new community on faith (with some baggage) Instructor’s role:  To create a community for the newcomers  To tap the excitement of beginning a new experience with new peers  To build bridges for the new participants Whether the community will last a few weeks or a few years, it’s a very special learning and teaching opportunity. © 2004 All Things in Moderation,

LincoTower Associates Stage 3 - Information Exchange Visual: getting used to being online, exposure to new ideas, and ways working with others Instructor’s role:  To provide for interaction with content  To provide for interaction with others (participants & instructor) An online advantage: one can explore information at own pace and react to it before hearing views and interpretations of others. © 2004 All Things in Moderation,

LincoTower Associates Stage 4 - Knowledge Construction Visual: constructing knowledge through online interaction and naturally developing group dynamics. Instructor’s role:  To build and sustain groups  To probe for depth*  To acknowledge and summarize new understandings* Activities at this stage have discussion or knowledge development aspects at their core. © 2004 All Things in Moderation, *added by LincoTower Team

LincoTower Associates Stage 5 - Development Visual: gaining confidence in reflection, assessment and the journey forward. Instructor’s role:  To allow participants to build on the ideas acquired and apply them to individual contexts  To encourage creativity, critical thinking, and self-reflection  To help provide closure* Participants at this stage become responsible for their own learning and are ready to move forward. © 2004 All Things in Moderation, *added by LincoTower Team

Gilly Salmon’s Five Stage Model of E-learning © 2004 All Things in Moderation, LincoTower Associates

Holda Hand contacts the instructor several times a day to ask about how to log on, how to find places in the online lesson, what instructions mean, and to ask the teacher to look over each assignment before it’s submitted.

LincoTower Associates Ima Head, who has strong independent study skills, gets the assigned work done early and is always the first to post in the asynchronous discussions. By the time others get into the discussion, Ima has already moved on. Ima doesn’t feel like going back to see what less organized classmates have to say.

LincoTower Associates Waite Tilend thinks it’s okay to put the online work off until the deadline date, assuming that the online lessons can be done any time.

How can we nudge/push students toward knowledge construction? LincoTower Associates

X. Trovert likes the asynchronous discussion groups, using them more for social chats than content-centered dialogue. Any information relevant to the discussion questions is thin without much evidence of preparation with assigned course materials because X just doesn’t get around to doing assignments outside the discussions.

To meet learner needs  Identify initial stage of learning  Move learner into interactive mode  Promote interaction with both content and other learners  Probe for deeper knowledge construction LincoTower Associates

1.Standards-based, equal to face-to-face instruction, with defined learning outcomes 2.Assigned reading/viewing materials which match learning goals 3.In-course instructional communications are clear 4.Student-centered, relevant to learning needs, adaptive to differentiated learning styles 5.Uses technology appropriate to the learner and accessible to all students 6.Interactive in nature with collaborative processing of information/ideas 7.Student-to-student engagement which gives opportunity for fun, belonging 8.Taps into 21 st Century Skills 9.Assessment plan is well-defined, built-in, and accurate Principles of Online Learning Which Principles relate to meeting online learner needs? LincoTower Associates

Reflection Moment What do you want to remember from this session?  Tell us by writing a 1-2 sentence statement on the note card.  If you would like to receive a free subscription to Strategic Times, include your address. LincoTower Associates