Online Collaborative Learning Research Articles

Take a Chance on CPD! How One School Put its Faith in the EntreCompEdu CPD Programme and Developed Whole-School Collective Entrepreneurial Education

The case study in Dafen school represents a successful whole school experience of adult education through the EntreCompEdu continuing professional development programme (CPD). It represents how teacher collaboration enhances collective engagement to develop creative, innovative, and risk-taking abilities through teaching practices. It portrays how teachers’ collective engagement has an amplifying impact upon implementation, energy, and confidence; especially influencing the entrepreneurial practice on student learning and the culture of a whole school. It validates how the headteacher and teachers collaborative action enhanced the adult learning in adoption of the new Welsh curricula. In this study we propose that the success of the teachers’ professional development in learning to apply entrepreneurship education stems from a double loop of collaborative adult online learning and collective engagement under a pressure from the new entrants; a new curricula reform set by the Welsh government and the Covid-19 lockdown.

Paving the Road Towards Supporting Scalable Collaborative Writing in High-Diversity Distance Learning Groups

Nowadays, collaborative learning in a virtual environment is highly relevant, especially in distance education and during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, higher education institutions are striving to develop software tools for collaborative online learning and to support large numbers of students working simultaneously. For this purpose, it is important to collect information about the ongoing process of the collaborative work, especially learning and interaction data, e.g. how the students interact with the other group members and whether or how they exchange information with the teachers. These collected data are then analysed with methods of learning analytics with the help of the software tools and the results are used to support learners and teachers. In this paper, an architecture is proposed that enables collaborative writing by hundreds of students divided into many groups. It uses the synergy of the learning environment Moodle and the online editor Etherpad Lite. The needed software tools can be easily integrated into it. A prototype of the architecture and first required methods of data collection and learning analytics have already been developed and successfully tested in a first pilot usage with about 300 students. The long-term goal of this project is to support collaborative writing in near real time using self-developed software.

Valuable unintended learning outcomes when practicum for student teachers in kindergartens is carried out online

This article presents a study of an educational experiment conducted at the early childhood education programme at UiT, the Arctic University of Norway. As COVID-19 made social distancing an issue, the traditional practicum in kindergartens was moved to online platforms. Constructive alignment was used as an analytical framework to investigate the possibilities and limitations of student teachers’ learning outcomes in a collaborative online learning activity. Overall, 8 out of 9 practicum teachers found the online practicum form a better alternative than supplying the student teacher with a written assignment, and 72.7% of the student teachers agreed or somewhat agreed with facilitating learning outcomes from the online practicum regardless of social distancing. The need for professional digital competence is central, as digital technology is not simply part of pedagogical practices but is becoming an integrated part of communicating and collaborating with colleagues and parents. This study broadens the understanding of how collaborative online learning can facilitate unintended valuable learning outcomes and critically debates the limitations related to emphasising a too-strong focus on intended learning outcomes as a premise for constructive alignment in education.

A Data-Driven Optimized Mechanism for Improving Online Collaborative Learning: Taking Cognitive Load into Account.

Research on online collaborative learning has explored various methods of collaborative improvement. Recently, learning analytics have been increasingly adopted for ascertaining learners’ states and promoting collaborative performance. However, little effort has been made to investigate the transformation of collaborative states or to consider cognitive load as an essential factor for collaborative intervention. By bridging collaborative cognitive load theory and system dynamics modeling methods, this paper revealed the transformation of online learners’ collaborative states through data analysis, and then proposed an optimized mechanism to ameliorate online collaboration. A quasi-experiment was conducted with 91 college students to examine the potential of the optimized mechanism in collaborative state transformation, awareness of collaboration, learning achievement, and cognitive load. The promising results demonstrated that students learning with the optimized mechanism performed significantly differently in collaboration and knowledge acquisition, and no additional burden in cognitive load was noted.

온라인 환경의 한국어 수업에서 교수실재감이 인지된 학업성취도에 미치는 영향 분석

The purpose of this study was to analyze the factor affecting their relationships with e-learning readiness and academic achievement of Korean learners in online Korean language classes. To do this, e-learning readiness consisting of five areas and 22 question such as self-directed learning, online relationship, video learning contents, collaboration learning and success factor for class were used to investigate tool. In this study, e-learning readiness survey response data were analyze for 66 students, the correlation and multiple regression analysis of Pearson was conducted. Main results are as follows. First, E-learning readiness survey results across the five areas of Korean learner recognized an average 3.768 and the majority of learners have a more normal level competence. Second, the results of between E-learning readiness and learner’s achievement had correlation with academic achievement. Third, the result that E-learning readiness factor of Korean learner does the effect on on-line relationship and collaboration learning. The result of this study can be utilized in an effort to develop high-qualified on-line course in Korean education, and it is suggested that non-face-to-face class will be establish as a new course for learners, not only offline class.

The digital literacies of early childhood educators: perceptions of collaborative online learning

ABSTRACT This explanatory mixed methods study investigated the role digital literacies play in the collaborative online learning of early childhood educators (ECEs). Through reporting quantitative survey and qualitative interview data, study results describe the attitudes and skills that contribute to ECEs’ abilities to fluently use different modes of technology to participate in collaborative online learning. Both ECEs’ and Instructors’ (higher education professionals facilitating ECE online learning courses) perceptions contribute to results on what supports and components are imperative for initial and sustained success regarding ECEs traversing and engaging with current technologies. Based on integration of databases and analysis of study results, recommendations are offered on how online learning can be used to develop the digital literacies of ECE online students.

Implementation of Online Collaborative Learning Model to Empower Social Skills Reviewed from the Initial Ability of Muhammadiyah Elementary School Students in Surabaya in the Era of Industrial Revolution 4.0

Implementation of Online Collaborative Learning Model to Empower Social Skills Reviewed from the Initial Ability of Muhammadiyah Elementary School Students in Surabaya in the Era of Industrial Revolution 4.0

Designing Asynchronous Online Discussion Forum Interface and Interaction Based on the Community of Inquiry Framework

The community of inquiry (CoI) framework describes a process for creating collaborative learning through three elements or presences: social, cognitive, and teaching. Despite its popularity among researchers and practitioners, use of the CoI model is limited to mapping instructional activities, which are yet to be developed into an interaction design for online collaborative learning intended to support the CoI presences. This study was aimed at developing the interaction design of an asynchronous online discussion forum employing a user-centered design method contextualized to the learning-centered design approach. Seven scenario and user interfaces were created to facilitate one introductory activity and four phases of inquiry. The design was evaluated through contextual interviews with ten students. The interviews revealed that the prototype encouraged and supported (a) introductory activity (social presence), (b) idea exploration (cognitive presence), (c) summarizing the discussion (cognitive presence), and (d) facilitating discussion (teaching presence). Future research could be aimed at improving the proposed design based on recommendations and developing a fully functional working system to be tested in real settings.

Mapping the Trend of Humor Studies in Educational Arena: A Text-analytic Approach

Humor is considered an educational method that can be implemented in educational processes with a wide range of educational variables. Examining the scope of research on educational humor has the potential to guide future studies. Therefore, the aim of this study is to show the conceptual trend in humor research in education over the past decade. 989 publications on the subject of humor in education were analyzed using the text mining method. A text analytic tool was used for the analysis, and the titles, abstracts, and keywords were included in the text analytics. As a result of the study, humor was studied in terms of various variables in different educational fields. In addition, the reflections of humor in education base on technological developments and the target groups applied were also revealed. The findings revealed the conceptual relationships and concept maps by year. It was concluded that the concept of humor in educational research is particularly related to the variables of motivation, attention, skill, creativity, engagement, and interest. Upon comparing 2010 and 2019, it has been observed that concepts related to online education, science, collaborative learning, and technology in humor studies have spread in recent years. In addition, humor has also emerged as a research phenomenon in language, health, and science education

Application Research of Music Education to Improve the Mental Health of College Students under the Background of 5G

Fifth-generation (5G) communication technology, with its high speed, low latency, and wide coverage, will open up new possibilities for the extension of online collaborative learning as the society improves with the times. The 5G era’s intelligent information environment has begun to influence our way of life and work, and it has now spread to include our learning habits. In today’s world, with the rapid advancement of computer and communication technologies, a big number of high-tech subjects in our traditional curriculum have had a considerable influence. This study proposes a method of integrating soft computing techniques to the advancement of music education to enhance the mental health of college students in the conditions of 5G in order to help music education stay updated with the progress trends of the periods in this modern generation. Conventional control techniques and new accurate mathematical model control approaches both fail to accurately assess students’ mental health. To enhance the assessment impact of mental health of the students, this study uses an intelligent fuzzy system as the regulation center and offers an assessment method based on an improved fuzzy neural network to assess the impact of music instruction in boosting mental health of the students. When compared to standard ways, the system developed in this work has a better effect, according to the empirical research findings.

Emergence of COIL as Online International Education Before and After the COVID-19 Pandemic

This paper focuses on the theme of online collaborative online learning practices (COIL) that have emerged around the world in international education, which has been greatly affected by the pandemic. Although it will be up to higher education institutions to decide, it is expected that blended mobility, which combines online modality and study abroad, will become the mainstream.

Is there order in the mess? A single paper meta-analysis approach to identification of predictors of success in learning analytics

ABSTRACT Predictors of student academic success do not always replicate well across different learning designs, subject areas, or educational institutions. This suggests that characteristics of a particular discipline and learning design have to be carefully considered when creating predictive models in order to scale up learning analytics. This study aimed to examine if and to what extent frequently used predictors of study success are portable across a homogenous set of courses. The research was conducted in an integrated blended problem-based curriculum with trace data (n = 2,385 students) from 50 different course offerings across four academic years. We applied the statistical method of single paper meta-analysis to combine correlations of several indicators with students’ success. Total activity and the forum indicators exhibited the highest prediction intervals, where the former represented proxies of the overall engagement with online tasks, and the latter with online collaborative learning activities. Indicators of lecture reading (frequency of lecture view) showed statistically insignificant prediction intervals and, therefore, are less likely to be portable across course offerings. The findings show moderate amounts of variability both within iterations of the same course and across courses. The results suggest that the use of the meta-analytic statistical method for the examination of study success indicators across courses with similar learning design and subject area can offer valuable quantitative means for the identification of predictors that reasonably well replicate and consequently can be reliably portable in the future.

Should you become a leader in online collaborative learning? Impact of assigned leadership on learning behaviors, outcomes, and perceptions.

The growing prevalence of collaborative learning spaces in higher education highlights the importance of student leadership for group learning. Thus, leadership assignment as a common practice in online collaborative learning merits special attention. To investigate the impact of assigned leadership and its key characteristics in promoting team learning in the online context, a semester-long quasi-experiment was conducted with 94 students in a graduate-level blended course. The results revealed significant differences between assigned leaders and group members in certain participating behaviors. However, the impact of assigned leadership on learning outcomes and perceptions was insubstantial. Additionally, student leaders' academic achievement was found to have little impact on group members' learning behaviors and learning outcomes, and mixed results were reported regarding the influence of leader behaviors on group performance. The research findings can inform the crucial decision of leader selection and extend our understanding of leadership in online collaborative learning.

A synergistic framework for curricular flexibility in online collaborative learning

Collaborative learning can be a worthwhile and valuable part of a student’s online course experience, and interpersonal exchanges among members of an online course community often rely on greater intentionality within the design of the learning experience. We present a synergistic framework for strategic design of collaborative learning in the online environment, grounded in universal design for learning and facilitated through supportive technologies. The framework takes into account distance education student variability in regard to their learning, communication, abilities, and interests and incorporates curricular flexibility to mitigate barriers. Exploring relationships among key features of collaborative learning in the online environment, this conceptual article illustrates the framework through examples, strategies, and tools for two common online course activity areas—online discussions and peer teaching.

A Review of Literature on the Effective Pedagogy Strategies for Online Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Institutions: Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract This paper reviews the literature on the effective pedagogy for online teaching and learning at Higher Education Institutions throughout the world during the COVID-19 pandemic. The global higher education system has been severely hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic. The sudden and enormous desire for previously face-to-face academic disciplines to be delivered online has posed a unique challenge. Online teaching and learning necessitate a certain level of technological pedagogical content knowledge for effective pedagogic strategies, which are primarily concerned with planning and arranging for better learning opportunities and creating distinct learning environments through the use of digital technology. The effectiveness of lesson delivery with technology integration is characterized as technological pedagogical content knowledge. It is a significant application in all aspects of learning that are necessary for the teaching and learning process. Consequently, this theoretical paper proposes a conceptual model for comprehending the link between effective pedagogy and technological pedagogical content knowledge, both of which result in students’ academic performance in an online teaching and learning context. This theoretical paper recommends that Higher Education Institutions have fundamental technological infrastructure and equip educators and students with advanced technologies applicable to online teaching and learning platforms, which is consistent with an Online Collaborative Learning theory. Educators must also be able to effectively use digital technology systems to deliver online lessons. According to this model, Higher Education Institutions will benefit through providing students with essential technical skills that today’s employers require and ensuring that universities around the world remain competitive.

Deep Collaborative Online Learning Resource Recommendation Based on Attention Mechanism

In view of the lack of hierarchical and systematic resource recommendation caused by rich online learning resources and many learning platforms, an attention-based ADCF online learning resource recommendation model is proposed by introducing the attention mechanism into a deep collaborative DCF model. Experimental results show that the proposed ADCF model enables an accurate recommendation of online learning resources, reaching 0.626 and 0.339 on the HR and NDCG metrics, respectively, compared to the DCF models before improved, up by 1.31% and 1.25%, and the proposed ADCF models by 1.79%, 2.17%, and 2.32%, respectively, compared to the IUNeu and NeuCF models.

A Study on the Research Trends to Online Collaborative Learning through Keyword Network Analysis

목적 본 연구에서는 2003~2021년까지 온라인 협력학습 관련 연구를 키워드 네트워크 분석을 통해 핵심어들 간의 관계성을 분석하였다. 방법 온라인 협력학습에서 이루어진 연구 중 교육분야 학술지에 등재된 논문을 선정하여 연도별로 나눈 후 저자 선정 키워드를 핵심어로 선정하여 주요 단어의 빈도 수를 기준으로 중심성 분석을 실시하여 이를 시각화하였다. 결과 저자선정키워드를 기준으로 중심성 분석을 해본 결과는 다음과 같다. 2003년에서 2010년 사이에는 ‘웹기반’, ‘문제기반’ 등과 같은 키워드들이 주를 이루었으며, 2011년에서 2018년 사이에는 ‘상호작용’, ‘커뮤니케이션’이, 2019년에서 2021년 사이에는 ‘자기조절학습’ 등과 같은 키워드들이 특징적으로 나타났다. 결론 본 연구는 키워드 네트워크 분석을 활용하여 온라인 협력학습 연구동향을 보다 거시적인 관점에서 확인할 수 있는 유용한 분석방법이며 추후 다양한 상호작용적 요소들을 탐색하여 비교⋅분석할 필요가 있다.

A Conceptualization of Online Collaborative English Learning for Undergraduate Students in the New Normal Post Covid-19 Era

Changing the way of learning process during the pandemic have made a point to find an appropriate approach in online leaning. This study aims to analyze language learning process in the first year of the pandemic, where the language needs a practice in the process of learning. In other words, language learning really requires direct interaction, this condition is added that not all colleges are ready for online learning either through LMS or other online forms which are already familiar by offline interactions. This study uses qualitative descriptive with deeply observations during the classes, and used the diffusion of innovation by Rogers which consists on stages of innovation. The research found the conceptualization of learning through online-collaborative, and using the online collaborative exam between groups has proven the willingness in interactive e-learning language and to be able to improve the competence of language skills, both listening, writing, reading, and speaking which are needed in the language process of university students whose vocabulary and English are still unfamiliar used in the introduction in each course in Indonesia

Continuously analysing fine-grained student behaviours in an online collaborative learning environment

ABSTRACT This study examines the use of data analytics to evaluate students’ behaviours during their participation in an online collaborative learning environment called SkyApp. To visualise the learning traits of engagement, emotion and motivation, students’ inputs and activity data were captured and quantified for analysis. Experiments were first carried out in a primary school with 66 fifth-grade students. Each participating student collaborated with other group members using SkyApp through a personal computer in a classroom setting. While the students collaboratively solved mathematics questions in two quizzes, data about their learning traits were captured by SkyApp; various patterns of these data were then analysed. The findings based on the data analysis were triangulated with the results of questionnaires, revealing the relationship between student behaviours and collaborative learning as a kind of pedagogical intervention. The correlation between the data from the two approaches – data analytics and questionnaires – shows the potential of understanding students’ behaviours through continuous data analysis of learner-produced data without the need to collect self-reported data from the students involved. This study demonstrates that teachers can monitor and identify the effects of specific pedagogical interventions on students’ behaviours by looking at different snapshots taken over the course of e-learning activities.

Online Collaborative Learning Using Microsoft Teams in Higher Education Amid COVID-19

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most universities needed to move to online teaching and learning, in some cases with very limited knowledge or experience in running online programmes. Engaging students online has become an imminent challenge that universities and academics are still trying to address. This paper reports on the findings from the experience of making the transition from an established collaborative learning activity delivered in a face-to-face environment to online collaborative learning supported by Microsoft Teams. Supported by an action research methodology, the paper evaluates this experience by comparing the outcomes of students' learning in the previous face-to-face and the online activities and the suitability of Microsoft Teams as a learning environment for collaborative learning for a postgraduate project management module. This research contributes to the growing knowledge of technology-enhanced learning by shedding light on how Microsoft Teams can support active and online collaborative learning in Higher Education.