Lesson 6: e-learning week

Perhaps it is because I'm just ditzy, but I always overlook the second page of the PDF instructions file. I just skim through the first page and think that is all there is to the task. This is the second time I'm doing it already. Hence, this post is a little later than normal...

1. From a learner’s point of view, how was this week’s activity related to the previous weeks’ activities? How do you think it is related to what is to come?

We wrote a 500-word article online collaboratively this week. It was an interesting process because, one, I'm not used to doing process writing; and two, I'm not used to doing process writing over email. It brings "collaborative learning", a key aspect of student-centred learning, to a whole different level.

One of the difficulties about working collaboratively over email is that you cannot respond to the body language cues of your group mates. In an office situation, where there is a clear demarcation of roles and hierarchy, it is easier to work over email. In a group of peers, where everyone is equal, it seems harder.

For me, one of the best things I took out from this collaborative process writing process was being able to see my group mates' work. Although it was the same material, they thought of things I didn't, and phrased things in a way that I wouldn't. That helped me broaden my ideas about student-centred learning, especially since that I've been thinking about SCL so much that what I think is getting stale.

2. From a teacher’s point of view, how do you think your instructor designed this task? Why was it designed this way? What considerations did he possibly take into account? What can you take away from this experience?

The imposition of a 500-word limit forced our group to collaborate further. It is pretty ingenious to use a tangible requirement to encourage a student-centred learning approach. I think this works much better than stipulating that the group "collaborate over the internet" or using any other contrived instructions.

The instruction to create our own wikis also allowed us to go through the process and troubleshoot the issues that come up, such as passwords, access, etc. There is a subtle shift from being participants in a wiki, to being creators of a wiki; and this is similiar to the shift from being students in a classroom, to being teachers.

The timing of this task is appropriate. We're about mid-way through our course, and we know our group mates better now than two weeks ago. One consideration a teacher has to have is whether it is a good time in the year to introduce certain tasks, especially when it involves collaboration.

I think that for this task, the process is more important than the content. As a teacher, I need to be aware of the processes—as that is where students learn—rather than focusing only on "project deliverables".