Pub Date : 2023-11-07DOI: 10.18357/otessaj.2023.3.1.50
Jo Axe, Hannah Dahlquist-Axe, Elizabeth Childs
While online course delivery in higher education has been increasing for several decades, students can face unique challenges in the digital environment. At a small university in Western Canada, online and blended learning have been a major focus for course delivery since 1995. Considering the risk that students could experience a lack of meaningful connection with their fellow students, the university launched a not-for-credit online learning module in 2006 that was designed to provide new-to-program students with resources and activities to encourage learning community development. Since the first module was launched, several programs at the university have adapted the original module to suit their specific needs. In this paper, we explore the experiences of graduate students in three programs over an eight-year period. Students completed surveys focused on the role of three module activities in helping them develop a supportive online learning community. The findings were organized under three areas that revealed elements of the module that worked well, areas for improvement, and suggestions for module additions. The recommendations call for making modules that are not-for-credit, mandatory, support both synchronous and asynchronous collaboration, use only one web-based entry point, consider time zones, and support students’ ability to balance their education with their out-of-school commitments. For those who may wish to include similar activities for their students, we have included a link in the paper to the Open Educational Resource that was developed in support of our research.
{"title":"Developing Learning Communities Online","authors":"Jo Axe, Hannah Dahlquist-Axe, Elizabeth Childs","doi":"10.18357/otessaj.2023.3.1.50","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18357/otessaj.2023.3.1.50","url":null,"abstract":"While online course delivery in higher education has been increasing for several decades, students can face unique challenges in the digital environment. At a small university in Western Canada, online and blended learning have been a major focus for course delivery since 1995. Considering the risk that students could experience a lack of meaningful connection with their fellow students, the university launched a not-for-credit online learning module in 2006 that was designed to provide new-to-program students with resources and activities to encourage learning community development. Since the first module was launched, several programs at the university have adapted the original module to suit their specific needs. In this paper, we explore the experiences of graduate students in three programs over an eight-year period. Students completed surveys focused on the role of three module activities in helping them develop a supportive online learning community. The findings were organized under three areas that revealed elements of the module that worked well, areas for improvement, and suggestions for module additions. The recommendations call for making modules that are not-for-credit, mandatory, support both synchronous and asynchronous collaboration, use only one web-based entry point, consider time zones, and support students’ ability to balance their education with their out-of-school commitments. For those who may wish to include similar activities for their students, we have included a link in the paper to the Open Educational Resource that was developed in support of our research.","PeriodicalId":497966,"journal":{"name":"OTESSA journal","volume":"112 3","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135541081","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-10-16DOI: 10.18357/otessaj.2023.3.1.48
Enilda Romero-Hall, Lina Gomez-Vasquez, Laila Forstmane, Caldeira Ripine, Carolina Dias da Silva
The aim of this investigation was to gain a broad sense of the implementation of digital social networks for teaching and learning by instructors in higher education. We were particularly interested in examples of instructors' use of digital social networks in their courses, the benefits and challenges of specific platforms for teaching and learning purposes, and the perceived role of digital social networks in teaching and learning during the first years of the COVID-19 pandemic. The participants in this investigation (n=336) were faculty and graduate students. Data was collected via an electronic questionnaire with closed and open-ended questions using Qualtrics. The quantitative analysis included descriptive statistics. The data analysis also included qualitative data analysis of textual responses provided to various questionnaire items. The results illustrate the ways in which instructors successfully apply or integrate digital social networks into teaching and learning, broadly and with specific digital social networks. Yet, the findings also highlight several complexities that instructors have experienced when considering digital social networks in their teaching practices such as data privacy issues, misinformation, user interface issues, and the willingness of students to use less trendy digital networks, among other challenges.
{"title":"The Complexities of Using Digital Social Networks in Teaching and Learning","authors":"Enilda Romero-Hall, Lina Gomez-Vasquez, Laila Forstmane, Caldeira Ripine, Carolina Dias da Silva","doi":"10.18357/otessaj.2023.3.1.48","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18357/otessaj.2023.3.1.48","url":null,"abstract":"The aim of this investigation was to gain a broad sense of the implementation of digital social networks for teaching and learning by instructors in higher education. We were particularly interested in examples of instructors' use of digital social networks in their courses, the benefits and challenges of specific platforms for teaching and learning purposes, and the perceived role of digital social networks in teaching and learning during the first years of the COVID-19 pandemic. The participants in this investigation (n=336) were faculty and graduate students. Data was collected via an electronic questionnaire with closed and open-ended questions using Qualtrics. The quantitative analysis included descriptive statistics. The data analysis also included qualitative data analysis of textual responses provided to various questionnaire items. The results illustrate the ways in which instructors successfully apply or integrate digital social networks into teaching and learning, broadly and with specific digital social networks. Yet, the findings also highlight several complexities that instructors have experienced when considering digital social networks in their teaching practices such as data privacy issues, misinformation, user interface issues, and the willingness of students to use less trendy digital networks, among other challenges.","PeriodicalId":497966,"journal":{"name":"OTESSA journal","volume":"28 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136183043","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-10-16DOI: 10.18357/otessaj.2023.3.1.43
Laura Killam, Lillian Chumbley, Susanna Kohonen, Jim Stauffer, Jess Mitchell
Co-creation is an open practice where learners participate in decision-making about aspects of course design, which in our context has included various activities from course design to assessment decisions. After the OTESSA22 conference, this group of conference attendees reflected on co-creation practices and experiences in their respective post-secondary contexts. In this article we share reflections and challenges with co-creation as well as ideas to potentially overcome these challenges. This article, with examples shared from practice, serves as a starting point for ongoing dialogue about inclusive approaches to co-creation.
{"title":"Co-Creation During a Course: A Critical Reflection on Opportunities for Co-Learning","authors":"Laura Killam, Lillian Chumbley, Susanna Kohonen, Jim Stauffer, Jess Mitchell","doi":"10.18357/otessaj.2023.3.1.43","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18357/otessaj.2023.3.1.43","url":null,"abstract":"Co-creation is an open practice where learners participate in decision-making about aspects of course design, which in our context has included various activities from course design to assessment decisions. After the OTESSA22 conference, this group of conference attendees reflected on co-creation practices and experiences in their respective post-secondary contexts. In this article we share reflections and challenges with co-creation as well as ideas to potentially overcome these challenges. This article, with examples shared from practice, serves as a starting point for ongoing dialogue about inclusive approaches to co-creation.","PeriodicalId":497966,"journal":{"name":"OTESSA journal","volume":"97 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136183044","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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