I’ve been doing some research on turning the carved in cold stone, virtual learning management space into a personal, living, breathing, interactive learning place and came across Eric’s post on active learning in the online classroom in his E-Learning Acupuncture blog. This is an active, interesting blog that I’m posting in my Blogs I Follow page. He’s taking learning interactions beyond the regular read the content and comment on a linear discussion board assignment. Of course, reply to at least 3 other posts. BLAH! It’s time we move beyond the cold, virtual spaces for online learning and let the students transform the spaces into personal, interactive learning places. He breaks the interaction and learning activities into 4 different categories. Brilliant! (See below) He lists the activities under each category and is asking for his readers to add to the lists. Let’s do it! I would add interactive personal and team portfolios to the a few of the categories. And, how about under Learner-to-Learner Interactions add digital concept mapping to enhance group brainstorming? Why not? As educators our first responsibility is to ensure that our students become productive citizens in society. Like it or not, our students are transitioning into a workforce that requires mastery of digital media and cyber communication.
Visit Eric’s blog and add to the lists. Let’s all do this. I’m adding my activities today. Again, brilliant job, Eric!
http://erictremblay.blogspot.ca/2015/03/active-learning-in-online-classroom.html
Learner-to-Learner Interactions
- Group brainstorming
- Group role-playing
- Study/support groups
- Peer feedback on student work
- Exploring a Virtual World as a team
- Creating visual posters to share with the class
- Creation of video presentations to share with the class
- Asynchronous individual or collaborative learning activities (i.e. Projects)
- Creative writing (in groups or individually) that is shared with peers
- Problem-based learning Learning activities which encourage critical thinking
- Cooperative learning group discussions (real time video chat or via asynchronous discussion forum)
Learner-To-TeachingTeam
- Tutorials
- Reflective questioning
- Relating learning to relevant current events and personal life
- Problem-based learning Learning activities which encourage critical thinking
- Cooperative learning group discussions (real time video chat or via asynchronous discussion forum)
Learner-To-Virtual Environment
- Interviewing people
- Exploring a Virtual World individually
- Learning activities which encourage critical thinking
- Online quizzes (graded and non-graded) that provide immediate feedback
- Advanced adaptive technologies like simulations and sensitivity analyses
Learner-To-Physical Environment
- Interviewing people
- Home-based laboratories
- Real-life data collection and analysis
- Learning activities which encourage critical thinking
- Learning activities with hand-on experiences and tasks
- Learning activities which apply the content of the lesson in real-life situations
– E-Learning Acupuncture, Eric Tromblay, Educational Developer, Queens University
Filed under: Web 2.0 in Education 
