Unit+3+-Transparency+in+Online+Education

UNIT 3
= Short description =

In this unit,the subjet was " Transparency in Online Education" and the questions in discussion that should be explained were: About this subjet Thera did:
 * 1) How much transparency should we allow in online education?
 * 2) What are the implications of transparency in online education?
 * 3) What are the pros and cons of global student catalogues?

Learning Object
=[|Web 2.0 Storytelling: Emergence of a New Genre]=
 * [[image:media_httpwwwglogster_qsGmj.jpg.scaled500.jpg link="http://tmvcr.glogster.com/transparency-in-online-cooperative-learning/"]] ||  || This was the most complex Learning Object I did. In fact, technically it was a challenge and I must be grateful to Mr. Brian Alexander because it was him (talking about the question I’ve made to him) that directed me to one of his articles

and one of the wiki pages in witch he participates: = =

Open Discussion on Web 2.0 Storytelling Bryan Alexander and Alan Levine
“Glogster" revealed to be a perfect tool to give a lot of information in a small space. Besides it allowed to make several links and the “public" can choose what to see/read. As my intention was to give the most useful information that I could about the subject, I think I archived it. This presentation aloud several readings and different degrees of information and intends to be an "open door” for the knowledge of this thematic. || ||



[|Principles for Improving Online Transparency, Quality by Christopher Hill in Distance Learning]
**Anotated Bibliography** In this articles, the author argues about several principles that can be very useful and perahps shoud be considered in order to promote transparency in online education. however the article focus is courses design. In his oppinion "One of the requirements for implementing Transparency by Design is the development of a new s[|et of best practices for participating institutions"] These short texts, refer that one factor of major importance for the sucess in online education is also a well designed course with the right attitude of those who work there. "The keys are disclosure, transparency, the ability to interact with students easily and the quality of the curriculum. So that we know what we’re trying to achieve and we regularly measure it.” Hill, Christopher, **Principles for Improving Online Transparency, Quality,**October 20, 2009 in http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/distance-learning/principles-for-improving-online-transparency-quality/ viewed in 28/12/09

Hill, Christopher**, More Principles for Improving Online Transparency, Quality**,October 2, 2009 in http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/distance-learning/more-principles-for-improving-online-transparency-quality/ viewed in 28/12/09

===__[|An Interview with Morten Flate Paulsen: Transparency in Online Education Michael F. Shaughnessy Senior Columnist EdNews.org]__=== __ **Annotated Bibliograph**y __

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In this interview and answering about what he meant when he argue that transparency improves quality in online education, Professor Paulsen tell us that transparency is important specially because of tree positive effects on quality: =====

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Asked about his believes about the propriety of transparency on promoting cooperation in online education, Professor Paulsen explained that it is s much easier to cooperate when we know the work of others. =====

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Furthermore, he thinks that transparency is also fundamental in social networking because “the starting point is the individual or personal which does not happens with discussion forums. Having a personal page and profile that can be modified and developed, one can always being an individual and a member of a community.“In other words, actions within a social networking site are transparent. This creates a kind of indirect or passive form of communication and sharing.” =====

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Replying to the question “Have you publish other recent articles on transparency in on-line education?” Paulsen enumerate some of his last publications and referred some interesting experiences with students. =====

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As an example he pointed the Universidade Aberta’s where: “all the students have public blogs where you can read the annotated bibliographies and see the learning objects they develop for the course” =====

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In his opinion it’s precisely this “extreme transparency of work-in-progress allows that the students to get feedback not only from their classmates, but from everybody on the internet as a part of their learning experience.” Even in more elementary levels and mostly in the case of families that live abroad, transparency can also be very useful and give very good results. =====

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Paulsen believes also that transparency could improve quality even in evaluation what is underlined when he sates that “ relevant information should be available to the various user groups so that they can learn from the results and understand that they are members of a larger learning community”. =====

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This can be confirmed in the work of NKI where writtings that: Students could see a report showing qualitative statistics of interest to students in their course." underlines that "Teachers could see the same report as the students with additional teacher information from certain parts of the questionnaire or from data related to other courses." and also assigning some importance to the presence of the administrative staff he says that they could see comparative reports showing responses from all user groups and questionnaires. This could also for example be used to identify teachers who receive excellent evaluations or courses that receive worrying evaluations. ” =====

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Pausen nevertheless refers one weekness in these evaluation systems dispite the “NKI quality barometer” when he wrights that “they are not meant for continuous evaluation”, meaning that these types of evaluation should be used only scarcely. =====

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 * R** __ **eferences:**

[1] Michael F. Shaughnessy Senior Columnist EdNews.org; **An Interview with Morten Flate Paulsen: Transparency in Online Education**; in http://www.moodle.univ-ab.pt/moodle/course/view.php?id=4098#Scene_1 Visited in 26/12/09

Publicada por Teresa Rafael em [|06:38] [|0 comentários]    Etiquetas: [|ppel/mpel-uab]

[|Transparency in Cooperative Online Education by Chritian Dalsgaard and Morten Flate Paulsen]
**Activity 1 - Annotated Bibliograph**y
 * Analysis of an article**

The abstract of this article shows clearly the subject, starting that “ //The purpose of this article is to discuss the following question: What is the potential of social networking within cooperative online education? ”//

One is also clarified by the authors that they are going to demonstrate their argument //“that transparency is a unique feature of social networking services. ”// The text argues that transparency and social networks can be used in cooperative online education in a certain way. In fact the authors believe that social networks and transparency are fundamental to increase ability among students.

The problem identified by the authors is to find in what measure the increasing of the ability can be done and how social networks can support cooperative online learning and how can they be used to innovate and also to increase student motivation. Web2.0 tools i.e. Weblogs, social networking sites, micro-blogging, and social presence tools) can provide the means to do the work and most of all they can stimulate the creativity of the student. Moreover, one of the network characteristics is that people share, ask, give teach and exchange as the authors state. //“People can cooperate only if they know about each other and have access to some common information and services ”//

Being very skilled in network (social or not) collaboration and cooperation can perfectly be used as an added value to online (cooperative) education. But foremost transparency is the biggest added value brought to online education as the authors underline “//central characteristic of social networking is the potential to facilitate transparency between students. The basic assumption is that transparency is important to cooperative online education. ”//


 * Transparency – what’s that?**

“//Transparency means that you and your doings are visible to fellow students and teachers within a learning environment. ”//

Following the work of the other students and even that of the teachers doesn’t mean appropriation or steeling. It is under the other way around: in online education it can mean specially a big help and a stimulus for innovation and “an idea for new ideas” as the authors suggest. As put it “//The purpose of transparency is to enable students and teachers to see and follow the work of fellow students and teachers within a learning environment and in that sense to make participants available to each other as resources for their learning activities.”//

Besides, for those that dislike “group work” that don’t allow individual performances and feel the need of exchanging ideas, cooperative learning is the best way to learn specially in distance education.//“A central aspect of cooperative learning is to enable students to make use of each other while at the same time maintaining individual freedom ”//


 * Social Networking and Cooperative Learning**

Since we live a communication Age it’s natural that networks become quite a must in people’s life and also for students. But communication is not necessarily collaboration and the authors of this article consider mandatory to define what and in what measure social networks are important to cooperative learning and how and in what can they be used as pedagogical tools //“ Networks are loosely organized structures (Dron & Anderson 2007) in which people do not necessarily collaborate or communicate directly. However, the question is what role networks play in relation to learning (….) more questions arises: What kind of relations supports learning, and, specifically, how do networks support learning?// ”

Morevover “ it is necessary to clarify how different kinds of social relations support learning. Thus, it is necessary to make a connection between learning and types of social relations”.

Because of that it is also necessary to clarify the difference between the concepts of “cooperative” and “collaborative” //“We make a distinction between „collaborative‟ versus „cooperative‟ problem solving. Cooperative work is accomplished by the division of labour among participants, as an activity where each person is responsible for a portion of the problem solving. We focus on collaboration as the mutual engagement of participants in a coordinated effort to solve the problem together. (Roschelle & Teasley, 1995, p. 70) ”//

To collaborate means in general that there is a participation in a learning community and that there are limits for individual flexibility. The Cooperative approach put the emphasis in the encouragement of both individual flexibility and affinity to a learning community: //“Another way to distinguish between the three terms is to claim that individual learning is conducted alone, collaborative learning depends on groups, and cooperative learning takes place in networks. ”//

In fact, learning is considered as an active process and social relations are central to learning in a socio-cultural approach. But an individual doesn’t have to “disappear” in the community work that must be constituted as a “group of individuals” //“The objective is not community-building or collaboration but increased awareness. ”//

//“We will argue that transparency is a dominant feature of social networking”//
 * Transparency and Cooperative Learning**

Philosophy of cooperative learning is directly related with one of the most important aspect of social networks in wish “the starting point is the individual or personal”. In opposition to the discussion forums, an individual always own is only personal page. So Individuality is always present. And it is as an individual that one share. //“In a discussion forum you are represented by your posts only, whereas you are always “present” in a social network through your personal page. ”//

“//Transparency is particularly relevant within cooperative learning, where students are working on related projects or assignments but are not collaborating. Within cooperative online learning a central challenge is to enable students to follow the work of their colleagues. If students are unaware of the activities of fellow students, they might not make use of each other. This problem is reinforced within online education, where students do not meet face-to-face (Paulsen, 2008). ”//

Furthermore, like in a network community, collaboration and cooperation are voluntary. Requiring transparency and using social networks as an attractive pedagogical tool, in cooperative learning student share and use community and individual awareness. //“Cooperation will benefit when general and personal information related to the learning and the learners is available directly or indirectly to the learning community.”//

Through transparency, quality is promoted because one is always seeking for better performances and “seeing and being seen it is much more easy and stimulating”.

Transparency implies that users to a certain extent can see and be seen, but it is important to find a suitable transparency level. Transparency is also an important driver for improved quality. It has the following three positive effects on quality Web2.0 social software alows to increase performances on online education. Blogs, wikis, social networking sites, RSS, and social bookmarking become compelling tools in online education. In fact, now “users produce, share, and refine information of mutual interest and benefit for all community members”. Based in the “visibility “and “accessibility” all the productions are transparent and so shared and “cooperative”. And this cooperation can have the size that one can find appropriate. The same happens for evaluation //“In cooperative learning environments, the findings and results should be reasonably transparent, and relevant information should be available to the appropriate user groups so that they can learn from the results and understand that they are members of a larger learning community. ”//
 * **Preventive quality improvement** -We are prone to provide better quality when we know that others have access to the information and contributions we provide.
 * **Constructive quality improvement** - We may learn from others when we have access to their data and contributions.
 * **Reactive quality improvement** - We may receive feedback from others when they have access to our data and contributions. ”

**Transparency: Potential for Online Education**

One of the most related problems of Distance Education is the isolation of the student with all the consequences that are inherent to that.

Cooperative learning permits a conjugation of some ideal factors: A student does not have to abandon his individuality to belong, share and participate in a learning community. //“This kind of sharing can provide students with insights into the workings of other students, and, thus, give them an increased consciousness and awareness of the activities of other students.”//

Despite not being “new learning management systems”, Web 2.0 tools and social networks have become a pedagogical added value to on line learning. For the authors of this article, lying in “transparency and the ability to create awareness among students (…) social networking should be considered as a supplement to other tools”

In a sort of conclusion one can say these authors consider that the pedagogical potential of transparency lies within developing social networks in which students’ activities are visible to other students without denying them their individuality. “//Cooperative learning and a socio-cultural approach provide a strong motive for support of transparency between student//

**References****:**

• Christian Dalsgaard ,Morten Flate Paulsen; T**ransparency in Cooperative Online Education**; International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning; Volume 10, Number 3; ISSN: 1492-3831 In http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/671/1267 Visited in 26/12/09

• Christian Dalsgaard, Social networking sites: **Transparency in online education;** Institute of Information and Media Studies, University of Aarhus, Helsingforsgade 14, 8200 Aarhus N,Denmark,http://eunis.dk/papers/p41.pdf%20%20 visited in 26/12/2009

• Morten F. Paulsen; **Profiling Online Students in EDEN President’s Blog,** Weblog of Alan W. Tait President of EDEN in collaboration with the Executive Committee http://www.eden-online.org/blog/2008/10/01/profiling-online-students/ visited in 26/12/2009

**Other stuff**

 * Re: Activity 2 - Review of the annotated bibliographyby [|Teresa Rafael] - Sunday, 24 January 2010, 06:37 PM ||
 * || Good afternoon

I agree that Sonia have done a good “short" work. If we are “inside the issue we can easily choose the right bibliography. Moreover, Sonia told us more about the book that explain the better the problem that we are analyzing now. About the technical issues of “a” presentation I don’t feel with the authority to speak because I'm a little bit “unruly" and I never do it completely right, but Teresa F is right in what she wrote.

Teresa Rafael ||

Congratulations for your LO....I loved it. In fact it's very usefull and well done. I never done a quizz but i' whant to spend some time learning it because I think that in the future That will be a very usefull tool for mY work ( I have some ideas about...:))....and more I am " fan" of mobile learning.... So...a very good idea and as much as I can see, very well done... Once again congratulations... Teresa Rafael ||
 * Re: Activity 3 - Reviewsby [|Teresa Rafael] - Sunday, 24 January 2010, 06:54 PM ||
 * || HI Luis

And we are not talking about political or “racial" differences. We are talking about "cultural/scientificall differences". In fact - and being radical- we cannot allow that someone without education come develop his/her theories about advanced science, math’s...social sciences.... By the some, way I have to be careful when discussing technical details with the architect that is conceiving my house....I **__Know__** that I can only discuss esthetic ( and economical) aspects ... That's a question of expertise. So...before the implementation of transparency in education it is necessary to know if the "people" and the system are prepared/ mature for that. Talking it political: “anarchism" as not proved yet that it work! I love my “privacy and individualism” as much as I dislike to be an intruder! "Transparency, but with caution".
 * Re: Activity 4 - Brainstorming on transparensyby [|Teresa Rafael] - Wednesday, 27 January 2010, 05:53 PM ||
 * || Yes I agree

Teresa Rafael ||