LIS 590 EL : Elearning: Social and Technical Issues in Elearning Research and Practice

Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Thursday 9-12, Room 131 LIS Building

This graduate seminar addresses social, technical, administrative, and pedagogical aspects of online education and learning. The course will primarily address e-learning in higher education, and but will also consider e-learning in non-educational settings. We will discuss technical and social challenges and new practices associated with teaching and learning online, as well as theoretical perspectives on elearning, methods of researching elearning, and research progress and agendas. Attention will be given to examining the online environment as a whole, including how computer-mediated communication affects interaction between students and instructors, and among instructors; how learning communities are built and sustained online; how students learn how to learn online; and social and technical aspects of sustaining online programs.

TEXTS

Garrison, D. R., & Anderson, Terry. (2003). E-learning in the 21st century: A framework for research and practice, RoutledgeFalmer, NY. 2003

Lea, Mary R. & Nicoll, Kathy (Eds.) (2002). Distributed learning: Social and cultural approaches to practice. RoutledgeFalmer, NY.

Haythornthwaite, Caroline & Kazmer, Michelle M. (Eds.) (2004). Learning, culture and community in online education: Research and practice. NY: Peter Lang.

Weekly Schedule

Date	Topic	Assignment Schedule
Aug. 25	Elearning and Elearning Research
Sept. 1	Overviews and Philosophical Perspectives
Sept. 8	Learning Theories	Teaching topic proposals due
Sept. 15	Technologies I: LEEP; Principles of HCI
Sept. 22	Internet: reach, access, digital divide: videoconference
Sept 29	Computer-Mediated Communication	Research Project Proposal due (if applicable)
October 5/6	Online Pedagogy
Oct. 13	CANCELLED
Oct. 20	Technologies II: SAKAI; Basics of systems analysis and requirements gathering *Sue Searing guest lecture + SAKAI demo*
Oct. 27	Ecology of online learners
Nov. 3	Learning Communities	System Assignment Due
Nov. 10	Collaboration and Participation
Nov. 17	New Literacies and Writing Online; Organizational and Policy Issues	Teaching Assignment Due
Nov. 24	Thanksgiving
Dec. 1	Student Presentations
Dec. 8	Student Presentations	Topic Paper Due

Assignments

Participation (25%); System Assignment (25%); Teaching Assignment (25%); Final paper (25%); Presentation of your system, teaching and/or topic assignment.

Assignments are best considered to be three parts of a whole, leading to an overall presentation, i.e., try to choose an approach that lets you follow through different aspects of a similar topic throughout the semester.

System Assignments (one of the following)

~1500 words

1. System comparison

Compare LEEP and/or SAKAI and/or Moodle on one or more systems features
Describe the pros and cons of each from the student and instructor perspectives

2. System use

Examine a LEEP or other online program class to see how the features of the system are used to teach the class
Optional: Compare one or more classes, compare across systems
Describe how system features affect how the class is and can be conducted
Information sources: instructors, students, online class materials (syllabi, etc.)

3. System requirement

Research and propose a design feature for an existing system (LEEP, SAKAI, MOODLE)
Describe the purpose of the feature, and provide evidence for its actual usefulness to students or instructors or administrators
Design the feature, including screen layouts and appearance to users, source of data, display of data, integration with the existing system

Note: Systems assignments will be shared with others outside the class, e.g., LEEP technical support, UIUC online.

Teaching assignment (one of the following)

~1500 words

1. Design a class on an elearning topic

Look at existing classes, talk with instructors
Design with attention to asynch and synchronous aspects
Support the design with reference to the literature on learning theories and elearning pedagogy

2. Teach a topic (limited number can take this option)

Devise and run a week-long asynchronous discussion of an elearning topic with this class (on LEEP)
Report on the success of meeting your learning objectives with the class
Report on the activity during the discussion
Support the discussion with reference to the literature on elearning pedagogy
Provide recommendations coming out of this teaching experience
Topics: Within the scope of elearning, you may select your own topic most weeks
Note: Students in the class will participate as part of their participation grade
Weeks available for this assignment are: (1) Sept 23-29th; (2) Oct. 7-13; (3) Nov. 11-17 (with extended due date on teaching assignment). Other weeks are possible if the topic taken is related to the week’s upcoming class. Readings will be adjusted accordingly.

Topic paper (one of the following)

1. Write a short paper (3,000 words) on an elearning topic of your choosing.

This may be the topic used for the teaching assignment or one related to the systems assignment. Restrict the topic to make a successful, substantive paper of no less than 3000 and no more than 5000 words.

2. Do a research project on elearning.

Keep the scope limited and doable within the semester. Depending on your data source, you may need to complete a campus Institutional Review Board form. Projects proposals must be submitted and approved by me first.

Class Presentation

15 minutes + questions

1. In the final weeks of the class, students will share their work with the class.

This may be done online or offline, and will be a report on the systems, teaching and/or topic work done as assignments.

Elearning Weekly Topics and Readings

Aug. 25

Elearning and Elearning Research

intro to course
intro to the breadth of elearning issues
elearning research
growth of online learning (statistics)
kinds of e-learning: from distance to blended

Sept. 1

Overviews and Philosophical Perspectives

re practice, online activity, the information age
LEEP environment intro

Garrison & Anderson: Introduction

Lea & Nicoll: Chpt 1: Information, knowledge and learning: Some issues facing epistemology and education in a digital age, Lankspear, Peters & Knobel

H&K: Introduction; Chpt 1: Burbules; Chpt 2: Bruce

Other:

Mayadas, A. F. (1997). Asynchronous learning networks: A Sloan foundation perspective. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 1 (1). Available online at: http://www.sloan-c.org/publications/jaln/v1n1/v1n1_mayadas.asp

Sept. 8

Learning Theories

Theories that are in use re online learning: constructivism, active learning, adult learning, learner-centered teaching; active learning, Vygotsky; activity theory Engestrom; CL Bruffee; CSCL Koschmann; social, cognitive and teaching presence

Garrison & Anderson: Theoretical foundation; Community of inquiry (pp. 1-31)

Lea & Nicoll: Chpt 3: Legitimate peripheral participation in communities of practice, Lave & Wenger;

Other:

Swan, K. (2005). A constructivist model for thinking about learning online. Sloan-C Workshop, Victoria BC.

Papert, S. (1991). Situating constructionism. In S. Papert & I. Harel, Constructionism. Norwood, NJ: Ablex. http://www.papert.org/articles/SituatingConstructionism.html

Koschmann, T. (1996). Paradigm shifts and instructional technology: An introduction. In T. Koschmann (Ed.) CSCL: Theory and Practice of an Emerging Paradigm (pp.1-23). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Other resources:

Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L., & Cocking, R. R. (Eds.) (1999). How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School. National Academy Press: Washington, DC. Also available online at: http://search.nap.edu/html/howclassweb1

Engeström, Y., Miettinen, R. & Punamäki, R. (Eds.) (1999) Perspectives on Activity Theory. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.

Sept. 9 (Extra)

GSLIS Roundtable (11-1pm): Building a learning community

GSLIS presentations to corporate roundtable members on aspects of LEEP and the way it sustains a learning community

Sept. 15

Technologies I: LEEP Model

LEEP technology environment
Principles of HCI
Examining systems for usability
GUESTS: Jill Gengler & Matt Beth from the LEEP Instructional Technology Office (ITO)

Garrison & Anderson: The technology of e-learning (pp. 31-47)

Lea & Nicoll: Chpt 4: Looking beyond the interface: activity theory and distributed learning, Russell

Chpt 15: Gengler

Other: Reading on HCI, usability; purpose and basic methods

Sept. 22 [Videoconference]

Internet: Reach, access, digital divide

Vconf. with the UK <class at vconf. center>

Constraints and reach of e-learning
Angela Benson (UIUC) on reach, access, digital divide re elearning
Drew Whitworth (Manchester)

Lea & Nicoll: Chpt 6: Distribution and interconnectedness: the globalisation of education, Edwards; Chpt 7:The English language and ‘global’ teaching, Mayor & Swann

Other:

Bishop, A. P., Bazzell, I., Mehra, B., & Smith, C. (2001). Afya: Social and digital technologies that reach across the digital divide. First Monday, 6(4). http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue6_4/bishop/index.html.

Strover, S. (2003). Remapping the digital divide:Exploring equity and politics [Special issue]. The Information Society, 19(4), whole issue. <intro.>

Bandura, A. (2002). Growing primacy of human agency in adaptation and change in the electronic age. European Psychologist, 7(1), 2-16.

Sept 29

Computer-Mediated Communication

reduced cues; persistent conversation; social relations; social presence
effects of text-based communication

The SAKAI introduction and systems analysis discussion may be moved to be included in this week.

Garrison & Anderson: Social presence; Cognitive presence; Teaching presence (pp. 49-72)

Other: Herring, S.C. (2002). Computer-mediated communication on the Internet. Annual Review of Information Science and Technology, 36, 109-168.

October 5/6 [no on-campus class]

Online Pedagogy & Elearning Research

AoIR Workshop on Elearning Research (Chicago, Oct. 5)

Garrison & Anderson: Guidelines for practice

H&K: Chpt 11: Lawton & Montague; [revisit Chpt 1]

Other: Sloan-C publications;

Oct. 13

Cancelled

Updated from here on …

Oct. 20 [guest lecturer]

Library Services for Elearning

Guest: Sue Searing, LIS librarian, on the library and services to elearners

H&K: Chpt 16, Sue Searing

Technologies II: SAKAI Model

Tour of SAKAI technology environment (Elizabeth Edwards)

Oct. 27

Ecology of online learners

Putting the components together: all round work including library support, home connections, etc.; perspectives, stakeholders
Examining the ecology of the online learner

Lea & Nicoll:

Chpt 9: Learning as cultural practice, Crook

H&K:

Chpt 5: Juggling Multiple Social Worlds: Distance Students Online and Offline, Haythornthwaite & Kazmer

Other:

Nardi & O’Day Chapter 4 in Information Ecologies: Using Technology with Heart. Available online at http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue4_5/nardi_chapter4.html

Star, S.L. & Strauss, A. (1999). Layers of silence, arenas of voice: The ecology of visible and invisible work. CSCW, 8 (1-2), 9-30. Available online via UIUC gateway.

Other resources

Salaff, Janet (2002).Where Home is the Office: The New Form of Flexible Work. In B. Wellman & C. Haythornthwaite (Eds.), The Internet In Everyday Life (pp. 464-495). Oxford, UK: Blackwell.

– this paper describes teleworker’s home setup and has remarkable similarity to the conditions and needs to control space and time for work that is found for the distance students as described in the Haythornthwaite & Kazmer chapter on ‘juggling’.

Nov. 3

Learning Communities

Basic concepts re community and online community

H&K:

Chpt 3: Community Development Among Distance Learners: Temporal and Technological Dimensions, Haythornthwaite,Kazmer, Robins & Shoemaker

Lea & Nicoll:

Chpt 8: From independent learning to collaborative learning: new communities of practice in open, distance and distributed learning, Thorpe

Chpt 11: Identity, community and distributed learning, Kirkup

Extra in H&K

>> try to start at least some of the Hearne & Nielsen article – it’s long, but get some of it to see what they were exploring re online folklore

Chpt 4: Catch a Cyber by the Tale: Online Orality and the Lore of a Distributed Learning Community, Hearne & Nielsen

Chpt 6: Disengaging from Online Community, Kazmer
-- this paper expands on the 'disengaging'' phase of student's online life, as identified in the Haythornthwaite et al piece (Chapter 3 of H&K)

Other resources

Riel, M. & Polin, L. (2004). Online learning communities: Common ground and critical differences in designing technical environments. In S.A. Barab, R. Kling, & J.H. Gray (Eds.). Designing for virtual communities in the service of learning (pp. 16-50). Cambridge UK: Cambridge Univ. Press.

Renninger, A. & Shumar, W. (Eds.) (2002). Building Virtual Communities: Learning and Change in Cyberspace. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Scardamalia, M. & Bereiter, C. (1996). Computer support for knowledge-building communities. In T. Koschmann (Ed.) CSCL: Theory and Practice of an Emerging Paradigm (pp.249-268). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Writings by: Carole Miller or Charles Bazerman re discourse communities; Wenger re CoPs; Smith, McLaughlin & Osborne in JCMC re features on community expressed online

Nov. 10

Collaboration and Participation

Group processes
Temporal aspects of groups

Garrison & Anderson: Assessment and Evaluation

Other:

Haythornthwaite, C. (2002). Building social networks via computer networks: Creating and sustaining distributed learning communities. In K.A. Renninger & W. Shumar, Building Virtual Communities: Learning and Change in Cyberspace (pp.159-190). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Ruhleder, K. & Twidale, M. (2000). Reflective collaborative learning on the web: Drawing on the master class. First Monday 5(5). Available: http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue5_5/ruhleder/index.html.

Haythornthwaite, C. (forthcoming, Nov., 2005). Facilitating Collaboration in Online Learning. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks. Online via LEEP at: http://leep.lis.uiuc.edu/fall05/lis590el/Hay_FacilitatingCollaboration_JALN2005.doc

Other Resources

Wasson, B. (2000). Identifying collaboration patterns in collaborative telelearning scenarios, Educational Technology & Society, 3(3).

Swan, K., Shen, J. & Hiltz, S.R. (Nov., 2005) Assessment and Collaboration in Online Learning. Forthcoming in JALN. Available online via LEEP: http://leep.lis.uiuc.edu/fall05/lis590el/Swan_collaborative_assessment_8-05.doc -- discusses collaborative exams

Nov. 17 [Online Class]

NOTE: There are 2 classes in one here. There will be one online discussion for literacy, and one for organizational issues.

(1) Literacy

new literacies
computers and writing
getting new users ‘talking’ online

Lea & Nicoll: Flexible literacies: distributed learning and changing educational spaces, Edwards, Nicoll, & Lee

H&K:

Chpt 7: Affordances of Persistent Conversation: Promoting Communities that Work, Haythornthwaite & Bregman

Other Resources:

Hawisher, G. & Selfe, C.L. (Eds.) (1999). Passions, Pedagogies, and 21st Century Technologies. Logan and Urbana: Utah State University Press and NCTE.

Andrews, R. (2004). The Impact of ICT on Literacy Education. RoutledgeFalmer, NY.

(2) Organizational and Policy Issues

Lea & Nicoll:

Chpt 10: The university campus as a ‘resourceful constraint’: process and practice in the construction of the virtual university, Cornford & Pollock

H&K [read at least one of these; take your pick. Or go for both]

Chpt 12: Faculty Perspectives, Montague & Smith

Chpt 14: The Distance Education Program from the Management Perspective, Estabrook

Other Resource

Chpt 17: The View from Campus Administration, Arvan

Nov. 24 Thanksgiving

Dec. 1 Student Presentations

Dec. 8 Student Presentations

More Books on Elearning Research and Practice

Renninger, Ann, & Shumar, Wes. (Eds.) (2002). Building Virtual Communities: Learning and Change in Cyberspace. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Barab, S. A., Kling, R. & Gray, J.H. (Eds.) (2004). Designing virtual communities in the service of learning. NY: Cambridge University Press.

Hiltz, S.R., & Goldman, R. (Eds.) (2005). Learning Together Online: Research on Asynchronous Learning Networks. Lawrence Erlbaum: Mahwah, NJ.

Duffy, T.M. & Kirkley, J. R. (Eds.) (2004). Learner-Centered Theory and Practice in Distance Education: Cases from Higher Education. Lawrence Erlbaum: Mahwah, NJ.

Barron, D.E., (2003). Benchmarks in distance education: The LIS experience. Westport, Conn.: Libraries Unlimited.

Palloff, R.M. & Pratt, K. (1999). Building Learning Communities in Cyberspace. Jossey-Bass, Inc.

Rudestam, K.E. & Schoenholtz-Read, J. (Eds.) (2002). Handbook of Online Learning: Innovations in Higher Education and Corporate Training. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.