Module 2

Online Discussions (8 Points)

|Activities|Assignment|

Interactive Learning Environment

Goals

  • Examine the constructs of theoretical framework of distance education: Transactional distance, interaction, Learner control, & social context.

  • Examine four types of interactions.

  • Examine Open Network Learning Environment (ONLE) & Personal Learning Environment (PLE).

    • Examine MOOCs.

Instructor's Notes

In the previous module we explored distance education theories, framework, and different perspectives. Yes, we have a lot of readings and you may feel overwhelmed by them. It is a normal feeling if you are not accustomed to reading research articles. Do not worry! After the explorations of the previous module, you should feel more comfortable reading important literature. I urge you read the readings as early as possible. If you find that certain articles are difficult to understand, you should consider rereading them early and again. The reading assignments are heavy throughout the session, but in the end you will find that you possess a very solid literature background in distance education. Tips for obtaining comprehensive literature in distance education are to read, think, reflect, and write. If you intend to pursue any distance education research in the future, you will find that you have a very solid theoretical framework to support your research activities. This is a particularly useful activity for doctoral students.

In this module, we will discuss four theoretical constructs of DE. You should review McIsaac and Gunawardena's chapter ASAP.

Have your group started planning the group task: Assignment 2: Distance Learning Theoretical Framework. If you have any questions, please do contact:

  • Aras BOZKURT, Ph.D. <arasbozkurt@gmail.com>

  • Chih-Hsiung TU, Ph.D. <Chih.Tu@Nau.Edu>

Tag to share your Module 2 resources with:

Activities |TOP|Assignment|

  • KEY-1-Transactional Distance

    • Read:

    • Discussion Questions:

      • An ideal learning environment is developed when dialogue is improved, structure is minimized and transactional distance is decreased. How can we minimize structure to decrease transactional distance. Please provide some examples and designs.

  • KEY-2-Control: DE for All?

    • Discussion Questions:

      • Ideal distance education requires learners to take control on their own learning (independence, competence, and support). Is distance education a form of learning for everyone? If yes, why? If not, why not? Please provide appropriate research evidence to support your arguments.

    • Discussion Questions:

        • There are three types of interactions in addition to learner-interface interaction.

        • Which type of interaction do you is the most critical one to online learning?

        • Are there any other type(s) of interaction you think should be included?

  • KEY-4-Cultures in DE

    • Read:

    • Discussion Questions:

        • Considering the local cultures of learners while delivering instructions is critical. How can we improve DE instructional design to enhance learning?

  • KEY-5-ONLE/PLE

    • Read:

Assignment |TOP|Activities|

Assignment 2: Distance Learning Theoretical Framework

  • Grade: 15 points (Team Grade)

  • Length: 3,000 words (Excluding references).

  • Team work

  • Submission:

    • Use Google Docs to share your file with the instructors at

      • Aras BOZKURT, Ph.D. <arasbozkurt@gmail.com>

      • Chih-Hsiung Tu, Ph.D. <chihhsiungtu@gmail.com>

    • File Name: ETC777-Team#-Assignment#. EX. ETC777-Team1-A2 (Incorrect file name or file format is unacceptable & will result in point deduction.)

  • Instructions:

    • There are two options for your group to choose from Option A & B

  • Option A

      • Tasks: Identify emerging distance learning theoretical framework

      • Instructions:

          • Research

              • Use keywords, such as distance education, distance learning, online learning, open learning etc. or relevant keywords to search Eric database to identify peer-reviewed journal articles published in last FIVE years.

              • Research-based articles only. Research-based articles generally have sections of literature reviews, proposed research questions, methods, analysis, results, discussions etc.

        • Analysis

            • Examine the "issues" covered the research questions in each article.

                • Example" Research question: Are there any gender differences in levels of online social presence in computer-mediated communications (CMC)?

                • Key issues in this research question could be: gender communication; social presence, online interaction; computer-mediated communication (CMC) etc.

                • Tips: If you are not clear how to analyze issues covered in research questions, read the literature review sections. Generally, the literature review should cover the key issues discussed in the article.

            • Observe the emerging issues from articles. Identify the pattern. You may have 40, 50, or more identified issues. Be sure to ponder these identified issues and categorize them into areas/dimensions/aspects.

            • You may not have time to read all articles that you have identified carefully. If you do not have time to read all articles, you can scan them at this time and plan to read them for this semester. In other words, this is an excellent exercise for you to get the literature that you would like to read for our course at this time and obtain the knowledge from the literature later in the semester.

            • Draw a figure to represent your emerging theoretical framework, areas/dimensions/aspects. Example.

            • Web 2.0 Concept Mapping Applications (Feel free to use other mind-mapping tools to complete your diagram)

            • Discuss both strengths and weaknesses of both frameworks

          • References

              • Provide the references. Follow the APA.

              • All references should be bookmarked on Diigo to share with the class:

              • Use Diigo: Since your team will engage in large numbers of literature. It is efficient and effective to use Diigo to bookmark, organize, tag, and share the literature your group identify with your group members and our classmates. For example, you can use these tags to organize your literature. You can use different tags to search good bookmarks shared by our classmates or others.

                  • Include your Delicious resource URL in your paper.

                  • EX: https://groups.diigo.com/group/etc777/search?what=ETC777+Theoretical+Framework

              • Required tags:

              • Feel free to use more tags to assist you and your team to organize and to share the references and bookmarks, such as content tags, team tags etc.

      • Assessment criteria

          • Define & explain identified framework/constructs comprehensively.

          • Discuss strengths & weakness of identified framework.

          • Cited articles (peer-reviewed; research-based)

          • Comprehensiveness of analysis

          • Clear explanations & justifications of each area/dimension/aspect.

          • Discussions in between/among identified themes/categories/dimensions etc.

          • Include diagram & explain diagram comprehensively.

          • Active editing, modifying, posting on group work.

          • Clear figure represents the report.

          • APA format.

          • Interactive editing activities among group members must emphasize collaboration (interactive editing) in additional to division of labor (cooperation)

          • Correct references and Delicious bookmarks with relevant required and additional tags.

      • Notes

          • Encouraged but not required: Use Zotero (Free), Mendeley (Free), EndNotes, or RefWorks(Free) to organize the articles you found.

          • How many articles should you analyze? The more the better. The better and more you analyze the better understanding you will have of the trends in distance education research and derive a well-grounded theoretical framework.

          • Do I need to read all articles identified? It is probably not practical to do so at this point. But you are encouraged to read the good ones.

          • Keep records of those identified articles because you can to use them for our future assignments, such as annotated bibliography, Social networking technology, and the final project etc.

  • Option B

      • Research

        • Collect keywords (and abstracts for further analysis) of the articles by year (Google Sheet would be helpful). You can use some known databases such as Scopus. If you want to narrow your research and collect keywords from SSCI indexed journals, you can use Webof Science database. After identifying your research topic, use “and/or” options in scientific research databases to get better query results. Note every step to report in method section (Screened articles, included/excluded articles, total number of the keywords etc.

      • Analysis

        • To be able to see change in trends and identify emerging patterns, (1) identify keywords as nodes and (2) tie them with each other. This is the basic step for Social Network Analysis (SNA). This process should be done by year and as a whole. You can do this using yED Graph Editor. After creating your keyword network, export your data set as GraphML file extension. Use Gephi or NodeXL to analyze your data and create network graphs (SocioGrams). You can also create word clouds using WordItOut or Wordle, yet this provides very descriptive analysis. You can use different network metrics such as betweenness centrality to discover the hidden pattern among keywords.

      • Reports

          • While reporting your findings, you can group keywords. For instance, field related keywords (e.g. distance Education, open and distance learning, online learning etc.) and educational technology/methodology/approach (gamification, Web 2.0, learning managements systems etc.) related keywords. You can read Bozkurt et al. (2015) to have more insights regarding the procedure (See “Keywords Indicated” section).

      • Figure

      • You can should create basic network graphs using Yed Graph Editor or advanced/Complex graphs using Gephi or NodeXL.

    • Compare & contrast

          • Discuss why specific keywords emerged as a central node. Support your claims using the related literature.

      • References

          • Provide the references. Follow the APA.

          • All references should be bookmarked on Diigo to share with the class on ETC777 Diigo Group.

          • You can visit this link above to view previous& current students' assignment resources.

    • Assessment criteria

        • Define & explain identified framework/constructs comprehensively.

        • Discuss strengths & weakness of identified framework.

        • Cited articles (peer-reviewed; research-based)

        • Comprehensiveness of analysis

        • Clear explanations & justifications of each area/dimension/aspect.

        • Discussions in between/among identified themes/categories/dimensions etc.

        • Include diagram & explain diagram comprehensively.

        • Active editing, modifying, posting on group work.

        • Clear figure represents the report.

        • APA format.

        • Interactive editing activities among group members must emphasize collaboration (interactive editing) in additional to division of labor (cooperation)

        • Correct references and Delicious bookmarks with relevant required and additional tags.

  • Notes

      • Need any assistance from the instructors? Contact us at:

      • Aras BOZKURT, Ph.D. <arasbozkurt@gmail.com>

      • Chih-Hsiung TU, Ph.D. <Chih.Tu@Nau.Edu>

      • Encouraged but not required: Use Zotero (Free), Mendeley (Free), EndNotes, or RefWorks(Free) to organize the articles you found.

      • How many articles should you analyze? The more the better. The better and more you analyze the better understanding you will have of the trends in distance education research and derive a well-grounded theoretical framework.

      • Do I need to read all articles identified? It is probably not practical to do so at this point. But you are encouraged to read the good ones.

      • Keep records of those identified articles because you can to use them for our future assignments, such as annotated bibliography, Social networking technology, and the final project etc.

Group Task: Assignment 3: Emerging Learning Environments

  • Due: End of Module 2

      • One person from the group should e-mail the instructor what topic that your group would like to research to get approved by the instructor.

      • See Module 4 for Assignment 3 instructions.

Prepare upcoming assignments

  • Due: Module 4:

    • Group Task: Assignment 3: Emerging Learning Environments

    • Individual Task: Assignment 4: Final Paper Proposal

  • Due: 05/31:

    • Individual Task: Assignment 5: Final Paper