Interakcija audiokonferencijom |
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Social processes in e-education are important to the user for the following reasons:
- need for socialisation and affiliation with the group
- help if needed
- possibility to compare themselves with the others
- testing personal opinions, attitudes and evaluations
- joint effort in doing the assignments, solving problems and making decisions
- creating personal social network
Early e-education systems were centered on the presentation of the content, reviewing and knowledge assessment, and less on fulfilling the participants’ need for to socialise and cooperate .
The lecturer/instructor and instructional designer should try to ensure online social interaction between the participants , particularly in the following cases:
- participants have meet previously during face-to-face instruction or meetings;
- the process of education takes a long time (e.g. several weeks or months);
- social interactions could have an encouraging effect on the motivation and activity of the participants;
- the participants have to cooperate on projects and assignments;
- the help of others is useful when a participant has troubles dealing with the LMS or an assignment;
- some participants can be an important source of experience and other information for the other participants.
Asynchronous technologies for social interaction:
- mailing lists,
- newsgroups,
- forums,
- threaded discussions.
Synchronous technologies for social interaction:
- chats,
- interactive whiteboards,
- instant messaging,
- audio/videoconferences.
Online interaction between the participants will be promoted in the following cases:
- it is technology-supported;
- it is encouraged by a moderator through theme discussions;
- it is related to the needs of the users (e.g. discussion on LMS problems);
- it is conducted because of cooperation on a project etc.;
- it is a continuation of a face-to-face meeting.
Link: "We-learning" is an interesting notion coined to emphasize the social aspect of e-education.
Tips & tricks: In order to encourage social interaction between participants of online education, plan joint activities which will require mutual contact and cooperation, as well as start discussions on topics which will direct the participants towards exchange of experiences, opinions, attitudes and ideas.
