Assessment One: Embedded Task Six - Reflection On The Practical Use Of... Commenting and Collaborative Learning.

Embedded Task Four - Reflection On The Practical Uses Of... Commenting and Collaborative Learning

    Communication is key; is that not the saying? And indeed, in a world of digital media and world wide connections, the ability to communicate or at the least leave your thoughts is essential. To be considered, is the commenting ability on our blogs and collaborative versus cooperative learning.

    Commenting is a common function of most websites, especially multi-user sites such as YouTube, Twitter or Facebook. However, with great power comes great responsibility - the ability to comment has both its "thumbs up" and "thumbs down". In fact, many social media sites such as Facebook are structured upon communication via posting comments on people's original content and the back-and-forth it ensues. Therefore, the commenting section of the blogs should work in a similar way, should it not?

    When at the hands of busy, stressed university students, apparently not - I honestly will state that many of my comments were posted on my days off, way after the original posts were uploaded. Therefore, commenting back-and-forth Facebook-style became not only time-consuming, but less likely as more assessment piled on top of us. Perhaps this is one of the drawbacks - time-consuming. Also, as stated in one of my past uploads, blogs do have limits. But they do also have their benefits. 

    In relation to the commenting, the benefits and drawbacks are as follows:

Benefits:                           Drawbacks:
*constructive criticism             *harsh comments
*informative views                  *spamming comments
*exposure to topics/ opinions       *arguments available
*able to discuss items              *anyone can comment
*can delete comments                *anyone can get a Google account
*needs Google account to use    

    Personally, my experience with this course and the technology it has presented has been varying. To begin with, I was unsure of the technology integration - I was a dirt and books kid, not a TV and video games kid - but with the range of different technologies, I began finding pieces of technology I felt comfortable with and able to use within the classroom. As a creative teacher, I always loved the idea of using cameras and video cameras in the classroom - the chance to actually do this is brilliant!

    The item to consider this week was not a piece of technology - though you could use technology to support it - but two learning styles: collaborative and cooperative learning.  By definition, both learning styles are part of group work, a skill developed by necessity during the educational years. According to Weimer (2013) there are 5 things students can learn through group work:

1. They can learn content, as in master the material.
2. They can learn content at those deeper levels we equate with understanding.
3. They can learn how groups function productively.
4. They can learn why groups make better decisions than individuals.
5. They can learn how to work with others.
  
    I agreed, when I read this, that students could build these skills - but only if the group work (and the group itself) were constructed carefully with close attention during the work. Otherwise, we receive the mess that is memorable of everyone's high school career. In that case, how do we create our tasks that allow students to get the most out of it? And is it then, after its creation, collaborative or cooperative?

    According to Morrison (2012), cooperative learning is classed as a 'divide and conquer' approach, whereas collaborative learning is working together to achieve a common activity goal, building off each other in the process. Applications such as Skype and GoogleDocs become essential in the collaboration process. Often the two can be combined in activities, but in the end, sometimes the individual activities are the best.

    Overall, I have found both the topic for the week, the commenting section of my blog and my personal experience with the course thus far entertaining and enlightening. Until next week, for the mamma-jalamba of blog posts!


    Morrison, D. (2012) Online groups - Cooperative or Collaborative?, Retrieved from https://onlinelearninginsights.wordpress.com/2012/04/27/online-groups-cooperative-or-collaborative/
    Weimer, M. (2013) Five Things Students Can Learn from Group Work, Retrieved from http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-professor-blog/five-things-students-can-learn-through-group-work/