Proof of Learning Report- Week 3

This week's readings focused a lot on online communities in regards to using discussion boards and online magazines (a.k.a. e-zines). Two of the major themes discussed were the notions of asynchronous vs. synchronous online atmospheres and the use of e-zines to incorporate an audience into the network.

The first reading for the week was an article written by Dezhi Wu and Starr Hiltz entitled ""Predicting Learning From Asynchronous Online Discussions." This article discussed at length the benefits and drawbacks of using asynchronous (not occurring at the same time) discussions in online courses. The authors state that online discussions are a key component to computer conferencing. We have become very accustomed as a class to using a discussion board and I can understand the benefits of using the technology. Some of the benefits include place independence, time independence, as well as convenience. According to the article, the combination of face-to-face and computer-mediated discussion provides a better learning environment than regular lecture classes alone. They also state that online discussions promote higher levels of critical and cognitive thinking.We discussed this topic at great length on the discussion board and I think that we received a lot of great feedback. Jeffrey stated that ..."if we were given the chance to learn about [new technologies] in one setting, i.e a classroom, we would be able to help each other out much faster and easier." Joel responded against the notion of having a mixed mode course by saying "...we must also consider the restrictions of traditional classes. Because of time and the number of students, not as many students would have the chance to argue or assert their opinion on topics. The asynchronous aspect of discussions, such as this one, allow students a greater amount of time to pose questions, arguments and statements and to support them in a more effective manner" (Mixed mode courses: good and bad, 6/1).Through the study performed by Wu & Hiltz, they concluded that about 57% of students felt the online discussions increased their learning quality and 78% of students felt the online discussions were a good way to interact with the instructors and classmates. I would definitely agree with their results. I feel that I have gained substantial knowledge from conversing with my classmates on a discussion board and I would like to see them incorporated into more courses!

The second major topic up for discussion this week was the use of e-zines which are online magazines. An article written by Matthew Smith called, "Strands in the Web: Community-Building Strategies in Online Fanzines" states that "most e-zines represent a fan's first attempt at self-publishing..." (Smith 2). Once a e-zine is established, many people turn to them for useful and current information. E-zines usually include images, references, member columns, external links to similar sites, and some even have guestbooks for fans. I had never heard of an e-zine before reading this article. I knew that magazines were being put online to save money and to reduce the use of paper copies, but I had no idea that there are thousands of these sites on the web. I did a little personal research for my project trying to see if there was an e-zine pertinent to my topic- and there was! I know a lot of my classmates were in the same place I was but I was glad to see that a few already had used these resources in the past. Ryan made the comment that "...using online magazines (ezines) for research and other projects can be a very helpful tool. I have received electronic versions of several magazines for a few years now. The first few were through my employer, but over time I began to appreciate them on a more personal level. They nature of an online version allows for easy searching" (Ezines, 6/2). I think this will be a fantastic tool to use for our research project and I'm so glad we learned about them!

Speaking of the research project, I have come a long way in researching my topic and gathering data. For those of you who aren't aware, I am doing a project on how various age groups would respond to having a robotic surgery procedure. I have decided to put together a website outlying how the technology works and also incorporating my study into the website. I also plan to have links to numerous websites and studies that have been done on this topic previously because I think there is so much interesting information out there! I have put my survey on the class discussion board, distributed it on Facebook, and also obtained personal surveys from doctors, nurses, and potential patients in the Central Illinois area. I have really been trying to incorporate my study into my lab notes and into the discussion boards in order to allow everyone to gain knowledge on my topic as well as trying to be an active promoter on the discussion board for new ideas! I also submitted my Genre Review of the discussion board earlier in the week suggesting that we try and limit the number of repetitive postings on the discussion board  to allow for more student involvement and I have seen some major progress since then!