Collaborative Learning

The idea of ubiquitous learning became real to me in 2001 when I enrolled in an online master’s program at Seton Hall University. Though the university was within an hour’s drive of my home in New Jersey, it simply wasn’t feasible for me to work fulltime and attend a brick-and-mortar institution in order to continue my education.

It was a brand new world for me as I joined a cohort of learners who completed an 18-month fast track master’s program in leadership and strategic communication. One of the most beneficial aspects of the program was the peer-to-peer learning that was engrained in the program. As we shared and discussed our own leadership experiences, it was fascinating to learn about classmates’ own leadership trials and tribulations. I was one of the younger students at the time and sometimes felt like I didn’t have much to contribute with only seven years of work experience under my belt. One classmate had heard Robert F. Kennedy speak when he was young; another classmate held a high level management position and had many examples of how he lead employees. It was intimidating and enthralling all at the same time but the collaboration was key. Though there were only 12 of us, we relied on one another for learning, as well as moral support.

Peer to Peer Learning

Yang reminds us that “An important activity in a virtual learning community is the collaboration. Many virtual learning communities strive to attract new members or encourage members to learn and to contribute knowledge. However, the knowledge per se does not assure the success of virtual learning communities. It is the collaborative efforts made by the learners and collaborators to manage the knowledge, to enrich the knowledge reservoir, and to help each other accumulate their knowledge in their domain that is central to the continuous growth of the virtual learning communities” (2006, p. 188).

In the course reading, collaborative intelligence includes peer-to-peer learning as part of the social dimension of new learning. Siemens (2002) noted that “learning in the digital age is no longer dependent on individual knowledge acquisition, storage, and retrieval; rather, it relies on the connected learning that occurs through interaction with various sources of knowledge (including the Internet and learning management systems) and participation in communities of common interest, social networks, and group tasks.”

Siemens described learner-learner interactions in an e-learning course as a four stage continuum:

Communication - People ‘talking,’ discussing
Collaboration - People sharing ideas and working together (occasionally sharing resources) in a loose environment
Cooperation - People doing things together, but each with his or her own purpose
Community - People striving for a common purpose

Siemens (2002) proposes that in an online course, interaction will probably not go beyond communication/collaboration most of the time. He notes that while it is not realistic to expect community in many online courses, it should be possible in graduate level programs with high learner-learner contact.

I find this to be true based on my experiences as an online graduate student. Members of our cohort were dedicated to such course activities, such as our weekly threaded discussions. In fact, one week we “blew up” the threaded discussion board and shut down eCollege, with more than 300 posts from just 12 people. On the other hand, undergrads are taking multiple courses and at times online course activities are viewed as a monotonous chore.

In closing, there is great value in collaborative approaches to learning online through peer-to-peer learning and sharing. Please share your thoughts on the value of peer-to-peer learning. 

Works Cited

Brindley, J., Blaschke, L. M., & Walti, C. (2009). Creating effective collaborative learning groups in an online environment. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 10(3). Retrieved from http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/675/1271

Siemens, G. (2002). Interaction. E-Learning Course. October 8, 2002. Retrieved May 19, 2008, from http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/Interaction.htm

Yang, S. J. (2006). Context aware ubiquitous learning environments for peer-to-peer collaborative learning. Educational Technology & Society, 9(1), 188-201.