Abstract:

Online learning has become an integral part of education in today’s world. One of the growing aspects of online learning is online collaboration and learning through e-communities. E-communities are web-based collaborative tools which allow for sharing and enhancing knowledge amongst their members (Bradshaw, 2012).
This paper argues including online collaboration and discussion as a learning object is essential for an online course. It also explores the role of blogs in self-reflection and improving personalized learning. Included are guidelines that have evolved from the study’s results for designing interactive learning environments from an alternative perspective.
The course studied for this research was ‘Teaching English as Second or Foreign Language’ (TESOL), consisting of 75 students. Students were in their second year of undergraduate study. The course was conducted using blended approach with one face-to-face session in a week. A qualitative approach was applied for this study to ensure the reliability and validity of findings. Discussion forums and all students’ blogs were studied and analyzed. Focus groups as well as surveys were other means of data collection for this study. Findings demonstrated building an online community with sufficient scaffolds can enhance students’ learning. Moreover, using blogs for self-reflection and personalized learning helps reinforce positive learning experience.

Keywords:

Online collaboration, Learning community, Discussion forum, Blogs, Personalized learning, Self-reflection, instructional design