Abstract:

The purpose of our presentation is to show how co-operation between teachers and researchers can lead to better web materials and pedagogical design of online courses. We will present the co-operative design process of the online course, which took place at the Open University of Jyväskylä University (OUJY), Finland. A significant part of the programs and courses at the OUJY are offered online. OUJY also has a long history and a great deal of experience with distance education and e-learning. However, many challenges still exist in the establishment of high level e-learning at the OUJY. In our presentation, we will concentrate on the next two phases of online course design:

1) Online course materials. As in most Finnish universities, the curricula of OUJY programmes are designed for traditional lectures and exams. As learning is conceived as an active process of knowledge construction, the teacher should be seen as a facilitator who supports and guides students’ participation and knowledge construction processes (Fischer & Dillenbourg, 2006). However, materials and text books that are suitable for the traditional transmission mode of instruction (Wells & Arauz, 2006) are not the best course materials for e-learning. On the web, it is also possible to deliver different kinds of authentic course materials—videos, audio materials and articles—all of which support students' shared inquiry processes. Co-operation between a course's teacher and a researcher in its respective field will allow for the production of, for example, authentic video material that will acquaint students with the relevant research. In our presentation, we will further discuss this kind of video project as a part of online course design.

2) Computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL) is a promising social approach to foster learning (e.g., Koschmann, 1996). Traditionally, CSCL relies on “natural” interactions between team members, usually without predefined interaction structures (Strijbos, Kirschner & Martens, 2004). Typically, online course discussion forums aim to help students’ own personal understanding or to give social support for learners. In the work environment, professionals need to have the ability to collaboratively construct new knowledge, negotiate and problem solve. Collaborative learning is a complex phenomenon and often difficult to implement in authentic educational settings (e.g., Arvaja, 2007; Vonderwell, 2003). However, recent CSCL research has shown that, by accurate course design, it is possible to achieve the above-mentioned goals. For example, the use of collaborative scripts for instructional support has been presented as a promising possibility in the promotion of students' collaborative learning. (Dillenbourg, 1999). In our presentation, we will give a more detailed description of how scripts were applied to an online course design.

Keywords:

Collaborative learning, e-learning, Open University.