day 2 - the concord model:
The Concord Consortium (2002) is a nonprofit educational research and development organization based in Concord, Massachusettshas and have identified nine key characteristics of effective online course delivery. They are:
The following nine key characteristics define The Concord Consortium's approach to delivering quality e-Learning.
The following nine key characteristics define The Concord Consortium's approach to delivering quality e-Learning.
- Asynchronous collaboration. Participants don't have to be logged on to the course simultaneously; they work in an asynchronous environment in which text-based, threaded discussion and collaborative problem solving form the core learning strategy.
- Explicit schedules. Instructors of online courses that rely on collaborative discussions schedule lessons within a specific timeframe so participants can share similar experiences and insights.
- Expert facilitation. Online courses are led by a qualified person specifically trained in online facilitation.
- Inquiry pedagogy. Designers create effective online courses -- with many specific elements that contribute to sound pedagogy for inquiry learning.
- Community building. Course designers and instructors are proactive in designing and nurturing a community culture in which participants are supportive, honest, and willing to take intellectual risks.
- Limited enrollment. There are between 12 and 25 participants in a class to keep collaborative learning manageable.
- High-quality materials. Course designers include the widest feasible range of media and activities to appeal to different styles of learning.
- Purposeful virtual spaces. Online, course designers create explicit structures so the community gets what it needs without interrupting the flow of content-based discussions. Typically included are a "Student Lounge," a "Questions about Assignments," a "Technical Questions," and a "Class Meeting" discussion space for debriefing course experiences.
- Ongoing assessment. Online assessment is a continuous, ongoing process. Instructors find evidence of achievement in participants' daily contributions to online discussions. They learn each student's unique voice and approach to solving problems through their postings.
The Concord Consortium members are able to combine the bucket loads of disciplinary knowledge, educational experience, and technological expertise in marvelous ways, all in the name of showing educational technology's true potential to online learning. In the video above, they are able to show how they have taken their physics-based interactive software simulations and made accessible and integrable via online instruction.
Limitations of the Concord Model:
With so many characteristics in this model to further facilitate online learning it proved challenging to find many distinctive limitations. After careful review the following were determined to be a weakness:
- Does not include the importance of including synchronous tools for learners to collaborate with each other or with their educator.
- Learners in an Online Course should have access to specialists in the areas of technical support as well as in Library Services.
thought questions:
1. Discuss the use of asynchronous collaboration and how to fits into the Concord Model of online learning.
2. Discuss the use of community building as a characteristic to effective online learning.
2. Discuss the use of community building as a characteristic to effective online learning.
key words:
1. Virtual Spaces
2. Inquiry pedagogy
3. Simulations
4. Synchronous Tools
2. Inquiry pedagogy
3. Simulations
4. Synchronous Tools
references:
concordconsortium. (2013, June 24. Do More with Next-Generation Molecular Workbench [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=MHBzEcCdlBM
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