Virtual learning community: role for a leader

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Virtual learning community role for a leader

• ICT AND THE LEARNING COMMUNITY

Franco Di Cataldo
Athens, November 27th -28th 2002
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Collaborative learning defined 1

• Collaborative learning is the process whereby
  each member contributes with personal
• experience,
• information,
• perspective, view point
• insight,
• skills,
• attitudes
• with the intent of improving the learning
  accomplishments of others. The group's
  collective learning ultimately becomes possessed
  by each individual in the group.

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Collaborative learning defined 2

• Collaborative learning occurs when small groups
  of learners help each other to learn.

While learning is ultimately an individual
enterprise, the support of a group working
towards a common learning objective, following
research-action methodologies, can produce
improved learning on each member of the group.
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COLLABORATIVE LEARNING REQUIRES

• Collaborative learning requires that each learner
  in a group helps the other members of the group
  learn, so, that each member of the group can
  attain the same level of performance at the end
  of the collaboration.
• Collaborative learning requires that learners
  meeting face-to-face or in computer conferences,
  produce a single cohesive assignment, not a set
  of related assignments.
• Collaborative learning requires that each member
  of the group contributes to the group
  performance. It does not mean that each member
  of the group can attach their name to an
  assignment completed by individual members of the
  group.

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Collaborative learning in the net using ICT

• The meaning of learning is seen as a
  social/interpersonal group activity aiming to
  collective interaction
• The materials used are both text books and works
  produced by students and teachers
• students write for each other face to face or
  by using communication technology
• (IMPORTANCE OF DIDACTICAL DOCUMENTATION FOR
  SHARING EXPERIENCES)

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Learning activities

• The learning activities preferred are
• Search of documents
• Information retrieval
• Sharing educational experiences
• Collaboration to common teaching goals
• A productive collaboration means building a
  community working together to reach common
  curricula, exchange of information, comparison of
  results

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THE VIRTUAL COMMUNITY

• An important step to obtain what the European
  Community Commission wishes, is the building of
  school networks to facilitate exchanges and to
  get information resources this means the
  setting up of virtual communities ? groups of
  people who interact sharing electronic
  communication and mutual interests

• virtual learning communities are communities in
  which ICT cooperative work instruments can be
  developed

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Learning communities

• Collaborative learning is especially needed when
  learners are heterogeneous in terms of ethnicity,
  gender, culture, and achievement.
• Collaborative learning creates a learning
  community, helps learners gain needed
  interpersonal and small group skills. It helps to
  create a shared identity among learners and
  instructors as well as creating learner networks,
  relationships and collective knowledge

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Collective knowledge

• Collective knowledge is a learning process
• distributed everywhere in the community valuing
  any culture
• continuously improved by individual
  contributions adding value
• coordinated in real time because of ICT
• leading to a significant exchange of competences
• starting a process of recognition of diversities
  and appreciation of the Other.