Peer-to-Peer eLearning and the Team Effect on Course Completion
چکیده
This paper examines successful strategies for collaborative online study and uses as a case study the Advanced Certificate of Internet Marketing, an awardwinning 16-week business course, delivered 100% online, which 85% of students have completed to date. 1. The Internet environment The Internet is at its best when it brings people together. It is perhaps most powerful and exciting as a communication and collaboration tool. It should perhaps be no surprise that, in using the Internet as a learning tool, some of the most significant effects can be seen where it brings student together with student, and allows the tutor to guide a collaborative learning journey. 2. Peer-to-Peer Dimensions The eLearning community is increasingly recognising the importance of students learning from their study peers. When peers come together in a learning context they form an Online Learning Community. Tu & Corry (2002) [1] summarise Online Learning Communities as having 4 basic components: • Community occurring with social interaction about common interests • Learning non-formal; the attainment of knowledge, skills, and attitudes through social interaction with peers • Network defined as a pattern of communications and relationships (Schuler, 1996) • Technology either a synchronous or asynchronous platform In some instances eLearning can foster a greater degree of communication and closeness among students and tutors than face to face learning. (Knight, Ridley, & Davies, 1998) [2] (Waschull, 1997)[3]. This paper shares experiences of these factors and hypothesises that the peer-to-peer dimensions contribute to the exceptional course completion levels. 3. Course Completion – a challenge Average completion rates for online courses vary but are generally cited at between 25% and 70% (Hill & Raven, 2000)[4], (Ganzel, 2001)[5]. 4. Case Study: Course Background • The Advanced Certificate of Internet Marketing, www.MarketingGuide.com • Business course to teach experience professionals strategies appropriate to online business • 14 in depth modules studied over 16 weeks • 100% Internet delivery • 24 x 7 tutor support • Study groups of 5-7 peers • Rich content and a collaborative environment • Scheduled group discussions and group project • Assessment by test results, individual submissions, contribution to group work and ‘spirit’ of collaboration demonstrated • Employers generally pay the NZ$2,695 fee. 4.1 Constructivism demanded collaboration Teaching Internet business and marketing is, to a great extent, a lesson in collaboration and communication. In the Internet business world, the power structures are radically new and people need to gain confidence in working with, rather than in opposition to, competitors, suppliers and customers. The Advanced Certificate of Internet Marketing was built with a constructivist methodology and so team collaboration is an essential component. The course teaches about the Internet, over the Internet in the spirit of the Internet. Students must collaborate to pass. 4.2 Dimensions applied Community members student Profile Students are 60% female, business and marketing professionals, resident in NZ, Australia, Canada. All students are computer users with varying degrees of PC literacy. All use email. A small minority have studied online before. The course content presupposes an interest in the Internet and most students are employed by major corporates. The communities are forged in the fire of shared business challenges and a high-change, real world environment. It is acknowledged that this demographic is likely to be amongst the earliest adopting and most pre-disposed to eLearning. This doubtless contributes to completion rates and results. The Learning Within the constructivist framework explained above, the course operates on a four-step approach: • Concepts are introduced and explained • The application of these concepts is demonstrated through the introduction of case studies and reference sites Proceedings of the International Conference on Computers in Education (ICCE’02) 0-7695-1509-6/02 $17.00 © 2002 IEEE