Module 5: How to promote social interactions in distance learning
As we have seen in the previous module, the practice of collaborative learning can have many benefits and can also be implemented through various methods, but what happens when we are dealing with collaborative learning in an online environment?
When we think of collaborative learning, it comes to mind that learners have the opportunity to interact with the content and help each other to solve problems and thus generate new content that helps them to progress.
In addition, the socio-cultural environment of the learners means that this interpersonal communication generates the growth that teachers seek for learners, thus providing the basis for learners to transfer the knowledge they learn in the classroom to the real world.
In this context, how can we effectively promote social interactions within the context of online collaborative learning?
Well, one of the keys to trying to achieve this goal is student interaction. This is precisely one of the risks of online learning that teachers establish a monologue in their class, cutting off interactions between teachers and students. The idea is to encourage discussion among students.
To do this, we must bear in mind that the choice of task is key. Knowing where the students are, where we want to get to, how they are going to be monitored, and what is expected of them is fundamental to generating these interactions.
Based on this, we must adapt our digital resources so that this objective is achieved. One of the main objectives will be to generate spaces for debate so that students can interact and be involved in learning.
We can do this in the following way:
Establish a joint meeting with the students to discuss and share the learning objectives to be achieved in the session.
Establish timeframes for what is to be done and scaffold this task (using rubrics, prompts, checklists, etc.).
Establish different meeting rooms (break-out rooms) where students will go with their group or pair to work.
The teacher will frequently pass by these rooms where the students are to resolve doubts, monitor progress, etc.
Finally, they will return to the group meeting to discuss what has been done and where each pair is at, thus giving visibility to what each one has done and sharing learning ideas.
This is a way of establishing or generating spaces for discussion within an online context that can foster social relations.
Other recommendations to promote these interactions are (Haythornthwaite, 2019):
Moderate group norms, setting some and allowing others to emerge.
Encourage and emphasize good communication behaviors.
Establish social and technical means of synchronous or asynchronous (as in the example above).
Provide means for faster feedback. For example, have students critique each other's work in private rooms at set times.
Create a public discussion space for students to get to know each other and share their likes and dislikes (e.g. free discussion forums that are not necessarily related to class content).
Combine public and private discussion spaces. Establish a balance between formal and informal.
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