|
|
 |
|
CommonGround™ Lite enables a dynamic exchange between professors and classmates in robust ways such as real-time lectures, public and private text chat capabilities and more.
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
At AIU Online, we continue to introduce innovative concepts to our virtual courses to ensure that our students experience a high-level of learning. Because our learning model is designed to meet the learning needs of a diverse student population, we continue to add elements to the courses we believe will help students learn how they learn best and this often involves the use of technology.
This month, we rolled out CommonGround™ Lite to degree programs within the School of IT and the School of Criminal Justice. CommonGround™ is a medium we use to blend asynchronous and synchronous communication to create a community for students. The technological platform enables a dynamic exchange between professors and classmates in robust ways such as real-time lectures, public and private text chat capabilities, the integration of visual aids using whiteboards and more.
Since CommonGround™ Lite runs off the same software programs students should currently have installed to view their courses; extra software will not be required. Students who use dial-up Internet connection or broadband will be able to use this functionality.
We spoke to Justin Watkins, AIU Online's Course Developer and designer of CommonGround™ Lite, to learn more about CommonGround™ Lite and its benefits to AIU Online students.
AIU Online: Justin, what is CommonGround™ Lite?
JW: CommonGround™ Lite is a version of our existing CommonGround™ feature used in our School of Education and School of Visual Communication degree programs. It provides learning that accommodates both synchronous and asynchronous learning depending on the student's preference. It was designed to make learning more interactive between students and professors and also to foster a student community.
It enables students to interact with each other and professors using real-time private and public text chat during learning events facilitated by professors.
AIU Online: What other features does CommonGround™ Lite provide?
JW: CommonGround™ Lite really adds another level of interactivity to the courses and makes them even more similar to lectures one may experience in a traditional classroom. For example, with CommonGround™ Lite, professors can use the whiteboard tool to integrate visual aids during a learning event. If a student in the IT program has a question about specific programming code in the assignment, the professor can show the student, in real-time, what the code should look like. Best of all, all students participating in that lecture can see and benefit from what that student asked.
AIU Online: Please explain in more detail what the whiteboard entails.
JW: A whiteboard is similar to a chalkboard in a sense except that there are tools available that allow professors to draw images, straight lines, free-hand draw and add color. You can also write text on the whiteboard. It is this whole space that instructors can use to write text, post slides, PowerPoint presentations and other visual aids.
AIU Online: Can students see what professors are writing on the whiteboard as it is being written?
JW: Yes, students will be able to see what the professor is writing as it is being written. It is truly fascinating. In addition, the professor can point to certain elements on the whiteboard and the students can see what is being pointed to and referenced.
AIU Online: That does sound fascinating and it seems like it makes teaching easy for professors and learning better for those students who are 'visual' learners.
JW: That's absolutely correct. You can really see how this fosters a true learning community. And since it is all online, students who would otherwise not ask questions in a traditional classroom can get the help they need without feeling like they have been put on the spot.
Also, with the public and private messaging capabilities, students can choose to ask those questions privately or publicly and professors can respond that way as well. So again, this functionality really gives students more control of their learning experience even when interacting in the virtual classroom.
AIU Online: Are there other advantages of CommonGround™ Lite?
JW: The advantages of this technology are really two-fold. Both the professors and the students benefit. During the learning events, professors can take polls at any point to determine how well students understand a concept. This can help professors gauge how much a subject needs to be covered based on the student responses.
The polling feature works like a quick survey, but it is administered in real time. The professor can ask one, two or any number of questions and students can immediately respond. The professor can then see a graphical chart with specific data regarding the responses. There are also different graphing formats such as bar graphs and pie charts that the tallied information can be presented in. Students can see in real-time how other students answered the questions.
CommonGround™ Lite also has an archiving feature that has proved to be very useful to students who may have missed the original learning event or those who want to repeat the session. They can see the public messages, accompanying visual aids and any poll questions and results. Students can really experience everything that happened during the session.
AIU Online: Any final thoughts about CommonGround™?
JW: CommonGround™ offers in general, more reference points and opportunities for student-to-student and student-to-professor interaction. It is also great in terms of the breadth of information that can be exchanged during a class session and later accessed. With the polling feature, students get a chance to provide feedback on the direction of the session and with the archiving feature, students never have to feel like they've missed a class!
CommonGround™ Lite will be available to students in the School of IT and the School of Criminal Justice. Other schools will receive this functionality in the near future.
|
|
