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continued from page 1for completion of the activity or activities. Ge, Yamashiro, and Lee (2000) determined that student preparation prior to the onset of collaborative activ-ity significantly increases the level of cognitive achievement of the students who participate. If students are clear about the nature of the activity and how to complete it, they are much more likely to pick up the gauntlet and move forward with minimal instructor intervention.

Online collaboration moves through four phases. They are:

1. Create the environment – In this phase, the instructor is responsible for creating an online place for students to meet and work together in addition to establishing the parameters of their interaction. This can include creating private discussion areas for groups and setting guidelines that either limit or allow voice and face-to-face contact outside of the online classroom.

2. Model the process – Stephen Brookfield (1995) notes that students will be skeptical of engaging in group discussion if the instructor has not “earned the right” to ask students to work in this way by modeling a commitment to the process (p.5). The instructor should always provide a model of what good collaboration looks like through interaction with students.

3. Guide the process – Modeling the process is a first step, but the instructor also has a responsibility to guide the process once it begins. Letting students know in advance how the instructor plans to be involved gives them the sense of confidence they need to move forward. They do not feel like they are wandering into uncharted territory alone.

4. Evaluate the process – Evaluation is a critical component of collaboration. Students should be encouraged to evaluate their own performance as well as the performance of other group members. In addition, the group should be given the opportu-nity to debrief the experience once it ends.

Although challenges to successful completion of collaborative work do occur, good planning and integration of the activity into the course can help to head off or resolve many of the woes that instructors hear their colleagues describe. Collaborative activity does not give an instructor a “break” in the demands of their online course. Instead, it allows for new and interesting ways for students to engage with the instructor and one another.

ReferencesBrookfield, S. (1995), Becoming a critically reflective teacher. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Ge, X., Yamashiro, K.A., & Lee, J. (2000), Pre-class planning to scaffold students for online collaborative learning activities, Educational technology & society, 3(3). Retrieved May 1, 2004 from http://ifets.ieee.org/ periodical/vol_3_2000/b02.html.

Gunawardena, C.L. & Zittle, F.J. (1997), Social pres-ence as a predictor of satisfaction with a computer-mediated conferencing environment, American journal of distance education, 11(3), pp.8-26.

Kazmer, M.M. (2000), Coping in a distance environ-ment: Sitcoms, chocolate cake, and dinner with a friend, First Monday. Retrieved April 6, 2004 from http://www.firstmonday.dk/issues/issue5_9/kazmer/index.html.

Murphy, K., Drabier, R., & Epps, M. (1998), Interac-tion and collaboration via computer conferencing, Proceedings of the national convention for education communica-tion and technology, (ED423852).

Picciano, A.G. (2002), Beyond student perception: Issues of interaction, presence, and performance in an online course, Journal of asynchronous learning networks, 6(1), pp.21-40.

Tu, C. & Corry, M. (n.d.), Research in online learning community, Retrieved April 6, 2004 from http://www.usq.edu/au/electpub/e-jist/docs/html2002/pdf/chtu.pdf.

An Interview with Abraham LincolnEach month, The Learning Curve publishes an inter-view or article from someone who has been involved with distance learning. This month, a fantastic new technology is going to be showcased. It is a time machine of sorts that allows us to talk with people in history. Through the miracle of technology, we have made contact with President Abraham Lincoln and proudly bring you a one-on-one interview with one of the greatest Presidents:

AL: Hello! Hello! Anybody there?

TLC: Sir! This is a wondrous occasion. We so appre-ciate someone of your stature willing to speak with us. AL: Actually I thought I was a pretty ordinary guy, although people around me frequently giggle at my looks.

TLC: These next few questions may be hard for you to answer since we are coming from a sort of differ-ent place in time.

AL: That doesn’t surprise me. I’ve always thought that you people were in sort of a different place and time.

TLC: Well, let’s get started with our questions. Sir, have you had experience with online learning?

AL: Well of course, what in the world would make you think that I hadn’t?

Check Out The Guide to Distance LearningThe Guide to Distance Learning was designed to give online learners a feel for the online environment in the School for Professional Studies. Point your browser to http://support.regis.edu/GTDL/Regis_eTutorial.html to enjoy a virtual tour of our standard online course components.

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TLC: Well, . . . a man of your era…

AL: I wouldn’t judge the strength of the tree by the number of rings in the stump (chuckling).

TLC: So, as you have created online courses, what have been the most critical factors?

AL: Of course there’s content knowledge, but it’s how students learn in that content area that is important to building good courses.

TLC: Really, what do you mean?

AL: There are several different ways that we build quality and strength in our courses. The first is to use collaborative teams of faculty. The teams work together through several meetings to help identify topics and activities for a course or group of courses being developed. Collaborative course development teams report that this is one of the most valuable activities in creating good courses. It provides the breadth and depth beyond a single author and single viewpoint. If you don’t have this collaboration, your course will be like tofu on melba toast.

TLC: Wait! Are you sure you’re …

AL: (interrupting) Of course I am sure. We’ve been through this team process many times already.

TLC: No, No, I am talking about the connection. Are you really …