Dear all Learners :
My reflections are as below :
Structural Organization of the Forum
The DF had around 118 participants representing diverse profile with people at Professors, Associate Professors, Lecturers and so from Science, Language (English), Arts and Ayurvedic medical domains. Majority in the science stream. Most of them were 1st time MOOC learners. Few had previous exposure of MOOCs but have not availed LCM. Most seemed to have joined for FDP skills. DFM and TA attended almost every query generic as well as content related such as AQ, RQ and LbDs. DF-2023 serves more as clarification forum than a learner-to-learner centric interaction barring a few participants. This observation seems to have triggered the idea of Meet and Google Form for handling course delivery related query in 2024. The renewed orchestration in 2024 kept us focus on actual shared peer-learning. Idea of roping alumni in did the trick which the 2023 DF lacked. In fine, the DF-2023 looked more learner-Instructor (or DFM) centric. The LxI’s intended goal of Learner-to-learner interaction was visibly lacking. They invited course Alumni to take part as discussion. Creating a weekly plan that will require an Alumni to spend around 90 minutes in a week to answer an unanswered query on the forum. Floating a google form to collect queries in 2024 LCM before live interaction was a great relief.
Observed Learner Engagement in the forum
Good to note that in the DF 2023 and 2024 both gets every comment (course related, topic taught or generic issues) responded to by the DFM)/TA. The DFM / TA / Instructor clarified for logical closure with additional inputs. The instant feedback on the part of DFM / TA brings back the attention. The Observation of Dr. Suman Dey, Assistant Prof., Department of English, Savitri Garg’s College, Kolkata seems to have had similar observation about the reflection spots as that of mine. Reflection brings in a crucial pause to recall the learnt and then advancing for a subsequent learning. There is an interesting question about the continued availability and accessibility of the present MOOC content even after course completion.
The concern expressed by a participant that giving list of resources may be ineffective. He held a view that making diverse resources available at the appropriate points in a course alongwith simple questions on each is more appropriate. This view was at variance with that of mine. Instructor is making an attempt to give you supplemental sources to navigate purely on optional basis. Making it part of course content may not be advisable and would drift the learner’s attention. Lxt is not an extra stuff, instead they are supplemental stuff for the learner for deeper and wider knowlede.
The observations of Ms. Abeetha about Lxt is similar to my observation since Lxt helps to learn more and is always followed by Assimilation Test.
Learners' focus to the discussion within LxI threads.
Learner to learner engagement is minimal in DF-2023. DF-2024 is fairly learner-to-learner centric interaction. Peer-learning by way of complimenting on some’s comments or disagreeing is visible in 2024 but the same was missing in DF-2023. The discussants in DF 2023 and 2024 both acknowledged the benefit of reflection spots. The participant did not offer experiential input useful for the other participants. There are more queries on course operation part in the LxI. The observation of Dr. Radhika of Ayurvedic Medical College, that LxI focus question is good to elevate misconception, it anchors the discussion. By the focus question as a learner, I am reading the content posting and interacting. It is also seemed that some participants have raised questions about the correctness of responses for which convincing replies have been offered by the LCM course team. Participants have commented that among the Lxt’s provided in the category of pre-recording, beautiful.ai.adhoc is useful. Canva has also been recommended for Audio-Video recording. OBS studio is best as it provides streaming for various platforms. For Post production that editing category edpuzzle is good. The course team 2024 added more orchestic decision to make the course more learner centric. Orchestration has improved the current iteration. Almost all the participants have liked the course with some wanting to become a MOOC course creator while many others want to integrate.
Thanks,
Manoj Kr. Srivastava,
Comparison of Last Year's Course (2023) and Current Year's Course (2024) Discussion Forums:
Reflection:
Similarities and Differences in Peer Explanations:
In line with Manoj Srivastava's observation, Anthony Gomes noted improvements in the structural organization of the forum between the previous and current years. All recognized the efforts made by moderators to provide clearer instructions and direct participants to appropriate threads, resulting in a more organized forum experience.
While Manoj highlighted the consistent responsiveness of DFMs and TAs in both years, Anthony emphasized the increase in learner engagement in the current year. Unlike Manoj's observation, which focused on the logical closure provided by moderators, Anthony highlighted the deeper engagement and active encouragement of discussions within the forum, fostering a sense of community and collaborative learning among participants.
Shanti
Thank you for sharing your insightful observations on the forum dynamics! It's fantastic to note the positive changes in the structural organization, fostering a more engaging and participative environment. The immediate responses over the past couple of years indeed indicate a heightened level of learner engagement, which is a crucial aspect of a thriving community.
Moreover, your observation about the increased involvement of peers in providing detailed discussions within LXI threads is promising. It signifies a collaborative effort towards enriching the learning experience for everyone involved.
Your keen observations provide a valuable perspective on the evolution of our discussion forum. Let's continue this positive trend and further enhance the collaborative learning environment!
Best regards,
K. Srunika
DFM - LCM 2024
Good Afternoon All,
Following are my observations based on the focus question
1. Structural Organization of the Forum
The structural organization of discussion forum was more instructor-centric last year and more learner-centric this year.
2. Observed Learner Engagement in the Forum
I observed that last year learner engagement was present but little bit and this year learner engagement was deeper.
3. Learners' Focus on LxI Threads
I observe that last year learner-learner interaction was minimal and that is related to assignment work but this year learner-learner interaction is related to present individuals viewpoints about focused question, discussion on queries about Q/A in the weekly questions, etc.
Thank You,
Dr. Sunita
Thank you for sharing your insightful observations regarding this year's Discussion Forum compared to the previous year. It's great to hear that there have been significant improvements in the structural organization, learner engagement, and focus within the LxI threads.
I appreciate your efforts in providing constructive feedback and fostering a conducive learning environment for all participants.
Looking forward to further enhancing the forum experience and facilitating meaningful discussions.
Regards,
Amritpreet kaurIt is good decision to engage previous years course participants as this years’ DFM as previous year’s students has always has better idea about the challenges of the course so that now, as a DFM, they can help students in resolving the challenges. Last year Dr.S.M. Jigajinni was course student and now this year he is now part of DFM.
3. 2. Observed Learner Engagement in the forum- While comparing the learners' engagement of both the years (2023 & 2024 batches), I observed that, as compared to this year learners were equally active but their number was small. Only few were active. But the concerns and issues raised by the participants are almost similar to this years' concerns & issues. But it is true that last year also DFMs answered the students' queries and concern positively and immediately.
For example, from the post mentioned by Dr. SM
Jigajinni as a course participant, regarding Q1 of RQ for week -2 has raised
the concern about how many posts/questions have you posted in the discussion forum
(Learner Experience Interaction 2 (LxI - Week 2) in response to the Focus
Question of LxI-2? Since LXi was explained in week 4, but the week 2
content is on LxT. It seems that there may be some issues due to less active participation
and responses of DFMs. But these issues are still exists in this year’s course
DFM as well. It may be due to the large number of participants in the course.
3. Learners' focus to the discussion within LxI threads- The learners are active on the DF. But like last year, this year as well very few able to go in depth in all post and then to respond, share the feedback on DF. I think it may be due to lack of time to go through the all post and spend time to think on it. I personally find it tough to go through all post even though I am very keen to go through every response. But responses of participants are genuine. from the post from both the batches we can make out that certain participants really focused and attempt to answer the questions, raise the errors in MCQ options.
Regards,
Ravi Palekar