Online Learning Theories

         Community of Iniquity is an online learning theory proposed by Garrison, Anderson and Archer. The core idea of this theory is interaction between students and faculty on an online platform. They mention three "presences", which they describe as a social phenomenon created through interaction between students and instructor. These three presences are cognitive, social and teaching. This theory has become very common in blended and online courses with assignments like discussion boards, blogs, zoom, etc. where students and faculty interact on a consistent basis sharing their ideas, information and opinion. 

        

        The Connectivism online learning theory put forth  by George Siemens focuses on the way knowledge and information move and grow due to the immense data communication networks. Rather than highlighting a student's interaction with their instructor, like the Community of Inquiry theory, this theory highlights a student's interaction with infinite data. Learning is about finding connections between the ever changing data sets and information of the present. Students learning through these means need to be provided experience and opportunity to engage with and navigate large sets of data. This online learning theory would be most appropriate in a course with high enrollment, where there are so many students that the instructor is more hands-off. 

        The last online learning method mentioned in this article is Online Collaborative Learning (OCL), which is presented by Linda Harasim. Similar to Connectivism, OCL emphasizes learning through the network, or large sets of information, but it focuses on collaboration with peers. The three phases of knowledge building through collaboration presented by Harasim are idea generating, idea organizing and intellectual convergence. These phases involve brainstorming, analyzing and synthesizing knowledge within a group of peers and/or faculty and presenting knowledge through essays and group work. Rather than being hand-off (like a connectivism approach), in OCL, instructors act as discussion facilitators and teachers are meant to participate in the conversation. 

        Asynchronous and synchronous are two categories for any type of learning. Asynchronous learning occurs when the teacher and student are not interacting face to face. Many fully online courses operate asynchronously. Posting in discussion boards, emailing and reading articles are all examples of asynchronous learning. Synchronous learning involves social interaction between student and teacher. This could be in person or on an online conference where teacher and student are engaging with each other. Both of these methods are using in e-learning environments. 

        One advantage to online learning environments is that it gives teacher s a wide range of tools that are inaccessible in the classroom. Having your students listen to podcasts, watch videos, write reflections, etc. are effective ways of teaching online. Along with that, online learning can be a fitting way to learn for a wide range of students. Some students may prefer sitting in a classroom "textbook style", while other's may be more visual learners. Online learning provides many different outlets to learn, which provides more opportunities for success for students. Because there is not one unified model of online learning and each online course one might take may be different. It can be difficult to adjust to online learning. This is a disadvantage of the online learning environment. It can be unpredictable for students. Along with that, technology issues arise for students learning online, devices may not be available to all people, and it can be isolating for students.