A
Case Study of
Online
Collaborative Learning
for
Union Staff in
Developing
Countries
Marc
Bélanger
Outline of Ph.D Dissertation
November, 2006
The
full version of the dissertation is available here
but
it is 240 pages and may take some time to
download
over a slow Internet connection.
Copies
can be mailed to unions in developing countries.
________________________________________________
1. Literature Review
The literature review for the dissertation concentrated on labour education and collaborative learning. Three primary sources generated the research questions:
1. Proceedings of an African conference of labour educators which discussed the need for training the staff of unions in developing countries, possibly with the use of the Internet.
2. Reports and papers which flowed from the Canadian TeleLearning National Centres of Excellence (TL-NCE) project which included a sub-project focused on online collaborative learning for union members and staff.
3. Reports and papers produced during and after a project organized by the European Trade Union College (ETUCO) to investigate online collaborative learning for unions in Europe.
The following areas were indicated as needing further research.
Better understanding of the online collaborative learning (OCL)
process in labour education with the use of an analytical model
“We need to know much more about process [of learning] than frequency and extent-of-use statistics can tell us. . .what we needed was not more data, but an analytical model that would help us understand the relationship between context and CMC resource, how that relationship affects student activity and how that relationship might change over time. . . ." (Briton & Taylor, 2001, p. 119).
Need for linkages to the workplace
In their study of ten SoliNet (a labour communication system) conferences Sawchuk, Gawron and Taylor (2002) concluded that there was “a failure to generate real educational coherence from the [online] experience” with activities in the workplace. They suggested that “if e-learning could be linked tightly with the informal learning in the course of the real world of union activity, it could prove invaluable” (p. 89).
During an investigation of distance education via computer communications the European Trade Union College (ETUCO) found that its online activities were not seen positively by the participants. “The only area in which a majority of participants rated the course 3 or lower (on a scale where 1= poor and 5= good) was the usefulness of the distance phase” (ETUCO, 2004, p. 20). The result was that ETUCO ended its OCL activities and none of the participating organizations later develop their own online labour education programmes.
Need for increased insight into collaboration which contributes to a global labour community
“What we need is . . . a deeper insight into workers' shared understandings and the common labour culture that serves as the basis for an online learning experience that not only enhances individual learning opportunities but also fosters the kind of collaboration and cooperation that contributes to the establishment of a global labour community” (Briton & Taylor, 2001, p. 119).
Need to better understand how the provision of a credential motivates participants in OCL labour education.
Creanor compared participation in the ETUCO courses and a Masters course. There were “disappointingly low engagement levels [in the ETUCO courses] with only 17% of participants contributing regularly and 25% taking no part at all in the online discussions. . . .” In the Master’s conference, however, “participation rates were consistently high (92%) with animated discussions taking place on a wide variety of topics”. Creanor concluded that “a major motivating factor is clearly that of gaining a qualification, an option which was not offered by the ETUCO course” (Creanor, 2002, p. 61).
The need to understand the key issues related to OCL for union staff in developing countries
A conference of labour educators in Africa concluded that educating union staff via the Internet should be investigated to better understand the technological, financial and other issues involved (Mwamadzingo, 2003).
2. Research Questions
RQ 1: What is the empirical evidence of learning and how does it take place in online collaborative courses conducted for labour education?
RQ 2: What are the perceptions of learning of participants in online collaborative learning labour education courses?
RQ 3: What are the perceptions of collaboration and community by participants involved in online collaborative learning labour education?
RQ 4: How is the provision of a credential to the participants in online collaborative learning courses involving the staff of unions in developing countries a significant motivator?
RQ 5: What are the key issues related to the effective and viable participation in online collaborative learning courses for union staff in developing countries?
3. Methodology
The general problem which was addressed was the potential of online collaborative learning for effective and viable education of union staff in developing countries. Educational effectiveness was related to indicators such as empirical evidence of learning, significant completion rates, high rates of participant satisfaction in terms of learning processes and community, plus high levels of motivation.
Mixed mode research methodology
The project employed a mixed modality of qualitative and quantitative approaches. The instruments for collecting the data included: computer-generated verbatim transcripts of the participant’s online discourse, computer-generated usage data, surveys, user reports, documents, and participant observations.
Case study methodology
A case study was conducted of a labour education course operated entirely online over a period of eight months in 2005 with 33 unionists from 24 developing countries.
Ethical research standards maintained
Informed consent of the participants in the study was solicited by the use of a printed form that needed to be dated and signed. Participants were provided with a contact name at Simon Fraser University.
Conceptual framework: The theory of Online Collaborative Learning
Harasim’s OCL theory “draws on the processes of democratic participation, intellectual progress and gradual convergence to adumbrate the trajectory of online learning from idea generation to idea linking to intellectual convergence” (Harasim, 2002, pp. 181-182).
Research theories and
instruments
Sense of Classroom Community Scale (CCS)
Rovai’s CCS consists of twenty questions. Following each question is a five-point Likert-type scale of potential responses: strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree and strongly disagree. A scoring key which ranges from a maximum of 40 to zero is provided for a learning subscale. Responses can also be collated on individual questions. This allows for a probing for views on specific items such as timely feedback and opportunities to learn. (Rovai, 2002a, p. 208)
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Transcript Analysis |
Stats |
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Transcript analysis
The online course, which was conducted over eight months, included nine conferences. There were 1,579 messages available for analysis.
OCL theory
The OCL theory provides specific indicators for the three phases of an online discourse.
Unit of analysis
The unit of analysis was the conference message. Using a transcript analysis strategy developed by Anderson et al. (2001) each message was analyzed for indications of any of the three phases outlined in the OCL theory.
Independent coders and coding database
Five independent coders analyzed the messages in the conferences and entered their decisions in a database created for the project.
Sense of Classroom Community Scale
The CSS questionnaire was applied twice: once at the start of the course and once at the end. The participants were asked to complete on online version of the scale.
The CSS allows for analysis of the sense of community amongst the participants and the perception of learning. Disaggregating the results provides the opportunity for analysis by gender.
Participant addressing of research questions
Participants were involved in directly responding to two of the research questions: the effect of a certificate as motivator, and the key issues involved in the use of OCL for the staff of unions in developing countries.
4. Context and Findings
Context
The online course which was studied was conducted by the Workers' Activities Programme (ACTRAV) based at the training centre of the International Labour Organization in Turin, Italy. There were thirty-three participants from developing countries. The group consisted of 18 males (54.5%) and 15 females (45.4%).
Completion rates
Thirty of the 33 participants completed the course. This represents a completion rate of 91% and a drop out rate of 9.0%. The female completion rate was 87%. The male completion rate was 94%
RQ #1: The empirical evidence and process of online learning
Some of the conferences were organized to promote the creation of knowledge artefacts such as documents. Some were not. The creation of knowledge artefacts which have a useful life outside the educational experience is at the core of knowledge–building (Scardamalia and Bereiter, 1994). The creation of common products is also described in the OCL theory as promoting intellectual convergence.
The conferences aimed at the production of a common artefact produced two results according to the task which was set.
Conferences organized for the joint creation of a document stimulated intellectual convergence. The participants moved from disparate thinking to convergence on ideas – an indicator of conceptual change.
Conferences aimed at the production of a common list did not promote discussion.
RQ1 Findings
The creation of an artefact useful outside of the educational experience acted as a motivator and provided the linkage between the online activities and the workplace which Sawchuk et al. called for.
The creation of a common artefact promotes learning because it encourages the participants to move through all the phases of collaborative discourse.
The type of task influences the discourse.
Perception of learning was analyzed with the use of Rovai’s CCS.
The perception of learning amongst the participants was high.
Participants felt supported by the group and comfortable asking questions.
They agreed that other students had helped them learn.
They agreed that they had received timely feedback.
They believed that they had been given ample opportunities to learn.
They all agreed that their educational needs were met.
There was no significant difference in the perception of learning between the males and females in the course.
Rovai’s CCS was also used to investigate the perceptions of collaboration and community in the course.
There were high levels of perceptions of collaboration and community amongst the participants.
There was no significant difference in the sense of community between the male and female participants.
The high sense of community was evident after the first three weeks of the course and was maintained until the end.
RQ #4: Credential as motivator
The effect of a credential (the ICDL) on the motivation of the participants was addressed by analyzing conference comments, studying usage statistics and by the participants themselves in two conferences. The provision of a credential was clearly a motivator for participation and completion.
The participation rate throughout the eight-months was high.
The completion rate for the group was 91%.
Participants commented that the certificate:
Provides higher standards for labour education courses.
Helps the labour organization by having a person qualified in information technology.
Gives the individual incentive to participate in, and complete, the course.
RQ #5: Key issues related to OCL labour education
This question was addressed by the participants themselves. After eight months of participation they were knowledgeable about the use of OCL for the staff of unions in developing countries. They pointed to the following key issues:
Availability of computers.
Cost of the Internet
Sharing computers.
Heavy workloads.
The telecommunication infrastructure of developing countries.
Lack of awareness of OCL by union leadership
Lack of training on the use of computers amongst staff.
Fear of working online in groups.
The course participants reported that despite potential problems, online collaborative learning can be effective for educating union staff.
5. Conclusions
The research project provided
evidence for a number of conclusions:
The creation of useful knowledge artefacts provides linkages to the workplace
To provide linkages between online courses and the workplace labour courses should be structured for the production of a knowledge artefact, such as a document, which has a useful life outside the course.
The types of tasks determine the level of intellectual convergence
The type of task set by the instructor will influence the amount of intellectual convergence and therefore group solidarity in the course. Tasks which demand joint production and discussion will result in intellectual convergence. Tasks which promote collaborative efforts but not discussion will result in less conceptual change towards intellectual convergence.
Perception of learning is increased by collaborative learning
The participants in the course reported a high sense of perceived learning. This was related to group support as the collaborative work of the course was conducted.
The provision of a credential is a significant motivator
The participants were clearly motivated by the provision of a credential that they recognized as valuable. Both the participation and completion rates in the course were high.
Effective and viable online education can be conducted for the staff of unions in developing countries
The overall conclusion is that, despite financial and technological challenges, online learning can be conducted for the staff of unions in developing countries.
The research project has produced evidence that OCL for union staff in developing countries is viable:
Union staff members from labour federations in 24 countries participated actively in and completed an online course which lasted eight months.
The finding that they participated in the course mainly from their workplaces indicates that other staff members in these federations could be involved in online collaborative learning.
Evidence was also produced that OCL can be effective for union staff.
The participants in the case study completed the course.
They participated actively throughout the eight months of the course.
They had a high perception of learning.
They had an equally high sense of community.
They demonstrated evidence of learning through conceptual change.
Further research
How can the computer system provide support for idea generating, idea organizing and intellectual convergence in online labour education courses?
What is the role of the labour educator in online labour education courses?
What sort of organization could be created to promote online labour education?
What sort of useful knowledge-building artefacts could promote linkages between online collaborative learning and the workplace?
There are approximately 340 million unionized workers in the world – about 75% of whom work in the developing world (ILO, 1998). Even in countries where union membership is low, unions can have a profound effect on social, economic and political issues.
Despite the need to expand the reach and scope of its educational activities the labour movement has not adopted the use of online learning. Why?
Existing literature on previous online educational experiences in the labour movement pointed to factors such as:
Lack of connection to the workplace.
Absence of feelings of community.
Low perceptions of learning.
Lack of participation.
Little understanding of the process of
online learning.
The work performed for the dissertation showed that:
Online Colaborative Learning can produce linkages to the workplace if useful knowledge artifacts are created.
OCL can produce feelings of community and solidarity if collaborative learning pedagogies and activities are conducted.
OCL can stimulate high levels of perceived learning.
A certificate recognized as valuable by the participants can be a significant motivator producing higher participation and completion rates.
The OCL theory can be used to structure courses so that participation are guided through a three-stage discourse process which leads to solidarity and action-oriented programmes.
References*
Anderson, T., Rourke, L., Garrison, R. D., & Archer, W. (2001). Assessing teaching in a computer conferencing context. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 5(2), Retrieved February 17, 2005 from http://www.aln.org/alnweb/journal/jaln-vol5issue2v2.htm
Briton, D., & Taylor, J. (2001). Online workers' education: How do we tame the technology? International Journal of Instructional Media, 28(2).
Creanor, L. (2002). A tale of two courses: A comparative study of tutoring online. Open Learning, 17(1), (pp. 57–68).
ETUCO (European Trade Union College). (2004). Dialog on Final Report. Retrieved May 28, 2004 from http://www.etuc.org/etuco/en/projects. Prepared by Linda Creanor and Steve Walker
Harasim, L. (2002). What makes online learning communities successful? The role of collaborative learning in social and intellectual development. In Distance Education and Distributed Learning (pp. 181-200). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
Mwamadzingo, M. (Ed.). (2003). Bridging Africa's digital divide. Harare, Zimbabwe: International Labour Organization.
Rovai, A. (2002a). Development of an instrument to measure classroom community. The Internet and Higher Education, 5, (pp. 197-211).
Sawchuk, P.H., Gawron, Z., & Taylor, J. (2002). E-Learning and union mobilization. Journal of Distance Education, 17(3), (pp. 80-96).
Scardamalia, M., & Bereiter, C. (1994). Computer support for knowledge-building communities. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 3(3), (pp.265-283).
* A complete reference list is included in the dissertation