Karen Swan
Research Center for Educational Technology
Kent State University

Abstract:
A wide range of theoretical and empirical analyses emphasize the importance of active participation and collaboration among students in promoting the effectiveness of online learning. Collaboration models activity in the workplace, helps students to actively construct knowledge, enhances students' understanding and appreciation of diversity, and may give students a sense of belonging online. Perhaps most importantly, collaboration allows distant students to interact socially and develop a feeling of community in online courses. Yet, many online educators remain unsure of why, when, and how to introduce collaboration in their online classes. This special issue is designed to provide help with collaborative activities.

This special issue grew out of a workshop sponsored by the Sloan Consortium held in Victoria, British Columbia at Royal Roads University. Researchers and leaders in the field of online learning were invited to the workshop and organized into five teams to address five challenges. This issue was developed in response to Challenge 3:

Challenge 3 (Collaboration): What are the best ways to do collaboration, especially collaboration for teaching and learning? The group may wish to consider broader collaboration methods that aid collaboration across institutions or focus on pedagogical constructs.

Caroline Haythornthwaite
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Abstract:
Collaboration entails working together toward a common goal, but what is the common goal we want students to work toward in classes? What kinds of interactions and outcomes do we value as collaboration, and how do we facilitate them? This paper addresses these questions, beginning with an examination of research on groups, community, and shared cognition that inform collaboration, and then addressing what we mean when by collaboration. Three questions define the discussion: Why do we emphasize collaboration and try to engage students in collaborative activities and collaborative learning? What outcomes do we expect from collaboration in terms of how students interact, tasks are conducted, learning accomplished, and knowledge created? How does communication differ online from offline, and how does the difference affect collaboration? Each section ends with some recommendations on how to facilitate collaboration, and the paper concludes with a brief summary and some key concepts for facilitating collaborative activity.

D. R. Garrison
University of Calgary

Abstract:
This paper uses the community of inquiry model to describe the principles of collaboration. The principles describe social and cognitive presence issues associated with the three functions of teaching presence—design, facilitation and direction. Guidelines are discussed for each of the principles.

Peter Shea
University at Albany - State University of New York

Abstract:
This paper looks first at some of the often unspoken epistemological, philosophical, and theoretical assumptions that are foundational to student-centered, interactive online pedagogical models. It is argued that these foundational assumptions point to the importance of learning community in the effectiveness of online learning environments. Next, a recent study of 2314 online students across thirty-two college campuses is presented. This study reports on learners' sense of community and it is concluded through factor and regression analysis that elements of the Community of Inquiry model—specifically learners' recognition of effective “directed facilitation” and effective instructional design and organization on the part of their instructor contributes to their sense of shared purpose, trust, connectedness, and learning—core elements of a community of learners. Gender also appears to play a small role in students' sense of learning community with female students reporting higher levels than their male classmates. Implications for online learning environments design are discussed.

Karen Swan
Research Center for Educational Technology, Kent State University
Jia Shen
School of Management, New York Institute of Technology
Starr Roxanne Hiltz
New Jersey Institute of Technology

Abstract:
Assessment can be seen as the engine that drives student course activity, online or off. It is particularly important in encouraging and shaping collaborative activity online. This paper discusses three sorts of online collaborative activity—collaborative discussion, small group collaboration, and collaborative exams. In each of these areas, it provides both theoretical grounding and practical advice for assessing, and so encouraging, collaboration in online courses.

Shari McCurdy
Ray Schroeder
University of Illinois at Springfield

Abstract:
This paper examines best practices for technology use in online, collaborations between the University of Illinois at Springfield and Chicago State University in class sessions shared across institutional boundaries. We explore the collaborations between these two ethnically and culturally diverse institutions. The University of Illinois at Springfield received two grants in the fall of 2004 to address the challenge of encouraging diversity in online and on campus classes. One grant, from the Illinois Board of Higher Education supported the development of online collaborations between classes at UIS with a student population that is approximately 9% ethnic minority and Chicago State University with a student population that is more than 90% ethnic. Highlighted are synchronous and asynchronous exchanges using Elluminate Live's synchronous, web-based two–way audio conferencing and Blackboard's asynchronous discussion board technologies.

John Sener
Sener Learning Services

Abstract:
The Quality Matters (QM) project funded by FIPSE and administered by MarylandOnline (MOL) is creating a replicable inter-institutional continuous improvement model to assess, assure, and improve the quality of online courses. Designed to address statewide and national needs for credible quality assurance in online learning, the inter-institutional collaboration is an integral and essential feature of QM project organization, implementation, and impact. The project uses inter-institutional, intersegmental peer review teams as an integral part of the quality improvement process; the expansion of the peer reviewer pool to involve faculty from two- and four-year institutions beyond MOL members in peer reviews of courses is also particularly noteworthy. The QM project's success to date indicates the viability of creating an inter-institutional collaborative process for quality improvement in online courses. Future efforts will focus on determining whether the project can build and maintain a sustainable model for the long term.

Janet C. Moore
The Sloan Consortium

Abstract:
Over the years, insights about ALN collaboration from Sloan-C's annual publications in the quality series, in Effective Practices, and in The Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks (JALN), have been useful for refining theoretical and practical knowledge about online education. This summary points to additional resources related to collaboration.