Capdeferro and Romero, M. (2012) mentioned the frustration aspect of collaborative learning. I think it is very important for us to address as course instructors. In the scenario, it mentioned that When digital tools is inserted into this equation, things tend to get even worse: if one person in the group happens to be familiar with the tool, then work lands in her/his lap. This could not just be interpreted as free-riding in the collective learning but in some cases in the collective learning process (not only in the online setting), someone talks over other participants. This scenario reminds me of my own teaching. Some of the students in the workshops and seminars are relatively active and eager to express their own ideas. They may not notice that other students in the same discussion group felt discouraged when they felt that they did not have a chance to talk. If the instructor did not involve, you can observe that those students who do not have a chance to talk would be becoming less participatory.

The frustration aspect also linked to how to acknowledge and respect the unique expertise that different individual has. And how to encourage individuals to contribute their different expertise in the collective learning and further enhance the collaborative learning. In this week’s scenario, I found the sentence is relevant “how can I get people to really recognize the value of becoming part of a learning community and collaborate with their peers in a way that makes use of all the different competencies that group members bring into the work?” I think it make the situation more challenging in the online setting. How can we get to know each other’s expertise when people are gathering in an online learning community. The online learning community does not make that much room for social interaction. People gathering in the online situation are quite purposeful, for instance online lecture/workshop/seminar. The social part of interaction is not that natural and often. In this situation, we need to think about how to integrate some social part in the online teaching activities. So participants in the collaborate learning would have more chances to know each other. In this way, we may motivate participants to contribute their competencies to collective learning. We may create an open atmosphere for the online learning community that every participant is willing to share, feel safe to share.

Capdeferro, N. & Romero, M. (2012). Are online learners frustrated with collaborative learning experiences?. The International review of research in open and distance learning, 13(2), 26-44.