One of the most interesting things about these two articles was the discussion of how learning occurs and how this relates to learning online. "Further, there has been a growing awareness that information does not necessarily lead to knowledge. Until information has been comprehended and interrupted to the point that it can be applied is not knowledge." The example that supports this is the study of the copy machine technicians that demonstrated that the most effective training they received was talking to other technicians informally. To me this illustrates the need for sound curriculum design. Students must be presented with information that they can apply or they probably will not retain. Cyber learning and collaboration can be a powerful tool but the collaboration has to go beyond the superficial. Participants must be active members of the learning community. Exchanges must be a give and take. It takes skill to design a course that facilitates this type of learning.
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I think you've hit upon a very important point. Interaction and collaboration doesn't necessarily mean that essential objectives or anything important has been learned. Without good solid ID, putting a lot of chat, discussion forums, and groups projects into a course is just busywork.
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