UT Held General Lecture: Impactful Collaborative Online Learning

The Indonesia Open University or Universitas Terbuka (UT) held a general lecture on “Online Collaborative Learning” at All-Purposes Building, or Gedung Serba Guna UT, by presenting Prof. Tristan E. Johnson, Northeastern University’s Professor as the resource speaker, Monday (12/11/2018). He has a wide range of experience in developing and evaluating the training system curriculum for business, industry and academicians. This program was officially opened by Prof. Drs. Ojat Darojat, M.Bus., Ph.D., UT President. In his speech, the Rector expected that this general lecture would improve the science of collaborative online learning in order to increase the quality and expand the knowledge and social discourse.

Prof. Tristan E. Johnson focused on "Impactful Collaborative Online Learning". The collaborative form may be performed among the university students themselves or among the university students and the lecturers. This collaborative way may be done in groups of minimum two people. The interaction may be made casually or it may be also in form of formal interaction. He also suggested the key factors which may be done in developing Collaborative Online Learning, which is by determining the purpose of the activity, making the design of collaborative experience, as well as the collaboration of solid team.

Prof. Tristan E. Johnson also argued that learning is a difficult activity, and yet we have to give strength and synergy in such online group activities. In addition, other important thing is that it is necessary to conduct monitoring and evaluation at the end of the activity. Both the lecturers and the students have to be able to assess the works done by other students. The participants were given the opportunity to take part and raise questions as well as give their ideas in the question-and-answer session. Subsequently, the program was ended by a photo session of the general lecture’s participants.