Supporting Technology-Based Learning
By A. W. (Tony) Bates
Reference: A. W. (Tony) Bates. Effective teaching with technology in higher education: foundations for success/ A.W. (Tony) Bates, Gary Poole. – USA: The Jossey-Bass higher and adult education series, 2003. – 306 p.
Organizing Online Teaching
There are many different ways in which technology-based teaching can be delivered. Students can bring their own computers (usually laptops) to class and use their computers within classroom-based activities. Students may spend some portion of their time on campus in computer laboratories, working at local computer stations that may have special programs already loaded and that may also be networked so students can search for material over the Internet. Students may be able to access online materials from work or home, without having to come to campus. Or students may combine work and study, using personal digital assistants (PDAs) such as Palm Pilots to access databases and communicate with instructors while on hospital wards or working in a business setting.
In all these contexts, students need to know what is expected of them, both in terms of equipment and software and in terms of the instructors’ expectations about how they are to study or use the technology.
Once students have registered for a course, paid their fees, and with luck bought or ordered their materials and had them shipped out, the instructor needs to open a class.
The registry should be able to provide a list of students enrolled in the course. Some course management software such as WebCT now allows class lists and, more important, student e-mail addresses to be automatically downloaded into the instructor’s area of the course Website.
Once a teacher-student ratio is established and faculty or contract instructors allocated to the course, the online discussion forums need to be organized. An online discussion forum is an area of a Website where a group of students and an instructor can discuss a particular topic or group of topics around a common theme. Discussion forums can be synchronous, that is, everyone participates and is online at the same time, or asynchronous, whereby students log on at different times to the discussion.
It is essential in all online teaching to establish the appropriate rules of behavior for students and the appropriate tone of discussion. This task has two aspects. First, an institutional policy regarding student use of computer facilities and the Internet is necessary. This policy can have disciplinary consequences– such as removal from a course or program– for any student who does not follow the policy as stated. Second, guidelines should be provided to students on how they should behave in terms of contributing to and benefiting from the academic activities conducted online. The first aspect is mandatory, the second advisory.
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Summary of Organizing Online Teaching
Online classes need to be organized so that the workload is manageable for both students and instructors. Rules of conduct and guidance on how to best contribute to the discussions must be communicated to students. Students need time to familiarize themselves with the course design and the requirements of the course. Software should be chosen that facilitates discussion, the development of argument, and critical thinking in students. This is all essential preparation for the actual teaching online, which we will now discuss.
Teaching Online
By A. W. (Tony) Bates
Merely putting students in to an online laboratory or a forum for discussion does not necessarily lead to learning taking place. Indeed, discussion forums (whether face-to-face or online) can far too easily degenerate into a swapping of opinions between students without any change in understanding, attitudes, or knowledge. Hence the teacher’s role in moderating online discussions is critical.
Goals for online Discussions
(Online discussion forums can have many different goals, such as to develop critical and analytical thinking skills, to analyze the logic or power of someone else’s argument, construct new meanings (knowledge building, construction), etc.
Forums can be designed to facilitate also
• Collaborative learning
• Problem solving
• Project work
It would be a good exercise for an instructor to construct a list of such goals for discussion forums, and perhaps prioritize them, for a particular course. It would help students if these goals were communicated to them as part of the course orientation. The instructor could use the list of goals as a checklist when evaluating and moderating a particular discussion. Critical Thinking Skills
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Most publications on moderating online discussion forums focus on helping learners develop their own meanings of concepts and ideas presented in the course or offered by other learners (a constructivist approach to learning). Surprisingly few focus specifically on how to develop critical thinking skills through discussion or how to facilitate discussion that leads to new ideas (origin thinking).
Collaborative Learning
One great advantage of online learning is the opportunity for students separated by time and place to work together on a common task. Working together online is an increasingly important workplace skill; it also provides opportunities for students to share experiences, learn how to work collaboratively, and test and develop their own ideas. It is particularly valuable for courses in which students are from different countries or cultures and for continuing professional development wherein participants share and draw from relevant professional experiences.
Summary of Goals for Online Discussions
It is important to have clear goals for the discussion forums and in particular the approach to teaching and learning that is to be developed or encouraged within the forums. Instructors need to provide help and guidance to students, as well as organize the online learning experience so that it encourages critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaborative learning skills. Each subject discipline has its own requirements for academic discourse, but most require evidence-based argument, reference to constructs and ideas within the teaching materials, and a critical but constructive approach to ideas and arguments presented within the discussion forums.
Reference: A. W. (Tony) Bates. Effective teaching with technology
in higher education: foundations for success / A. W. (Tony) Bates, Gary Poole. – USA: The Jossey-Bass higher and adult
education series, 2003. – 306 p.
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