I have had lots of experience, actually for more than a decade with face-to-face teaching. I have a passion for teaching, and also to challenge myself with new ideas and innovations. I have had the chance to present seminars in International Development Projects working with Professors and personnel from institutions as the World Bank. It is all face-to-face with minimal technology. With the emergence of distance education and e-learning, the journey continues as more and more educational institutions are either shifting or engaging in blended learning – synchronous and asynchronous – call it what you will. International Development, one of my fields of practice, is shifting towards technology-based projects in presentations and application. Again, I have used both an open-source and commercial learning/course management systems to present instructions as part of my course of study; however, my expectation of this course was to explore and apply the tools necessary for online teaching in the real context.
The readings, class presentations, instructions and the FIT project has served the purpose. The 5-stage framework of e-tivities (Salmon, 2006) provides the model for teaching and learning on-line through on line networking. Practically, the process allow me to relate the reading to practice - with the FIT project, as I monitored closely from the beginning to present how students pass through the five stages of learning and interactivity. Again, the Australian Flexible Learning was a valuable tool for effective online facilitation. The scope and challenges were articulated. They were practical and effective.
Together with class presentations, FIT project, and concepts and case study of Motschnig-Pitrik and Holzinger (2002), I better understood that with learner-centered online instruction, learners can have the freedom to explore new areas of technology and media, based on their interests with assistance from the instructor. Since, there exist individual differences and learners may also have different preferences, the R2D2 Model by Bonk and Zhang (2006) provides a new model to address individual learning styles, motivation and preferences. Yes, this model is for the diverse learners of this world – Interesting!
What are the theories behind some of these practices? Read the article on “Two scaffolding: the dialectical process within the authenticity-generalizibility (A-G) continuum" for issues with compatibilities between traditional views of school-based learning and situated cognitive instructional approaches. The result of knowledge is a richer understanding of concepts, procedures and processes for transfer in the real world. What students learn in most part must be practiced. How do students evaluate their performances when they engage in team projects and dialogue online? Consider Leinonen and Jävelä’s (2006) article on facilitating interpersonal evaluation of knowledge in a context of distributed team collaboration. Wait a minute! This process was utilized by the instructors of IT 7130 and IT 6135. But how do students get to know how they have been evaluated by their peers? Were the assessments fair, with no biases? Think about it! It may be worth researching and discussing. What is my role as an instructor, facilitator, and e-moderator in all these? According to Maor (2003), the role of the teacher in developing interaction and reflection in an online community is to make learning interactive and collaborative. This application is most valuable to me as I aspire to engage in higher education blended learning. The metaphor of the four hats – pedagogical, social, managerial and technical action couldn’t have come at a better time. There is much to say, but hold on for now, till then.
Jal
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