7ED021 Developing e-learning cultures and teaching within diverse educational settings Introduction to the module Week rd January 2012 Julie Hughes

Outcomes of this evening’s session undertake small and large group activities to support group building; contribute towards ground rules for this module; familiarise self with the main elements of the module and clarify any issues; explore and discuss the dialogic nature of the classes/interactions online; begin to explore some of the wider theoretical issues/lenses.

Getting to know you... In groups of 3 (with 1 person in the group you haven’t spoken to yet either face to face or online) introduce yourself, your context, share any earlier experiences of learning/teaching in a blended environment and what your hopes/aspirations are for this module. Feedback to the whole group. 10 minutes

Agreeing ground rules/netiquette for our sessions – face to face and online.

Module overview Learning outcomes: Analyse and critique the use of an e-learning intervention in existing curricula from your own educational setting/subject. Apply and justify a rationale for, an e-learning enhanced intervention within your own educational setting/subject. Synthesise understandings of inclusivity and digital literacy issues and demonstrate their application in the design and use of e-learning based materials, learning activities and assessment design appropriate to your own educational setting/subject.

Schedule – for negotiation

Assessment Formative by March 16th Blog contributions (1000 words) - explore and analyse an e-learning intervention (policy and/or practice) in relation to the wider theoretical debates and literature. Engage in ongoing discussion with peers. LO 1 & 2 in part Summative due on April 16th Building upon the blog contributions (2000 words) Write a report that critically analyses the use of e-learning policy and/or practice within your organisation by focusing on a particular course or subject making reference to inclusivity and digital literacy issues words LO 1 -3

Shift happens and keeps changing Karl Fisch v4.0

But... Prof. Diana Laurillard (Institute of Education) – on teachers (and teacher educators) and technology In teaching and learning currently, we tend to use technology to support traditional modes of teaching...We scarcely have the infrastructure, the training, the habits, or the access to new technology to be optimising its use just yet. (Laurillard, 2007). How are you using technology?

Digitally Inexperienced Digital Socialites Digitally Reluctant Digitally Experienced Experience of technology Degree of educational contribution High Low High The typology Defining Generation Y: towards a new typology of digital learners Currant et al. (2008) University of Bradford. Where are you? Where are your students? Beware of generalisations.

Shift happens - Prensky In 2001, I published "Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants," a two-part article that explained these terms as a way of understanding the deep differences between the young people of today and many of their elders (Prensky 2001a, 2001b). Although many have found the terms useful, as we move further into the 21st century when all will have grown up in the era of digital technology, the distinction between digital natives and digital immigrants will become less relevant. Clearly, as we work to create and improve the future, we need to imagine a new set of distinctions. I suggest we think in terms of digital wisdom.2001a2001b Digital wisdom is a twofold concept, referring both to wisdom arising from the use of digital technology to access cognitive power beyond our innate capacity and to wisdom in the prudent use of technology to enhance our capabilities. Prensky (2009)

Visitor and residents The ‘Resident’ The resident is an individual who lives a percentage of their life online. The web supports the projection of their identity and facilitates relationships. These are people who have an persona online which they regularly maintain. The ‘Visitor’ The Visitor is an individual who uses the web as a tool in an organised manner whenever the need arises. They may book a holiday or research a specific subject. No trace... White & Le Cornu (2011)

E-learning theory We must acknowledge that pedagogy needs to be ‘re-done’ at the same time as it needs to be ‘re-thought.’ (Beetham and Sharpe, 2007) Learners cannot therefore be treated as bundle of disparate needs: they are actors not factors, in the learning situation. (Beetham, 2007) We need ‘a dialogue between theory and practice, as well as between learning and teaching.’ (Beetham & Sharpe, 2007, p.3).

E-learning is often talked about as a ‘trojan mouse’, which teachers let into their practice without realizing that it will require them to rethink not just how they use the particular hardware or software, but all of what they do. (Sharpe and Oliver 2007) We are witnessing ‘a new model of education, rather than a new model of learning’…we see how learning can be socially situated in a way never previously possible’. (Mayes and de Freitas 2007, p.13) Give pedagogy back to the teachers. (Laurillard 2008).

Culture shift? Discuss in groups for 10 minutes10 minutes The pervasive effect of the online medium, however, creates a unique environment for teaching and learning. The most compelling feature of this context is the capacity for shifting the time and place of the educational interaction. Next comes the ability to support content encapsulated in many formats, including multimedia, immersive environments, video, and text, which gives access to learning content that exploits all media attributes. Third, the capacity of the Net to access huge repositories of content on every conceivable subject – including content created by the teacher and fellow students – creates learning and study resources previously available only in the largest research libraries, but now accessible in almost every home and workplace. Finally, the capacity to support human and machine interaction in a variety of formats (i.e., text, speech,video, and so on), in both asynchronous and synchronous modalities, creates a communications-rich learning context. Anderson (2011 p.344)

What is the teacher’s role/action?

‘E’-teacher qualities our increasingly digitally networked world is changing the way we communicate and learn (COFA 2010). Qualities of the e-Teacher This chapter concludes with a discussion of the three sets of qualities that define an excellent e-teacher. First and primarily, an excellent e-teacher is an excellent teacher. Excellent teachers like dealing with learners; they have sufficient knowledge of their subject domain; they can convey enthusiasm both for the subject and for their task as a learning motivator; they are equipped with a pedagogical (or andragogical) understanding of the learning process, and have a set of learning activities at their disposal by which to orchestrate, motivate, and assess effective learning. (Anderson 2011) p.372

Round robin – how I feel now, something I am taking from this session....

Revisiting the outcomes of this evening’s session Have you had the opportunity to... undertake small and large group activities to support group building? contribute towards ground rules for this module; familiarise self with the main elements of the module and clarify any issues? explore and discuss the dialogic nature of the classes/interactions online? begin to explore some of the wider theoretical issues/lenses?

See you on the blog this week to discuss... What does an online teaching presence look like? How is it the same/different to our face to face teaching presence? What are (your) learners like? How do you know and (how) are you adapting to meet their needs?

References Anderson, T. (2011) Teaching in an Online Learning Context in The Theory and Practice of Online Learning. (accessed 29th December 2011). Available from: Theory_and_Practice_of_Online_Learning.pdf#page=355 Beetham, H. & Sharpe, R. (2007) (Eds.) Rethinking Pedagogy for a Digital Age. Designing and delivering e-learning. London: Routledge. Currant, N. et al. (2008) Defining ‘Generation Y’: towards a new typology of digital learners. (accessed 15 August 2009). Available from: Laurillard, D. (2007) Comment on the text 48b. Conole, G. and Oliver, M. (eds) (2007) Contemporary Perspectives in E-Learning Research. Themes, Methods and Impact on Practice, London: Routledge. p.48. Laurillard, D. (2008) Evolving a Vision for Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL) Keynote Proceedings of the Networked Learning Conference 2008 (accessed 15 June 2008). Available from: Mayes, T, & de Freitas, S. (2007) Learning and elearning.The role of theory. In Beetham, H. & Sharpe, R. (2007) (Eds.) Rethinking Pedagogy for a Digital Age. Designing and delivering elearning. London: Routledge. Prensky, M. (2009) H. Sapiens Digital: From Digital Immigrants and Digital Natives to Digital Wisdom in Innovate. Journal of Online Education 5: 3 (accessed 20 October 2009). Available from: __From_Digital_Immigrants_and_Digital_Natives_to_Digital_Wisdom.pdf Sharpe, R. & Oliver, M. (2007) Designing courses for e-learning in Conole, G. & Oliver, M. (2007) Contemporary Perspectives in E- learning Research. Themes, methods and impact on practice. (Eds.) London: Routledge pp White, D.S. and Le Cornu, A. (2011) ‘Visitors and Residents: A New Typology for Online Engagement’, First Monday, 16: 9 (accessed 15 October 2011). Available from: