Web Advances Continue: From Best Pedagogical Practices to Evaluation and Assessment Curt Bonk, Indiana University President, CourseShare.com Vanessa Dennen, San Diego State University

Brains Before and After E-learning Before After And when use synchronous and asynchronous tools

Part I. Best Practices: Who are some of the key scholars and players…???

Southern Hemisphere Pedagogy…

Karen Lazenby, Instructor Qualities, Deputy-Director, Telematic Learning and Education Innovation (now Director, Client Service Center) (University of Pretoria, Nov., 2001, Flexible (ability to shift between roles) Patient, responsive Friendly, positive, supportive Limit lecture Publish best student work Set clear rules for posting and interaction Involve outside experts

Guy Kemshal-Bell Technical & Further Education (TAFE) in Australia (Had Instructors Rate 21 Online Teaching Competencies From TAFE Questionnaire)

Online Teaching Skills The Online Teacher, TAFE, Guy Kemshal-Bell (April, 2001) Technical: , chat, Web development Facilitation: engaging, questioning, listening, feedback, providing support, managing discussion, team building, relationship building, motivating, positive attitude, innovative, risk taking Managerial: planning, reviewing, monitoring, time management ======================================== –From provider to content to designer of learning experiences. –From oracle to guide and resource provider –From solitary teacher to member of team

Key Skills or Attributes (scale 0-3) The Online Teacher, TAFE, Guy Kemshal-Bell (April, 2001) Ability to provide effective online fdbk (2.86) Ability to engage the learner (2.84) Ability to provide direction and support (2.82) Skills in online listening (2.76) Ability to use effectively (2.70) Ability to motivate online learners (2.66) Positive attitude to online teaching (2.66) Skills in effective online questioning (2.65)

Less Impt Skills or Attributes (scale 0-3) The Online Teacher, TAFE, Guy Kemshal-Bell (April, 2001) Higher-level Web page development (.606) Use of video/audioconferencing (1.06) Ability to develop simple Web pages (1.45) Skills in using online chat (1.84) Ability to build online teams (2.10) Skills in planning, monitoring trng (2.20) Ability to say dumb things. Ability to offend people. Ability to sleep.

Three Most Vital Skills The Online Teacher, TAFE, Guy Kemshal-Bell (April, 2001) Ability to engage the learner (30) Ability to motivate online learners (23) Ability to build relationships (19) Technical ability (18) Having a positive attitude (14) Adapt to individual needs (12) Innovation or creativity (11)

Let’s brainstorm comments (words or short phrases) that reflect your overall attitudes and feelings towards online teaching…

Feelings Toward Online Teaching The Online Teacher, TAFE, Guy Kemshal-Bell (April, 2001) (Note: 94 practitioners surveyed.) Exciting (30) Challenging (24) Time consuming (22) Demanding (18) Technical issue (16); Flexibility (16) Potential (15) Better options (14); Frustrating (14) Collab (11); Communication (11); Fun (11)

Ron Oliver: Edith Cowan University in Australia Professor of Interactive Multimedia, and the Director of the Centre for Research in Information Technology and Communications

Collaborative and Constructivist Web Tasks (McLoughlin & Oliver, 1999; Oliver & McLoughlin, 1999) ) 1.Apprenticeship: Q&A; Ask an Expert (chats & async). 2.Case-Based and Simulated Learning: exchange remote views; enact events online. 3.Active Learning: Design Web pages and project databases. 4.Reflective/Metacognitive Learning: Reflect in online journals, bulletin boards 5.Experiential Learning: Post (articulate ideas) to discussion groups 6.Authentic Learning: PBL, search current databases

John Hedberg, Univ of Wollongong Research centre for Interactive Learning Environments (RILE), Co-Director of the Educational Media (em) Lab, Professor, School of Educ; Built multi-award winning CD-ROM products - Investigating Lake Iluka, Exploring the Nardoo and StageStruck

John Hedberg, Univ of Wollongong Chapter: Cybereducation RILE Monograph 2001: Online Learning Environments: Research and Teaching  Learner must be active in learning process  Provide variety of contexts and viewpoints  Learning is a process of construction  Immerse learners in authentic contexts  Reflective thinking is the ultimate goal  Learning involves social negotiation  Need to develop realistic strategic, pedagogical, & commercial models for online learning

Portal/Hub (Stuckey, Hedberg, & Lockyer, in press) 1.Users as passive consumers 2.Varied membership 3.May not need to register 4.No ties between or access to other members 5.Links to resources and indexed sites 6.Database driven 7.Success = # of hits

Factors in Developing Online Community (Stuckey, Hedberg, & Lockyer, in press) 1. Users are producers, consumers, and builders 2. Strong reciprocal ties – real names used (members might even seek F2F contact 3. Shared or team projects/activities; joint artefacts 4. Access to experts and mentoring 5. C ommitment from developers and members 6. Varied roles for members (moderators, facilitators, mentors, etc.) 8. Success = engagement, ideas, development, trends

European Pedagogy…

E-Moderating E-Moderating: The Key to Teaching and Learning Online, (Gilly Salmon, (1999) Kogan Page; ) 1.Know when to stay silent for a few days. 2.Close off unused or unproductive conferences. 3.Provide a variety of relevant conference topics. 4.Deal promptly with dominance, harassment, etc. 5.Weave, summarize, and archive often. 6.Be an equal participant in the conference. 7.Provide sparks or interesting comments. 8.Avoid directives and right answers. 9.Acknowledge all contributions. 10.Support others for e-moderator role.

Robyn Mason’s (1991) 3 Roles (The Open University; Organizational —set agenda, objectives, timetable, procedural rules –Patience, vary things, spur discussion, invites Social —welcome, thank, provide feedback, and set generally positive tone –Reinforce good things, invite to be candid Intellectual —probe, ask q’s, refocus, set goals, weave comments, synthesize comments –Know when to summarize and to leave alone

Robyn Mason (Models of Online Courses) ALN Magazine Volume 2, Issue 2 - October 1998 The Web often acts as the resource around which the activities are designed …Students are often asked to construct a group Web site as the focus for their joint work. Alternatively they could be asked to work through problems, experiments or simulations presented online and to compare their solutions.

Robyn Mason’s (1998) ALN Magazine Volume 2, Issue 2 - October 1998 Computer conferencing ideal medium to break down distinction between teacher and taught Online resources, places, and people make possible online learning communities Need to motivate students to participate actively, providing some synchronous events to maintain their interest and enthusiasm Need to design activities for nonparticipators Lack of time is a challenge for DL (learners want short courses, learning objects, and just-in-time teaching)

Pedagogical Techniques of CMC (Paulsen, 1995, The Online Report on Pedagogical Techniques for Computer-Mediated Communication; 1.Collective databases, Access to Online Resources 2.Informal socializing (online cafes) 3.Seminars (read before going online) 4.Public tutorials 5.Peer counseling, learning partnerships (Online Support Groups) 6.Simulations, games, and role plays 7.Free Flowing Discussions/Forums 8. interviews 9.Symposia or speakers on a theme 10.The notice board (class announcements)

Framework for Pedagogical CMC Techniques (Paulsen, 1995, The Online Report on Pedagogical Techniques for Computer-Mediated Communication) 1.One-alone Techniques: Online journals, online databases, interviews, online interest groups. 2.One-to-one Techniques: Learning contracts, internships, apprenticeships. 3.One-to-many Techniques: Lectures, symposiums, skits. 4.Many-to-many Techniques: Debates, simulations, games, case studies, discussion groups, brainstorming, Delphi techniques, nominal group process, forums, group projects.

PROF. DR. BETTY COLLIS University of Twente (UT), Faculty of Educ Science & Technology (TO); Lead successful development and implementation of the TeleTOP ( Web-based course-management system (1997), now in use throughout university and beyond. Learning is active, collaborative, construction, and contribution (i.e., learner-centered) Learning environment should stimulate different forms of collab and communication Give the learner support tools and options Built based on extensive research and wide experiences

PROF. DR. BETTY COLLIS University of Twente (UT), Faculty of Educ Science & Technology (TO) 1.Use technology to extend good teaching, not replace teachers 2.Learners have varied backgrounds that we need to adapt to (i.e., allow flexible access) 3.Skill acquisition is important but content is not the main focus of the learning environment 4.Instructors can restructure the environment (they should control not the instructional designer) 5.Envir must be simple for instructors and students

North American Pedagogy…

Jennifer Hoffman, InSync Training

Ideal Environment of Synchronous Trainer Jennifer Hoffman, Online Learning Conference (2001, Oct.)  A private, soundproof room.  High-speed connection; telephone; powerful computer; additional computer; tech support phone #  Studio microphone and speakers  A “Do Not Disturb” sign  Near restroom; pitcher of water

Pedagogical Recommendations (Berge, 1995, The role of the online instructor/facilitator; Draw attention to conflicting views Don’t expect too much/thread Do not lecture (Long, coherent sequence of comments yields silence) Request responses within set time Maintain non-authoritarian style Promote private conversations

Managerial Recommendations (Berge, 1995, The role of the online instructor/facilitator) Distribute lists of participants Provide timely administrative info—books, enrollment, counseling, etc. Change procedures that are not working Change misplaced subject headings Decisively end discussion sessions Don’t overload

Linda Harasim’s Model of Online Collaborative Learning Simon Fraser University, In 1985, Dr. Harasim was one of the first to teach a totally online graduate course. The following year, she and her colleagues at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education delivered the first professional development courses taught online. Harasim, L. (2001). Shift Happens: Online Education as a New Paradigm in Learning. The Internet and Higher Education, 3(1). Elsevier Science, New York, NY Harasim, L.. The Virtual University: A State of the Art. Advances in Computers, Book Series - Volume 54. Academic Press, London, UK.

Linda Harasim, Simon Fraser and TeleLearning Centres of Excellence (Quote: June 4, 2002, Global Educators’ Network)) “Bruffee (1999) argues that knowledge is a construct of the community’s form of discourse, maintained by local consensus and subject to endless conversation. Learning is a social, negotiated, consensual process. Discourse is key…students collaborate in small groups, then in larger or plenary groups to increasingly come to intellectual convergence.”

Linda Harasim’s Model of Online Collaborative Learning 1.Idea Generating: implies divergent thinking, brainstorming, verbalization and thus sharing of ideas and positions. 2.Idea Linking: involves evidence of conceptual change, intellectual progress and the beginning of convergence as new or different ideas become clarified and identified and clustered into various positions. 3.Intellectual Convergence: is typically reflected in shared understanding (including agreeing to disagree) and is especially evident in co-production, whether a theory, a publication, an assignment, a work of art.

But how to determine the pedagogical quality of courses and course materials you develop?

The Sharp Edge of the Cube: Pedagogically Driven Instructional Design for Online Education Syllabus Magazine, Dec, 2001, Nishikant Sonwalkar five functional learning styles— apprenticeship, incidental, inductive, deductive, discovery.

New Methodology for Evaluation: The Pedagogical Rating of Online Courses Syllabus Magazine, Jan, 2002, Nishikant Sonwalkar The Pedagogical Effectiveness Index: (1) Learning Styles: (see previous page) (2) Media Elements: text, graphics, audio, video, animation, simulation (3) Interaction Elements: feedback, revision, , discussion, bulletin d=5914 For more info,

New Methodology for Evaluation: The Pedagogical Rating of Online Courses Syllabus Magazine, Jan, 2002, Nishikant Sonwalkar Summative evaluation instrument for rating online courses: (1) Content Factors: quality, media, authentic (2) Learning Factors: interactivity, testing & feedback, collaboration, ped styles (3) Delivery Support Factors: accessible, reporting, user management, content (4) Usability Factors: clarity, chunk size, layout (5) Technological Factors: bandwidth, database connectivity, server capacity,browser

Little or no feedback given Always authoritative Kept narrow focus of what was relevant Created tangential discussions Only used “ultimate” deadlines Provided regular qual/quant feedback Participated as peer Allowed perspective sharing Tied discussion to grades, other assessments. Used incremental deadlines Poor InstructorsGood Instructors Dennen’s Research on Nine Online Courses (sociology, history, communications, writing, library science, technology, counseling)

Common Instructor Complaints a)Students don’t participate b)Students all participate at the last minute c)Students post messages but don’t converse d)Facilitation takes too much time e)If they must be absent, the discussion dies off f)Students are confused

Reasons why... Students don’t participate –Because it isn’t required –Because they don’t know what is expected Students all participate at last minute –Because that is what was required –Because they don’t want to be the first Instructor posts at the last minute

Solutions I.A well-designed discussion prompt, followed by II.Clear guidelines III.Clear modeling IV.Regular feedback

Guidelines and Feedback Qualitative discussion guidelines and feedback helped students know what their participation should look like Quantitative discussion guidelines and feedback comforted students and was readily understood by them Feedback of both varieties was needed at regular intervals, although the qualitative feedback need not be individualized

Pedagogical Tips (Bonk 1998; Indiana University) Build peer interactivity Design Interaction to extend beyond class Embed choices on tasks Simplify (everything!!!) Scheduling something due early Create Variety: tasks, topics, participants, accomplishments, etc.

Just a Lot of Bonk Make learners also the teachers Provide multiple ways to succeed Provide clear & easy to navigate course Market/Share what do Archive work, repurpose it, use it Take a course online—be a student Find a tech mentor Be flexible

6. Cognitive Task Structuring: "You know, the task asks you to do...," "Ok, as was required, you should now summarize the peer responses that you have received...," “This is a difficult task, so you might start with..."

Sure…but Cat Herder???