Online Teaching and Learning - Basic Concepts

ONLINE TEACHING AND LEARNING BASIC CONCEPTS

Evania A. NettoVinícius V. Lemos

AGENDAIn this workshop: • we will discuss the facts and myths about

online education; • we will be shown a learning platform and how

it works;• instructors and participants will come up with

a list of skills that teachers and learners need to have in order to teach and learn online;

• instructors will present the concept of online presence and online interaction and participants will find ways to achieve them in a course;

• we will reflect about what has been seen throughout the session and discuss whether participants would like to become online teachers or not.

DISTANCE EDUCATION

“Distance education is a learning modality planned by educators and institutions in which teachers and students are separated by space and several different information and communication technologies are used.” (MATTAR, 2011).

“Distance education includes the various forms of study at all levels which are not under the continuous, immediate supervision of tutors present with their students in lecture rooms or on the same premises, but which, nevertheless, benefit from the planning, guidance and tuition of a tutorial organization.” (HOLMBERG, 1986).

• Online courses aren’t as good as face-to-face (F2F) courses.

• Technology plays the most important role in online programs.

• It is nearly impossible to promote interaction among participants involved in distance education.

Truth or myth?

• It is much easier and less time consuming to teach an online course than a F2F course.

• Students taking an English online course cannot practice the 4 skills.

• The typical average online course is self-paced, meaning that you can finish it at any point during the semester.

Truth or myth?

• Online courses aren’t as good as face-to-face courses.

• Technology plays the most important role in online programs.

• It is nearly impossible to promote interaction among participants involved in distance education.

• It is much easier and less time consuming to teach an online course than a f2f course.

• Students taking an English online course cannot practice the 4 skills.

• The typical average online course is self-paced, meaning that you can finish it at any point during the semester.

• Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlJshzOv2cw

Facts about e-learning

http://courses.thomas.org.br

LEARNING MANAGEMENT

SYSTEMS

What are the main

reasons why people

choose to learn

online instead of

going to a traditional

brick and mortar

classroom?

2 minutes

Source: http://www.onlinecolleges.com/infographics/profile-online-college-student.html

What do you think the successful

online student is like? What are the necessary skills?

2 minutes

Source: http://www.onlinecolleges.com/infographics/profile-online-college-student.html

When we think of online courses we tend to think of a different teacher’s

profile. Do you think that the

roles of teachers are truly different

in the virtual world? How?

3 minutes

NATIONAL STANDARDS FOR QUALITY ONLINE TEACHING -

INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR K-12 ONLINE LEARNING

•K–12 is a designation for the sum of primary and secondary education. It is used in the US, Canada, Australia and other countries. The expression is a shortening of kindergarten (K) for 4–6-year-olds through twelfth grade (12) for 18–19-year-olds, the first and last grades of public education in these countries.

Look at the K-12 standards. What do you think of

them? Are they too different from the

requirements necessary to teach

F2F? Do you already have those

skills?

5 minutes

1. The online teacher knows the primary concepts and structures of effective online instruction and is able to create learning experiences to enable student success.http://www.inacol.org/resources/publications/national-quality-

standards/

2. The online teacher

understands and is able to use a

range of technologies,

both existing and emerging, that

effectively support student

learning and engagement in

the online environment.

http://www.inacol.org/resources/publications/national-quality-

standards/

3. The online teacher plans, designs, and incorporates strategies to encourage active learning, application, interaction, participation, and collaboration in the online environment.http://www.inacol.org/resources/publications/national-quality-

standards/

4. The online teacher promotes student success through clear expectations, prompt responses, and regular feedback.http://www.inacol.org/resources/publications/national-quality-

standards/

5. The online teacher models, guides, and encourages legal, ethical, and safe behavior related to technology use.

http://www.inacol.org/resources/publications/national-quality-

standards/

6. The online teacher is cognizant of the diversity of student academic needs and incorporates accommodations into the online environment.

http://www.inacol.org/resources/publications/national-quality-

standards/

7. The online teacher demonstrates competencies in creating and implementing assessments in online learning environments in ways that ensure validity and reliability of the instruments and procedures.http://www.inacol.org/resources/publications/national-quality-

standards/

8. The online teacher develops and delivers assessments, projects, and assignments that meet standard-based learning goals and assesses learning progress by measuring student achievement of the learning goals.http://www.inacol.org/resources/publications/national-quality-

standards/

9. The online teacher demonstrates competency in using data from assessments and other data sources to modify content and to guide student learning.http://www.inacol.org/resources/publications/national-quality-

standards/

10. The online teacher interacts in a professional, effective manner with colleagues, parents, and other members of the community to support students’ success.http://www.inacol.org/resources/publications/national-quality-

standards/

11. The online teacher arranges media and content to help students and teachers transfer knowledge most effectively in the online environment.

http://www.inacol.org/resources/publications/national-quality-

standards/

DROPOUT

“Many students are not prepared to manage their activities in flexible times without direct supervision. Many learners are used to having teachers as a visible support. They wait for the teacher to tell them what to do”. (ARANTES; MORAN & VALENTE, 2011).

“Many students come from schools that were not very demanding, thus couldn`t develop their intellectual and digital autonomy. Entering silent virtual environments, full of materials and tools make them confused. The lack of a conversation with real people, live, f2f, scares them. The digital environment for those who are not used to it is very confusing, distant, little intuitive or pleasant. The pedagogical experiences are very different from the ones popular in the past.” (ARANTES; MORAN & VALENTE, 2011).

Source: http://www.onlinecolleges.com/infographics/profile-online-college-student.html

So, what can be

done to avoid high

rates of dropout

in the classroom?

THE ROLE OF PRESENCE IN ONLINE ENVIRONMENTS

Think for a minute. What is the basic difference between learning f2f and learning exclusively online?

The difference is the separation between the teacher and the learner and among the learners.

“Separation among teacher and learners leads to a feeling of isolation on the part of the teacher and learner and has been a major reason for learner dissatisfaction and lack of retention in the online environments.” (PALLOF & PRATT, 2007)

What can be done to avoid the feeling of isolation in online courses?

Create the feeling of “Being There”

and “Being Together”.

(LEHMAN & CONCEICAO, 2010)

• The feeling of “Being There” is related to telepresence and makes the learners have the impression or feeling that they are present at a location remote from their own environment.(LEHMAN;CONCEICAO, 2010)

• The feeling of “Being Together” is related to social presence and allows learners to feel that they are part of a community and can interact with the other members of this community. (LEHMAN; CONCEICAO, 2010)

Source: NETTO, E.; 2012

Being There

Being Together

Source: http://ml.vu/LfRqmo

Source: http://www.stixy.com/guest/227070

INTERACTION

According to Moore (1989), there can be

three kinds of interactions in

online programs. What are they?

What can you do to promote them in your course?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zv-_GCFdLdo

The Nazca Lines are a series of ancient geoglyphs located in the

Nazca Desert in Peru. The lines are shallow designs made in the ground

and include from simple lines to stylized animals. Scholars believe they were drawn between 400 and 650 AD. In your opinion, who drew

them?

http://www.thinglink.com/scene/273799594700177409?buttonSource=undefinedPage

I think that the lines could have been made by ETs

who came toEarth many years ago

(Erika) .

•Now, we would like to hear from you! Is there anything you would like to share with us? Do you think you would like to become an online teacher? Why (not)?

REFERENCES•ARANTES, V. A. ; MORAN, J. M. ; VALENTE, J. A. Educação a distância: Pontos e Contrapontos. 1. ed. São Paulo: Summus, 2011. v. 1. p. 136.• HOLMBERG, B. Growth and structure of distance education.

Beckenham, UK:Croom Helm, 1986. •LARREAMENDY-JOERNS, J.; LEINHARDT, G. Going the distance with online education. Review of Educational Research,v.76, n.4, p.567–605, 2006.•LEHMAN, R.; CONCEICAO, S. Creating a Sense of Presence in Online Teaching: How to "Be There" for Distance Learners. In JOSSEY-BASS. Guides to Online Teaching and Learning. San Francisco, CA: Wiley Imprint, 2010.•MOORE, M. Three types of interaction. American Journal of Distance Education, USA, v. 3, n. 2, 1989, p. 1–6.•MATTAR, J. Interatividade e aprendizagem. In: LITTO, F.; FORMIGA, M. (org.). Educação a distância: o estado da arte. São Paulo: Pearson Education do Brasil. 2009, p.112-120.•______. Guia de Educação a distância . São Paulo: Cengage Learning, 2011. •PALLOF, R. & PRATT, K. Building online learning communities: Effective strategies for the virtual classroom. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2007.

Thank you!!

• evanianetto@hotmail.com• vvlemos@hotmail.com