Introduction to Online Teaching

Candace Chou

University of St.Thomas

Outline

• Debate

• Process

• Cognitive theory

• Examples

• Tools

As We May Think

• There is a growing mountain of research. But there is increased evidence that we are being bogged down today as specialization extends. The investigator is staggered by the findings and conclusions of thousands of other workers - conclusions which he cannot find time to grasp, much less to remember, as they appear.

• Vannevar Bush, 1945

Quotes

• “Technology is neither good nor bad in itself, nor can it dictate educational goals. A pencil can be used to write Shakespearean sonnets or to copy someone else’s homework”

• Howard Gardner, 2000, p. 33

No Difference

• The best current evidence is that media are mere vehicles that deliver instruction but do not influence student achievement any more than the truck that delivers our groceries causes changes in nutrition… only the content of the vehicle can influence achievement”

• Richard Clark, 1994, p. 445

Counter-view

• Learning in an online environment can be as effective as that in traditional classrooms

• Students in well-design and well-implemented online courses learn better than those in online courses that are not carefully planned

• Tallent-Runnels et al. (2006)

The Balance

• Assigning too much influence to media can lead to the design/ development of sloppy, ineffective instructional materials that are accepted by technologists and users simply because they utilize CBI, interactive video, or other 'high-status' delivery media. Assigning too little influence to media, on the other hand, may discourage reflective thinking by designers about which media can best convey the instructional strategies needed to achieve instructional objectives (p. 6).

• Steve Ross, 1994

Percentage training hours delivered by classroom and technology

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

2000 2003 2005

ClassroomTechnology

Source: Sugrue & Rivera, 2005

Organization Spending on Training

ASTD State of the Industry Report, 2008

K-12 Online Learners

North American Council on Online Learning (NACOL), 2008

Postsecondary Online Enrollment

Sloan Foundation, 2010, Online Nation

4.6 Million of Online Students 2009

82%

14%

Focused Question

• Take out a sheet of paper and list as many characteristics of E-Learning as you can.

What is e-Learning

• Instruction delivered on a computer by ways of CD-ROM, Internet, or intranet

• E-Learning courses include both content (information) and instructional methods (techniques) to help people learn

• Synchronous or asynchronous or blended learning

Source: Clark & Mayer, 2008

Key Components of Online Learning

OnlineLearning

Source: Dabbagh & Bannan-Ritland, 2005

Key Components of Online Learning

OnlineLearning

E.g., collaboration, articulation, reflection, role-playing, exploration, problem solving

E.g., collaboration, articulation, reflection, role-playing, exploration, problem solving

Key Components of Online Learning

OnlineLearning

E.g., open , or

flexible, learning;

distributed learning;

knowledge-building

communities

E.g., open , or

flexible, learning;

distributed learning;

knowledge-building

communities

Key Components of Online Learning

OnlineLearning

E.g., asynchronous and synchronous

communication tools, hypermedia and

multimedia tools, web authoring tools, course management systems

E.g., asynchronous and synchronous

communication tools, hypermedia and

multimedia tools, web authoring tools, course management systems

Relationship

Pedagogical Models (Constructs)

• Open (or flexible) learning

• Distributed learning

• Learning communities

• Communities of practice

• Knowledge building communities

Open Learning

• A shift from delivering preestablished curriculum to focusing on individual and local needs and requirements

• Student-centeredness

• Focus on learning rather than on teaching

• Provides students with flexibility and choice in meeting their educational goals.

• Examples, knowledge networks, knowledge portals, virtual classrooms

Distributed Learning

• Education is delivered anytime, anywhere, to multiple locations, by using one or more technologies

• A “pull” model of education in which students engage in learning at their own pace and time, in contrast to traditional “push” model in which synchronize their needs and schedules to the institution.

• What is known lies in the interaction between individuals and artifacts and other technological devices. (Pea, 1990, Perkins, 1990)

Learning Communities

• Groups of people who support one another with regard to meeting their learning agendas, working together on projects, learning from one another, and engaging in a collective sociocultural experience in which participation in transformed into a new experience or new learning (Rogoff, 1994, Wilson & Ryder, 1998)

Communities of Practice

• Groups of people informally bound together by shared expertise and passion for a joint enterprise. (Wenger & Snyder, 2000)

• They are defined by knowledge rather than by task, and members are self-selecting rather than assigned by a higher authority. (Allee, 2000)

• A popular term in the business community

Knowledge-Building Communities

• Learning communities in which communication is perceived as transformative (resulting in a new experience or learning) through knowledge sharing and generation.

• Example: research teams in the scientific disciplines or firms

E-Learning Development Process

Performance analysis

Job and task analysis

Design

Development

Testing and Implementation

Learner Performance

Goals and outcomes

Five Types of Content in E-LearningType Definition Example

Fact Specific and unique data or instance

Operator symbols for Excel formula, illustration

Concept A category that includes multiple examples

Excel formulas, worked examples

Process A flow of events or activities

How spreadsheets work, flow chart

Procedure Task performed with step-by-step actions

How to enter a formula into the spreadsheet, video tutorials

Strategic principles

Task performed by adapting guidelines

How to do a financial projection with a spreadsheet, simulation

Source for next 12 slides: (Clark & Mayer, 2008)

Two Types of E-Learning Goals

• Procedural, aka, near transfer– How to logon– How to complete an expense report– How to insert html code for embed video

• Principle-based or strategic, aka, far transfer– How to close a sale– How to analyze a loan– How to design an ice-breaker activity

What Makes E-Learning Unique

• Practice with feedback

• Social software and collaboration

• Tailored instruction

• Simulation and games

• Other?

Two-Minute Discussion

• Think of what you know about online teaching strategies.

• Turn to a partner and share your knowledge.

• Do you have anything to share with the class?

Three Metaphors of LearningMetaphor Learner is: Instructor is:

Response strengthening

Passive recipient of rewards and punishments

Dispenser of rewards and punishments

Information Acquisition

Passive recipient of information

Dispenser of information

Knowledge construction

Active sense maker

Cognitive guide

Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning

Words

Pictures

Ears

Eyes

Multimedia Senses Working Memory

Long-term memory

Select words

Select images

Sounds

Images

Verbal model

Pictorial model

Prior knowledge

Organizing words images Integrating

Four Principles in Cognitive Science

• Dual channels: auditory/verbal

• Limited capacity: a few pieces of information in each channel

• Active processing: learning occurs when people engage in appropriate cognitive processing

• Transfer: new knowledge and skills must be retrieved from long-term memory duing performance

How can e-Lesson help learning?

• Selection of the important information in lesson;• Management of the limited capacity in working

memory; • Integration of auditory and visual sensory

information in working memory with existing knowledge in long-term memory; and

• Retrieval of new knowledge and skills from long-term memory into working memory when needed later.

Interpret Research Statistics

• Effect size (d) tells us how many standard deviations one group is more than the other

• Effect size=1, very strong effect• Effect size = .2, .5, & .8 means

small, moderate, and strong impact • For example, group A averages

90% and group B 80%, the standard deviation is 10. The effect size is 1.

• Standard deviation tells you how spread the scores are.

90 - 80

----------- = 1

10

Source: (Clark & Mayer, 2008, p. 47)

Probability

• P < .05 • There is less than a 5 percent chance

that the difference between 90 percent and 80 percent does NOT reflect a real difference between the two groups.

• There is a 95 percent chance that the difference in scores is real.

• Conclusion, the difference between groups is significant.

Multimedia Principle

• E-Learning courses should include:

• Words– Printed text or spoken

text (e.g., speech)

• Graphics– Still illustrations or

dynamic graphics (e.g., animation or video)

Good Example

Counter Example

Evidence

• People learn better from words and picture than from words alone.

• The multimedia principle works best for novices• Use graphics for organizational,

transformational, and interpretive functions• Is animation better than still images?

– Depend on the subject, e.g., description of how to perform motor skills

– No strong research support

Questions?

Synchronous Learning

• Real-time interactions between learners and instructor

• Deploying training over time• Visualization of content• Computer application demonstrations and

practice• Collaboration among participants• Moderate social presence• Example:

http://collaborate.stthomas.edu/p12033025/

Clark & Kwinn (2007). The new virtual classroom

Make It Active

• Polling

• Chat

• White board

• Audio (conversation with participants)

• Icons (status indicator)

• Breakout rooms

• Application sharing

Four Types of Interaction

• Demographic Interactions

• Behavior Interactions (what participants have doen, are doing, or will do)

• Attitude Interactions (perception on certain issues)

• Knowledge Interaction (pre-test as lesson lead-ins to activate prior knowledge or assess entry knowledge)

Preparations

• Conference call

• Train the trainer

• Dress rehearsals

Examples of Online Courses• Contemporary online teaching cases,

http://www.deakin.edu.au/itl/teach-learn/cases/ – Role Play,

http://www.deakin.edu.au/itl/teach-learn/cases/files/participants/demetrious.htm#

– Simulation, http://www.deakin.edu.au/itl/teach-learn/cases/files/approaches/simulation.htm

– Blended learning, http://www.deakin.edu.au/itl/teach-learn/cases/files/participants/wells.htm#

– Complete online, Graduate Psychology course, http://www.deakin.edu.au/itl/teach-learn/cases/files/participants/armatas.htm#

• Online Teaching Activity Index, http://www.ion.illinois.edu/resources/otai/• Open Learning Initiatives, http://oli.web.cmu.edu/openlearning/• MIT online courses, http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/web/home/home/index.htm • Element K, business and technical courses,

http://www.elementk.com/resources/demo-center/courses • WomenVenture self-pace course

Jigsaw Activity• Form a group of three or four• Each individual uses the E-Learning Course

Readiness Review to evaluate three online courses from the previous slide or from the Internet. (20 minutes)

• The individuals report back to the group on their findings. (10 minutes)

• Each group put together a presentation on three online courses or learning modules. (10 minutes)

• Each group present their findings and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of these courses to the whole class. (15-20 minutes)

3Di Web 2.0

Web 2.0 and the 3D internet usher in the age of the Free Range Learner

Web 1.0

Access ParticipateValueProposition

PosterChildren

Find Share Collaborate Co-Create

LearningProgression

Dr. Tony O’Driscoll, E-Learn Conference, 2007

Videos on Future of Learning

• Virtual Social Worlds and the Future of Learning, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2jY4UkPbAc

• Student perceptions, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o

Five-Minute eClips

• What is 5-minute eClips, Introduction video, http://archive.tltgroup.org/2007/FL20070413-5-MinClips&HybridFacDev/qtmovie/$5minworkshops20070409_mov.htm

• RSS in Plain English, http://blip.tv/file/205570

Two-Minute Paper

• Open a word process and summarize the most important points in this morning presentation.

• What are the topics that you would like to explore further?

• Submit the printout to me without printing your name.

References• Bush, V. (1945). As we may think. The Atlantic Monthly

Retrieved October 31, 2007, from http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/194507/bush

• Clark, R. (1994). Media will never influence learning. Educational Technology Research and Development, 42(2), 21-29.

• Clark, R. C., & Kwinn, A. (2007). The new virtual classroom; evidence-based guidelines for synchronous e-learning. San Francisco: Pfeiffer.

• Clark, R. C., & Mayer, R. E. (2008). E-learning and the science of instruction: Proven guidelines for consumers and designers of multimedia learning (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Pfeiffer.

• Gardner, H. (2000). Can technology exploit our ways of knowing. In D. Gordon (Ed.), The digital classroom (pp. 32-35). Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Letter.

References (cont.)• Allen, I. E. & Seaman, J. (2010). Learning on Demand: Online

Education in the United States, 2009• Ross, S. M. (1994). Delivery trucks or groceries? More food

for thought on whether media (will, may, can't) influence learning. Educational Technology, Research & Development, 42(2), 5-6.

• Sitzmann, T. (2007). Improving learning from web-based training courses: Research evidence (keynote speech Powerpoint). Paper presented at the E-Learn Conference, Quebec City, Canada.

• Sugrue, B., & Rivera, R. J. (2005). State of the industry: Astd's annual review of trends in workplace learning and performance. Alexandria, VA: American Society for Training and Development.

• Tallent-Runnels, M. K., Thomas, J. A., Lan, W. Y., Cooper, S., Ahern, T. C., Shaw, S. M., et al. (2006). Teaching courses online: A review of the research. Review of Educational Research, 76(1), 93-135.

• All images are from http://flickr.com