Three Models of Online Teaching

Dr. Tim Xie

California State University, Long Beach

txie@csulb.edu

Web-based instruction or on-line teaching is very popular currently. Many people want to do it. However, it is not clear yet why online teaching is needed and how to conduct teaching online. I will analyze the three models of online teaching based on my personal experience and practice during the past years. I will also discuss the factors affecting your decision to adopt a certain model, the characteristics of online teaching as well as some difficulties and problems.

University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign: Research Report of the

Faculty Seminar 1999

Supplemental to traditional classroom teaching

Mixed, partial online teaching Complete online teaching (for on-campus

and long distance education)

Supplemental Model(CSULB Web Site)

Course sites in regular web pages and Beachboard Chinese 101

Web Directory - Learning Chinese Online Page Learning Chinese Online Page

Textbook-based page - PCR: Learning Aids Page PCR Online Aids

Mixed Model

CSULB Hybrid courses – 50%-50% model ULUC, Math Dept.- online teaching plus

several meetings with the students. Chemistry Dept. – Meeting with the students once a week.

Carnegie Mellon University: French and German courses – three days classroom instruction plus one day online activity

Complete Online course

Australia: La Trobe University La Trobe Universiy 1, 2

Beijing Language and Culture University: http://ww.eblcu.net

East China Normal University: http://www.hanyu.com.cn

It is your practical need that you must take into consideration to determine which model to adopt.

Questions to ask yourselves:Questions to ask yourselves:

- Is your course unique?

- Does your course have a competitive power?

- Do you have human and financial resources and technical support?

-Do you really need to reduce the classroom instruction time?

-Do you have the ability to control online activities?(Creating and maintaining the web course, etc.)

- Are there any similar web sites or pages?

- Are currently available pages good enough for your purposes?

- Do you need to add more materials?

You may create your own web pages with currently available links and your creative works.

Other questions to ask:

Do instructors have sufficient time, resources and knowledge to conduct online teaching?

Are students interested in it? Are they ready for it?

Are the administrative authorities very supportive financially, technically and academically (recognition of academic works, RTP)?

Cahracteristics of Online Teaching

Students: They must be self-starters. They must be comfortable with

technology (at least they do not hate it). They must have a strong desire to learn

foreign languages.

Instructors: Instructors are no longer merely course deliverers.

They are makers of teaching materials, organizers and executors of activities and mentors.

Instructors must have basic concepts and skills in computing.

Instructors cannot rely on technicians. They need to do it by themselves.

Instructors need to learn and update their knowledge and closely watch the new developments on the net.

Characteristics of Teaching and Learning Invisible students Activities are in the form of online

communication – text and sound Asynchronous and synchronous Students’ active learning Instructors’ specific and task-oriented

assignments

Online Course Structure

Background information: syllabus, schedule, instructors’ information

Course delivery: learning units, lecture notes, assignments

Communication: E-mail, discussion board and real-time chat

Assessment: self-tests and online tests and exams Resources: course related links Other tools

Web supported courses in the U.S. Most web pages in the U.S. are made by

professors or professional individuals. They are practical and are very useful supplements to the courses they teach.

There are some similar pages each of which has its own features and characteristics. They are valuable resources for language instructors.

Web Courses in China

Online courses in China are mostly made by professional groups. Big projects are supported by either universities or government.

Online schools are good for long distance education. Individual instructors have less control on course content.

Suggestions:

1. The realistic approach is to adopt a certain model based on the real situation.

2. Complete online courses are more appropriate for those who have more human resources and technical support.

3. Instructors can use web resources as a supplemental or use the hybrid model.

50% of learning and teaching will take place online in 21 century.

Chinese language instructors should cooperate in creating and sharing the web resources to meet the new challenges in this e-generation.

References Draves, William A. 2000. Teaching Online. River Falls: LERN Books. Flex, Uschi. 2001. Beyond Babel: Language Learning Online. Melbourne:

Language Australia Ltd. Green, Anne and Bonnie Earnest Youngs. 2001. "Using the Web in

Elementary French and German Courses: Qantitative and Qualitative Study Results". In CALICO Jouranl, Vol. 19. No. 1. pp. 89-123.

CMU. Language Online @CMU: Who should learn language online? <http://mlonline.hss.cmu.edu/online/online.html>

Illinois Report. 1999. Teaching at an Internet Distance: The Pedagogy of Online Teaching and Learning. The report of 1998-1999 University of Illinois Faculty Seminar <http://www.vpaa.uillinois.edu/tid/report/toc.htm>

Orton, Jane. 2001. Building "Bridges": Design issues for a Web-based Chinese course. In Flex, 2001.

Xie, Tianwei. 2001. "e 世代的中文教師如何面臨挑戰 ", in Journal of CLTA, Vol. 36:3, 2001

Thank you!