Teachers+in+a+DL+Environment+-+Discussion+Summary

= Teachers in a DL Environment - Discussion Summary = = by Ricky, Meghan, Lisa, Laura, and Johanne =

//**What were the key questions you discussed?**// //**1. How is online teaching similar / different from Face-to-Face teaching?**//

 * One aspect of online learning that is quite different from face-to-face teaching involves class discussion. Han and Hill (2006) observe, "Online class discussion does not necessarily evolve sequentially through time, as classroom discussion does, but rather grows over time from multiple conceptual perspectives in many dimensions at once." (Johanne)
 * Walker (2002) observed, "I came to realize that distance education is just as mediated by social relations and distance teaching is just as much a performance as is classroom teaching" (Johanne)
 * According to Alonso Diaz and Blazquez Entonado's paper (2009), the roles of teachers are not dependent on the teaching environment. Teaching is teaching. In both settings (ie. f2f and on-line), teachers have to facilitate learning, integrate theory with activities and promote student participation. (Ricky).
 * Number of students in online classes predicts the time spent by the instructor at a directly proportional rate, online time on task is tied directly to the course quality, and time demands for even small online courses exceed those for in-class courses. (Cavanaugh, 2005) (Lisa)
 * With regards to on-line assessment, Beebe, Vonderwell and Boboc (2010) noted five issues: (Ricky)
 * Time - online students expected instantaneous feedback; more work for instructors to keep up.
 * Student Responsibility - because of a lack of visual cues, it's harder for an instructor to gauge student learning. It is up the students to take the initiative and get help when needed.
 * Structure - the set-up of the course leads to greater anonymity. This anonymity allows for freer discourse between instructor and students.
 * Complexity - when moving a f2f course online, it's easier with introductory level courses because assessment involved are usually lower level. For higher level courses that involve evaluation and synthesis, it's harder to do.
 * Informal assessment - lack of visual cues mean students need to speak up more when they don't understand. Ironically, this could lead to an improvement in communication between instructor and students.

//**2. Are there benefits from online teaching that transfer to f2f environment?**//
 * Pennington's (2005) dissertation identifies many benefits that transfer to the f2f classroom particularly by improving instructor's knowledge of current resources, re-thinking what as well as how the content is delivered and becoming more explicit and detailed in instructions, expectations and rubrics. (Laura)
 * Kassop (2003) also identified ten ways that online teaching and learning surpasses face-to-face learning. (Laura)
 * Keller (1987) proposed the ARCS (Attention, Relevance, Confidence and Satisfaction) model for f2f teaching that has proven to be very effective. This teaching model would be equally effective if applied in an online environment. The first step for a lesson is getting the **a**ttention of learners with a **r**elevant fact, problem, situation, and so on. Also, their attention of learners can be stimulated with something different or unexpected. **C**onfidence of learners is built through regular assessments where learners get opportunities to experience success. Learners are satisfied with a learning experience if they perceive that they received some intrinsic or extrinsic reward from it. (Johanne)
 * Alonso Diaz and Blazquez Entonado (2009) suggest that having an experienced teacher who can lay out the course content in a logical sequence will help improve student learning. (Ricky).

> //**4. What phases exist in an instructor's developmental process?**// >
 * 3. Is social interaction necessary or just nice to have? Do other 'non-social' theories have merit?**
 * According to MacDonald (2002), the pedagogical advantages of online collaborative learning are well known, but "it is equally clear that for a variety of reasons the implementation of this approach is more successful in some cases than in others" (p. 377). (Johanne) [[image:739769_70645023.jpg width="156" height="117" align="right" caption="Is Social Interaction Necessary?"]]
 * Han and Hill (2006) state, "despite the growing interest in and research related to collaborative learning in online environments, the nature of the social interaction and the processes associated with the mutual construction of knowledge remains largely undiscovered" (p. 29). (Johanne)
 * Summarizing Frauenheim's findings, Witthaus (2009) points out "that there is an increasing demand within industry for training programmes that encourage informal learning and peer collaboration - a trend he refers to as 'water cooler 2.0'... [this] has led to a decrease in reliance on off-the-shelf training programmes that may be less relevant." (p.188) (Ricky)
 * An online instructor's basic competencies in facilitating online discussions are 1) allowing learners time for reflection, 2) keeping discussions alive and on a productive path, and 3) archiving and organizing discussion to be used in subsequent lessons (Spector, 2001) (Johanne)


 * Hoagland et al (2003) describe a developmental process that online instructors go through. At one end of the continuum, technology is the focus of learning and teaching is secondary. These novice users try out the technology. The next phase, supplemental use describes using technology to enhance traditional delivery or as an "add-on". In the integrative use phase, courses are hybrid where the face to face time is reduced and technology is integrated into the delivery of the curriculum. Adopted use finds courses entirely online with an asynchronous network available. The final phase, new paradigm use, occurs when changes are evident in how people and institutions are organized. In the later stages, the focus is on learning and teaching and technology is secondary. (Laura)


 * In the conclusion of their paper, Steinbronn and Merideth (2007) suggest instructors should focus on how technology can be used to enhance learning and NOT how to use the technology itself. Technology support staff should be hired to do the technical work. (Ricky)

//**5. What are the benefits/disadvantages of using synchronous/asynchronous interactions?**//
 * Borup, Graham and Velasquez (2010) suggest that using video asynchronous chat can compensate for the lack of visual cues present when learners and instructors interact in a physical setting. The benefits of flexibility and access are maintained without requiring synchronous virtual or f2f meetings. (Laura)
 * Hopper (2003) stated, "There are some students who by temperament simpler prefer to work and learn alone, and this may be as much as one-fifth of a college population. To compel them to participate in a democratic learning environment is arguably undemocratic..." (p. 26). (Johanne)
 * Asynchronous communication can be advantageous by allowing time for reflection and additional research prior to posting. It may also be more compatible with more introverted learners or those who require more time to compose a response to a question such as non-native English speaking students or those who process information more slowly. Facilitators need to monitor and moderate to scaffold the learning experiences, keep the discussion on track, summarize, clarify misunderstandings and stimulate higher thinking skills when necessary. (Laura)
 * Synchronous communication offers more instantaneous feedback but often results in lower participation rates due to the time available for the discussion. It is also less flexible and may result in absences when family, work or other commitments conflict. (Laura)
 * Determining marks for either type of discussion can be complicated and a time consuming process to design and implement a rubric. (Laura)
 * Asynchronous interactions allow students to express their thoughts without biased judgement from others. (Pelz, 2004). The effects of external factors that sometimes cloud judgement (ie. sterotypes, appearance) can be minimized. [However, presumptions will still be made based on how they are saying it?] (Ricky).
 * A student comments.. "the discussions of the materials were invaluable. I was able to 'digest' the thoughts of others at my own pace and as a result I saw a wider range of interpretations" (Menchaca & Bekele, 2008) (Lisa)
 * Discussion in online a blended sections are much richer than face-to-face sections. In online and blended sections, students tend to put more effort into their responses to the questions and all students participate. While interaction most often is not face-to -face, it occurs more frequently via private discussion areas and e-mail.(Larson & Sung, 2006) (Lisa)
 * Summarizing Heinze and Procter's article 'Online communication and information technolgoy education', George-Palilonis and Filak (2009) comment that "...discusion boards present an equal number of challenges (too much communication, frequency of off-topic discussions, and general lack of initiation of communication) as benefits (study help, increased social interaction, and the development of a student community)." (p.248) (Ricky)

[[image:1282502_79664336.jpg width="36" height="36" align="left"]] Exploration
//**What opportunities and challenges were discussed?**//


 * Challenges (Laura)**
 * fairly assessing the contributions made in asynchronous discussions.
 * how to build community in an online environment
 * separating the tools from the pedagogy
 * reducing duplication of effort in a blended environment
 * how learning styles and learner preferences affect instructional practice


 * Additional Challenges (Ricky)**
 * how can instructors adjust their teaching practices to account for the lack of informal feedbacks (ie. visual cues) from students?
 * how can instructors cope with the increase in correspondence with students? How can they keep up?


 * Additional Challenges (Johanne)**
 * To design an effective online learning activities, a teacher needs to consider the situation, processes and effects (Lipponen, 2002).
 * A major challenge to designing online collaborative learning course is establishing a 'community of inquiry' in it that has a social, cognitive and teaching presence (Garrison and Cleveland-Innes (2005). A social presence is established in an online course when its students feel comfortable exchanging ideas with each other. A cognitive presence exists in an online course if its learning activities develop the critical and creative thinking skills of its students. An online instructor establishes a teaching presence by facilitating and guiding the learning process of his/her students.

Integration
//**What recommendations and conclusions can you draw from the discussion?**//

1. Online teaching and learning is mediated by the computer. As a result, online teaching faces a greater challenge of creating a social presence than f2f teaching. Siemens (2002) suggested that online learner-learner interaction goes through 4 stages:

a) Communication, b) Collaboration, c) Cooperation, and d) Community.

Siemens suggested that online course usually don't go beyond the first two stages of communication and collaboration. Therefore, an online instructor may focus more on establishing cognitive and teaching presence on his/or her course, rather than on building a temporary 'community'. (Johanne)

2. Some believe that the value of asynchronous communication environments in an online environment is not as effective as synchronous environments in a f2f environment. The argument given by others is the idea that in an asynchronous environment more students will participate who may not contribute in a f2f environment, and that students may contribute more thoughtful reflections in the aysnchronous environment. I think the key here is in the instructional design. Asynchronous communication environments need to be purposeful and carefully moderated. Also, in some instances, the synchronous f2f communication is not an option. (Lisa)

3. Time management needs to be a consideration when building an online or DL environment for your students. Time demands are different then traditional f2f teaching environments and you need to be aware of "what you are getting into". Cavanaugh (2005) identifies time spent teaching online is made up of one-to-one email, phone conversations, discussions groups, chatroom questions and answers, and help in the office. (Lisa)

Resolution/Application
//**How do you plan to apply these "lessons learned" to your final assignment or your own distributed learning context?**//


 * Considerations to make building a DL Environment (Lisa, Ricky)**
 * Ensure the instructional design is appropriate to the technology being used.
 * Although not brought up in our discussion, the technology must be logistically supported. This means you have IT support for the technology and you support your students in the use of the technology. A f2f orientation session to the technology has proved beneficial to some (Menchaca & Bekele, 2008)
 * Set time aside to provide feedback and guidance to your students daily. Students will expect it.
 * To add to Lisa's point, "questioning and feedback to students" is perceived as the most effective instructional method f2f and online by 40 experienced instructors in Steinbronn and Merideth's study. (2007) (Ricky)


 * Applying Lessons Learned (Johanne)**
 * Establish a social, cognitive, teaching presence online. Simply putting students together in asynchronous discussions does not ensure meaningful learning is taking place. Such discussions have to be facilitated in order for meaningful learning to occur. Also, challenging topics and questions will develop higher order thinking skills (analysis, application) of students.
 * A 'community of inquiry' is one where social, cognitive and teaching presence are present: students are developing their higher order thinking skills. A community of learners in an online course could simply mean that it has a social presence (and not necessarily a cognitive and/or teaching presence). Hara and Kling (2001) reported that instructor competence is more important that social interaction in an online course.
 * Walker (2002) stated that "distance education is just as much a performance as classroom teaching" (p. 100). I agree because sound pedagogy (student-centered teaching, social constructivist learning, feedback, zones of proximal development, etc.) apply to teaching, regardless if it is online or not.

Top Themes (Laura, Johanne, Lisa, Ricky)

 * 1) Many factors combine to create quality education regardless of delivery system. The question is, what is quality teaching and learning experience? (Glenn & Berry, 2005). Lots of information out there about best practices and how to handle yourself as an online instructor. A community of //inquiry// in an online course is established through social presence (participants feel free to exchange ideas in a community of learners), cognitive presence (higher order thinking skills such as analysis and application of knowledge) and teaching presence (teacher facilitates and guides learning towards cognitive goals)
 * 2) Combining synchronous and asynchronous activities provides a more effective learning experience and reaches more learners in both f2f and online environments. Some agree that asynchronous discussion is more valuable because they can better reflect and answer posts and would not necessarily participate in a synchronous discussion. Online interaction in distributed learning may appeal to certain personality types and learners and not to others. For example, solitary learners don't like to socially interact in asynchronous discussions. Asynchronous discussions are different that f2f ones. An asynchronous discussion does not necessarily proceed linearly through time. It can go off simultaneously in different directions. Thus, the need for its instructor to facilitate asynchronous discussions to ensure that they develop and reach meaningful conclusions. Asynchronous discussions have the advantage of allowing students time to reflect and construct meaningful answers. As well, discussions can go on for hours or days. Disadvantages of asynchronous discussions are that communication is more difficult that f2f because non-verbal and tone of voice cues are absent. Finally, asynchronous discussions reward students with good writing skills. For those who don’t it may appear that they don’t know the subject matter well.
 * 3) Work smarter, not harder. Create processes and design activities in such as way that instructor's workload is manageable. Warnings in a blended environment to not find yourself teaching two courses as you make up separate materials for your online and f2f portions (Dabbagh, 2001)
 * 4) Online learners may not be prepared for changing role - decision to enroll in an online course is often not informed. Instructors need to be aware of learner expectations regarding instructor and student roles and instructors need to explicitly manage those expectations (Glenn & Berry, 2005)
 * 5) Instructing online is a developmental process. Cut yourself some slack as a novice online instructor (Morris, 2006)
 * 6) Instructing online can benefit your f2f classroom instruction. Teaching in a DL environment can also improve our face to face teaching as it forces us to be very specific and clear about expectations etc
 * 7) It's almost a belief system in online education that students must interact in collaborative learning activities (discussions, group projects) in order to learn. In asynchronous discussions, it is assumed that students are developing their critical thinking skills. It's almost impossible to accurately assess if they are. (Johanne)
 * 8) How an online instructor can //accurately// assign marks to thousands of asynchronous discussion postings is somewhat a mystery. For example, a posting mentioned a teacher who used analytic program. However, I wonder if an f2f teacher used such a program to monitor live discussions: what would be the results? (Johanne)
 * 9) Online teaching and f2f teaching are different with respect to how each builds a community of learners in a course. Online teachers have to rely mainly on asynchronous discussions to build such a community. f2f teachers can more easily establish such a community through f2f social interactions in their classrooms. (Johanne)
 * 10) Online learning is dominated by the social constructivist theory of collaborative learning. However, 'constructivism' can also include 'cognitive' constructivism where it's possible for an independent learner to develop his/her critical thinking skills through reading and personal reflection. (Johanne)
 * 11) Is social interaction necessary for teaching in a DL environment? Much of the talk in all threads seems to center around the discussion board
 * when and how do we create a community of inquiry?
 * what value is there in online forums?
 * what controls are required?
 * how much instructor involvement is required?
 * how will it be graded?

12. There are many similarities between f2f and online teaching. As long as teachers are able and willing to make some modifications/adaptations to their teaching practices, they should be able to transition from f2f to online. (Ricky)

20th Century & 21st Century Teachers [] Technology and the Terrified Teachers [] Digital World: Teachers Today [] (Meghan)
 * Videos **

**Cartoons** (Meghan) []

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[] Teaching in a DL Environment - References