PPEL, Unit 2, Task 1

UNIT 2: ONLINE TEACHING TECHNIQUES


Annotated Bibliography to “Online Teaching Techniques":

Finding, studying and sharing materials related to online teaching techniques and organizing it together with ideas and thoughts in an annotated bibliography on your blog.


The next three articles are the result of my research of Online Teaching Techniques.


• ebook Learning networks: A field guide to teaching and learning online, Linda Marie Harasim, 1995, chapter 6, Teaching Online, (p. 173)

According to the author's own words: "Teaching online is a genuinely enjoyable intellectual experience. (...) This chapter explores techniques that can be used to improve the probability that using CMC will result in a rich and enjoyable intellectual and social experience for all the participants and to decrease the probability that problems will arise. These techniques apply to online teaching regardless of the course design that is chosen and regardless of the level or type of education".
This chapter includes issues such as:
• Role of the Teacher
• Setting the Stage
• Forming Groups
• Assigning Role Responsibilities
• Moderating and Facilitating Group Processes
-- Meta-Communication
-- Weaving
-- Ending Conferences
-- Socio-Emotional Issues
• Moving from Teacher to Facilitator
• The Problem of Laboratories



• Modelling New Skills for Online Teaching, Salter, G. and Hansen, S., 1999

In this article, G. Salter and S. Hansen write about the need to model new teaching strategies and skills required for teaching successfully, and the need to provide a clear structure for activities, in an online environment:

Methods for teaching online include:
• Asynchronous Computer Mediated Communication (eg. email, discussion groups)
• Synchronous Computer Mediated Communication (eg. chats, desktop videoconferencing, groupware)
• Online Assessment
• Learning Resources
• Documents (eg. lecture notes, readings)
• Multimedia (interactive or otherwise)
• Links to external resources
• Student Prepared Material

Methods to structure online activities include:
• Requiring a deliverable (eg. plans, designs, papers, portfolios etc)
• Limiting the scope of activities in terms of size and/or time
• Providing closure to activities
• Actively moderating discussions
• Conducting collaborative projects
• Interacting with guest speakers
• Debates & role plays
• Surveys & polls
• Formation of learning teams
• Brainstorming

However, Prof. Morten Paulsen provides a wider range of pedagogical techniques for CMC in his article "The Online Report on Pedagogical Techniques for Computer-Mediated Communication":




• ebook Tools for Teaching, Barbara Davis, 2009, Selecting textbooks, readings, and course materials (p. 12)

In the chapter "Selecting textbooks, readings, and course materials" of her ebook Tools for Teaching, Barbara Davis demonstrates a lot of care choosing materials for online teaching. She gives us a set of very wise and practical suggestions, such as:
• Choose textbooks and reading assignments that reflect your learning outcomes
• Avoid requiring students to purchase a textbook you have authored
• Consider a range of criteria in selecting textbooks
• Assign a mix of texts and articles, including some current items
• Be mindful of the high cost of textbooks
• Compare the costs and benefits of electronic and paper textbooks
• Consider coursepacks
• Plan how to handle errors in the textbook
• Prepare a set of tips for students on how to use the textbook and readings
• Be aware of your students’ workload
Given the high cost of books at present, these suggestions prove to be very useful, particularly the possibility of respecting copyright, students can access the Web to get ebooks and articles for their research or their study.
Another issue that the author considers in this set of suggestions concerns the management of students' workload, which in a university like UAb, where most students have family and professional obligations that take them a lot of time, is an important issue to take in consideration.