Online Teaching Strategies

Introduction

Technology will never replace a teacher, and as the quote on the main page says, “Any teacher that can be replaced by technology, deserves to be”. Technology can perform functions, it can follow routines, and it can augment our abilities. Technology cannot form relationships, adapt quickly to social cues, or make personal connections between curriculum and the end learner – that would be the role of the teacher.

However, the increased use of online learning to eliminate the boundaries of time and space has put more emphasis on using technology to bring authentic learning with human interaction, despite the fact the humans aren’t in the same room. Many schools, including NS schools, have students that have never met their teachers face-to-face, yet are expected to cover the same curriculum as traditional classrooms. With increasing need for specialized training, limited resources, and a global demand for education, online courses are becoming common.

The problem with online courses is that teachers can allow the technology to drive the curriculum, and not the other way around. Posting online notes and then running a automated multiple-choice quiz to test how well we memorized the content is no different than posting the notes on an overhead and passing a similar quiz out on paper – the technology only makes it more efficient for the teacher. Engaging the student is the key in the classroom, and it is the key to the online classroom.

As an online educator, we need to find ways to interact with students, such as employing social networks to encourage collaboration. We need to find ways to bring the content with synchronous and asynchronous multimedia experiences that can engage the sense despite being separated by geography and time. We need to understand that online education is a better solution to the physical classroom. It is a balance between sacrificing some human interaction for an experience that could not occur otherwise.

Module Activity

Take the student perspective and learn a language at http://duolingo.com/ then compare it to your experience as a student having a physically-present teacher/technology mix. Obviously you do not have to be fluent with the time you have :-)

When you evaluate your choice, you should consider the following:

• Is this more efficient and effective than current practice? Make a chart of the pros and cons of distance education based on this experience.

• Describe your impressions of using an application that uses a degree of artificial intelligence to engage virtually in the absence of another human. How could a virtual teacher enhance the learning process over a single application?

• Does the content match NS curriculum? Are we giving up a regional identity by relying more on virtual tools for instruction?

• Do your students have adequate access to the necessary technology?

• Can you use these tools and still fall within PIIDPA/FOIPOP?

.... or a Project Extension

In your project, look for digital synchronous and synchronous activities. If there is a component where you will be teaching online in terms of both instruction and assessment, create a relevant lesson. This could be a video that explains a concept and has an associated assessment online - or could be a live presentation where the audience is not physically present. Your lesson should use technology to engage students, as you will not have face-to-face interaction.