tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843318100269181285.post5881789267131064545..comments2023-07-23T03:40:58.007-07:00Comments on Metawriting by Deanna Mascle: NOT The Trouble With Online EducationDMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15881752611180884741noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843318100269181285.post-65122256467593695952013-01-27T12:59:40.290-08:002013-01-27T12:59:40.290-08:00Gosh, this post has sparked a degree of exchange a...Gosh, this post has sparked a degree of exchange and I understand why. I am like other posters conflicted by on-line learning. I have to admit that I have registered for but so far never managed to complete an on-line course. <br /><br />I certainly have a sense of wanting the physical presence of other students, this seems to enable a stringer emotional engagement. This of course is not to place on-line or lecture beside each other. I loved being a Doctoral student. But have nodded off after a long day at work to many an internationally renowned speaker. <br /><br />In the end the question is not on-line or face to face but one of redefining pedagogy to acknowledge the varying ways in which we communicate. As much as technology redefines the social - who we are and how we live together - the idea that teaching should be insulated from this change doesn't chime. There are institutional reasons why on-line course don't work with many (perhaps some) Universities (in the UK) seeing them as a cheap alternative. <br /><br />I think they change the nature of communication, allow for more and different types of engagement, and when done well offer considerable scope. Not inherently better or worse, but different, enabling possibilities that face-to-face does not allow. Dr Carol Azumah Dennishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08687234164386070882noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843318100269181285.post-75827285695433964882013-01-23T06:20:11.744-08:002013-01-23T06:20:11.744-08:00Exactly! I think some folks get hung up on the ide...Exactly! I think some folks get hung up on the idea of the technology and tools providing an additional filter between student and instructor but, of course, the traditional classroom brings with it a lot of filters as well.DMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15881752611180884741noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843318100269181285.post-68206979293075911212013-01-23T06:18:15.023-08:002013-01-23T06:18:15.023-08:00You are so right! Thoughtful decisions are the key...You are so right! Thoughtful decisions are the key - what works for you, your students, and your content - those are really the issues that matter. Although the more I experiment the more that I learn being open to new ideas and willing to give them a try may lead you in directions you never thought possible.DMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15881752611180884741noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843318100269181285.post-85772960218592721502013-01-23T06:16:28.870-08:002013-01-23T06:16:28.870-08:00Thanks DJ - I love the brain time isn't equal ...Thanks DJ - I love the brain time isn't equal to butt time because that sums it up quite beautifully for me!DMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15881752611180884741noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843318100269181285.post-56502874264974498532013-01-21T12:34:05.027-08:002013-01-21T12:34:05.027-08:00A very insightful critique, Deanna!
I've nev...A very insightful critique, Deanna! <br /><br />I've never experienced online coursework or education -- as a teacher or student. About five years ago, I would have argued the same point as Edmundson in the Op-Ed you linked to above: "Online education is a one-size-fits-all endeavor. It tends to be a monologue and not a real dialogue." And by extension, "real dialogue" only happens in face-to-face classes, particularly those that are smaller in size.<br /><br />However, as I've accumulated more experience as a college instructor, and now, professor, I'd argue that "real dialogue" can happen in any forum; it's not really the physical space or lack thereof that matters. Again, while I haven't taught/enrolled in online classes, dialogue in digital spaces has become an important component of my identity and development as a pedagogue and scholar (and not to mention member of the profession). If I can find/create/synthesize intellectual community online, why couldn't students, given the right opportunities?<br />amyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08783042180494824518noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843318100269181285.post-83378170348946389272013-01-20T06:03:40.382-08:002013-01-20T06:03:40.382-08:00I am currently adapting two of my courses To be of...I am currently adapting two of my courses To be offered online instead of in the classroom. They are very different courses and will require very different modes of presentation online, but I think the key is for us to make thoughtful decisions about how best to present the material so that students learn (and we learn from them!). There is no "right" or "wrong" beyond the mandate that knowledge be created between students and faculty.JuniorProfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08659975542784644600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843318100269181285.post-52954297408652180352013-01-18T07:16:06.879-08:002013-01-18T07:16:06.879-08:00You're spot on with the idea that we need inno...You're spot on with the idea that we need innovation in both online and onsite classes. I teach one class that has students both onsite and online and others that are (at least on paper) onsite only. But I post all of the course materials—lecture video in the "blended" course and lecture notes in the onsite courses—to the web so that all my students have the option to come to class or to work independently. (I'm in a somewhat odd position where I haven't quite figured out how to make collaboration work for me.) <br /><br />What makes it work, though, it that I believe in the mantra of a former department head who said that "brain time isn't equal to butt time"; that is, the time a student spends in his seat (listening to a lecture) doesn't correlate with what they* learn. <br /><br />I teach writing in an engineering program, and I want students to learn to write engineering reports. So one of my assignment says, "Critique the abstracts of three papers relevant to your research work in terms of the standards for abstracts given in X, Y, and/or Z resources." Instead of sitting on their butts in my class, the students spend their time studying the principles from X, Y, and/or Z on their own and then applying those principles in their critiques. It's not really less "butt time," but it's much more *engaged* time. (And if I put my mind to it, I think I could build in some of your collaborative work, too....O)<br /><br />From what I see in this blog, I think you're doing exactly the right thing with your classes. And I, too, hate the popular pabulum that online learning just can't measure up to the best of lecturers. I'm sorry, but while I know education has some of the same "star power" that Hollywood does, I also know that many excellent educators work long and hard for little recognition to do work that does as much or more for the students. Sure, some teachers are not as good as others, but in what discipline is that not true? <br /> <br />And universities are indeed hugely short-sighted in not funding distance education to make it as good as it should be—but they also aren't doing anything about the dull, educationally bankrupt lectures that go on in all too many onsite classes, too. So I don't think we can fault them for one without the other. But that's another point well taken.<br /><br />I admire your willingness to address all these things in your blog!<br /><br />(*Yes, I use the singular "they" intentionally.) <br />djwhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01592073218947095173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843318100269181285.post-28842060146440872442013-01-18T05:24:42.730-08:002013-01-18T05:24:42.730-08:00You are exactly right. Many institutions don't...You are exactly right. Many institutions don't provide the support to help instructors learn how to design engaging and effective classes. Similarly, many assign online classes to instructors without ever paying attention to effective teaching. At my own institution there is no oversight at all and I know there is huge variation in the effectiveness but no one checks -- despite the fact students pay a hefty extra fee for the privilege of taking an online class. It is a huge moneymaker for the university but that money is not used to actually support instruction.DMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15881752611180884741noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843318100269181285.post-19828359262683724172013-01-17T12:36:28.258-08:002013-01-17T12:36:28.258-08:00I admit I'm conflicted about online courses. I...I admit I'm conflicted about online courses. I deeply believe in the benefits of the digital humanities, so it may seem counterintuitive that I'm not completely on board with online courses. I firmly believe that online courses do increase access to education, which is great. I haven't taught an online class yet, partly because I'm a little afraid of designing a bad course and I also haven't had the opportunity yet. <br /><br />I have TA'd for online classes that have been wonderfully engaging, but I've also TA'd for online classes that were disasters, both in terms of student engagement and pedagogy. I think that's where my real concerns lie - in the pedagogy. I have seen (and heard) of a lot of laziness in designing online courses (including the horror of basically transcribing lecture notes and throwing them on the course site) and there can also be a lack of institutional support to help profs design good courses. That doesn't mean we shouldn't try; that's not what I'm saying. I just worry that so many don't try and think of it as an easy way to teach, without changing their method at all.<br /><br />See? I said I was conflicted!Jodi A. Campbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04049368949080807185noreply@blogger.com