Transcript Teaching online

Moving a class out of the
traditional setting and onto the
internet
Using our knowledge of traditional
classrooms to create online
learning communities
“Opening Classroom Doors: Integrating
language learning communities”
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Two powerful metaphors
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Opening classroom doors
Language learning communities
Explore these concepts in the context of
online teaching and learning
Thinking together today
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Applying an ESL/EFL method to our
thinking about opening classroom
doors and integration of language
learning communities
I. Think
 II. Pair
 III. Share
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Classroom doors: closed &
opened
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Closed….
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students learn that their study is not useful
Think the
about
these metaphors
outside
classroom
& has no real world
value a closed
What’s
classroom door?
II. Pair
Compare
ideas
with those of a
Why’syour
that
a problem?
Open….
colleague
sitting
beside you.door?
What’s
an
open
classroom
 students learn to apply their work and to
Why’s
that
something
expand
their
learning to strive for?
What’s a “learning
community”?
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Students and teacher in a relationship
Supportive of each other’s learning
Think
about
the
classes
you
teach….
 Aware of the learning goals and purposes
II. Pair
of Compare
the group
your ideas with those of a
Howcolleague
dotogether
yousitting
see
the
students
you.individual and
 Working
tobeside
achieve
group and
goalsyourself forming
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a “learning community”?
What is an “online class”?
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Not CALL (computer assisted language
learning) but the regular, traditional class
moved to a new environment
Online class = the full complete class but
moved into a new setting
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No traditional classroom meeting space
No traditional classroom meeting time
Teachers teach & students study (and learn)…
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the basic tasks and purposes and relationships need to
remain the same
Reasons for teaching online
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Traditional class organization is built on an
impossibility…
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It is NOT possible for all students to show up at the same
time of day on the same days of the week and everyone to
be
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Prepared & Ready to learn
Awake and focused
Nor does the traditional model allow for the variety of
personalities that we know we have in our students….shyer,
less aggressive, less confident about speaking up
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Traditional models are perfect for extraverts and terrifically
hard on quieter, more introverted thinkers and learners
Reasons for teaching online:
Benefits for Students
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Students can experience a new style of learning that they can
use in other settings.
Students are more on the spot to be prepared.
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The traditional model encourages students to see class time as
“down time” when the teacher is in charge of the show…and they
can do quite a bit of daydreaming.
Students have more control over their own learning.
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They can control the order in which they do tasks.
They can control the time of the day when they participate in the
course.
Shyer students have time to think before they have to interact with
other students.
Students with more limited language skills have time to write and
revise before they have to communicate.
Reasons for teaching online:
Benefits for Teachers
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More individualization
Giving students power & responsibility for
their own learning
Finding out what is happening in the small
groups
Easier access to multimedia materials…with
sound and color
Easier access to the world beyond the
classroom with links to the enormous variety
of sites available on the Internet
Challenges for Teachers
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Students can get lost….confused about what
to do and when.
Technology will fail.
Plans must be made in detail ahead of time.
Most importantly….special care must be taken
to create a community of learners who are
working together to achieve both their
individual and group goals
Background thinking as we
plan an online class
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Start by thinking about the classes we already teach
Do NOT start with the technology but with what we
know about teaching and about working with
students
Before we talk about the online version of our
classes….let’s just review the things that we expect
to happen in regular classes
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What do students do as part of a traditional class in a
traditional classroom setting?
What do teachers do in a traditional class in a traditional
classroom setting?
How do teachers create learning communities out of
randomly selected sets of students…groups that are thrown
together by the accidents of the school system?
What are classes for learners?
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Things that students do….
Read & Write
 Talk & Listen
Think
about the classes you teach….
 Work with other students
II. Pair
 Work with the teacher
Compare your ideas with those of a
you
expect
students
 What
Thingsdo
that
students
colleague
sittinglearn…
beside
you. to do?
What
do youClasses:
expect
students to
 Language
Communication
in learn?
L2
 Teacher Development classes: Teaching the L2
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What do teachers do to make
a class happen?
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Things that teachers do….
Plan & Organize
Think
about the classes you teach….
 Connect the curriculum to particular
classes & particular
II. Pair students
What
do&you
aswith
thethose
teacher?
Compare
yourdo
ideas
of a
 Listen
Talk
colleague
sitting
beside
you. the class
What actions
do
you
take
to
make
 Read & Write
happen?
 Intervene to help individuals & groups
 Assess learning
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Need for a learning
community in an online course
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Online learning fails unless students become engaged
with the teacher and with other students.
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Drop out rates are very high in online courses that do not
involve communication and relationships with other people.
Successful learning online (as elsewhere) requires
development of a group….a community….a class
through which learners support each other in the
learning of the content
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Successful learning online reminds us that learning is not
just about the content but about the ways that learners
engage with the content and with each other.
In second language learning, we’ve talked about problems
with the teacher-centered class and encouraged studentcentered classes. Now we realize the importance of moving
to a powerful vision that includes the teacher as one of the
learners in “learning centered classes.”
Creating a virtual community
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Clear & important tasks that connect to the purposes
of the course and that require communication
Clear & regularly scheduled tasks and events that
connect to the purposes of the course and that
require communication
Purposeful discussions with clear, definite
requirements for participation
Communication….focused and ongoing and clearly
connected to the purposes of the course
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With the teacher
With other students
Small group communication
Small groups &
communication
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Research in “small group communication”
Face-to-face groups function most effectively with
10-12 members
Online groups need to be much smaller…with about
5-6 members of the group
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5-6 people sending 5-6 email message a week = 20+ email
messages to process and respond to = a heavy reading and
time burden with more than 5-6 people in the group
The voice of the individual is harder to “hear” when more
than 5-6 people are in an email discussion group
Keeping up with the development of the discussion over
time becomes almost impossible with more than 5-6 people
contributing to the discussion
Having only 5-6 people means that no one can “hide out”
and not be visible to the group members
For example….my English grammar
course for ESL/EFL teachers
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All class sessions are held online & we never meet face-to-face
All class events and group interactions, including lectures and
discussion groups are provided online
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Students do the same things they do in other courses….
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Read the textbook & other assigned readings
Talk with me about their ideas and confusion (email)
Talk with other students in small groups of 5-6 students about teaching grammar
(online discussion in WebCT Vista)
Listen to my lectures (on the web)
Take quizzes about the grammar (on the web)
Write papers (emailed to me)
I do the same things I do in other classes…
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Read the same things assigned to the students and provide
Lecture on related content (on the web)
Encourage students who seem confused or lost (email and sometimes phone and
sometimes in person in my office)
Oversee the work of small groups to help them stay focused (online discussion in
WebCT Vista)
Remind students about requirements (email)
Read and evaluate papers and assign grades (grades are stored and computed on
WebCT Vista)
Online success
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Not about computers….
Not about technology….
But a result of building on our knowledge
about how learning most effectively happens
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Creating a community of learners who work
together to do the tasks required for
learning…reading, writing, thinking, talking,
working with fellow students and the teacher to
carry out the tasks