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Virtually there: Tapping, Tinkering and Teaching
Online
The written word may have begun
as a pale, imperfect reflection of the spoken language but in our time,
as David Olson (1994) notes,
"Far from writing being mere transcription
of speech, writing is coming to be seen as
providing a model for speech itself.... our understanding of the world,...and
our understanding of ourselves, ... are by-products of our ways of
interpreting and creating written texts, of living in a world on paper"
(p.8 and 19).
Observations like these are fueling a strong interest in understanding
the role of text-based learning in both synchronous and asynchronous
environments. We are creating a world of digital bits with many forms
of
written talk, collective monologues and other representations of shared
minds. This panel consists of leading online educators with extensive
experience in synchronous "written conversations" and asynchronous
conferencing as vital components of graduate level teaching. How do
these mediums shape learning? How is similar or different than what
takes place in classrooms? And what happens when you add hypermodels
and simulations to the mix?
The pre-conferencing will begin on May 27 with Linda Harasim serving
as the moderator of an online discussion on The Global Educators' Network
(GEN). GEN is an international forum that brings together communities
of educators from around the world. The Global Educators Network is
one of many models for sharing ideas and leveraging experience and expertise
in telelearning
models and methods. The Global Educators' Network uses VGroups, the
Virtual-U conferencing system developed at SimonFraser University, to
support the seminars. NECC participant are welcome come and join the
discussion.
The pre-conferencing will serve two overlapping goals:
The first will be to share ideas about the different ways in which the
online instructors structure their courses. Each of the presenters will
invite the participants to visit their teaching
and learning spaces, examine teaching tools, or review course projects
and activities. These visits might
include real time visits to Tapped In, Exploration of Harvard's Education
with New Technologies, Demonstrations of Hypermodels from Concord's
virtual
High School, as well as examples of course materials, activities and
assessment. These visits will help provide a rich background of the
panel members in terms of the learning spaces they have created. This
will help prepare for the discussion at NECC.
The second goal of pre-conferencing will be to provide a wider audience
to the planning and structuring of the session. As the presenters talk
about the different forms of interaction possible in a live session,
we will be open to ideas of the participants. For example, the online
participants might want to form a focus group to direct questions to
the panelists. They could formulate a set of questions. Or, they might
persuade the panelists
to take different positions on difficult issues surrounding online instruction.
The overall goal of the preconference is provide create a panel that
understands how their different approaches intersect, overlap and diverge
and to help structure the presentation to meet the needs of the NECC
audience.
We invite you to share our methods and measures for teaching online
in the digital age.
Olson, D.K. (1994). The world on paper: The conceptual and cognitive
implications of reading and writing. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge
University Press.
Session Participants:
Margaret Riel
Robert Tinker
Linda Harasim
Sherry Hsi
Curtis J. Bonk
Linda G. Polin
Stone Wiske
Beginning 27 May, You are invited to Join the NECC
Planning Discussion. We looking forward to your ideas!
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