Online teaching philosophy

There are many ways of working online - think of it as a continuum that ranges from ‘everything online’ to sending the odd (occasional!) email to participants. Once you get used to using e-technologies it’s very easy to get carried away with the possibilities of working online, or with great gadgets. There are so many cool tools to play with.

The main focus is always on the learners or community members and meeting their needs. As far as one can, given current technology, it’s about personalising the learning. So a couple of good questions to ask yourself are:

What learning philosophy underpins my practice?

How can I ensure that I remain true to my preferred style online?

Why is this important?

Unless you understand your own preferred philosophy of learning, it’s hard to make the switch to the online world, or choose an appropriate tool or e-learning process to use. Confused? Time for some food for thought.

Stephen Downes writes about an emerging pedagogy that will continue to impact on our learning world. This 'New Pedagogy' is provided courtesy of Stephen’s speech, 10 Years After (PPT. 4.8 MB) given at NAWeb October, 2004.

In Downes' view, the new pedagogy is moving ...

From		To	New pedagogy
Linear	to	Multi-threaded	The idea of a web rather than a (causal) chain
Static	to	Dynamic	Learning, not as books (objects), but as a resource, flowing, like water, electricity, always available, always on.
Content	to	Experience	Moving away from the idea of ‘delivery’, toward the idea of immersion, interaction.
Demonstration	to	Inference	Seeing learning as what people do, rather than as what people are told.
Objectives	to	Goals	The locus of control is changing ('locus' = focal point or centre). Learning ‘objectives’ are not pre-set by a designer, or teacher. Learning is what people do, to reach their goals!
Uniformity	to	Diversity	From standardisation to personalisation

New Pedagogy

It’s important to note that while the level of technology may not yet fully support the ‘New Pedagogy’ and the full personalisation of learning, as envisaged by Downes (2004), it’s worth bearing in mind, as we explore e-learning options, in the light of the upcoming 'digital natives' (Prensky 2002), that is, those born into the current the world of information and communications technology (ICT).

In the meantime the impetus is there for educators to move from Didactic (Sage on the Stage) to Facilitative (Guide on the Side).

Why? The possibilities the e-world presents challenge us to shift our thinking about the world of learning and the changing role of educators from being a ‘sage on the stage’ towards playing a role that could be described more as a ‘guide on the side’ (McCown and Driscoll 1995). These possibilities offer fabulous opportunities to explore different ways to support learners’ needs.

New e-tools and the Web lend themselves to educators who are creative in their thinking, at the facilitative end of the continuum and to those who build in active learning as an essential component of their practice. Time will tell!