We have been through massive changes in technology in the 25 years I've worked in Information Technology. The growth and changes in technology have been overwhelming. We add or adapt to a new technology and barely get time to take a breath before another one is on the horizon. Not only has technology grown exponentially in general, but online education specifically has been significnatly affected by the changes. For example, "online enrollments have continued to grow at rates far in excess of the total higher education student population, with the most recent data demonstrating no signs of slowing" (I. Elaine Allen & Jeff Sesman, Sloan Consortium, Learning on Demand, Online Education in the United States, January 2010). Many new online instructors, such as me five years ago, have found that adding an online section isn't the same as simply extending what we did in our face-to-face course. The crest of the initial technology wave as somewhat subsided - although the landscape has been permanently changed. Technology in general, and technology for online learning, is expected as part of the teaching tool set. Yet, it is not always tied clearly into our teaching goals nor directly linked to learning. We may be right at the threshold, but we aren't always sure how to step across.
From my position in Online Technical Education in IT on the University of Montana campus, I notice a large divide. Some professors are busy trying each new technology as it comes along and incorporating it permanently in their courses if it has value. However there is a larger group of professors of all ages and disciplines that are apprehensive about learning something new just to have it replaced with something else. They wish an answer to the question, "will this really provide solid educational value to the students beyond their continued acquaintance with technology?" Many of us also wonder how any of us can cope with the ever accumulating mountains of information and whether technology can help.
In the session, I will discuss what I am learning from informal interviews at The University of Montana and Fisher College in Boston and qualitative research at the University of Montana about what has been working to engage students in learning. We will then take these suggestions, such as more student involvement in the course content and structure, more content that relates to the students' lives, and more challenging and current content that involves a larger slice of life, and show how these can be provided by technology on the simple side. Finally, we will discuss how online content can be presented, in an easy to absorb way, as a precursor to engaged discussion.
This discussion / demonstration will move from stated theories to practical applications with a focus on providing just the right 21st century technology to move us backwards to a more Socratic method in our online courses. Drawing on 23 years of experience with adaptive technology, the ADA team and the Disability Services for Students office, I will also discuss the accessibility issues associated with each suggestion. The title of the talk might alternatively be "Engaging, interactive online teaching for $1.00 a day" or "Forward to the past."
I will demonstrate how chat sessions, screencasts, podcasts, visual communication, wikis and other applications can reduce student cognitive load, provide engaging information, and be done inexpensively; Online, synchronous and asynchronous options can be used by teachers for office visits, small group conversations, discussions and presentations; Screencasts and video communication increase learning through engaging several senses and can provide more readily accessible information. We will cover several ways that simple web cams and a few cheap applications can allow you to communicate more effectively with your online students and set the stage for constructivist, Socratic learning interactions. The discussion will be grounded in theory and research, practical in application, fast-paced, and engaging.
