Planning Innovations in Online Teaching

This week we focused on improving our online teaching techniques using Bender’s suggestions. Similar to Week 3’s format, each person in the group identified strategies that can be helpful in facilitating our Web Conference sessions.

The major themes that emerged in our discussions included:
Team teaching and shared teaching : It is common to use these two terms interchangeably but the method of collaborating is different. Shared teaching, which is essentially taking turns to deliver instruction, is deemed to be easier; team teaching, on the other hand requires more coordination in the sense that both instructors are “on the floor” at the same time. The fluidity of the session can be compromised if they are not pursuing the same objectives, or at times, possess markedly different styles. Experiences were shared about the challenges and benefits of both techniques.

The group also discussed the difficulties of using chats for reflective discussions. The speed and multiple tasks to attend to during such sessions do not secure it high marks for more deliberate thoughts. Threaded discussions and blogs are better tools to move the learning events higher in Bloom’s Taxonomy.

I liked how David and Linda packaged the above topics nicely. Both wrote about the reinforcing relationship between team teaching and chatting. The former (sharing responsibilities of the classroom space at the same time) can provide structure for the latter to make it more effective. While this may seem common sense, this link was put together so insightfully. Greg also provided an example of possibly organizing a chat session via a round-robin approach.

Maria suggested the use of electronic library shelf which will provide references for learners. I thought this was a good idea to address various types of learners: visual learners who need visual stimulation either through graphics or text; “thinkers” who prefer the ability to deepen their learning by pursuing more information at their own pace; and reflective who prefer to challenge their mental models and constantly seek ways to improve these.

David also suggested using Virtual Tours as a way of offering tours of simulation tools to learners. After describing his ideas he asked for inputs on improving these. I thought that my best contribution for the week was in addressing his question through combining declarative, procedural and higher order thinking activities to move the learners to a more relevant appreciation of the topic. While this is something I regularly use in face-to-face sessions, Marilyn expressed confidence that it can work online as well.

And so we continue with the work at hand...finalizing our facilitation plans, hopefully brimming with more engaging ideas we learned this week.