Instructional Technology
Conference 2005
Proposal #15
Title: Facilitating Learning Online: Faculty as Distance Learners
Name: Julia Peace
Audience Level: All
Audience: This presentation will be useful for all conference attendees
Length:
1 hour
Abstract:
Often the online classroom environment requires faculty to change their teaching methods, course management procedures, and interaction strategies. As faculty are called upon to teach in the online environment, training, both technical and pedagogical, must be provided. This session describes an facilitated online course about the theory and practice of facilitating online learning.
Description:
Student enrollment in distance learning classes is increasing at a rapid rate. For example, distance education enrollments for all University System of Georgia institutions increased by 25% in FY2004 over the previous year. Often the online classroom environment requires faculty to change their teaching methods, course management procedures, and interaction strategies. As faculty are called upon to teach in the online environment, training, technical and pedagogical, must be provided. What should be the characteristics of a training program? Research by Pankowski (2004) showed that, while most faculty receive adequate technical training, the same was not true for pedagogical training.
Advanced Learning Technologies (ALT), a central office unit of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, has as one of its missions to promote utilization of technology-enhanced learning. Formal and informal needs analysis by ALT indicated a strong need to provide faculty with online facilitation skills in support of online learning throughout Georgia. In collaboration with Research Design Education Associates (RDEA), ALT created a 10-week online course to be lead by a faculty member experienced in delivering superior facilitated online courses in higher education. Course designers decided that the training should replicate as much as possible the actual online learning experience. While the course was not intended to teach specific technical skills related to any course management system, the course was created in WebCT Vista, which was adopted by the University System of Georgia institutions.
Training that focuses on mastery of technical skills is necessary if faculty are to use the technology effectively in their online classrooms. Clearly, faculty must be able to manipulate the course management software successfully; they must be able to get their course content online, make the links, set up the quizzes and the grade book, etc. However, faculty need also to understand other critical elements of effective online courses: the importance of engaging learners in an online community, the need for providing multiple modes of content delivery, the desirability of activities that promote active learning, and the need to plan required opportunities for collaboration within the scope of the course.
Participating faculty experienced various instructional and technological delivery methods from the student perspective while acquiring skills in using many of the basic features of Vista. Collaborative exercises provided opportunities for participants to construct understanding by exposing them to multiple perspectives and interpretations. Participants used the discussions area to build collections of best practices and of web-based resources.
Session Type: Lecture/Presentation
Contact information/affiliation:
Julia Peace
Advanced Learning Technologies
Board of Regents
University System of Georgia
2075 Amberly Glen Way
Dacula, GA 30019
julia.peace@usg.edu
Equipment: Digital projector such as InFocus and cables for laptop computer (Windows)