Course approach
People used to ask 'How did you do that?' when showed the use of technologies in teaching and staff development work; now they ask harder questions such as:
- How do you identify what works?
- How do you know what you're doing adds value?
- How do you demonstrate that online learning is effective?
- How does using technology change the experience for the student?
- How does using technology enhance the learning for the student?
This course won't provide answers to all these questions for you, but the questions do demonstrate the approach we are taking to the course, that of critical enquiry into our teaching, student support and staff development work. For instance, for the first part of the course (Week 1), we're going to focus in on questions around 'What works for the individual e-learner?'
Throughout this course we'll ask you to find, consider and critique examples of e-learning techniques and applications. Sometimes this will mean giving feedback directly to each other on your ideas or plans. Our intention is that the giving and receiving of feedback in this way will be supportive, constructive and, ultimately, useful.
On the one hand, we'd like you to give feedback openly and freely to all course members; there is little worse as an online learner than posting up something you've been working on for hours or days only to receive no response at all to it. On the other hand, because of the limitations of communicating in a text based environment, more care and attention is needed when composing online messages than in face to face conversation.
It is important you abide by principles of good practice in working
online (sometimes known as Netiquette). You might like to refresh your
memory of Netiquette principles by reading this guide to Netiquette, or the social conventions of computer conferencing, by Gary Alexander (2000).
References
Alexander, G. (2000). 'Netiquette, or the social conventions of computer conferencing', online at http://lawoflaws.com/uni/OnNetiquetteSocialConventions.htm, accessed Jan 2013
