...puxem de uma cadeira, acomodem-se e disfrutem a viagem pois "as tarefas quotidianas jamais impediram alguém de seguir os seus sonhos" (in As Valquirias, Paulo Coelho)!!!
Síntese do debate em equipa subordinado a autenticidade e transparência na rede.
Tendo em conta o debate desenvolvido, este foi dividido em 2 partes. Cada parte continha 2 perguntas. Na primeira parte o professor colocou as seguintes questões:
Em que medida a nossa identidade digital é um prolongamento da nossa identidade pública ou um campo alternativo de expressão de uma dimensão escondida da nossa personalidade íntima?
O perigo da fraude intelectual (ex.: plágio) aumentou com o advento da internet?
Tendo em conta a primeira questão, esta centrou-se na problemática e na controvérsia em torno da noção de identidade digital. Uma das colegas enumerou o modo como alguns de nos tratamos os nossos dados com alguma leviandade e foi nesse sentido que elaborei a minha intervenção. Pois, considero importante o estar alertado para o modo como tratamos a informação que é sobre a nossa pessoa, visto se por um lado é devemos tratar os assuntos com alguma transparência, por o outro, há que estabelecer limites, como diz o seguinte excerto:
"I don't need to know everything about you, and you don't need to know everything about me. In fact we think some things should be private (like Social Security numbers and bank account numbers). What we REALLY need is the pertinent information AND to get to know each other. (...) BE AUTHENTIC."*
O que somos e como somos é um reflexo da nossa forma de estar e quer esta seja presencial ou online é igualmente o reflexo da nossa vivência em sociedade. Os subterfúgios e/ou estratégias a que recorremos para nos apresentarmos são igualmente um espelho do que somos. É verdade que a internet tem uma componente experimental, porém até mesmo as experiências devem ser lidadas com alguma prudência, visto que passos em falso podem conduzir a areias movediças e é sempre aconselhável saber quem está do outro lado de modo, a interagir, esperemos, de modo transparente.
Esta questão era sobre o perigo da fraude intelectual, nomeadamente plágio, e do seu crescimento com o advento da internet. Penso que nos tempos que correm, e pela experiência que tenho, os alunos estão cada vez mais habituados ao “copy & paste” e muitas das vezes nem reparam na origem do texto, no seu autor e na sua inserção na pesquisa em causa, conferindo depois ao trabalho final, em muitos casos, uma total falta de adaptação ao tema em questão. É necessário desenvolver sensibilidade e apetências para que os alunos ultrapassem esta barreira…e, creio que uma das figuras de 1ª linha para o fazer é o professor, pois este deve auxiliar os alunos a entrar no trilho certo! A internet e a sua multiplicidade de recursos é, sem dúvida, na minha opinião, um grande facilitador do plágio, repare-se que até obras completas podemos encontrar…cabe ao professor auxiliar o aluno a libertar-se da ideia do plágio e da “ilusória facilidade” que este confere para a criação de um texto seu e posterior publicação num blog. Com esta estratégia, o aluno torna-se autor e começa a ganhar a “sensibilidade” desejada pois o seu trabalho ao ser publicado e objecto de referência é partilhado por outros colegas, gerando novas publicações onde a ideia de uma cadeia de partilha de conhecimentos autênticos está subjacente.
Na segunda parte foram abordados os seguintes assuntos:
É possvel alguma entidade particular ou alguém (e se sim, qual ou quem) controlar a rede?
Em que medida a rede é segura e em que medida a informação nela partilhada é confiável? Quem o pode garantir?
Tendo em conta a primeira pergunta sobre a possibilidade de alguém controlar a rede, creio que esse controlo não é viável, pois acho que a internet é “um espaço aberto”, que Lévy descreve como “um universo aberto sem totalidade” onde todos os seus utilizadores têm a liberdade de publicar tudo o que desejarem, desde o mais interessante ao mais “inadequado”.
Relativamente à segunda pergunta, sobre a segurança da rede e sobre a viabilidade da informação que ela comporta, referi que efectivamente deve existir uma entidade, que acredito ser humana apesar de a componente virtual auxiliar muito, que analisa e que separa “o trigo do joio” conferindo à informação organização segundo áreas temáticas, de acordo com autores. Isto porque quando é efectuada uma pesquisa aparecem ligações a outros documentos, estabelecendo pontos de convergência de informação que culminando com uma apresentação de vários tópicos onde são abordadas as temáticas e/ou palavras usadas nos motores de busca. É certo, porém, que se nos dirigirmos a entidades institucionais a viabilidade e autenticidade da informação se torna mais segura, pois estas entidades conferem-lhe esse estatuto e são palpáveis e reais.
This is a very interesting and pertinent article when dealing with transparency in online teaching education for it is about the impact and the pedagogical potential that social networking has as a facilitator of transparency and awareness among students. Bearing in mind that the aim of transparency is “to enable students and teachers to see and follow the work of fellow students and teachers within a learning environment and in that sense to make participants available to each other as resources for their learning activities” it is quite understandable why, according to its authors, it has such a vital role in social networking. The authors throughout the article point out the importance of “being able to see and to be seen” because it is very significant that in an online teaching environment where cooperation is the basis of it that the information that students give about themselves and their work is as transparent as possible for eventual future sharing situations. Bearing in mind the term cooperative, the authors distinguish the existence of three types of learning, being the last one their choice of election:
- Individual learning, which as the name indicates is conducted alone with no interaction of a learning community;
- Collaborative learning, which happens in face-to-face meetings and online education and that requires the input of a group and consequently limits the individual;
- Cooperative learning, which seeks to foster some of the benefits of individual freedom and the benefits of cooperation in online learning communities and that takes place in networks.
Nevertheless being as authentic as possible also raises other controversial questions which are also dealt the level of authenticity and of privacy. Regarding these two questions the authors create a “Transparency Barometer” to analyze them and later in the part dedicated to Cooperative Student Catalogues they point out what they consider essential to be authentic in order to facilitate cooperation: “e-mail address, telephone numbers, chatting identities, information regarding geographical location (e.g. zip-codes) for eventual face-to-face meetings and progress plan information so that students can identify peers who are working with in the same study unit.” But even for these elements the authors also call attention that this private information must be handled carefully and an authorization to make them public is always needed.
In my opinion, the choice of this article is very important for it cleared my mind regarding transparency in online teaching education. I found it also enriching to see how the two authors dealt with the question of authenticity, its impact in the course’s development and in teachers and students’ interactions during the studies.
· Bowles, Michelle. 5 Twitter Tips for Staying Authentic and Transparent. 2009 (28th September)
In 5 Twitter Tips for Staying Authentic and Transparent, Michelle Bowles presents in a very straightforward way five tips on how to be authentic and transparent, which I will start to explain:
1. The first one deals with the placing of a photo and a name for this helps to establish connections with the ones that look at our work or that wish to interact with us, for in fact: “Putting a face and a name behind your Tweets through a photo and brief bio can help followers relate to and connect with your brand.”
2. The second one is regarding personality and it is in favor of showing that in fact we are “real individuals” with feelings and humor for “It doesn’t have to be all business all the time. Have some fun with your Tweets by telling humorous stories or poking a little fun at yourself now and then.”
3. Regarding the third one it is important that you admit when you are wrong, not only because with mistakes we learn, but also because it is part of our nature and people make mistakes and they must also know how to cope with them.
4. On the fourth one, it deals with “Get to know your followers” it is important to be known but it is also important to know who you are dealing with, so this fourth tip is about asking questions simple questions about themselves, such as name, age, interests (nothing too personal).
5. The last one is “Don’t get carried away by your accomplishments” and the tip is that you should not let your success get to your head for it were your followers that gave it to you and that have largely contributed for it. So remember…be modest!
I found this text interesting, easy to read and with good tips regarding our present in Online Teaching Education and one of the sentences that exemplifies what is presented is “Be authentic and transparent in all you do.”
· Hill, Christopher. Principles for improving Online Transparency. 2008 (1st April).
The reading of this article gives emphasis to the idea that a “well-informed student or prospective student – benefits everyone.” In addition, this article depicts the theory that everybody, universities and colleagues only have to gain with transparency and to defend this thought three principles are mentioned and explained for the institutions that seek and want transparency.
1. Make distance education a central element of your mission – if you are dealing in fact with distance learning make sure that you are ready for it and be prepared, so that your students may have access to all resources online in order to carry out a good quality program;
2. Accountability to stakeholders – deals with giving adequate information to students about the content of the course-study, who teaches it and who is present for future questions that any prospective students may have related to the course itself;
3. Responsiveness – means that an educational institution must be prepared to respond quickly to an online-student so that he may have feedback as soon as possible within 24 to 48 hours;
I feel this article points out several aspects that need to be taken into account when we are confronted with the problem of being and of creating transparency in online teaching. According to Michael Offerman, president of Capella University: “To meet the education needs of adult students, we must provide them with trustworthy and transparent ways to choose among many available options and to gauge the potential of each one to further their careers. The goal of the program is to lead universities and colleges toward greater accountability and transparency.”
· Dalsgaard, Christian. Social Networking Sites: Transparency in Online Education.
An excellent approach on the pedagogical potentials of networking sites bearing in mind the fact that these sites are a combination of personalization and socialization regarding those that in a transparent way truly take part in them. According to this study when students take part in these networking sites and publish their thinking, aims, works and share it with others they are being transparent, that is they “have insight into each other’s work, thoughts, andproductions.” Taking into account this idea student’s personal information becomes known to others through the process of sharing in a larger scale – a social network – and in this sense the notion of a social group with similar interests and relations emerges. Through this scenario we can observe the immense potential of these “social networking sites”, which the author reveals as “a supplement to other tools” for according to him “the potential of social networking lies within transparency and the ability to create awareness between students – potentially across institutions and nations.”
This challenging and amazing reading delves into the impact of social networking sites and the transparency that they involve when dealing with online teaching.
This interesting article aims to the use of transparency in Online Teaching and describes one of the strategies used to develop this idea of transparency at NKI Distance Education and the impact they had in it. In order to develop, promote transparency and future situations with it, a profile was created where students are given the choice to do their presentations and t publish them in an “open catalogue”, by clicking the “global visibility checkbox” in their profile. Later, when analyzed the impact of this measure, the following conclusions were achieved:1. “… most presentations act as favorable homepages that focus on the students’ achievements.”
2. “The users are excellent ambassadors for NKI when they share their presentation with others. They provide a lot of relevant information for prospective students and key words for the search engines.”
3. “…the fact that so many serious, hard-working and successful students are willing to share achievements and experiences in an open, online catalogue is valuable for the field of online education.”
In my opinion this was truly an amazing finding to promote transparency among online teaching.
· Siemens, George. Teaching as Transparent Learning.
“I’ve gained much from being a transparent learner.”
George Siemens, the author, describes his path, experiences and progress as a transparent learner. According to him transparency is an important and significant requisite in online teaching for “when we make our learning transparent, we become teachers” and “watching others learn is an act of learning” for as he clearly point out:
“When someone decides to share their thoughts and ideas in a transparent manner, they become a teacher to those who are observing. Social technology - such as Twitter, blogs, Facebook – opens the door to sharing the process of learning, not only the final product.”
I found this reading encouraging and appealing for it deals with the experience of a “transparent learner” and his personal sharing of it.
· Paulsen, Morten Flate. Transparency for Quality. Toonlet.
This comic strip is a very clear and presents a very objective approach on the importance that transparency has in order to improve the quality of online teaching for if others see what we publish, incorrect information becomes easily detected, feedback on it is given and errors are corrected. Clear, concise and stick to the point!
· Paulsen, Morten Flate. Transparency for Cooperation. Toonlet.
This comic strip deals with matters related to the cooperation that the use of transparency promotes in online teaching. When students give personal and transparent information about themselves other students interact more and a sense of cooperation is established between them. Nevertheless, an essential point is also presented - students’ transparency is to be handled carefully regarding their privacy and in this way students themselves should be the ones to choose the level of transparency to be allowed.
· Welcome to my PLE! - A Personal Tour by a 7th Grade Science Student. (Youtube Presentation)
I choose this Youtube Presentation because I found it a good example of transparency. Although it was created by a young student, matters such as organization and transparency are very clear and were carefully dealt and are now presented in a very objective way. This “PLE” – Personal Learning Environment - is the culminate of a research and intense work on networking sites, for as the student clearly points out he “spent some time since the beginning of the school year learning how to find information online and how to pull it out together on a personal page”, which we can observe thanks to its publication.
This work is about Online Teaching and Learning, based on Paulsen, M. F., 2003, Part One: Online Education Teaching and Learning in http://www.studymentor.com/
Her work deals with Online Teaching and Learning and she presents a well structured Mind Map, or a scheme if you prefer, on this topic and also five YouTube video presentations to help giving a more complete scenario in terms of presented topics. The scheme is excellent and gives an overall perspective on the areas related to online teaching and learning, e teachers, e teacher’s workload, e teaching techniques and e teaching opportunities. Bearing in mind the videos… (Which I will analyze as I present each one.)
1 - Teacher’s Workload, by Beth Dobler. One of the video deals with Teacher’s Workload from a Learning Institute video on Efficient Online Teaching, by Beth Dobler. I found it very joyful, light and appealing, and its author, Beth Dobler gives an extremely stimulating approach on Teacher’s workload, giving her personal experience to illustrate it and she actually gets in touch with the audience, for we hear the reactions of the viewers. Through the presentation says that she believes “in the efficiency of online teaching” and in “the power of teaching online” and, because she also suffers the effects of teacher’s workload, she “presents time saving solutions”. She is in favor of the element of collaboration between teachers and she points out that “sharing knowledge” is the best strategy “to find what best suits for each other” in online teaching and learning environments. In my opinion this approach is excellent, very enriching and it opened my horizons regarding Beth Dobler, although the colleague has already mentioned her work, this was my first contact with her and in the future I will, definitely, accompany her work!
2 - Teaching Opportunities, published by Brunswick.
Regarding Teaching Opportunities a YouTube video is here to enlighten us on the changes that have been taking place over the last years in relation to the world, the surroundings and more precisely education. “Future is accelerating and Educations is rapidly adapting to a new reality”, where Internet emerges as an essential element providing access to new education tools, new perspectives and new ways of teaching and learning. The background music and the topics and the media way in which they are dealt grasped my attention right from the start; I found this video very clear and innovative!
3 - “Podcasting in Plain English.”, by Lee LeFever.
Bearing in mind the technique one-to-many we have “Podcasting in Plain English” and “Blogging in Plain English”, both videos are from YouTube, by Lee LeFever and they are elaborated with the use of cartoons made in paper. They are joyful, creative and easy to understand. Regarding Podcasting, at first it is established the difference between podcasting and broadcasting, then it is referred the advantages of it, and we need to have access to it and what we can gain with it, namely, according to the author, “with podcasting we don’t have to depend on traditional media”. I find this resource joyful, creative, easy to understand and ingenious and this presentation gave me excellent hints about it.
4 - “Blogging in Plain English.”, by Lee LeFever.
With the video “Blogging in Plain English” we get in touch with blogs, the messages they convey and hints on why their impact has become so big since 2003. According to the author “Blogs give ordinary people the power of the media in creating a personal kind of news that is appealing to a number of small audiences”, allowing in this way the emergence of “communities of bloggers that share, work and experience with each other” for “anyone with an idea can start a blog with the click of a button and share news minutes later”. Lee LeFever also says that “blogs are websites organized by blog posts – individual new stories – that make the news a true way street and what we do with them” is a reflection of our own perspective of everything. I found this presentation creative, stick-to-the-point and lighthearted…it is an easy way of presenting blogs and showing the significant impact they have in our lives.
5 – “Online Discussion – Teaching with Online Discussion Forums.”, by Mark Fullmer.
This presentation is regarding the technique many-to-many. This video is not new to me for the colleague Ana Marmeleira also presented it in her Annotated Bibliography. Throughout this video references are made on the possible activities regarding Web 2.0 and its implications on Online Teaching and Learning. This video is also enhancing and it is important to have something related to this, because I find Web 2.0 tools are in this type of learning and teaching (although this is not my choice of election, but I respect my colleague's decision!).
6 - “Wikis in Plain English.”, by Lee Lefever.
This presentation is also not new to me… the colleague Ana Marmeleira also made reference to it in her Annotated Bibliography and it is also on the technique many-to-many on Online Elaboration - Wikis. Like the previous presentations by Lee Lefever, I find this one also creative and joyful since its beginning; it is also done with the use of drawn cartoons and it gives significant guidelines on Wikis, how we make them and what we can do with them…it provides a good set of hints regarding this tool!
In conclusion...
Overall, I found Maria João Spilker’s choices regarding the YouTube videos very good and extremely intelligent for they provide her work a more complete and objective analysis on Online Teaching and Learning. I enjoyed this presentation and its analysis very much for I found it challenging mostly due to the amount of information presented in it! Thank you for your work!!!
I chose Ana Marmeleira’s Annotated Bibliography. This work has a wide variety of texts, in reference to books and articles, and also two YouTube videos, one about Wikis in Plain English, which I found very appealing and interesting, and another one on Teaching with Online Discussion Forums. Regarding the content and the pertinence of it, I found Ana Marmeleira’s work straightforward, stick-to-the-point and clear. Besides giving a small summary – in some cases more extensive than in others - regarding the topics dealt on each one of her choice’s, in some situations, Ana Marmeleira also presented her point of view enlightening some of do’s and don’ts of her readings. In terms of accessibility, Ana Marmeleira’s work was made with easy, accessible and objective references in relation to the texts dealt.
Interesting approach regarding the teacher’s work and workload in online teaching. This article offers the reader some good suggestions regarding time and “information management on course design and activity types and also on technical issues.”
Na extraordinary guideline on Web 2.0 and its tools. The book is divided in ten chapters and during my quick reading I found them all very useful. I share my colleague’s opinion that this book is a very resourceful tool for the ones that are interested in knowing more and using Web 2.0. Excellent choice…it’s in my readings’ list!
This amazing article is based in an interview to Stewart Mader, who led the creation of Wikipatterns.com. In this interview a pertinent highlight is given on the importance of Wikis in Education. Apart from this, this interview also focuses on the book Wiki in Education – its impact and the do’s (and don’ts) of Wiki in this area. Bearing in mind my experience with Wiki, I find this analysis very significant and valuable for it presents an excellent tool because it provides students a very resourceful tool to work in group in distance e-learning courses.
This article draws our attention to the teacher’s role regarding Wiki activities. A concise and objective analysis in which the teacher’s role is described as very important, for it is he that establishes the balance between the student’s findings and his guided objectives and he is also the one to whom students address to find support in the “making of” activities.
A very joyful and creative perspective on Wikis, how we make them and how we deal with them. In a more practical speech one may say that it actually provides a “good prescription” on Wiki’s usage.
This article provides an interesting and significant glimpse on another important online learning technique…the use of forums. I agree with the author of this annotated bibliography’s point of view regarding this choice for it is – and I subscribe her words – an excellent way for it allows” more students [even quieter ones] to participate (…) and the details of the discussion remain and it allows backtrack and reread messages.”
Another video presentation, this time on “Teaching with Online Discussion Forums”. Throughout the presentation references are made to the activities available on Web 2.0. I found this resource not as pertinent as the others already mentioned in this Annotated Bibliography, but I respect my colleague's choice!
In conclusion, in my opinion Ana Marmeleira’s work highlighted and gave an important contribute for my next readings. Although is true that some were more appealing than others, on the overall I find her choices pertinent and significant in terms of notions and tools implied in Online teaching Techniques. As the colleague presented seven references, I decided to join my appreciations as I gave my comment in order to provide a more complete analysis.
A ideia de cibercultura expressa uma inovação, uma nova era cultural nas formas de estar e de comunicar na sociedade. Neste sentido, os pensamentos, as atitudes, os valores e as práticas inerentes e identificativas da sociedade são transmitidas num "ciberespaço", criado graças à "interconexão mundial dos computadores", que é acessível e global para todos, traduzindo assim uma ideia de globalização cultural de "um universo oceânico de informações" com fortes implicações civilizacionais.
... e três exemplos significativos...
Tendo em conta a proposta lançada pelo Prof. António Teixeira, eis os três exemplos de significativos de cibercultura descritos por Pierre Lévy em Cibercultura: o correio electrónico, a música tecno e o hipertexto.
Relativamente ao correio electrónico, Pierre Lévy faz uma análise da noção de correio através dos tempos e quando chega à “nossa era” descreve-o da seguinte forma:
“O correio electrónico, como sistema social de comunicação, encontra-se intimamente ligado à ascensão das ideias e das práticas que valorizam a liberdade de expressão e a noção de livre contacto entre indivíduos. Podemos ver claramente, nesse caso, como uma infra-estrutura de comunicação pode ser investida por uma corrente cultural que vai, no mesmo movimento, transformar o seu significado social e estimular a sua evolução técnica e civilizacional.” (p. 125)
O acto de consultar, enviar e escrever um e-mail é um reflexo da nossa forma de ser uma vez que o que escrevemos é parte inerente da nossa identidade. Na produção e envio de um e-mail, dependendo dos nossos receptores , este pode ser reenviado e re-acrescentado para outros, o que faz com que a nossa mensagem começe a sua viagem e consequente proliferação, transformando-se num aglomerado de textos abertos e identificativos da forma de estar, pensar e agir de quem os escreveu. Assim sendo, estamos perante uma arte de comunicar que tem fortes implicações culturais, sociais, tecnológicas e civilizacionais vistos sermos seres activos, pensantes e sempre na busca de nos mostrar e de sermos vistos quer se trate de um ambiente real ou não.
Tendo em conta o segundo exemplo, a música tecno, o autor Pierre Lévy descreve-a como o “som da cibercultura”, pois é igualmente resultante de um “patchwork musical virtual” com fortes implicações culturais, sociais e claro está civilizacionais.
“A música tecno colhe o seu material na grande reserva de amostras de sons.(…) Programas de computador montam “textos originais” por meio de recombinação de fragmentos de corpus preexistentes. Os sites remetem uns para os outros, sua estrutura hipertextual gerencia uma interpenetração das mensagens, um mergulho recíproco dos espaços virtuais. É, portanto, a questão dos limites da obra ou de seu contexto que, após as vanguardas do século XX é recolocada de outra forma, e com intensidade particular, pela ciberarte.” (p. 136)
Na concepção da música tecno está implícito um novo gosto que corresponde ao rosto de uma nova identidade musical que tem um forte impacto nos que a criam e naqueles que a cultivam ao nível cultural e, inevitavelmente civilizacional.
“A música tecno inventou uma nova modalidade da tradição, ou seja, uma forma original de tecer o laço cultural. (…) No tecno, cada ator do colectivo de criação extrai materia sonora de um fluxo em circulação em uma vasta rede tecno-social. Essa matéria é misturada, arranjada, transformada, depois reinjectada na forma de uma “peça original” no fluxo da música digital em circulação. Assim, cada músico ou grupo de músicos funciona como um operador em um fluxo de transformação permanente em uma rede cíclica de cooperadores.” (p. 142)
Por fim, perspectivando o último exemplo, o hipertexto…
“Eis o hipertexto global, o metamundo virtual em metamorfose perpétua, o fluxo musical ou icónico na enchente. Cada um é chamado a transformar-se num operador singular, qualitativamente diferente, na transformação do hiperdocumento universal e intotalizável.” (p. 149)
Com o hipertexto estamos perante uma noção de texto aberto e infindável onde cada interveniente dá o seu contributo e cria novos contextos literários amplos e globalizantes, deixando uma obra literária virtual aberta onde os autores são todos os que contribuem para a sua propagação, ao contrário da ideia anteriormente defendida em prol da identidade do autor e da sua individualidade. Para exemplificar esta ideia, Pierre Lévy vai buscar da Biblia e indica que se trata de uma obra sem autor, precursora do hipertexto, pois “a sua constituição resulta de uma selecção de uma amálgama tardia de um grande número de textos de géneros heterogéneos redigidos em diferentes épocas”. E, face a esta perspectiva, Cibercultura faz “emergir uma nova forma e maneira de agir. O texto dobra-se, redobra-se, divide-se e volta a colar-se pelas pontas e fragmentos: transmuta-se em hipertexto, e os hipertextos conectam-se para formar o plano hipertextual, indefinidamente aberto e móvel da Web.” (p. 149)
A very challenging and interesting report that puts in evidence pedagogical techniques on computer-mediated communication and it also presents an overview about them. This report, according to the author, Prof. Morten Flate Paulsen, was presented in Birmingham, England in June 26-30, 1995 at a conference conducted by the International Council for Distance Education. Bearing in mind the author’s work, the report starts by making reference to one of my favorite techniques – brainstorming. By brainstorming we understand “creation of a pool of ideas” on a specific topic and this approach helps the “class” to “break the ice” by introducing a topic which will make the group think in a creative way and expand their thoughts upon the ideas of the elements of the “class”. In this case specifically, Prof. Paulsen used this technique to lead the participants to share experiences in pedagogical techniques that have been applied in CMC.
According to Prof. Paulsen a pedagogical technique is a way of achieving teaching objectives. Throughout the report, he author also points out in a very clear and objective way that there are four pedagogical techniques: one-alone techniques, one-to-one techniques, one-to-many techniques and many-to-many techniques. Once he states them, he describes them and specifies each one bearing in mind the approaches to be used.
In this online report, Prof. Paulsen also makes reference to other books and their authors as well as their contributions for the topic in question.
To sum up, balancing to the embracement of online education by some institutions – which I am sure to increase significantly in the future - , I feel this report is very enlightening and it can also be a good resource for further researches.
Kim, Kyong-Jee and Bonk, Curtis J., 2006, The Future of Online Teaching and Learning in Higher Education: The Survey Says… - A survey substantiates some ideas about online learning and refutes others, Vol. 29, Number 4, Educause Quarterly. Source:
An interesting and well illustrated survey based on a study conducted by a group of individuals that believed to have relevant experience and insights regarding the present and future conditions of online education. This survey was also built as a way to understand and to bring insights to the use of technology in teaching, within both higher education and corporate training settings. This survey takes place from late November 2003 to early January 2004 and it shows several demographics of online instructors to portray a significant perspective of online teaching, its growth, its expected quality, its pedagogical techniques and it also presents predictions on to measure the quality of online teaching in the future. A good overview of the future of teaching in online environments.
Salter, G. and Hansen, S., Modelling New Skills For Online Teaching, Department of Computing and Information Systems, University of Western Sydney. Source:
The content of this article is easy to grasp and it draws our attention to the need and (continuous) search for modelling new skills for online teaching. The authors make reference to the advantages of online material and describe the included methods for teaching online: asynchronous computer mediated communication, synchronous computer mediated communication, online assessment, learning resources, documents, multimedia, links to external resources and student prepared material.
The article also puts into evidence the new role of the teacher, which is now a facilitator instead of an expert authority (old perspective).
Another aspect that is also highlighted is the importance of the real and constant need to evolve because “as technology is evolving so rapidly (…) new teaching possibilities arise regularly” and we must be prepared for that.
I found this article very lighthearted and interesting for it deals with the urgency to monitor and update teaching strategies in order to teach successfully in an online environment.
Bawden, David et al., 2007, Curriculum 2.0? Changes In Information Science Education for a Web 2.0 World in Digital Information and Heritage, INFuture 2007.(Pages 27 – 40) Source:
Web 2.0 is depicted as an essential facilitator of online teaching for it “provides both the content of learning, and the tools to promote learning itself.” (p. 39)
In my opinion this study provides a significant glimpse of how Web 2.0 can be used and its implications in five countries, for they are the countries of origin of its authors – England, Australia, Ireland, Lithuania and Slovenija. A very interesting work!
“…the use of Web 2.0 facilities by academic staff themselves, for their own purposes, will enhance their understanding, and hence promote more credible teaching.” (p.40)
Shihab, Mahmud, 2008, Web 2.0 Tools Improve Teaching and Collaboration in English Language Classes, Presented at the National Educational Computing Conference 2008, San Antonio, TX. (Page 1-21) Source:
A very challenging and stick to the point approach on Web 2.0 taking into account its huge role in online teaching and more precisely in English Language Classes. “Web 2.0 tools, namely blogs, wikis, podcasts, and RSS were introduced to change teaching practices of in-service high school teachers to improve the collaboration of today’s students in the English language classroom.” (p.1)
This text deals with an experience in which changes in teaching practices, interviews, and other resourceful strategies were put into practice to study the best method in order to put into evidence the effectiveness of the learning process. In my opinion, this article depicts an idea of the impact and potential that Web 2.0 has and will have in online teaching and I found its reading very representative and enlightening.
My name is Marina. I live in Seixal, I am married and I have a six year old son, Dinis. I love going to the beach, reading, going to the cinema, playing games with my son and my husband and so on.
In spite of having studied to teach English to older people, during the last seven years I have been working in primary schools and it has been a very challenging experience.
