Slide 1 : Teach and Learn On-line:
How does Moodle Enhance Effective Teach and Learn?
by Elizabeth Okwisa Mbasu
Slide 2 : Teach and Learn On-line: How does Moodle Enhance Effective Teach and Learn? Abstract
Introduction
Social Presence
Interaction
Collaborative Learning
Student Centredness
References Agenda for the Presentation
Slide 3 : Teach and Learn On-line: How does Moodle Enhance Effective Teach and Learn? To function effectively in online environments, Gunawardena and Zittle (1995) identify teacher inherent strategic and tactic skills emanating from such concepts as social presence, interaction, cognitive strategies, collaborative learning and learner centredness. These embrace some critical elements for online learning environments.
How does moodle enhance effective learning in relation to these attributes? Abstract
Slide 4 : Teach and Learn On-line: How does Moodle Enhance Effective Teach and Learn? Dillon and Walsh (1992) identify teaching techniques which are also referred to as immediacy behaviours that have been shown to increase student satisfaction and perceptions of learning. These emanate from teacher’s social presence.
The engagement of learners with each other, content and teachers is pertinent in enhancing interaction.
Learner cognitive abilities are observed through well thought out procedures that students use to facilitate and effect understanding and construction of knowledge and meaning.
Critical to on-line learning is the process of sharing out knowledge. Learners should always collaborate to enrich their knowledge and skills.
Initiated enquiry and exploration, strengthens learner-centredness. Introduction
Slide 5 : Teach and Learn On-line: How does Moodle Enhance Effective Teach and Learn? Learning is a social dialogical process in which communities of practitioners socially negotiate the meaning of phenomena. Short and Christie (1976) describe social presence as the degree of salience of the other person in the interaction and the consequent salience of the interpersonal relationships. On the other hand, this can be perceived as the degree to which the learner can perceive the presence of the other learners and teacher(s). Social Presence
Slide 6 : Teach and Learn On-line: How does Moodle Enhance Effective Teach and Learn? The absence of social presence subjects the learners to a lonely learning environment where the learner is likely to feel insecure. Such an environment is characterized by text as the dominant form of communication in addition to public postings.
There are a number of ways a teacher could promote social presence. Teacher’s immediacy behaviours such as vocal variety, praise and smiling are key (Dillon and Walsh, 1992). Whenever facilities are available, social presence can be cultured among teleconference participants (Walther 1992) as they express views and exchange information about certain concepts. Social Presence
Slide 7 : Teach and Learn On-line: How does Moodle Enhance Effective Teach and Learn? The teacher should be creative and innovative in his presentations and should encourage self introductions and warm welcoming remarks at the beginning of a semester or school term. In addition, use of facilities such as ‘who is online’, moodle chat rooms and other meeting joints such as coffee shops/bar and creation of individual home pages, could enhance social presence. Social Presence
Slide 8 : Teach and Learn On-line: How does Moodle Enhance Effective Teach and Learn? (Moore 1989; Hillman, Willis & Gunawardena (1994) define interaction as the engagement of the learner with content ( which includes technology), instructor, another learner and a user- interface to produce a learning event . Norman 1993 observes that both experiential and reflective knowledge emerge from our interactions with the world, and both are required in performing real world tasks. Subsequently, effective learning environments should involve frequent and meaningful interactions among the learners, the instructional materials, and between the learner and the instructor (Ragan 1998). Moodle offers features that engage learners to interact with materials and media and affords use of both asynchronous and synchronous communication. The teacher plans for each form of interaction to suit the circumstances of the learner. Interaction
Slide 9 : Teach and Learn On-line: How does Moodle Enhance Effective Teach and Learn? Collaborative learning is defined as attaining shared understanding of meanings of utterances (Wells 1990, Dillenbourg et al. (n.d.). Teles (1992) defines cooperative learning as sharing knowledge .
Collaborative learning significantly contributes to an individual’s construction of knowledge(Jonasssen et al. 1995). Collaboration aids in developing, testing and evaluating different beliefs and hypotheses within learning contexts ( Jonassen, Mark, Mauri, Campbell and Brenda 1 1995).
Learners naturally work in learning and knowledge building communities exploiting each others skills while providing social support and modeling and observing the contributions of each member Collaborative Learning
Slide 10 : Teach and Learn On-line: How does Moodle Enhance Effective Teach and Learn? A Moodle teacher could encourage coaching, scaffolding, reflection and exploration to enhance collaboration. Tele (1996), argues that a carefully designed environment provides instances of collaboration, coaching, scaffolding, reflection and exploration essential to supporting online apprenticeship. Collaborative group work can increase motivation, completion rates, student satisfaction and performance (Wells 1990).
The teacher could also guide learners to negotiate and perform selected roles in the group during group work or project learning including encouraging peer teaching. Collaborative Learning
Slide 11 : Teach and Learn On-line: How does Moodle Enhance Effective Teach and Learn? Learner centredness refers to active construction of knowledge through initiated inquiry and exploration ( Gunawardena & Zittle (1996). The moodle teacher should promote transfer of learning through creation of the relevant learning environment. Learner Centredness
Slide 12 : Teach and Learn On-line: How does Moodle Enhance Effective Teach and Learn? Collins, M. (1998). I know my instructional technologies: It’s these learners that perplex me.DEOSNEWS 8(9).
Jonasssen, D. Davidson, M. Collins, M. Campbell, J and Haag, B. B. ( 1995). Constructivism and computer – mediated Communication in distance Education.
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Slide 13 : Teach and Learn On-line: How does Moodle Enhance Effective Teach and Learn? Gunawardena,C.N. and Zittle, R. (1996). An examination of teaching and learning processes in distance education and implications for designing instruction. In distance learning symposium 3, Insurrection, M. Beaudoin (ed.) ACSDE Research Monogram, NO, pp. 51-63.
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Slide 14 : Teach and Learn On-line: How does Moodle Enhance Effective Teach and Learn? Moore, M. G. ( 1989). Editorial: Three types of interaction. The American Journal of distance education, 3 (2), pp. 1-6.
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Slide 15 : Teach and Learn On-line: How does Moodle Enhance Effective Teach and Learn? Teles, L. ( 1992). Cognitive apprenticeship on global Networks
Ragan, L. C. ( 1998). Good teaching is good teaching: An Emerging set of guiding principles and practices for the design and development of distance education. DEOSNEWS vol. 8 NO. 12
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