Seven Principles of Effective Teaching: A Practical Lens for Evaluating Online Courses

The "Seven Principles of Good Practice in Undergraduate Education" served as a practical lens for our team to evaluate four online courses in an accredited program at a major U.S. university. Using the seven principles as a general framework for the evaluation gave us insights into important aspects of online teaching and learning.

A comprehensive report of the evaluation findings is available in a CRLT technical report (Graham, et al., 2000).

By Charles Graham, Kursat Cagiltay, Byung-Ro Lim, Joni Craner, and Thomas M. Duffy

in The Technology Source Archiv

Activit 1 - Online teaching techniques

This site is a great resource for teaching online. Here we can find tips and tricks for designing course content, facilitating and teaching online, developing learning objects, assesssment ideas, and tutorials for Blackboard, just to name a few.

We can see de Pedagogy, the Online Cours Design, the Learning Objects, the Blackboard, the WebCT, the Tools and the Resources.

This site provide best practice strategies for online instruction; therefore, we are asking that you rate each suggested strategy or idea by clicking on a stars below each item, 5stars becoming abest practice suggestion.

Inovar em educação, educar para a inovação

Próxima conferência

Inovar em Educação, Educar para a Inovação
António Dias de Figueiredo
Universidade de Coimbra

26 de Novembro de 2009
18:30 - 20:00

Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa
Edifício C6 - Anfiteatro 6.1.36

Website http://www.edu.desafios.ie.ul.pt/

O Futuro da Educação perante as Novas Tecnologias

Por A. Dias de Figueiredo

Departamento de Engenharia Informática

Universidade de Coimbra

Resposta, enviada por correio electrónico, às perguntas da jornalista Paula Banza, da revista Forum Estudante. Só parcialmente reproduzida na revista.

Actividade 1 - Teaching Techniques Online

Top 100 Tools for Learning 2009
as at 15 November 2009
from Jane Hart

This FINAL list has been compiled from the Top 10 Tool Contributions of 278 Learning Professionals worldwide. We can see this list in this presentation Top 100 Tools.

It is mainly due to technological developments that we live in a society increasingly networked.This trend is also contributing to a change in education. We are dealing with students who want more than a traditional education. Teachers need to be aware of the set of tools that are emerging day by day. These tools are enabling new teaching techniques.

Activit 1 - Online teaching techniques

Effective online instruction depends on learning experiences appropriately designed and facilitated by knowledgeable educators. Because learners have different learning styles or a combination of styles, online educators should design activities that address their modes of learning in order to provide significant experiences for each class participant. In designing online courses, this can best be accomplished by utilizing multiple instructional strategies. Teaching models exist which apply to traditional higher education learning environments, and when designing courses for the online environment, these strategies should be adapted to the new environment.

Instructional Strategies for Online Courses

The online learning environment allows educators and students to exchange ideas and information, work together on projects, around the clock, from anywhere in the world, using multiple communication modes. Given the advantages and resources of this rich learning environment, how can multiple instructional strategies best be utilized for online learning? Just as in the traditional classroom, instructional strategies are most effective when employed specifically to meet particular learning goals and objectives. Effective course design can begin with asking and answering the key question: what are the major learning goals and objectives for this course? Once these goals and objectives have been identified and clearly articulated, the question of which learning strategies, activities, and experiences to employ can be addressed.

Online learning can employ any of the strategies discussed here. Much of the power of learning via the Internet lies in its capacity to support multiple modes of communication including any combination of student-student, student-faculty, faculty-student, faculty-faculty, student-others, others-students, etc. Taking into account the varied learning styles of learners and providing opportunities for self-directed and collaborative learning, educators can facilitate powerful, effective courses geared to achieve specific learning goals and outcomes using the vast resources and capacities of online learning.

Actividade 1 - Teaching Techniques Online

A short presentation with great information...see - Stephen Downes

Here we can see Communities of Educators Online, which are formed in different Web 2.0 services, for example: flickr, google reader, facebook, ning, plaxo, google groups.
We do not want our classrooms to be like classrooms, this creates a new challenge for teachers.

The challenge for educators across the nation has become how to design and develop a teacher corps and school structure that allows for a school that operates in a completely different manner than the classrooms we experienced in our own.

There are different levels of interactivity: Communication - individualism, Cooperation - mesh, or network, Collaboration - unity, or whole.

Which level prevails in web 2.0 - Learning in a Mesh, Interacting in the Network, Interactive content, Personal Learning Environments, Personal Learning Landscape, the PLE Function in Social Media, the PLE aplications.

We see one set of tools that will enable teachers to apply different teaching techniques , the new office 2.0 of students:

Bookmarking - delicious, Calendar - Google Calendar, Contacts - LinkedIn, CRM - Salesforce, Databese - Dabble, desktop - Homepage, scribd Document Management, Email - Gmail , Feed Reading - Google Reader, Presentation - Zoho Show, Spreadsheets - Google Spreadsheet, Weblog - Word Press, Documents - Google Docs, Drawing - Gliffy, Grup Management - Ice Core, Mind Mapping - MindMeister, Photo Editor - Picnik, Photo manager - Flickr, Web Conferencing - Vyew, Webcasting - Ustream.tv. All these services / tools belong to the users, are likely to be shared, which will facilitate the work of teachers and students.

If the teacher chooses a cooperative education, students will have a set of tools that support this form of education, for ex.: Yahoo Pipes, Google Gears, gRSShopper ....

Supporting Educational Communities - The idea of providing services, 19 of the top 20 software applications used by educators are free.

Actividade 1 - Teaching Techniques Online

This site offers numerous advantages for the teacher, in that it allows you to have access to a diverse range of material considered essential for the planning of lessons and, consequently, to student learning, such as lesson plans, written exercises, exercises understanding and other materials. It also allows interactive activities. In addition, the teacher can also communicate with other educators and share ideas.

Actividade 1 - Teaching Techniques Online

I really enjoyed this article, so I decided to read it. This article talks about Web 2.0, describes what it is, their technologies / services and the implications of using these technologies in education. There are a number of Web-based services and applications that demonstrates the foundations of the Web 2.0 concept, and they are already being used to a certain extent in education. For example: blogs, wikis, multimedia sharing services, content syndication, podcasting and content tagging services.

In this article we read that the functionality of each of these services, web 2.0, and realize the advantages of its use in education. I completely agree with these advantages, and I share the idea that the use of these tools in education are a powerful tool for teachers and students. The usefulness of these tools in education are many.

As we have seen, there are a number of technology services that are often posited as representing the Web 2.0 concept in some way. In recent months, however, there has been an explosion of new ideas, applications and start-up companies working on ways to extend existing services. Some of these are likely to become more important than others, and some are certainly more likely to be more relevant to education than others.

With the use of wikis, students work together to interpret texts, author articles and essays, share ideas, and improve their research and communication skills collectively44. Wikis provides the opportunity for students to reflect and comment on either their work or others, wikis can be useful writing tools that aid composition practice, and that blogs are particularly useful for allowing students to follow stories over a period of time and reviewing the changing nature of how they are commented on by various voices.

These services (wiki, blogs, ...) allows the application of pedagogical techniques reported by Morten Paulsen in The Online Report on Pedagogical Techniques for Computer-Mediated Communication.

Technology & Standards Watch

What is Web 2.0?

Ideas, technologies and implications for

education

by

Paul Anderson

Actividade 1 - Teaching Techniques Online

In this article we see the definition of Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) and

pedagogical techniques. Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) is the transmission and reception of messages using computers as input, storage, output, and routing devices. CMC includes information retrieval, electronic mail, bulletin boards, and computer conferencing.

Pedagogical techniques are defined as a manner of accomplishing teaching objectives. According to the techniques prescribe how student interaction with learning resources, the techniques are classified as one-alone techniques, one-to-one techniques, one-to-many techniques, and many-to-many techniques. In this context we view each teaching method associated with a technical education and a teaching paradigm.

There are four major CMC-devices/paradigmas: information retrieval systems, e-mail systems, bulletin board systems, and computer conferencing systems. The techniques are organized according to the four communication paradigms used in computer-mediated communication. Each paradigm correspond to the four methods: one-online, one-to-one, one-to-many, and many-to-many. They use teaching techniques to accomplish teaching objectives. The techniques introduced in this article are organized according to the four communication paradigms used in CMC. These teaching techniques can be performed through the use of Web 2.0.

Paulsen, M. F. Online Education and Learning Management Systems: Global E-learning in a Scandinavian Perspective (www.studymentor.com)

Actividade 1 - Teaching Techniques Online

With the evolution of technology, students in all world are Increasingly becoming familiar with using social networking and other interactive web services such as Facebook, MySpace, Flickr and YouTube. This phenomenon has important implications for the educational institutions Increasingly students expect such services - or at least aspects of such services - to be mirrored in the delivery of courses.

In this podcast here, JISC's Lawrie Phipps and Dave White speak about Web 2.0 and its implications for and its future uses within education. They explain what impact the technologies, associated with the name Web 2.0, are having on education and research and how institutions can harness them meaningfully and effectively in support of their students.

I share the same idea of Dave White on Web 2.0, "The key thing from my point of view is that it's about getting people together, and communicating, and collaborating, and sharing.." We see the growth of social networks, people tend to join a group with a common interested. And it will be from that union, which will establish a communication and knowledge sharing. For example right now I belong to the group Mestrado em Pedagogia do E-learning in diigo and with this group I share and acquire new knowledge.

Definindo, avaliando e promovendo o sucesso de um curso em E-Learning

No âmbito do Mestrado Pedagogia do E-Learning da Universidade Aberta aqui fica mais um trabalho de grupo feito por mim, pelo José Carlos Figueiredo, pela Paulo Simão e pela Sandra Brás denominado “Definindo, avaliando e promovendo o sucesso de um curso em E-Learning” e que resulta da leitura e reumo do texto original “Defining, Assessing, and promoting E-learning Sucess: An information systems perspective”.

Activity 4 - Discussion - self-paced learning

Good

In fact the discussion is lively! But there is one contribution that I liked to give and beginning with this question: When making a self-paced learning, each learner is not likely to align with those who are at a pace similar to yours and with similar interests?
Otherwise you see, with all the provision of Web 2.0 tools, each one tends to add to those who are closest to their interests and objectives. Despite the endless possibilities, we select a few. Why? Could it be because we are naturally inclined to participate in groups such as our natural environment, and factors in isolation tend to be us uncomfortable?
Further, the self-paced learning is very good, but has limits. In self-learning makes sense, but it has limitations: lack of motivation, lack of help from the inter-action, and something very important, the peer review. Here we can see that the self-paced can not be taken to the extreme, but understood within its limits.
Finally, when the girls talk about the advantage of self-paced learnig, so I realized, come to recognize that the group is essential. Could it be that the e-learning will increasingly focus on the rhythm of the group, but recognizing and valuing the individuality of each participant? Otherwise, the learning will seem a self-study.

[] L

Hi Luís!

We believe in the need of getting connected but that does not necessarily imply that the learner needs to follow a group-based learning pace. The learner learns through connections, possible by the rise of web 2.0 tools but still, this is done at his own pace. he doesn't have to be integrated in a group where all the members have the same timings and deadlines in order to learn through connections.

Why do you say there's a lack of motivation when doing a self-paced learning course? we have come up to some advantages of this kind of courses to the learner's motivation in previous posts. These kind of courses, for sure, lack interaction, but interaction with peers, not with material or the teacher. In fact these learners get much closer to the teacher and the teacher is able to give the support according to the learner's needs, taking into account only that learner.
Which doesn't happen when a teacher has to support a group with different kinds of learners. So how can you value individuality this way? If the groups are taken into account as a whole and not as the parts (meaning the learners) that form it?

And not speaking of conflicts that may occur within the group, even segregation. One individual can feel intimidated or not comfortable with asking questions or sharing his knowledge with the others? how can this lead to a successful learning path if each learner doesn't solely focus on his own learning?

The girls!

Activity 4 - Discussion - self-paced learning

Hello Marco!

We are replying to your last post but we decided to continue the dicussion under the topic discussion so we don't end up with a lot of open topics.

Reading your post makes us wonder about some of the things you mention.

You say that the facilitator may provide information about how the participants will work as a group... that is a very passive way of organisation for the learners. And then you add that the role of the facilitator may change in order to correspond to the group's purposes and goals... but are the group goals (when it comes to learning and skills development) the goals of each learner in their individuality?? We don't think so!

"The consensus among group theorists is that smaller groups, those of six or less, tend to be more cohesive and productive than larger groups." So you are basically saying that the fewer we are, working together, the best are our achievements. In that way, we dare to say that one learner on his own works much better and is more successful than if that same learner is part of a group.

Another thing: "we consider that group members regularly meet to study together"... it means that all of them need to adjust their lives, their priorities according to everybody else's availability. we see a lot of dependence there which is not the purpose of online education!

"The group tries to ensure that all members clearly understand the important points". So, even if 1 of them already understood all the points, that fast-paced learner has to wait until the other colleagues get there as well! how does that improve the learning process and keeps the motivation on a high level?

the girls!!! :)

Activity 4 - Discussion - self-paced learning

Good night Ladies,

Thank you for starting the discussion and for giving us a few good arguments to defend group paced learning...

First all, quantity is not quality. We can not measure the relevance of our posts by the quantity.... The match ends only when the referee blows the whistle.
So if you say 2-0, we must say...wait and see...

Second. How can you defend self-paced learning when we are doing a great and typical group paced learning activity? If this discussion was self-paced how many weeks could last this activity. Would it be as effective as we are doing? We don't believe it could work as well...

Third. You say that "students should be responsable for their own pace" and that "no one is making any pressure with deadlines". People learn with each other, in group. Teacher should set deadlines or otherwise a course that should last 6 months could last 2 years. How many teachers could deal with this clasroom ?

Finally. We must agree. "the new means of communication brought many possibilities to online distance education". The problem of self-paced is interaction. It doesn't promote group working. People can, as you say, "download", "fulfill their assignments", "access to a bigger amount of information", but what about interaction. How can they build their knowledge in a group ? For example, by now, George Siemens and Stephen Downes are giving the Second Edition of the course "CCK - Connectivism & Connective Knowledge". All the content, since the beggining of the course is on the net. It's true that is a course that can be made at our own pace, but if don't interact with the others learners in group paced learning, we are exclusive passive learners. We won't be able to contribute to build colective knowledge.

Men rules...

Hello dear Paulo!

Alright... You are making group-based learning look very pretty but it is not that perfect!

You are right, quantity is not quality but someone had to start! ;-)

Second, yes, we are doing the activity in group because we are a team and we decided to do it that way. And because of this specific experience we can say that group paced learning is very difficult to do. We have been suffering all the the effects of doing the activity this way. It is not easy at all! We have to meet, talk, discuss, use collaborative tools so in the end we have a post that we are all happy with. Whereas if we were doing this same activity individually, each of us working at our own pace, our advances would be way quicker, we could look for information, read it, pick the interesting parts and then write a post without discussing it with the other team members. So the rhythm of this discussion would flow faster. but we like difficult paths so we decided to do it in group! :)

Third, if a learner is motivated enough to follow a self-paced course, they won't take ages to finish it! If they do take that long time, it means they really made the right choice because they couldn't follow a course with strict deadlines and structure. You are applying the word "classroom" here... but if we are talking about self-paced learning we can't say that! if 2 learners can start the course at the same time and finish it in different timings then it shouldn't be called classroom in the traditional meaning of that word. Also because learners can have the possibility of starting the course whenever they want to... so, are we talking about classrooms here? Isn't it self-paced? because the way group-based works is very difficult to start a course if we suddenly see it and want to do it but... :( sadly it has already started... and we need to wait for next year's schedule... Does this waiting process bring any motivation to someone that was so excited about learning new things?

And you talk about the teachers dealing with self-paced learners... and dealing with so many different learners, at the same time, with so many different paces and learning styles? Isn't that difficult?

Fourth, "show me the proves" :) People can learn individually, without having to be in a group. The tools that Internet provides allow us to do that. More and more we have the possibility of staying home and learn with no limits! Someone that embraces a self-paced learning course doesn't want to be ruled by the teacher's pace. And just because you learn at your own pace it doesn't mean you are passive! it is exactly the opposite! You are VERY active in your learning process: having to choose you path, selecting material, doing research and being more and more independent. You end up having an even more active role in your own learning process than if you were doing it in a group. You get more involved and this brings along motivation and interest for what you're doing.

Last, "Men rules"... only in your tiny limited world }-]

Activity 4 - Discussion - self-paced learning

Hi again!

In self paced learning the teacher plays an important role: he guides the learner allowing him to take the most important decisions of his pathway. Also, the technological tools that are available (as we mentioned in our previous post) give the learner more flexibility in choosing his own path.

George Siemens (2004)* in his theory of Connectivism talks about the use of social tools that not only give the learners the possibility of being independent, and doing things at the pace they choose to do, but those tools also allow the learner to get connected to other people, to learn from and with them. The learner learns by searching information but also through connections. This way, the learner is promoting a continual learning path, not only getting new information but, the most important, knowing how to search for information in the network society. The contacts the learner gets will allow him to continually update his knowledge. This leads to more motivation and the learner ends up being more focused in the learning process.

From the teacher/tutor perspective, in a self paced learning course, more attention can be provided to those learners who need it, being able to adjust the process to the needs of each of them.

Some distance education courses combine traditional methods with online courses, but self-paced courses bring out students autonomy and independence. This way, students may start their activity at different times, following their own pace, towards their interests, in order to follow a learning path and develop certain skills. Anderson, Annad and Wark (2005) ** summarize this idea with the following flowchart:



Figure 1: A proposed model of learner paced learning support

The Ladies

Ladies 2 - Gentlemen 0 :-D

PS - Again, we wrote this post together using the same tools mentioned in the previous one.

* In Siemens, George (2004). Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age. Available at http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm

** In Andersen, T; Annand, D & Wark, N. (2005). The serach for learning community in learner paced distance education: Or, 'Having your cake and eating it, too!'. Australasian journal of Educational Technology, 21(2), 222-241. Available at http://www.ascilite.org.au/ajet/ajet21/anderson.html

Activity 4 - Discussion - self-paced learning

Hello Gentlemen! :)

In distance education nowadays we hear a lot of discussion about self-paced learning or group based learning. There are some authors that defend that the distance students should evolve at their own pace and some others refer to a group of people, also referred to as peers, as a means to share expertise, experience in order to improve the learning process and make it more effective.

In our way of looking at distance learning, we undoubtedly trust the success of distance learning to the self-pace progression of every student.

Self-paced learning is directed by the individual, by each student in order to meet their personal learning goals. And don't think that when we talk about self-paced learning we are referring to individualized learning. Although both have the same meaning there are differences:

- in self-paced learning the student is who controls the pace of the learning process. For instance, 2 students may start a course on the same day but then, following their own study rhythms, they may finish it in different dates.
- in individualized learning, the learning process is individual, but it doesn't mean that it evolves according to the pace of the student: there might be some steps or points that the student has to reach at a certain time, specified in the course structure. Although the learning process is individual, the learning pace may be controlled by the teacher or tutor.

So, we consider that distance students should learn according to their own pace, as they are not dependent on a structure or pace specified by someone else (for instance, the teacher or tutor). They have their own lives and can organise themselves taking into account all their activities (work, family, studies). Students also feel more responsible for their learning process, because they know it depends on them and that no one is making any pressure with deadlines.

An important advantage is also the high level of interaction provided by this method. Students face a high degree of reflection and challenge in forums, discussions with a strong benefit that comes from learning from each other and not only from the tutor. Then, there are no distraction, but a high level of motivation, because these methods are applied at advanced stages and students are very focused on doing their tasks.

Another point to take into account is that in the last couple of years, the advances in technology and, therefore, the new means of communication brought many possibilities to online distance education. By learning at their own pace, students have the possibility to download learning materials, such as, videos, slides and so on in order to fulfill their assignments. All these materials are available at anytime, which implies that the students can look for them every time they want/need. The advance of technology brings without any questions the freedom, the context and the possibilities that self-paced learners need in order to accomplish their goals and being able to have access to a bigger amount of information in a short time period.

These are some basic aspects of self-paced learning, which we decided to start the discussion with.

Best regards,
The Ladies' team ;)
Maria Martins, Mónica Velosa, Sandra Brás and Sónia Valente

PS - this first post was written in group using gtalk and googledocs.

Activity 4 - taking part in a discussion on issues related to cooperative freedom in the discussion forum

Debate on self-paced versus group-paced progression - Link

by Joaquim Lopes

learning objects - review - Cooperative Freedom by monicavelosa

Mónica choose a different way to emphasize some points on cooperative learning. After a dialogue with a friend, Sandra, the author starts to explain the Hexagon of cooperative freedom, synthesizing that it combines individual freedom with meaningful freedom. Then, prof. Morten talks about several theories of distance education – authors like Moore, Peters, Holmberg are reminded –, to end referring that freedom is as important as cooperation, for Distance Education student. Prof. Morten also says that Cooperative Freedom has six points: time, space, rhythm, media, access and curriculum.
With a very informal tool, the theory of Cooperative Freedom is presented by the authors, Mónica and Helena, pointing out some essential ideas.
I think that, since toonlet is a very synthetic way of communication, only some aspects of the theories are mentioned. Though both works refer the same theory, these toonlets present a different approach; the first one imagine a possible conversation between students to emphasize how collaboration is important to students. In addition, one can also state that this work points out that community members must be urged and stimulated to contribute to the community and benefit from it. The second work chooses another approach, mentioning authors that systematized fundamental ideas on distance education and then explaining six points of freedom.


When I choose these two learning objects, I did it because I found out that this tool is very interesting. The students that present theory of Cooperative Freedom do it explaining important aspects of this learning theory. I also chose these works because they emphasize different views, on cooperative freedom. Both learning object present cooperative learning in a very clear and concise way, meeting the purpose of this unit, activity 3, and I enjoyed reading both.
Congratulations to Mónica and Helena for your work

Lurdes Martins - Link

learning objects - review - Cooperative Freedom by monicavelosa

Hi, Mónica
I have just read your work and I liked it a lot. You used “toonlet” which I find very attractive because it allows you to explain a concept by means of very powerful cartoon-tool idea. I think it was a good choice because you were able to be very effective in explaining the theory of cooperative freedom. This way catches the attention and you were synthetic and organized in the presentation of the concept.

Well done,
Pedro Teixeira - Link

UNIT 1 – ACTIVITY 3: Review on two learning objects

UNIT 1 – ACTIVITY 3: Review on two learning objects

1º Learning Object: “Cooperative Freedom v4”

by Rosalina Nunes

LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emeApKvbQ0o

2º Learning Object: “Cooperative Freedom 0001”

by Pedro Teixeira

LINK : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwwAMecipjM

I selected these two objects due to their concision. I would first like to congratulate my colleagues for their work. I think they did two good learning objects on the Theory of Cooperative Freedom. The purpose of them is to answer the question "Cooperative Freedom - what is it?”

The first object:

The first object is simple in its content and structure. This object is divided into

four parts:

1. It refers to adult learners demands in online education such as::

a) Individual flexibility

b) Freedom and

c) belong to Learning community.

2. States that cooperative learning allows the addition of these features.

3. Indicates how to have cooperative learning.

4. Tells us who is Morten Flate.

Rosalina is careful to associate some images that are related with written words and fundamental freedom in the theory of cooperative freendom. One thing to improve would be detail further the definition of the theory of cooperative freedom. Rosalina in her learning object makes no reference to the distinction between individual learning, collaborative learning and cooperative learning. She only states that students seek certain features in online learning.

The importance, in my opinion, of such distinction is due to the fact that many people confuse collaborative learning with cooperative learning. Hence it is essential to find out the difference between both. It is essential to understand that difference so we can fully understand the theory of cooperative freedom.

The Second Object:

I really enjoyed the learning object made by Pedro Teixeira, since he was able to explain the theory of cooperative freedom in a simple but complete way. Pedro starts explaining the different forms of learning and explains each one in a simple and accurate way. Therefore, the video enables those who are viewing it to tell the difference between cooperative and collaborative learning. After getting notion of those concepts, people watching the video will be able to understand the difference between them and also that the addition of them is not easy. Despite not being easy, as Peter well tells us, that arrangement is made possible through a learning environment that can offer simultaneously individual flexibility, freedom and the possibility of belonging to a learning community.

I have to mention the good fitting of images in the texts referred to therein. A possible improvement is the colors chosen. Green and orange is a little blurry for anyone viewing the video.

Again, congratulations to colleagues for the work accomplished.

Mónica velosa

Cooperative Freedom

Cooperative Freedom by monicavelosa

ou aqui.