While eighty-one precepts are presented for creating successful learning events, it is clear that The Tao of Teaching is a book about humanist, progressive classroom instructional philosophies, methods, and practices. It is also a book about the value of teaching children in enriched environments.
How does a facilitator of distance education courses in the arts or other disciplines go about creating an enriched online environment for adult learners? What elements of an enriched traditional classroom setting might be transferrable to an online course? How would such elements be modified?
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One element that is easily transferrable to an online class is the sharing of resources and information. The idea of learning along with students is a concept I have seen this occurring this course and the course I took the previous semester. The instructor acts as a facilitator and allows and encourages an exchange of ideas and information. The philosophy behind this book sound similar to Joye Norris' book From Telling to Teaching.
I was curious what your take on this book would be. You're more open to such ideas than I am. I thought if I missed something, I would find it here. You stated the book's main points much more eloquently, with less venom than I did.
Those are excellent questions. I don't have an answer to any of them. In fact, I've wondered the same thing. For me, more of a public speaker, teaching online is essentially, taping my mouth shut, plugging my ears and asking me to sing the National Anthem.
I like Taoism. Seems like a very gentle and harmonious approach to life.
I'm always surprised at how many different things people seem to want to apply it to. Google "Tao of" and you get over 10 million hits. Tao of gardening. Tao of Physics. Tao of UNIX Programming.
I can see how flexibility is definitely helpful for facilitators of online classes.
To your question on enrichment though—we had a course with Dr. Rich Feller (Denver cohort folks will recall) and he provided so many additional resources for our use it was almost overwhelming. There were pages and pages of well-organized links to amazing resources. We used many in class, but others were available just for our own interest.
I think what Dr. Kaiser has us doing in this class in our “Resource sharing” area is similarly helpful for the curious learner. And as we go along, more and more items of interest are appearing in there from fellow students.
--Patrick
C'mon by my blog...it’s the sound of one hand clapping!
http://edae692.blogspot.com/
I like your question; but I'm still stumped on distance education and the arts! I'm thinking painting, sculpture - how do you share that? Are we talking 'blended' class?
Can I use Leann's approach as a good model? Plus I'm adding Vella - good, thorough, reflective program design, learning tasks that incorporate the different learning styles and modalities.
I agree about the sharing of resources...if enough people share, it begins to look like a virtual library. It would be nice to somehow catalog websites, book titles, article titles separately to make the hunt easier when referring back. Perhaps, just separate threads under the discussion area for different categories of resources!
Linda,
The course I'm creating now in Blackboard is about current trends in environmental art and is, basically, an art history-like course with various project assignments that will involve artful adventures away from the computer. Learners may need to be able to upload photos or scanned graphic images, etc., to add to their written work. In addition, using multiple intelligences as a guide, projects will not be limited to visual arts so students may choose to create something auditory to share with classmates...you get the idea. Literary works of art are easier to present for online assignments. Much of the class will revolve around discussion points about the environmental art movement, reading,reflections on field trips, and such.
Oh - that sounds like a really cool class; especially the idea of going out and exploring - it allows the learner to interpret without parameters (so to speak.) I had an intro to art and also a humanities class like that - it was great. We even had discount coupon book for all the 'art' events happening that we could attend and write reflective thoughts.
I like that you are including the different modalities - it really does open the experience for all to gain the most.
I just read a great paper on writing higher level thinking questions to discourage plagiarism in online postings. Though it is only tangentially connected to this topic, there were some really salient points about writing quality questions in general. The paper could have been titled "The Tao of Developing Quality Online Discussion Questions". Check it out if you get a chance, or if it is of interest.
From - MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching
http://jolt.merlot.org/vol5no2/olt_0609.htm
Greg
Thanks Greg! I think having the ability to craft great questions definitely enriches an online classroom because of the ability to skillfully engage learners. Thanks so much for the new resource to add to my files on this very subject! Now, I have a site for you...Penn State has one of the best I've found for the art of crafting questions. A cache of great docs there.
http://ets.tlt.psu.edu/learningdesign/crafting_question
Thanks to everyone who has joined the discussion so far! I thought I'd begin adding an idea here and there that I've been gleaning from outside reading.
Today's idea for a way to create an enriched online classroom comes from a "Special Report" published by www.facultyfocus.com entitled, "Online Course Design: 13 Strategies for Teaching in a Web-based Distance Learning Environment." This particular idea, printed in the report, comes from MassBay Community College assistant professor Linda Romero who is teaching in a blended format.
"Romero was deliberate in making her online course 'real' without being too complilcated. She created a look to the course that matched the physical appearance of the education environments her students work in. The first thing they see when they enter the course site is a red schoolhouse with a flag waving and a bell ringing" (p. 13).
How many of you who are online tools are working with ideas similar to this, like using a physical site photo or company logo and colors on the home page, etc.?
What are some other ways to make a course homepage engaging for different types of learning styles?
Susan - another cool resource with facultyfocus.com :-).
Not being one who is developing or engaged currently in teaching via distance - I can't speak to the limitations of particular platforms. I would hope it would be similar to creating a powerpoint in that you can chose appropriate backgrounds and symbols. Paying attention to readability, flow, outline of information, etc.
I really think as the distance educator you should know how the software works - trial by fire is not easy for many learners. A disjointed, difficult to follow course page really becomes a negative and could very well impact learning.
Yes, Linda, I agree. Actually, developinig in Blackboard at CSU is pretty easy...the tutorials get you through the logistics and the tech staff get you through the rest. There are different versions of Blackboard, price dependent, for institutions to purchase. We don't have all the bells and whistles available in our CSU version but it works just fine. I've also had a little experience as a learner with Desire2Learn (D2L) and prefer Blackboard.
One of the things that seems to be growing in popularity for first-time users of online Course Management Systems (CMS) like Blackboard and D2L are "scavenger hunts." Learners are led to clues here and there online as they navigate and learn the various features of the CMS, then to a conclusion that lets the instructor know they have mastered the elements that will be used for the course. We had to do this at University of Wisconsin-Steven's Point the first day of class to learn D2L and it was great!
FacultyFocus just had a great article about how to create a scavenger hunt in Blackboard to help first-time users become familiar with the CMS more quickly.
As for designing a look in Blackboard, you can upload a background image for the homepage, choose colors and fonts for every text element, colors for page backgrounds, select from different icon pallettes, and really create a cohesive visual presentation if you like. Takes time though!
By the way (and this always makes me laugh) has anyone besides me wondered what would happen if you strung together all the weird words from the "word verification" feature in this blog?!
Susan,
Thanks for the resource on crafting questions. That’ll give me some ideas both for online and in-person discussions. You’re right, I wonder who generates those words were supposed to verify. Half the time I get them wrong, which gets me to wondering if I’m an actual person or just a rather dim bit of software. I think I’m real though—if sunburn is any indicator...
Back to Taoism for a second. One of the things I like about it is its emphasis on reflection. I like to consider ideas and think about them. Training courses seldom have much time or energy allocated for that internal process. From reading the book is there anything you (or anyone else) can recommend to encourage that?
Greg—Interesting article on plagiarism in threaded discussions. Honestly I’d never considered that as a problem. Most likely because the discussion prompts I’ve seen encourage those higher-order thinking skills the article recommends. I always wonder if students put in as much time actually doing the work as they seem to be willing to put into avoiding it, if things wouldn’t work better for everyone.
--Patrick
Swing by my blog...All content is pasted from other blogs!
http://edae692.blogspot.com/
Reflection is a big part of Taoism and is the "yin" component where the learning activities of a training session would be the "yang" component. One of the things that Taoism teaches us is the importance of maintaining a balance between yin and yang. The sun is yang, the moon is yin. Both are part of a whole day's experience.
Allowing 10 minutes during a morning or afternoon training session for reflective writing would be one way to introduce reflection. I would avoid it at the beginning of class or at the end of class because minds are typically elsewhere.
Guide the reflective writing experience with a selection of 3-5course-related questions from which the learner can choose as a prompt. You might prepare learners in a syllabus by telling them to bring their own journal, thereby giving more personalized ownership to each.
My experience with reflective writing is that some will write a lot, others will have no clue what to do with the time. That's ok and may speak to learning style differences. Drawing/doodling is ok too. Just sitting quietly and thinking is ok.
If the training goes on for days, make reflective journaling a part of the daily routine. At the end of the course, some learners may want to verbally share their thoughts so allowing time for this during the wrap might be something to think about too.
Check these links out from FacultyFocus about using Web 2.0 tools in the classroom…fantastic videos on the use of blogs in education!
Web 2.0 tools also enrich the online classroom and anyone teaching online can become familiar with enough of them to accomodate different learning styles! An email notice I received today from FacultyFocus stated, “Many of the Web 2.0 applications Conaway encourages faculty to experiment with are the very same ones being used by students and others in their personal lives, including YouTube, Blogger, Wikispaces, Second Life, Jing, Screencast.com, Audacity, Dimdim, Flickr, and Ning.”
Check out these pages and videos from the Ning set up for the Conaway's seminar. College students are interviewed in the second one down and tell us why we should be using blogs in the traditional classroom...great information from the young adult's point of view.
http://yourdigitalpersonality.ning.com/
http://yourdigitalpersonality.ning.
com/video/10-reasons-to-blog-in-the
http://yourdigitalpersonality.ning.com/video/blogs-in-education
Hi Susan, finally made it over to your blog. Great discussion on course management systems. I’m also creating an online course for my final-final project, using Moodle. So far, the learning curve has been great; also, there are many printed resources for using Moodle, which has helped.
To answer your question, on creating a course homepage, it could have an audio introduction of the instructor; also, you could have the learners create a personal avatar. A pod cast would be good to introduce the course syllabus and objectives.
LaVerne,
What program would you have to use for learners to create personal avatars if you're in a system like Blackboard or Desire2Learn? Does Moodle allow you to do that?!
Love the idea of a podcast too for some of the course contents. And a video introduction by the instructor, how cool! Great ideas!!!
I'm going to ask a very basic question here - what is the definition of an "enriched learning environment?"
I'm enjoying reading the discussion on this and it's pretty informative to me as I've never thought about designing an online course and would have no idea where to start.
EXCELLENT Amanda!!! I wondered when someone was going to ask this question. Based on information obtained from EDAE 590, Psychology of Learning, an "enriched" learning environment is one in which activities and surroundings are designed for continual dendritic growth. We learned that the part of our brain's neurons called dendrites (hailing from the neuron cell body) continue to make connections with other dendrites as long as there is environmental stimulation. The more novel and stimulating a learning environment, the more dendritic connections are made. In the absence of novelty and stimulation, dendrites (think spindly diffuse root-like structures) tend to shrivel and curl making the connections with other neurons (the dendrite portion) unlikely. Think kids who have grown up under the veil of neglect or emotional connection with others.
So, enriched learning environments provide a variety of experiences, encourage novelty in tasking, and are stimulating to a variety of senses.
Way to go! And, as you can see, all of the suggestions so far provide for ways to make this possible in the online environment!
This is a simplified version and I encourage anyone interested in the enriched learning environment to research this further! It just makes so much sense.
IN RESPONSE TO: How many of you who are online tools are working with ideas similar to this, like using a physical site photo or company logo and colors on the home page, etc.? What are some other ways to make a course homepage engaging for different types of learning styles?
I'm always attracted to those sites that use sounds and images that simulate real objects (like pages that appear to turn along with the sounds of paper as it turns). I still like REAL books, paper and turning pages. I hate reading from a screen. This type of simulation feels nostalgic to me and I find it engaging.
I remember the first time I saw the page turning thing with American Trails Magazine online version...I was amazed! Loved the sound effects too. It's incredibly effective. Great addition to the conversation. Now, if I just knew how they did that??? Anybody?
WOW - so much great discussion going on.
My verification words have gotten much easier (I posted a 'newbie' discussion on this on my blog awhile ago!) I'm thinking Google figured out how badly I was doing and dummied it down :-).
I believe as someone previously posted, the dynamics/look of an online course is in the hands of a creative, attention-to-detail, patient, knowledgeable creator.
I can compare only slightly to the PowerPoint I created last semester in EDAE 624 with the keyboard typing and the words streaming across - timing and to much time on my hands to explore and fiddle :-).
Hopefully, practice leads to efficiency and ease of creating. But I think you have to want to have the finished product be different to achieve difference.
In another class there was a discussion thread on the on-line involvement and the subjective nature of discussion. Someone mentioned video streaming the in-class teaching session for online students. I hadn't thought of that before; but for some it is just another approach to creating an enriched online environment.
Thank you for the definition, Susan! I like the terminology used to expalin it, particularly the dendritic terms as it they have roots in biology (think dendrology - study of trees, branching). I can understand the concept better because of being able to make this association.
I was on the right track in my thinking about what an enriched env't is. Thanks! :)
Amanda,
I knew you could relate! Being part scientist (icu nursing background) myself, I love seeing the structure of dendrites in everything! I laid a flagstone sidewalk at my Santa Fe home and some of the stone had black manganese (I think) dendrites infused on the surface. It was gorgeous!
Great blog!! We utilize our logo on all of our online training sites, along with our color scheme, etc. It is important whether online or offline to bring in as much of the "environment" as possible. It is also so important to keep the participants engaged in the learning. It is extremely difficult for a learner to sit in front of a computer for six hours taking training. We have to ensure to incorporate various training methods to mix it up and keep in engaging.
I finally got back here. Great information from everyone and got my mind thinking.
There is research out there that indicates people relate well to faces when learning online. That face can be as simple as a cartoon character, or it can be a live person walking and talking on the screen.
Interestingly enough, the research also found that when it comes time for the learner to evaluate the course, using a different computer changes the evaluation because the learner identifies the computer with the personification used.
There is a professional company that sells software for this. I couldn't remember the name or find it, but I did find this article of interest.
http://ezinearticles.com/?Talking-Avatars-in-Education---The-Virtual-Teacher-Comes-of-Age!&id=2530488
I have taken courses that utilized video streaming - they actually started out as recorded videos on VHS and progressed to DVDs and then video streaming - I enjoyed being able to see the students in the live classroom and stil remember the courses as if I was there. The only problem was the courses were not very interactive for the distance students. I think a combination of streaming along with the discussion interaction such as we have in this class would be ideal.
About live video streaming...were you taking these courses from your workplace or home? My rudimentary understanding on that is that there is a per-reception-site fee for the broadcast facility so it makes it more worthwhile if there are a number of people taking the class (and paying for it) from one single location.
For example, live webinars with streaming video (e.g., the broadcasters are using Adobe Connect software) may cost as much as $.25/minute per site (phone charges) in the continental US, so an hour of streaming video and webinar for 25-30 student home sites can get quite expensive over the course of a semester. Tech support is also usually on standby as they're setting up the initial connection between the broadcast site and the phones at the learner's reception sites.
Does anyone have other information on this as far as cost to link the broadcast site with each single student home site for distance learners??? Thanks!
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