Ne Workers TISIP An online course for online

Ne. Workers TISIP An on-line course for on-line tutors - professors and staff members as students Trondheim, September 19, 2005 Presented by Bodil Ask & Harald Haugen Ask & Haugen HØGSKOLEN STORD/HAUGESUND

Why this course ? Ø Demands for global distribution of H E - e-learning and on-line courses may be a solution - need for qualified e-learning tutors Ø Quality of content - university staff knows their subject matter, but often not so much about e-learning Ø Pedagogical theories and methods - not always in focus for university professionals Ø Managing new technologies, insight and skills - a challenge for well established / senior staff Ask & Haugen HØGSKOLEN STORD/HAUGESUND

Managing change ”One of the greatest pains to human nature is the pain of a new idea”. Walter Bagehot Ask & Haugen HØGSKOLEN STORD/HAUGESUND 3

Initiative & collaboration Ø Urgent need for on-line tutors by GVU - the Global Virtual University under UNU Ø Joint development of the POL course Ø 3 institutions with 3 authors / tutors - GVU w. Aake Bjørke as course leader & tutor - Stord/Haugesund U. College, academic resp. (HH) - Agder University College, tutoring (BA) Ø POL based on Pi. OL, pioneering since 1996 - by the Norwegian R&D group NITOL Ask & Haugen HØGSKOLEN STORD/HAUGESUND

Guided course development POL – ’Pedagogy for Online Learning’ intends to spread experiences and ideas about elearning – practical uses of technology and collaboration – pedagogical background – learning by doing • practising online learning environment • experience tutoring of courses on-line • guided construction of own courseware Ask & Haugen HØGSKOLEN STORD/HAUGESUND

The course preparation Basis for the course: Ø a study guide to clarify learning aims and objectives; content, level and credits Ø choice of pedagogy / strategy / structure Ø provision of learning resources; develop content, exercises & assignments, links, . . . Ø choice of technology & platform Ø organise content in study blocks Ø make room for reflection in & on learning; pauses for thought Ask & Haugen HØGSKOLEN STORD/HAUGESUND

Course content I Outlined in the Study guide • Module 1: The virtual classroom • Log into the LMS. Asynchronous and synchronous conferencing. Threaded discussions. Tools, folders and files. • Module 2: Online learning and learning environments • Collaborative learning environments. Communities of practice. Online tutoring skills, e-moderating: the 5 -step model (Gilly Salmon, E-moderating. The key to teaching and learning online. Ask & Haugen HØGSKOLEN STORD/HAUGESUND

Virtual learning environment (Gilly Salmon, 2004) Ask & Haugen HØGSKOLEN STORD/HAUGESUND

Course content II • Module 3: Pedagogical approaches • Instructivism, constructivism, socio-cultural approach. Theoretical background for communities of practice. Deep & surface learning, collaborative learning, DPBL, Activity theory. Student types and personalised follow-up • Module 4: Online technologies • Tools and media, hyper structures, LMS, mixand-match suitable media Ask & Haugen HØGSKOLEN STORD/HAUGESUND

Course content III • Module 5: Implementation • Developing students' online skills, scaffolding • Conferencing: planning, starting, maintaining, moderating, reflecting and negotiation of meaning, threading, weaving • Academic writing & referencing. Plagiarism. • Support & feedback to students • Assessment methods. Course evaluation (formative & summative) Revision and updating • Module 6: Making your own course (optional!) (Earns extra 5 credits if completed. ) • Structuring of educational material. Iterative prototyping & peer tutoring. Publishing Ask & Haugen HØGSKOLEN STORD/HAUGESUND

Course material • A set book, a CD-ROM + online resources in different structures: – Texts for each module, made available on the LMS • The LMS was organised in – – – an Archive of more permanent texts a Forum for group work, threaded discussions etc. a Portfolio keeping track of student activities a Chat room and a Whiteboard for interactions in addition there were a class list, a message board and a newsroom • Independent and guided activities and tasks to be performed/solved by students • Minilectures and messages posted on the LMS when tutors found it useful or necessary for further progress Ask & Haugen HØGSKOLEN STORD/HAUGESUND

Ask & Haugen HØGSKOLEN STORD/HAUGESUND

Course enrolment GVU/UNU urged their partner institutions to apply in order to qualify for tutoring Ø 19 professionals from around the world, registered as students Ø representing 10 different countries on 4 continents Ø and even more cultures and traditions Ask & Haugen HØGSKOLEN STORD/HAUGESUND

Experiences Ø Unusually high activity on Forum debates Ø 200 – 600 visits during 5 months (> 1200 !) Øup to 150 written contributions by one person Øalso some ‘lurkers’ and a few passive students Ø Challenges observed & solutions used Ødifferent time zones asynchronous work Øminimal infrastructure & equipment CD-ROM Ø Results were encouraging ØAbout 50% sat for the exam; obtained diploma Ask & Haugen HØGSKOLEN STORD/HAUGESUND

Feed-back Student feed-back during the course Ø Comments to course content & structure on Forum were dominantly positive Ø Activities on the LMS indicated interest Ø Individual e-mails to tutors varied Ømainly positive to mini-lectures and assistance Øsome students wanted more tutor involvement Ø Technical problems were reported Ask & Haugen HØGSKOLEN STORD/HAUGESUND

Formal course evaluation A questionnaire with 10 items at the end Ø On a scale 1 (poor) – 6 (perfect), the average score came out 4. 7 for all questions Ø Particularly encouraging scores: Ø Was course interesting, a rich learning experience? 5. 3 Ø Tasks & activities appropriate to achieve goals? 5. 1 Ø - and not so encouraging: Ø How did group work function? 4. 1 Ø Sufficient time for activities? 4. 3 Ask & Haugen HØGSKOLEN STORD/HAUGESUND

Free text course evaluation The questionnaire opened up for comments Ø Some very positive comments: Ø Wow! Yes! This was a great learning experience for me. I could not wait for time when I would knock off from my regular job to visit the internet café Ø Truly this was a community of practice, true collaborative learning Ø - and not so positive: Ø I thought it would be a more practical course, designed on setting up online learning courses Ø this (function of LMS) was largely due to the fact that my connection speed is very low, making the program very frustrating to use Ask & Haugen HØGSKOLEN STORD/HAUGESUND

Further plans for POL The course is again open for registration this year Ø Partly revised version this Fall: Ø an updated Study Guide, based on previous experiences Ø an extra issue added on the use ECTS for online courses Ø Students (23) are now registering from 15 different countries Ø The course description and conditions: Ø http: //gvu. unu. edu/courses. cfm? pageid=1031&courseid=1002 Ø Course fee: US$ 1000, for 10 ECTS credits Ask & Haugen HØGSKOLEN STORD/HAUGESUND

International student group in POL students 2004 2005 Ask & Haugen HØGSKOLEN STORD/HAUGESUND

Thank you for listening and good luck with your e-learning ventures http: //gvu. unu. edu/courses. cfm? pageid=1031&courseid=1002 Ask & Haugen HØGSKOLEN STORD/HAUGESUND 20