For example, today's online
teaching and learning paradigms encompass skills as Dabbagh (2007) explains
that include "online learners (who) must
be ready to share their work, interact within small and large groups in virtual
settings, and collaborate on projects online or otherwise risk isolation in a
community growing increasingly dependent on connectivity and interaction"
(par. 9). Learners' preparations for
online learning include a strong comfort level with writing, using Web
technologies, and computer proficiency (Dabbagh, 2007). Furthermore, online learners should have acquired
“self-discipline, self-monitoring, self-initiative, and self-management, which
are characteristics of self-regulated or self-directed learning" (Dabbagh,
2007, par. 10), which are especially critical due to the physical absence of an
instructor.
A Community of Practice (COP) is a
"pedagogical model grounded in a theory of learning as a social process
and implemented in an online context through knowledge networks, asynchronous
learning networks, and other Internet and Web-based collaborative and
communication technologies" (Dabbagh, 2007, par. 10). An online learner's "need for
affiliation manifests itself in online learning environments" (Dabbagh,
2007, par. 10), which is an example of a COP. Knowledge-sharing is recognized as intellectual
capital. Although online learning
typically includes skills that enable learners to "(a) act competently on
their own; (b) have confidence in their knowledge, skills, and performance; and
(c) learn how to create and manage a personal presence" (Dabbagh, 2007,
par. 13), learners' needs for affiliation are paramount to achieving success in an online learning environment. The collaborative skills required for online
learning include "social learning skills, discursive or dialogical skills,
self and group evaluation skills, and reflection skills" (Dabbagh, 2007,
par. 15).
The Illinois Online Network and the Board of Trustees of the
University of Illinois (2010) wrote that successful online teaching and
learning provides an accessibility
to technology, and online instructors who promote a comfortable learning
atmosphere. A powerful element in
today's online learning paradigms ensures that curriculums are developed or
converted according to online learning needs.
Castro (2012) mirrors Dabbagh's (2007) comments above in
that teachers and students no longer exist in the online learning environment
as individuals but instead as "participants in a dynamic and collective
system of meaning" (p. 165).
Furthermore, the parameters of how learners and administration view
online teachers should also include teachers as "images, objects, events,
encounters, and so on" (Castro, 2012, p. 165). "If learning exists at multiple scales,
from cellular to cultural, then so does teaching" (Castro, 2012, p. 165).
Further
support of the paradigm that addresses learners' increased participation in
their learning is noted by Tu, Sujo-montes, Yen, Chan, & Blocher (2012) who
wrote that "learners have freedom to access, create, and recreate
their learning content; and they have opportunities to interact outside of a learning
system" (p. 13). Educators focusing
on “social, open, and network aspects have integrated various Web 2.0 technologies
to support their existing online instruction in a learning management system
(LMS)" (Tu et al., 2012, p. 13). Tu
et al. (2012) remarked that "integrating multiple tools simultaneously is
the best strategy for infusing teaching and learning paradigms" (p. 13).
Consequently, Tu et al. (2012) noted that social networking tools represent new teaching and learning potentialities, and have resulted in a "fundamental shift in the way students learn, consume, and produce new artifacts" (p. 13). Web 2.0 integration has required a modification from a "more teacher and institution-centered mindset to more distributed, personalized effort and collaboration" (Tu et al., 2012, p. 13). Tu et al. (2012) also recommended that to avoid the potential for any disconcerting impact on learning using Web 2.0 integration, teachers can use Open Network Learning Environments (ONLE), and ask students to construct their own Personal Learning Environments (PLE), which can support an effective open network for communicating, interacting, and collaborating. Learning Management Systems that include a PLE and ONLE enable learners and educational institutions to successfully "prepare competent global digital citizens (who can) create, share, and collaborate digital learning content and resources in global communities regardless of their socioeconomic status and geographic locations" (Tu et al., 2012, p. 18).
Reflecting perspectives as
noted above, Shovein, Huston, Fox, & Damazo (2005) wrote that teachers can influence "an awakening
awareness" (par. 10) in others when the learning environment possesses a "milieu
of freedom and gives greater than usual prominence to educational experiences
in which personal involvement is magnified and intensified" (par.
10). In continuing support of the above
successful teaching and learning theories, Shovin et al. (2005) wrote that current paradigms include elements
wherein "students and teachers are responsible together for education, students
are responsible for critically considering reality, the teacher relinquish(es)
control and exchanges the role of narrator for one of student among students"
(par. 11). Teachers can experience new
freedoms by "consulting with and by engaging students in meaningful dialogue"
(Shovein et al., 2005, par. 13).
New teaching and
learning paradigms using technology have transferred teachers into the role as
mediator and coach using encouragement to aid learners in developing knowledge
more actively. Shovein, Huston, Fox, & Damazo (2005) indicated that teachers are increasingly challenged
due to a heavier responsibility for engaging and encouraging "authentic,
meaningful dialogue that promotes caring in all learning situations, regardless
of the activities or technology used to support the pedagogy" (par. 22). In fact, a prominent challenge for teachers is
to not find the "best" e-tool but finding the highest quality answers
to the many "learning challenges inherent in a global, information-based
society" (par. 23). Answering
challenges associated with today's online teaching and learning technologies
that have affected the increased proliferation of learners wanting to be more
responsible and participatory in their own learning achievements have impacted
the degree of success in yesterday's paradigms, which are evolving into today's
and tomorrow's teaching and learning paradigms.
References:
Castro,
J.C. (2012, Winter). Learning and
teaching art: Through social media. Studies in Art Education, 53(2), 152. Retrieved from ProQuest
Research Library.
Dabbagh, N. (2007).
The online learner: Characteristics and
pedagogical implications. Retrieved from http://www.citejournal.org/vol7/iss3/general/article1.cfm
Illinois Online Network and the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. (2010). Weaknesses of online learning. Retrieved from http://www.ion.uillinois.edu/resources/tutorials/overview/weaknesses.asp
Shovein, J., Huston, C., Fox, S., & Damazo, B. (2005, November-December). Challenging traditional teaching and learning paradigms: Online learning and emancipatory teaching. Retrieved from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb3317/is_6_26/ai_n29227982/pg_3/?tag=content;col1
Tu, C., Sujo-montes, L., Yen,
C., Chan, J., & Blocher, M. (2012, May-June). The integration of
personal learning
environments & open network learning environments. TechTrends,
56(3), 13-19. Retrieved from
ProQuest Education Journals.
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