1. ONLINE PEDAGOGY, AND TECHNICAL
SKILLS: DEVELOPING ONLINE
TEACHING COMPETENCE
SANTILA L. TERRY MOT, OTR/L
2. THERE IS NOTHING MORE DIFFICULT TO
TAKE IN HAND, MORE PERILOUS TO
CONDUCT OR MORE UNCERTAIN IN ITS
SUCCESS, THAN TO TAKE THE LEAD IN
THE INTRODUCTION OF A NEW ORDER
OF THINGS.
NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI
3. ONLINE FACILITATOR PRIORITIES
• Create collaborative learning opportunities
• Never doubt your teaching competence (Remain
positive)
• Teach technical skills within the context of
discussion of instructional strategies
• Develop relationships
• Be flexible
• Catch the vision
• Be available
4. COMPETENCIES
Berge (1995) recommends 4 areas of competencies for
online facilitators:
2. Pedagogical use of resources to facilitate
learning.
3. Social initiative to maintain human relations
among group members.
4. Managerial skills that clearly establish the
procedures for discussion and activity
development.
5. Technical knowledge of the software being
utilized within the system.
5. TECHNOLOGICAL PEDAGOGICAL KNOWLEDGE
• Knowledge that various forms of technology
exists and are being utilized in the online
learning environment.
• Understanding that instruction may change
as a result of technology.
• Familiarity with the variety of learning tools
that exist and knowledge of the strategies for
utilizing the tools.
6. USING BLACKBOARD
Blackboard is a very popular learning tool in the
online environment.
• Content, handouts, discussions, grades and so
much more can be delivered and managed by
Blackboard.
7. USING BLACKBOARD CONT’D
•As an online facilitator you should become familiar
with the basic 6 tools of Blackboard.
4.Announcements- The tool for general
communication in the course.
6.Communication tools- The tool for individual and
group communication in the course.
8.Test Manager- The tool that can administer practice
tests, quizzes, and exams.
8. USING BLACKBOARD CONT’D
4. Assignment tool- Combines the functionality of the
drop box and a grading tool in a single location.
5. Grade book- Single location for all grades with some
sorting capabilities.
6. Content tools- Ways to add content to the course.
10. WHY BLOGGING IS AN EFFECTIVE
INSTRUCTIONAL CHOICE
Blogging works very well as a learning tool in
the online environment for several reasons:
3. It encourages thoughtful reflection on
experiences. (Constructivism)
4. Supports collaborative construction of
knowledge.
5. Fosters a community of learners.
11. BEGINNING CHANGE AND SURVIVING
Trust and confidence
Small success and little victories build confidence and
trust
Understanding and respect
Demonstrates respect in instructional practices
Insight into approach to change
12. EDUCATION IS NOT THE FILLING OF A PAIL, BUT THE
LIGHTING OF A FIRE
W. B. YEATS
13. REFERENCES
Berge, Z. (1996). “The Role of the Online Instructor/Facilitator”.
Retrieved from:
http://www.iteslj.org/Articles/Queiroz-OnlineTeachers.html
Koehler, M. (2011). “Technological Pedagogical Knowledge”.
Retrieved from:
http://www.mkoehler.educ.msu.edu/tpack/technological-pedagogical-knowled
Retrieved from:
http://www.glencoe.com/sec/teachingtoday/educationupclose.phtml/4
7
Editor's Notes
Most faculty have little or no formal education about teaching their content. This is especially true when discussing online teaching. Seize opportunities to teach about learning theory at every opportunity. Teaching is fraught with uncertainty. You never know exactly how successful you might be on any given day. Rewards are delayed, sometimes for years. Given the situational nature of teaching, there is not a recipe that can be broadly applied to every episode. There is give and take in every teaching episode and the teacher reads the audience and responds. We suggest possibilities. Technical skills taught without context force users to rely on memory and lists until competence is reached. Skills taught within context are easier to recall. Be observant and take opportunities to show other ways to do tasks or suggest additions or modifications. Model the skill and then work toward self-sufficiency. Build relationships with faculty. Faculty will begin to trust your suggestions and consider them as enhancements to what is already in place. We respect their role and let them know that we can help them to become more expert in an unfamiliar environment. Most faculty should be able to describe a perfect course. Our job is to catch the vision and help them turn this into a reality. Answer the phone, respond to email…you are their safety net.
Bad habits are hard to break. First and foremost, we want to catch as many online faculty as possible before they have built a course on their own. Rather than going through the details of every part of the LMS – we allow exploration with extensive support. Making mistakes with immediate feedback and correction is a strong style for teaching technical skills. We expose to online pedagogy and use this exposure to help frame the first TWU online course. It becomes a conversation between the ID and the faculty member…I tried this – what else do I need to do? Saturdays because many adjuncts and TAs have other full-time jobs.
To make sure that all faculty have access to the pedagogical resources and materials developed by the ID team, two different sets of resources were developed. Currently 5 mini-courses (focused on a specific topic with examples and links to other resources) are available to faculty. Faculty can self-enroll in these mini-courses. TWU ID is home to over 250 pages of resources about online teaching and learning. The initial phase of the project is complete and a comprehensive set of resources on the LMS and pedagogical techniques are in place. The second phase will expand examples of instructional strategies and learning theory for the online course.
