Thursday, March 31, 2011

I have been thinking about ....teaching and learning and online courses....

In the words of David Thornton (technology and education commentator)

"any teacher who can be replaced by a computer probably deserves to be"


Thinking about what technology has to offer university students and lecturers led me to thinking about how technology changes the society and culture in which it is situated and used - and what online learning will create / change in relation to the nature of learning and teaching.

To paraphrase a question posed by Neil Postman; schools and universities, need to ask not only what the technology can can provide for their teachers and students and what can be gained by having it, but also, what might it take from them too.

What might we, as teachers and educators stand to lose?



hmmmmmmmm....
things that make me go ....hmmmmmm

3 comments:

  1. This is a very big "hmmmmmmm" topic for me too! I've done a big variety of teaching and course designing for both face-to-face and online teaching and I pretty much live online but I still can't really accept that online learning is better than being there (depending on the teacher of course!). Honestly I still think even the best online courses are just a good substitute for people who can't make it to a face-to-face class for some reason (if the teacher is good, yes another disclaimer!). I guess my preference is face-to-face teaching with an online component - best of both worlds?

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  2. The online component is a plus for anyone who has work/family commitments and wants to continue studies; however after completing several classes this way, for me the actual campus time is essential to keep motivated and focused.

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  3. I think I want to do a series on Captcha words...they are so bizarre! "Mutaids", "Singili","Riptort"...huh?

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