Write an essay on of about 250-300 words on online teaching &learning
Answers
Answer:
What is Online Learning?
Online learning is education that takes place over the Internet. It is often referred to as “e-
learning” among other terms. However, online learning is just one type of “distance learning” -
the umbrella term for any learning that takes place across distance and not in a traditional
classroom. Distance learning has a long history and there are several types available today,
including:
• Correspondence Courses: conducted through regular mail with little interaction.
• Telecourses: where content is delivered via radio or television broadcast.
• CD-ROM Courses: where the student interacts with static computer content.
• Online Learning: Internet-based courses offered synchronously and/or asynchronously.
• Mobile Learning: by means of devices such as cellular phones, PDAs and digital audio
players (iPods, MP3 players).
By far the most popular approach today is online learning. According to the Sloan Consortium,
online enrollments continue to grow at rates faster than for the broader student population and
institutes of higher education expect the rate of growth to continue increasing. Some of the key
findings:
• Over 1.9 million students were studying online in the fall of 2003.
• Schools expect the number of online students to grow to over 2.6 million by the fall of 2004.
• Schools expect online enrollment growth to accelerate — the expected average growth rate
for online students for 2004 is 24.8%, up from 19.8% in 2003.
• The majority of all schools (53.6%) agree that online education is critical to their long-term
strategy.
• A majority of academic leaders believe that online learning quality is already equal to or
superior to face-to-face instruction. (The “no significant difference” phenomenon.)
Explanation:
Online learning is catalyzing a pedagogical shift in how we teach and learn. There is a shift
away from top-down lecturing and passive students to a more interactive, collaborative
approach in which students and instructor co-create the learning process. The Instructor’s role
is changing from the “sage on the stage” to “the guide on the side.”
Constructivism
This point of view maintains that people actively construct new knowledge as they interact with
their environment. This is a student-centered approach in which students “co-create” theirlearning experience. This approach empowers students as active learners instead of just
passive recipients absorbing information and reproducing it for standardized tests.
Derived from the work of Swiss philosopher, Jean Piaget, constructivism emphasizes:
• The learner as a unique individual.
• The relevence of the learner’s background and culture.
• Increased responsibility for learning belongs to the student.
• Motivation for learning comes from successful completion of challenging tasks.
• Instructors as facilitators helping learners develop their own understanding of content.
• Learning is an active, social process.
• The dynamic interaction between task, instructor and learner. Synergy!
Constructionism
Constructionism asserts that learning is particularly effective when constructing something for
others to experience. This can be anything from a spoken sentence or an internet posting, to
more complex things like a painting or a presentation. For example, you might read this page
several times and still forget it by tomorrow - but if you were asked to explain these ideas to
someone else in your own words, or produce a slideshow that explained these concepts, you
would gain a deeper understanding that is more integrated into your own ideas.
Collaboration
As an instructor, you focus on the experiences that would best generate learning from the
learner's point of view, rather than just publishing and assessing the information you think they
need to know. Each participant in a course can and should be a teacher as well as a learner.
Your job changes from being the sole source of knowledge, to being a guide and role model.
You connect with students in ways that address their own learning needs by moderating
discussions and activities in a way that collectively leads students towards the larger learning
goals of the class.
Benefits of Online Teaching and Learning
Why online distance learning and why now? Online distance learning meets the needs of an
ever-growing population of students who cannot or prefer not to participate in traditional
classroom settings. These learners include those unable to attend traditional classes, who
cannot find a particular class at their chosen institution, who live in remote locations, who