» Applying Research to Design Online Learning Environments

1. » Applying Research to Design Online Learning Environments Paul Ham Siam University eLearningAP 2005 (Bangkok, Thailand) 6 August 2005 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License.

2. Roadmap • What are Online Learning Environments (OLEs)? • Plus affordances and caveats • Frameworks for Online Design and Learning • Recommendations with Examples Siam University (มหาวิทยาลัยสยาม) Paul Ham (pham@post.harvard.edu)

3. What are OLEs? • For our purposes: • Text- and icon-based • Low bandwidth, accessible • Asynchronous Learning Networks (ALNs) • Structured, practical inquiry; reasoned discourse • “Adult learners” (post-secondary) • Access (geography, schedule); life experiences; ability to write • Comment on the “promise of multimedia” Siam University (มหาวิทยาลัยสยาม) Paul Ham (pham@post.harvard.edu)

4. What’s the Problem? • Most OLEs are technical modifications of “message boards” • Pedagogy has focused on teaching “around the technology” not “with the technology” • OLEs should be “tools not toolboxes” Siam University (มหาวิทยาลัยสยาม) Paul Ham (pham@post.harvard.edu)

5. Framework for Online LearningTeaching for Understanding - TfU (Wiske, et. al.) Siam University (มหาวิทยาลัยสยาม) Paul Ham (pham@post.harvard.edu)

6. A Process of On-line Learning Siam University (มหาวิทยาลัยสยาม) Paul Ham (pham@post.harvard.edu)

7. Framework for Design Siam University (มหาวิทยาลัยสยาม) Paul Ham (pham@post.harvard.edu)

8. Recommendations: Cognitive • Consider cognitive readability • Allow simple HTML formatting Siam University (มหาวิทยาลัยสยาม) Paul Ham (pham@post.harvard.edu)

9. Recommendations: Social • Require users to share biographical data • Allow community tagging and moderation Siam University (มหาวิทยาลัยสยาม) Paul Ham (pham@post.harvard.edu)

10. Recommendations: Teaching • Literal “Guide on the Side” • Create “facilitator views” Siam University (มหาวิทยาลัยสยาม) Paul Ham (pham@post.harvard.edu)

11. Recommendations: Pedagogical • Stage learning processes • Teach for understanding Siam University (มหาวิทยาลัยสยาม) Paul Ham (pham@post.harvard.edu)

12. Rebuttals • Teachers and learners don’t want to get involved • This is a philosophical issue: some learners want to be left alone to get credentialed; some teachers want to talk and not listen • I have multiple needs but want a single login • Different courses have different needs--don’t rule out specialized applications, but encourage the “best of breed” • TfU is expensive • The profit margin on good teachers is low; the long-term benefits on understanding vs. schooling are unsubstantiable Siam University (มหาวิทยาลัยสยาม) Paul Ham (pham@post.harvard.edu)

13. Contact Paul Ham Siam University, Bangkok (e) pham@post.harvard.edu (w) http://paul.seven29.com/ This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License. Siam University (มหาวิทยาลัยสยาม) Paul Ham (pham@post.harvard.edu)