Untangled Web

Developing Teaching on the Internet

David Graham, Diane Mcneil, Lloyd (All Of Nottingham Trent University) Pettiford

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9781317875956
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Physical Sciences
• Subtopic: Geography
• Index: Geography

The internet and world wide web are revolutionizing many aspects of our lives, and have become an accepted part of socioeconomic experience in developed countries. For entertainment, shopping, banking, establishing friendships, seeking information, and so on, the web is the first port of call for an increasing number of people. A few in education have been quick to see the potential of the web as a platform for delivering a variety of teaching and learning materials. Many more, however, would like to make use of the web, but lack either the time or the skills, or both. Untangled Web provides a guide for those wishing to develop their own teaching and learning resources on the web, whether for local, open or distance learning. By using this book, potential web educators can acquire some of these basic skills and save time by drawing on the experiences of the authors and avoiding the pitfalls and problems that they have encountered. The authors have gained considerable expertise in devising, designing, constructing, testing, adapting and evaluating their own web-based instruction packages which have been developed over a number of years and involve a variety of subject areas. Untangled web is therefore very much focused on practical experience, and while it is primarily aimed at teachers in further and higher education, schoolteachers interested in using the web as a teaching and learning medium will find it useful. Untangled Web has been written by an experienced team from the Department of International Studies at the Nottingham Trent University. David Graham teaches geography and information technology; Jane McNeil is Faculty webmaster and teaches medieval history and information technology; Lloyd Pettiford teaches international relations.Innovative guide to using the web in teaching and learning, providing practical advice for lecturers and teachers on using the web as more than just a support tool

chapter one

why use the web for learning and teaching?

1

This is not the age of pamphleteers. It is the age of the engineers. The spark-gap is mightier than the pen.

Lancelot Hogben Science for the Citizen (1938)

Many people are quite unsure about how they feel about the integration of technology into pedagogies largely unchanged for centuries in university and other teaching arenas, fearing, for instance, that ‘when using these environments pupils may not be well prepared in the wider skills that other…more traditional, teaching techniques and practices can provide’ (Coleman 1999). In the case of open and distance learning (ODL) technologies this is true of both teachers and students. McConigle and Eggers (1998) suggest that instructors may feel (consecutively) excited, apprehensive, questioning, determined, over-stimulated/questioning again and exhausted in attempting to integrate newer technologies into their teaching. For students, the ‘stages’ are described as confused, shocked, timid, frustrated and ‘Eureka’; it is worrying that students might arrive at such a climax as teachers find themselves simply exhausted! To summarize, it might be said that for all who encounter ODL the combination is sometimes one of both fear and excitement (Williams 1999). Whatever the fears, traditional or accepted methods should not be held sacrosanct; we are talking about pedagogies which some, though perhaps rather harshly, might intimate involve a process whereby knowledge is passed from the notes of the lecturer to the notes of the student without passing through the minds of either. Less harshly, or at least more descriptively, we might say that the traditional lecturer tries to dominate and gain the full attention of the students (and can be legitimately irritated if this is not offered). The lecturer is, or tries to be, in total control of the learning experience and the students are obliged to be passive recipients of information and ideas (and may be legitimately bored if this does not interest them!). Even without deifying technology, there is every reason to suppose that such a situation can be improved upon and, though it can be addressed within traditional methods, this is the real possibility for ODL on the web and for excitement rather than fear.

A small caveat should be entered at this point in the sense that simply comparing traditional methods versus WBI implies some claims which are difficult to sustain, and the differences may be easily exaggerated. Obviously, so-called ‘traditional’ teaching can be made highly student-centred and may encourage very different ways of learning. Similarly, WBI may be unreflective and without time and effort cannot be assumed automatically to provide an advance in teaching methodology and improve student learning experiences (Firdyiwek 1999). Indeed very often, ‘instructional designers and curriculum developers have become enamoured of the latest technologies without dealing with the underlying issues of learner characteristics and needs’ (Sherry 1996: 337) so that the net effect is negative. This said, there are potential positive aspects which mean that the possibilities of ODL on the web need to be fully explored and utilized. As Relan and Gillani (1997: 43) have put it: ‘Having permanent access to a multitude of learning resources regardless of one’s geographical location allows continuity in learning and encourages uninterrupted reflection about a topic and revision of one’s thesis.’

It is useful, as Boling and Frick (1997) suggest, to pose a number of questions at the outset:

•What problem are you trying to solve? Will another method solve it more easily?

•How will putting parts of your courses on the web benefit your students? What does the use of this type of technology allow your students to do that could not be done before in some other way?

One of the advantages of technology is that effective use of web-based ODL packages can (though a ‘combination’ model may be used) mean the lecturer relinquishing direct control of the learning/ teaching environment. Instead, the onus is placed on students who must interact meaningfully with the materials supplied. The lecturer’s role becomes less prescriptive and more that of a facilitator, while the student’s role changes from being a passive listener to an engaged learner (Roberts 1999). The world for which students are being prepared requires that they take responsibility for their learning; flexible working practices mean students need to learn in new ways. ‘Letting go’ encourages feelings of fear and excitement and ultimately reward in more than simply this context of pedagogies but is usually beneficial.

Though this potential may be very real, the fact is that attitudinal studies indicate very varied responses amongst academics of most disciplines (James 1998; Yong and Wang 1996). Some zealously see it as the only way to continue to provide a high quality education in the face of increasing student numbers and demands on time, though others are clearly reluctant to go down this road (Rowntree 1998a) and abandon methods which are said to have served well for centuries. The current situation is somewhat analogous to a huge marathon race, like London or New York – some are racing ahead, many are gamely trying to keep up and the majority are a host of struggling stragglers, as well as quite a few spectators too!

However, what is certain is that ignoring technology will not make it go away; even for confirmed technophobes, as one of the authors of this text claims (or at least initially claimed) to be. ‘Know thine enemy’ is a sound axiom in this case and is probably the safest course to follow. We contend that with the aid of books like this, the process need not be overly complicated and that excitement (and reward) can win out over fear. Of course fear can also be overcome by the ‘ostrich’ route, but it is suggested that putting one’s head in the sand is likely to end unsatisfactorily, since only the most conservative would deny that information technologies will come to have a major impact on our lives, including on teaching and learning in the future (Zepke 1998).

The internet is a rich information, communication and research resource for all those involved in education and training (Bannan and Milheim 1997; Crossman 1997; Eklund 1999; Patel and Hobbs 1998; Reeves and Reeves 1997; Stein 1999; Watson and Rossestt 1999) and it can be used productively and wisely and even in political terms, progressively, leading to democratic communities of learners. However, care should be taken since the web is medium not magic, technology not thaumaturgy, engine not elixir. It is easy to get carried away – let the web be slave, not master. Rather than assuming that such technologies are the latest expression of social progress, it is possible that cultural forms of knowledge will be lost through the educational use of computers, and this prospect should at least be regarded with caution (Bowers1998). The work of some suggests that a conservative emphasis and excess faith in science may have implications which are not culturally sensitive (Clark and Estes 1999). Clearly the socially embedded nature of technology is a relevant factor beyond this context, and needs to be borne in mind. On the other hand, neither should one be unnecessarily cautious when technologies are advancing considerably, allowing inventive and creative pedagogies. The need for flexible learning and teaching is increasing (Peters 1998; Williams1999)and, given a degree of reflection, can overcome certain ‘imperialistic’ problems. The combination of an information-rich web and your own reflection on learning materials can be the web-based packages which this book aims to help you construct and integrate into your teaching.

‘The World Wide Web provides significant benefits when applied to the classroom. At the same time, instructors, trainers, developers, and researchers need to recognize that the World Wide Web has limitations. Everything that is feasible Is not necessarily useful, and everything that Is useful Is not necessarily feasible.’

BUTLER 1997:423

Assessing your needs

The first thing to consider here is the type of materials you will be using. For instance, are you attempting to make sense of other people’s material or are you looking to integrate your own information more fully into a web -based package? In either case, we are assuming that the desired outcome is more than simply providing information, which is perhaps the way in which the web is most frequently used, to date, in teaching, or recommended to students. Reading out, or scribbling down URLs in lectures can prove to be highly unsatisfactory indeed! In thinking about such issues of use, you will need to think not only about the level of technology available to you but also how you intend it to be used, as well as the time constraints involved. Excellent WBI packages can be produced without very high levels of technology, although obviously more sophisticated multimedia packages will have certain requirements. Your pages will not necessarily be better because they have more technology, just as your teaching will not automatically improve because you use technology at all.

One thing which should be stressed at the outset is that whilst this book aims to make the setting up of tailor-made ODL web-based packages possible, it does not claim either that doing so will be easy (which is different from saying that it will be complicated), nor that having done so enormous amounts of free time will be created. As other studies have indicated, making the transition from traditional to computer-based learning systems is going to involve considerable investment of time on the part of lecturers, especially those new to the web, in the acquisition of new skills and the preparation of web materials (Cornell 1999). Whilst the web undeniably has great potential to benefit students’ learning there are, contrary to the hopes and beliefs of many, few short cuts to the realization of this potential (Ward and Newlands 1998). Even where sufficient technical support allows for the rapid setting up of the actual pages, follow-up time will still be required on an ongoing basis, if learning is to be enhanced (Polyson 1997).

Indeed, though we concentrate our efforts here on the conceptualization and setting up of web-based learning packages, the ongoing role of the tutor is absolutely critical to the success of any such development. DIY or bespoke packages give the committed teacher the chance to think through a range of tasks and learning activities which will have the maximum benefits in terms of what they are trying to teach. One important reason for the value of this is that a particular problem of distance packages has been that students, since they are left to their own devices, are seriously impeded by any difficult or troublesome points they come across in their study. Ensuring the availability of guidance is thus crucial to any ODL project (Lee et al. 1997) and this militates against the possibility of simply setting up and then leaving students to fend for themselves.

Such support need not be unduly onerous and can usually be resolved through the use of email, or perhaps specially scheduled synchronous web-conferencing sessions in which tutors play an active role, or through asynchronous topic-led conferences. A particular advantage of such sessions is that often it is easier for the lecturer not to dominate these sessions than it is in traditional seminar situations where the tutor is the focus of attention. As one study has put it, ‘new technologies now allow for a powerful combination of highly interactive stand-alone material with two-way asynchronous communication between teachers and students’ (Bates 1997: 93). Ironically, such methods of teaching, though they can take place at a distance, can also bring peers and teachers closer, in a non-literal sense. By breaking down the power dynamics which tend to dominate conventional classroom environments, however well intentioned even the teacher of higher education might be, electronic forms of communication allow even those students who hardly ever contribute in class to enter into a forthright debate with their tutor/s (Harris 1998).

There is some resistance to the very idea of distance learning as somehow not as good as traditional methods, though perhaps those offering such resistance are unlikely to be reading these words (Richards 1997). Certainly such resource-based teaching, if misused, does not provide a high quality education (Bostock 1997). One of the chief aims of WBI in a course, however, is to encourage more active learning and to make students more responsive to what they learn and how they learn, thereby enhancing other areas of teaching (Madan 1996). Giving the students more responsibility does not equate, or at least should not equate, to abandonment. In this sense of encouraging deeper learning, this book hopes to demonstrate web-based ODL’s value in a humanities/social science context as others have tried to do for computing, science and engineering (Sloane 1997).

As suggested, there are significant differences between traditional university course pedagogy and effective pedagogy when using technology, which this book will highlight (Schuttloffel 1998). In this context, Jevons and Northcott (1994) suggest a typology of ways in which distance education materials may be used. Before looking at these, it is suggested that not all of these be used. This may be useful in beginning to think about your own needs.

However much it has not always lived up to its promise, the traditional university is founded upon some sense of the need to exchange ideas and information, rather than simply conveying information. In the pure ODL university something is lost and this is implicit in some of the models suggested. ODL, with the support of the traditional tutoring structure, can and should be flexible and expand learning, with online environments helping to establish more constructive learning patterns, not simply eliminating good aspects of what went before (Harris 1998).

Looking at the six-fold typology offered by Jevons and Northcott (1994), not recommended, for instance, would be ‘Substitution with face-to-face contact [where] the…distance education materials are used as a substitute for lectures and their effectiveness is gauged by the reduction in class time that is made possible by doing so.’ This is a dream for some researchers but, as the authors tellingly, and quite rightly, add, ‘when reduction is taken too far…this is regarded as malpractice’. The purely substitutive role of ODL technologies by efficiency-crazed bureaucrats or by researchers with selfish aims is not to be encouraged, and indeed may be counter-productive in the longer term. Furthermore, even where it is attempted as a bona-fide experiment (see Ward and Newlands 1998) the conclusions are a) that time is not necessarily saved due to the increase in tutorial support that is needed and b) that some students experience serious motivational problems once a framework of regular scheduled sessions is removed.

On the other hand, the use of and generation of good learning outcomes with the second category is something with which the authors, and many others, are familiar. Jevons and Northcott’s (1994) second category is ‘Substitution with different use of face-to-face contact time [where] students are asked to read education materials in advance of lectures or tutorials, which are then used to treat the matter in a different form, or from a different perspective, or to select aspects for special consideration.’ In this case students can be asked to consult online materials in advance and do not have the same opt-out possibilities as they do if you have sought to place specific paper materials in their hands, which they invariably ‘didn’t get’ or ‘lost’. Effectively this is using web-based materials as seminar or tutorial preparation.

The third category in the typology is known as ‘enhancement’. Here, ‘lectures are used to introduce the subject matter and the study of the distance education materials is left for the students to undertake’. This model is good, as this book will argue, but direction is needed for the students and careful consideration must be given to the design of the pages. Clear instructions as part of your web-based package are essential. Students are given a degree of responsibility, choice and opportunity which exceeds that offered by a reading list of materials in heavy demand. But, as with reading lists, WBI products are more useful where they are carefully thought out and where assistance/direction is offered.

Category four is termed ‘parallel use’ and might be quite difficult to justify to anyone assessing the quality of your teaching; ‘Students are offered a choice: they can attend lectures, or study the distance education materials, or do both. The distance education materials form back up provision.’ Experience shows that it is much better to use category three ‘enhancement’ or to phrase this fourth category in a manner more resembling the fifth. Jevons and Northcott’s fifth category is a ‘safety net’. Here, ‘the availability of the distance education materials acts as a safety net, which may be valuable for students of various kinds. They include students who miss individual lectures for a variety of reasons including part-time work; students caught in the “note-taking trap” who concentrate on getting it down at the expense of comprehension; and other ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Trademark notice
• Table of Contents
• Figures
• Tables
• Acknowledgements
• Abbreviations
• A note on web references
• Introduction
• 1 Why use the web for learning and teaching?
• 2 Planning the information architecture
• 3 Designing a successful interface
• 4 Building successful content
• 5 Inspiration, implementation and motivation
• 6 Making graphics for the web
• 7 HTML and creating pages
• 8 Adding interactivity
• 9 Testing, adapting and evaluation
• Glossary
• References
• Index