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  E-Pedagogy: Does e-learning require a new pedagogy?  5 The emergence of e-learning  As part of the technological revolution, the use of e-learning, or blended learning, isincreasing. This is particularly true of Higher Education, which offers most programmespartly or wholly online. In the future, e-learning is likely to be more widely used in thetertiary and school sectors. Another driver for e-learning is life-long learning, whichrequires on-going training and re-training of the adult workforce.In many cases, e-learning is delivered through a virtual learning environment (VLE),which is a custom built environment designed for online learning. VLEs, such as  Blackboard and Moodle , typically provide all of the software tools required for onlinelearning such as communication and file sharing facilities. These environments are oftenmodelled around the traditional campus, providing ‘virtual staff rooms’ and ‘onlinecommon rooms’. E-portfolios provide the digital equivalent to the traditional paperportfolio; these typically provide online storage for a range of media types (such asdrawings, photos and videos). Dedicated e-assessment systems, such as Questionmark ,facilitate large-scale online testing, providing many of the question types that arefamiliar to teachers.Some academics have pointed out the potential of e-learning to improve current practice.Garrison and Anderson (2003) write:“E-learning has significantpotential to alter the nature of theteaching and learning transaction.In fact, it has caused us to face upto some of the current deficienciesof higher education, such as largelecturers, while providing somepossible solutions or ways tomitigate these shortcomings. Seenas part of pedagogical solution, e-learning becomes an opportunity toexamine and live up to the ideals of the educational transactiondescribed previously.” New learning opportunities The changing environment facilitates new kinds of learning. Teachers have traditionallyfocussed on content; indeed, many consider the identification and delivery of learningmaterial to be their prime role. But it has been argued that the traditional skill of contentcreation is redundant in the information-rich learning environment. Some of this contentis very high quality, even world class, and certainly superior to a hurriedly producedhandout of the type often used by busy teachers.It has been suggested that the contemporary teacher should be more “guide on the side”than “sage on the stage”. The ready availability of information makes  facilitation moreimportant than direction . The pedagogic issue is not too little information but too much:the contempora

changing learning landscape poses fundamental epistemological questions about thenature of knowledge and how it is acquired. Dede (2008) writes: “In the Classicalperspective, knowledge consists of accurate interrelationships among facts, based onunbiased research that produces compelling evidence about systematic causes […]Epistemologically, a single right answer is believed to underlie each phenomenon […]The epistemology that leads to validity of knowledge in Web 2.0 media such as Wikipedia  is peer review from people seen, by the community of contributors, as having unbiasedperspectives. Expertise involves understanding disputes in detail and proposingsyntheses that are widely accepted by the community

hatever new theory of learning emerges in thenext decade, it will likelybuild upon thesepedagogie

. Understanding the details of the world in which a learner lives allows the learner to the ability to shape and manipulate that world to his advantage. Content mastery must be accompanied by healthy relationships in a learning community that fosters curiosity within learners. Focusing only upon content can lead to a cold, rote learning environments; spending all our energies on relationships can be done at the expense of content mastery; and developing curious learners without strong relationships can lead to learning in isolation. Essentially, the flipped learning approach allows teachers to spark interest, provide initial exposure, and deliver content through easy to make teacher created video so class time can be used to foster healthy relationships and engage students in higher levels of cognition to help ignite curiosity. Simply using video as a teaching tool will not fundamentally change a classroom. But rethinking how class time can be used for things other than direct instruction and lectures will transform a classroom from a teacher-centered instructional environment to a learner-centered laboratory of learning. Flipped learning is a transitional tool for teachers who know they want to move the attention away from themselves and on to student-centered learning. Flipped learning is not an end, but a means to greater teaching and deeper learning. You can read more about Flipped Learning in our upcoming book: Flipped Learning: Gateway to Student Achievement which can be pre-ordered here: Jonathan Bergmann &amp; Aaron Sams Flipped Learning, Gateway to Student Achievement, Bergmann, Sams piln.hottopic.onPostDisplayInLineLoaded(); Pictures and videos var thumbRatio = [1, 1]; $(function () { initializeGallery('/Gallery/Media/', '138408f4-616a-4cc9-ab2c-9e7543cf50e4') }); Cover of Jon Bergmann &amp; Aaron Sams' book: Flipped Learning $('.galleryDescription').hide(); $('#bigImage').load(function () { var newHeight = $('#bigImage').height() + $('.galleryDescription').height() + 60; if (newHeight < 360) { newHeight = 360; } $('#progressbar').hide('blind', {}, 300); $('#loading').animate({ height: newHeight + 'px' }, 300); $(this).fadeIn('slow'); }); $('.galleryDescription').fadeIn('slow'); gallery created by Jon Bergmann {{if error}} ${name} ${sizef} Error: {{if error === 1}}File exceeds upload_max_filesize (php.ini directive) {{else error === 2}}File exceeds MAX_FILE_SIZE (HTML form directive) {{else error === 3}}File was only partially uploaded {{else error === 4}}No File was uploaded {{else error === 5}}Missing a temporary folder {{else error === 6}}Failed to write file to disk {{else error === 7}}File upload stopped by extension {{else error === 'maxFileSize'}}}The resolution of this image is too big {{else error === 'minFileSize'}}The resolution of this image is a little small. The minimum size is 160x160 {{else error === 'minResolutionSize'}}The resolution of this image is a little small. The minimum size is 160x160 {{else error === 'tooWide'}}This image is too wide for our gallery to display correctly. You will need to replace it with something that is proportional to your monitor. {{else error === 'tooTall'}}This image is too tall for our gallery to display correctly. You will need to replace it with something that is proportional to your monitor. {{else error === 'acceptFileTypes'}}Filetype not allowed {{else error === 'maxNumberOfFiles'}}Max number of files exceeded {{else error === 'uploadedBytes'}}Uploaded bytes exceed file size {{else error === 'emptyResult'}}Empty file upload result {{else}}${error} {{/if}} {{else}} {{if thumbnail_url}} {{/if}} {{/if}} {{if type === 'image'}} ${description} $('.galleryDescription').hide(); $('#bigImage').load(function () { var newHeight = $('#bigImage').height() + $('.galleryDescription').height() + 60; if (newHeight < 360) { newHeight = 360; } $('#progressbar').hide('blind', {}, 300); $('#loading').animate({ height: newHeight + 'px' }, 300); $(this).fadeIn('slow'); }); $('.galleryDescription').fadeIn('slow'); {{html ""}} {{else}} ${description}

a situation in which lower order thinking is removed from whole-class teaching time and placed upon the individual regardless of whether video or any other technologies are being used.

Content is important in that it is the structure upon which learning is built

The House gave its assent Friday to $84 billion in federal funding to help keep the country competitive in the fields of scientific and technological innovatio

$40 billion over the five-year period for research and education programs,

needs

He cannot post the official notes that day so those who subscribe to his teacher’s math blog via an RSS feed can read what’s going on in his class. His assignments do not automatically turn into communities of discussion where students help each other at any time of the day. His school has successfully blocked the cool containers Dan uses at home from “contaminating” any rigorous academic content. It is an irony that in too many schools, educators label these effective learning tools as hindrances to teaching

If we could get past our fear of the unknown and embrace the very tools we are blocking (which are also essential tools for the global economy) then we could build much more motivating and rigorous learning environments. We also have an opportunity to teach the ethics and the social responsibility that accompany the use of such powerful tools. For example, many students do not realize that once something is on the Internet it has the potential to follow them for the rest of their lives.

The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman

ygotsky, a Russian psychologist (1896–1934), and Jean Piaget, a Swiss psychologist (1896–1980), contended that learning best occurs when people engage in activities that are at the peak of their abilities, when they have to work to their full potential to accomplish a task. However, the study of the experience of optimally challenging activities and the method of study are unique to flow theory.

when individuals find the activities challenging

o describe the experiences of intrinsically motivated people, those who were engaged in an activity chosen for its own sake

ution CC BY

n-NonCommercial CC BY-NC

Machine Readable Human Readable Legal Code Our public copyright licenses incorporate a unique and innovative “three-layer” design. Each license begins as a traditional legal tool, in the kind of language and text formats that most lawyers know and love. We call this the Legal Code layer of each license.

Who we are The OER university is a virtual collaboration of like-minded institutions committed to creating flexible pathways for OER learners to gain formal academic credit. The OER university aims to provide free learning to all students worldwide using OER learning materials with pathways to gain credible qualifications from recognised education institutions. It is rooted in the community service and outreach mission to develop a parallel learning universe to augment and add value to traditional delivery systems in post-secondary education. Through the community service mission of participating institutions we will open pathways for OER learners to earn formal academic credit and pay reduced fees for assessment and credit.

Want to know more about creative commons licencing? (May 17, 2012 21:32)

Bloom's Taxonomy was developed on the premise that there are six levels of cognitive learning. All of these levels together represent a hierarchy. In order to reach the next level, you must master the previous level.

Bloom's Taxonomy can be used in virtually all parts of the online learning process, from writing course content to coming up with topics for online discussions. The University of Virginia's OnlineLearn resource recommends that teachers of online courses spend a block of time each day monitoring class forums to evaluate the effectiveness of current online discussions (http://onlinelearn.edschool.virginia.edu). They can then add discussion questions that will nudge students to think on a higher level of Bloom's Taxonomy.

I appreciate the chance to reflect and recognize that the “me” that comes out in the blog is different than the “me” in the discussion area. I want my students to have various opportunities to express themselves.

One online instructor (Alley 1996) has described this changing pedagogical consciousness as an �instructional epiphany�.� Alley tells of a personal transformation, stimulated by online instruction, marked by two "milestones". First, he had to totally redesign his course to fit and leverage the new learning environment. Second, he had to rethink what he calls his �basic approach�: �As long as I held on to the traditional �sage-on-stage� style of teaching, I would keep reinventing ways for students to be a passive audience� (1996:51).� Similar changes in pedagogical belief and practice have been reported by other faculty who have taught web-based courses (Brown 1998; Jaffee 1997; Cremer 1998) as well as researchers who have interviewed online instructors (Frank 2000).�� There are clearly some �structural constraints� built into the virtual classroom ecology that make it difficult to implement traditional modes of delivery and, in this sense, almost force instructors to entertain active learning strategies. As Frank (2000) discovered in her study of online instructors, "All of the participants saw online learning as empowering for students. The most valuable benefits were the facilitation of active learning, critical thinking, collaboration, confidence, and lifelong learning habits. A common theme was the way in which the teacher is forced to give up the control that one has in a face-to-face environment and re-examine the traditional role of content deliverer".� Just as the physical classroom architecture imposes constraints on, and opportunities for, particular pedagogical practices, so too does the virtual classroom. John Seely Brown (2000) has described the environment of the world-wide-web as a �learning ecology� that is a self-organized evolving collection of cross-pollinating overlapping communities of interest.� Asynchronous web-based courses that include a discussion forum possess many of the same ecological features. All members of the class can receive and broadcast information at any time. This critical communication feature distinguishes the virtual classroom from prior forms of instructional technology.�� While instructors can mediate and guide, they cannot entirely control the flow of communication. Thus, instructor and student roles and relations are less hierarchical and more overlapping and interactive. These greater opportunities for participation can contribute to a greater diversity of opinion and perspective. It is hard work to establish these social dynamics in a physical classroom constrained by a fixed space, a designated time block, and trained inhibitions. The virtual classroom, in contrast, has the potential to establish new patterns of instructor and student interaction and, accordingly, different teaching and learning roles and practices (Girod and Cavanaugh 2001; Becker and Ravitz 1999). ��������� In making comparisons between the physical and virtual classroom, it is important to emphasize a cautionary caveat. The pedagogical ecology, be it a physical classroom or a virtual interface, cannot entirely determine a particular pedagogical practice or learning outcome. The pedagogical ecology offers opportunities and constraints that will shape and influence classroom dynamics and learning outcomes, but much will also depend on the principles informing, and the actual design of, the teaching and learning process (see Chamberlin 2001). The various practices that are employed in both a physical and a virtual classroom indicate the range of possibilities. However, if we believe that, for the purpose of student learning, active student engagement and interaction is preferable to the passive reception of information, we should consider the degree to which this principle is advanced or facilitated by the expanding virtual learning ecology.�

Sociological theories and concepts have an important role to play in analyzing and interpreting these developments. A central sociological proposition is that structural environments influence the social perceptions, roles, and relations of human actors.� As increasing numbers of students and faculty find themselves operating in virtual learning environments, we might also expect to find some changing instructional dynamics. More specifically, there are a number of questions worth exploring. What are the relationships between the technical, the social, and the pedagogical infrastructures?� How has the introduction of new instructional technologies influenced established pedagogical practices? How does the shift from a physical classroom to a virtual learning environment shape and reconfigure the social roles and relations among faculty and students? What consequences will these technologies have for developing pedagogical practices?

have less to do with the proven effectiveness of the particular practice than the desire to appear legitimate or conform to normative expectations.�

Researchers note that low-income students lose about three months of ground each summer to middle-class peers

21st Century Assessments are focused on both the learning process and the assessment outcome.

School and Society (1900), The Child and the Curriculum (1902), Democracy and Education (1916) and Experience and Education (1938). Throughout these writings, several recurrent themes ring true; Dewey continually argues that education and learning are social and interactive processes, and thus the school itself is a social institution through which social reform can and should take place.

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