Instructional Principles for an Online Unit

I have identified the following four instructional principles in Caplan's (2004) chapter on the development of online courses that I am planning to integrate in my online unit. The first principle calls for using scaffolding principles by creating challenging materials for students "to encourage cognitive 'stretch'" (Caplan, 2004, p. 182). In my online unit, students will be challenged by technology-enhanced activities, where they will need to learn, for example, how to develop a website using WordPress, how to edit images in Picnik, and how to create an online presentation using VoiceThread. The integration of challenging activities will help students stay motivated throughout the unit.

The second principle that I will incorporate in my unit encourages the provision of prompt feedback (p. 180). My online unit will include a number of activities that presuppose not only feedback from the instructor, but also feedback from other students. The use of peer feedback will foster the development of an online community and help students reflect both on their own learning and on the learning of their peers.

The next principle that I have identified can be found on page 183: "Be creative in planning how to use technology to teach more effectively. To inform your planning, invest time and effort in gaining a basic understanding of how the technology works" (Caplan, 2004). I believe it is a very important principle, following which will help me create a better online unit and use specific technology not for the sake of technology, but because of its pedagogical applications.

Finally, the last principle suggests that instructors provide ample technical help for students enrolled in an online course (p. 185). By including detailed instructions and information on where students can find help if they run into technical problems, I will create a more favorable online learning environment for students and help them overcome technological obstacles that are oftentimes inevitable.

Discussion of 'Why Distance Education?'

This past week we made an attempt to discuss some issues related to distance education and the changes that it has witnessed over the past decade. The first issue raised in the forum related to immigration and poverty that have certain implications for distance education. In my opinion, poverty may negatively affect students' technological skills and motivation to learn. As such, students coming from immigrant families with low income are more likely to fall behind their peers who have been exposed to technology since early childhood.

Another important topic mentioned in the discussion concerned the role of social networking in distance education. Some of the points raised during the discussion of this topic included the advantages of social networking for student interaction, the effect of social networking on face-to-face communication among students, as well as the potential dangers of social networks for education.

What do I need to know to teach online?

There are several things I need to know in order to teach online. First, I need pedagogical knowledge, namely the knowledge of online pedagogy. To be a successful instructor of an online course, I should know how teaching online differs from teaching in a face-to-face format, how students' learning styles and strategies online are different from their learning in a traditional classroom, what learning objectives each online course should have, how to assess students' learning in an online environment, etc.

Second, I need technological expertise both for creating online materials and activities and delivering them to students, and for providing support to students who encounter any technology-related problems. Technological expertise is also necessary for troubleshooting problems with particular applications, software, and hardware.

Third, knowing the content of the course is indispensible for being a successful instructor and for facilitating students' learning by pinpointing the most important skills or knowledge that they need to acquire.

Useful Resources for Language Teaching

Goal:
The goal of this activity is to have the graduate students in Applied Linguistics compile a list of online resources that can be used by language instructors for language teaching and learning purposes.

Task:
Please post a link to a website that contains useful materials for language teachers. Such a website can have an online dictionary, teaching materials, assignments or activities for language learners, grammar and vocabulary tests, etc. In addition to the link, post a short description of the website and how it can be used by language teachers and/or language learners.

Example:
http://www.lextutor.ca - website for learning about English and French words; includes concordancer, vocabulary profiler, lexical frequency lists, vocabulary tests, etc. This website can be used to assess the lexical complexity of texts written by language learners (such as the percentage of academic and technical words) and to test the learners' knowledge of English and French vocabulary.