Resources for Moderators
and Facilitators of Online Discussion
Berge Collins Associates
This page is a growing set of resources
for moderators and moderators-to-be of online discussion in both academic
and non-academic settings. Where possible I have linked to the full text
of articles, and provided abstracts on this page. We would very much appreciate
your suggestions for additions to these listings. The topics of "computer
conferencing" and on-line teaching are closely allied, so I am including
references in both of those fields, too.
These pages have been designed to
be accessible with a text browser and with the assumption that the papers
will be scanned on screen and then printed out.
Do not be put off by early copyright
dates on articles on this site. These articles deal with the principles involved
in computer conferencing - independent of software and platform - except
where the LISTSERV® software is referred to. While the face of the Internet
has changed significantly over the past ten years, the principals that govern
excellence in online discussion have not.
Please send your questions or suggestions
for new resources to mauri@emoderators.com
This page was featured
in the On Line column in the Chronicle of Higher Education, September 19,
1997, Page A29.
Starting and
Managing email-based discussion lists
- The
LISTSERV® homepage
- L-Soft's homepage...find the
docs and guides for LISTSERV® list owners and users. Please note that
LISTSERV® is a registered trade mark of L-Soft
International, Inc. and is not used on this site as a generic term
for electronic mailing list distribiution software
- The
Majordomo homepage
- WWW
view of Directory of Scholarly and Professional E-Conferences by
Diane Kovacs and the Directory Team.
- Search listings of scholarly
discussion groups by Directory, Discussion Name, Topic or Key words to
find the one(s) you are looking for.
- Berge, Zane L. and mauri collins
So you want to set up a LISTSERV® discussion
group?
-
- Helpful hints from the Moderators
of IPCT-L
- Practical tips and suggestions
for setting up a list. There are a lot of decisions to be made and this
article poses a series of questions to help you make them, starting with "Do
I really want to do this?"
- Berge, Zane L. and mauri collins
The Founding and Managing of IPCT-L: A Listowners'
Perspective
- While there are many reasons
for starting a scholarly discussion group, this article focuses, from a
listowner's perspective, on the reasons for founding the Interpersonal
Computing and Technology List, (IPCT-L). The authors share some of the
decisions that needed to be made before going online, how this list was
marketed, the role of the moderators and some of the benefits obtained
through the creation of the IPCT-L Editorial Policy.
-
- Covi, Lisa M. (1991)
List Management
Tips for LISTSERV® Postmasters and List Owners
- This document outlines the procedures
necessary for managing and supporting the popular electronic mailing list
management software LISTSERV®. The purpose of the document is to get
you started in becoming the local LISTSERV® expert or provide a reference
for those who may already have experience managing LISTSERV® or owning
lists. (This document has not been updated so is heavily BITNET oriented,
but still quite useful as basic information on running a list)
- Kovacs. Diane (1994)
Creating
and Maintaining LISTSERV®-Based Discussion Lists and Electronic Journals
- This chapter outlines the major
steps in establishing a LISTSERV®-based discussion list or electronic
journal. It also addresses some issues for managing discussion lists and
electronic journals once they are technically set up.
- Kovacs, Diane (1994)
LISTSERV®-based
Discussion Lists and Electronic Journals for Everyone (A User's Guide)
- This article is a basic description
of how to subscribe to LISTSERV®-based discussion lists and electronic
journals. You will also learn a little about how they work, how to participate
and how to filter the discussion to control the flow of information into
your electronic mail (e-mail) box. The only thing you need to know to understand
this information is how to use e-mail on the system that is available to
you.
- Liszt:
Directory of e-mail discussion groups
- Search for lists by keyword,
etc.
- Quinn, Robert E. and Peter M.
Weiss
The Establishment, Care and Feeding of
a LISTSERV® List
- The growth of the Internet has
brought with it a parallel growth in electronic mail (e-mail). One of the
most popular pieces of software available to manage e-mail and group discussion
lists is known as LISTSERV®. Many individuals are finding the use of
LISTSERV® as an excellent means to promote group communication and
interaction. This article offers some guidelines and suggestions to those
who are contemplating ownership of a LISTSERV® list.
Rauch, Peter (1996)
Three useful documents for new Listowners
- Rojo, Alejandra, (1995)
-
- Overview:
Electronic forums for Users and Researchers
- Literature
Review:Participation in scholarly electronic forums
Rojo, Alejandra, (1995)
- Electronic
forums : Frequently Asked Questions
- CataList -
updated every 24 hours.
- The complete reference to LISTSERV® discussion
groups
- Wild, Martyn (1999)
The Anatomy of Practice in the Use of
Mailing Lists: A Case Study Australian Journal of Educational Technology,
(15)2 pp.227-235
- This paper reports the main findings
from a study of two mailing lists or listservs: Oz-Teachers and UK-Schools[1],
used by teachers in Australia and the United Kingdom to communicate electronically
with each other. Typically, communications were characterised by text messages
that posed questions or offered answers; by 'threads' of discussion based
around single or combined themes; and by statements of information. The
content of these messages was almost always either technical or educational,
the former centred on hardware or software issues; the latter on concerns
with the use of technologies in teaching and learning.
Back to Index
Computer Conferencing
for Professional Development
Anderson Terry and Kanuka, Heather.(1997).
On-Line Forums:
New Platforms for Professional Development and Group Collaboration. Journal
of Computer-mediated Communication 3 (3) December.
-
- This study evaluated the output,
level of participation and perceptions of effectiveness and value among
participants in a virtual forum. Twenty-three experts in the field of adult
education and community development were invited to participate in a three-week
interactive session using a WWW-based, asynchronous computer conferencing
system. Data gathered through surveys, interviews, transcript analysis
and on-line discussion revealed that this technology has relative advantage
for organizers and sponsors, but is perceived by most users as being less
satisfying than face-to-face interaction. The on-line forum was found to
be observable, trialable and relatively easy to use (compared with existing
tools), indicating that this innovation has potential to become a widespread
medium for continuing professional education.
On Moderating
- Berge, Zane L. (1992)
The Roles of the Moderator in Scholarly
Discussion Groups (SDGs)
- This is a presentation by Zane
L. Berge made on the IPCT-L discussion list and the ensuing discussion
taken from the following IPCT-L logs, archived at LISTSERV@LISTSERV.georgetown.edu:
IPCT LOG9210D, IPCT LOG9210E, IPCT LOG9212B
- Berge, Zane L. (1996)
The Role of the Online Instructor/Facilitator
- This article lists the roles
and functions of the online instructor/facilitator in computer conferencing.
Berge, Zane L. & Collins, Mauri
P. (2000)
Perceptions of e-moderators about their
roles and functions in moderating electronic mailing lists. Distance
Education: An International Journal, 21(1), 81-100.
This is a pre-publication draft.
Reported here are responses gathered using a probabilistic survey (n=162).
Indications of what this group of electronic mailing list moderators, or
emoderators, perceive about their roles, tasks, and responsibilities as
list moderators. The issues explored revolve around mailing list moderators'
conceptions of their roles, their rationale for moderating or not moderating
their mailing lists, where they learned their craft, and where moderating
lists fits into the context of their lives. With such descriptions of the
tasks and roles of practicing moderators, better training could be developed
for those persons wishing to function effectively as on-line discussion
facilitators and moderators, as part of their on-line teaching for instance.
Findings confirmed previous research that moderators perceive among their
roles those of a filter, firefighter, facilitator, editor, manager, discussion
leader, content expert, helper, and marketer. The moderators responding
to this survey cited as reasons a mailing list should be moderated as keeping
the signal-to-noise ratio high; keeping the discussion focused within the
topic of the list's mission; keeping down "flames;" and digesting/editing
posts. Most learned to moderate online discussion lists by watching others
perform those functions--rather like apprentices, and either volunteered
to be a list moderator, were invited to be, or started their own lists.
They report being involved in list moderation because the list is work
related, or is part of their leisure activity, or is part of both.
- Collins, Mauri P. & Berge,
Zane L. (1997)
- Moderating
Online Electronic Discussion Groups
- This research is a pilot study
to begin a comprehensive study of electronic discussion group (EDG) moderators
and their perceptions of their roles, tasks, and responsibilities. The
questions explored revolve around EDG moderators' conceptions of their
roles, their rationale for moderating or not moderating discussion on their
mailing lists, where they learned their craft, and where moderating lists
fits within the context of their lives. With such descriptions of the tasks
and roles of practicing EDG moderators, better training could be developed
for those teachers wishing to function effectively as on-line discussion
facilitators and moderators as part of their on-line teaching. Findings
included indicators of the roles of moderators acting a different times
and for different lists as a filter, firefighter, facilitator, administrator,
editor, promoter, expert, helper, participant, and marketer. The moderators
responding to this survey cited reasons an EDG should be moderated as keeping
the signal-to-noise ration high; keeping the discussion focused within
the topic of the lists mission; keeping down "flames;" and digesting/editing
posts. Most learned to moderate by watching others perform those functions--rather
like apprentices, and either volunteered to be a list moderator, were invited
to be, or started their own lists. They cited the reasons they moderate
as including being work related, part of their leisure activity or both
work and leisure activity.
- Green, Lyndsay (1998)
Conferencing: Lessons Learned
- A guide summarizes lessons learned
during the organization and moderation of five online conferences, three
of them sponsored by the Office of Learning Technologies, Human Resources
Department, Canada. The focus of this report is on non-pedagogical conferences
which differ in many respectrs from online classrooms, especially in the
motivation of the participants. (Archived with permission)
- This file is in Adobe .pdf format.
Click below to download the free Adobe Reader
- Green Lyndsay (1998)
Playing Croquet with Flamingos: A Guide
to Moderating Online Conferences.
- A guide for moderators of web-based,
synchronous or asynchronous, non-pedagogical conferences. The guide was
prepared for the Office of Learning Technologies, Human Resources Department,
Canada and is archived here with permission.
- This file is in Adobe .pdf format.
Click below to download the free Adobe Reader
-
- Hiemstra, Roger (1992)
Computerized Distance Education:
The Role for Facilitators
- Many adults are constrained in
their study efforts by various work, family, or social obligations that
limit their abilities to be successful in traditional educational settings.
Computer mediated conferencing (CMC) is a promising approach for non-traditional,
distance learning. A growing body of scholarship indicates that the approach
is a suitable means for educational delivery, but several questions remain
regarding appropriate facilitator role, training requirements for those who
use the approach, and associated instructional limitations. This article
provides a rationale for using CMC, describes how CMC has been used, provides
information on instructional implications, and suggests some future research
needs.
- L-Soft International, Inc. (1997)
Moderating and
Editing Lists Chapter 6 of the List Owner's Manual for LISTSERV®,
version 1.8c.
- This chapter includes the following
sections:
6.1. List charters, welcome
files, and administrative updates
6.2. The role of the list owner as moderator
6.3. The role of the list owner as editor
6.4. Setting up an edited list
6.5. Submitting subscriber contributions to an edited list
6.6. Message approval with Send=Editor,Hold
6.7. Using list topics
6.8. The listname WELCOME and listname FAREWELL files
6.8.1. Creating and storing listname WELCOME and FAREWELL files
6.8.2. Using the listname WELCOME file as a moderation tool
6.8.3. Using the listname FAREWELL file as a feedback tool
6.8.4. The alternative to using WELCOME and FAREWELL files
6.9. Social conventions (netiquette)
6.10. Spamming: what it is, and what to do about it
6.11. Appropriate use policies: considerations
- Morris, Merrill (1993)
E-mail editors: Gatekeepers or facilitators?
- This exploratory study attempts
to identify editing values and standards of a new mass medium, computer
discussion groups known as Usenet newsgroups. Are these editors adopting
the values and standards of established journalistic media in making editorial
decisions, or is the medium of computers changing the way they make editorial
decisions? Moderators, or editors, of Usenet newsgroups were surveyed to
find answers to these questions. This paper will conclude that while computer
newsgroup editors share some of the same kinds of news values as professional
editors, the nature of the medium itself has already shaped the editing
process. To understand where that process is headed requires a turn from
traditional mass communication theories about gatekeeping to theories of
group decision-making.
- Paulsen
Morten (1995)
Moderating
Educational Computer Conferences
- Paulsen discusses the moderator's
various roles (organizational, social and intellectual) in terms of their
own preferred pedagogical style, philosophical orientation, the moderator's
sense of their role, and their preferred facilitation techniques.
- Paulsen,
Morten (1995)
The Online Report on Pedagogical Techniques
for Computer-Mediated Communication
- This is Morten Paulsen's shareware
report published as a result of his work as first speaker at the ICDE-95
On-line World Conference in distance education. It is approximately 75
printed pages long and contains an exhausitive listing of online teaching
techniques.
Reingold, Howard
The Art of Hosting Good Conversation
-
- Tips from a master of online
communication.
- Rohfeld, Rae Wahl & Hiemstra,
Roger (1995)
Moderating Discussions in the Electronic
Classroom
- Those involved in facilitating
or moderating computer conferences face a number of special challenges
that are usually not present in more traditional settings, where collaborative
learning is often absent. Such challenges center around encouraging learner
participation and maintaining viable discussions during the "electronic
classroom." Rohfeld and Hiemstra discuss both the challenges and suggest
ways of overcoming them.
Salmon, Gilly & Giles, Ken (October
1997)
Moderating Online
Presented to the Online Educa,
Berlin. There is a long history in the Open University and the Open University
Business School of a broadly social constructivist approach to distance
education, with an emphasis on a facilitative pedagogical style and the
encouragement of dialogue between tutor and student, albeit at a distance.
This paper explores the implications of such an approach in the context
of the incorporation of the new Information & Communication Technologies
and specifically Computer Mediated Conferencing into the distance learning
media mix. To what extent will teachers in distance education be readily
able to carry over their accustomed approaches into a new setting and to
what extent will they need to change? What support is needed to help them
to translate good tutoring into good computer conference moderating? Illustration
is provided from work in which the authors have been involved to translate
good tutoring into the new context.
Community
Building Resources from The WELL
A series of excellent resources
from the first online community, including articles on hosting and on the
building of virtual community.
Winograd, David (2000)
Guidelines for Moderating Online Educational
Computer Conferences
- These guidelines, used here with
kind permission of Dr. Winograd,
grew out of his dissertation research. He provides a very practical guide
for both novice and experience faculty in the nuts and bolts of preparations
for, and the conduct of/ effective discussion in the online classroom.
Back to Index
Scholarly Discussion
Groups
- Berge, Zane L. (1994)
Electronic Discussion Groups
- Electronic discussion groups
are playing an increasing role within the information culture. Electronic
discussion groups (DG) often serve as powerful tools in the retrieval and
exchanging of information, bringing together persons with similar interests
regardless of geographic distance or the time constraints dictated by face-to-face
meetings. The focus of this article is to characterize global, electronic
DGs. Secondly, the article offers some helpful tips for those new to using
LISTSERV®lists and Usenet News.
- Berge, Zane L. and Mauri P. Collins.
(1995)
Computer Mediated Scholarly Discussion Groups. Computers in Education. 24(1):
183-189.
- Rojo, Alejandro. (1995)
Participation in Scholarly
Electronic Forums A University of Toronto Ph.D. Thesis.
This study addresses the issue
of participation in discussion groups conducted through electronic mail
using a mail distribution program. It is concerned with those electronic
groups with an academic or professional content and open to anyone--scholarly
electronic forums (SEFs). How do participants become members of these forums?
What are their purposes in participating? What are users' levels of involvement
in these forums? What influences people to contribute messages to these
forums?
Back to Index
Sample Editorial
Policies for Discussion Lists
Back to Index
Netiquette
Guides
Reid, Alex. (16-Nov-1994)
Oxford University's
Code of Conduct for e-mail ettiquette
- Rinaldo, Arlene H.(1994)
The Net Users Guidelines
and Netiquette
- The formulation of this guide
was motivated by a need to develop guidelines for all Internet protocols
to ensure that users at Florida Atlantic University realize the Internet
capabilities as a resource available, with the provision that they are
responsible in how they access or transmit information through the Internet
(The Net).
- Templeton,
Brad. (1991)
Emily Postnews Answers Your Questions on Netiquette
- "This is intended to be
satirical. If you do not recognize it as such, consult a doctor or professional
comedian. The recommendations in this article should recognized for what
they are -- admonitions about what NOT to do"
Back to Index
On Computer
Conferencing using Lists
- Anderson, Terry (1996)
Virtual Conferences:
Extending Professional Education in Cyber-Space
- This paper was presented at the
CADE conference and discusses large scale, short term conferences like
those Terry has managed, especially the one in conjuction with the ICDE
'95 conference. Paper also gives recommendations to those considering similar
efforts.
- Berge, Ola. (1996)
Learning Internet
on the Internet: Collaborative Learning in an Unpaced Course.
- The purpose of this study is
to explore the potential of distribution lists for supprt of collaborative
learning activities in an unpaced distance education course at the NKI
Electronic College of Computer Science. This study indicates that the introduction
of distribution lists is not sufficient if one is to untilize the full
potential of collaborative learning in distance education.
- Berge, Zane L. and Mauri P. Collins
(1993)
Computer Conferencing and Online Education
- This article proposes a model
for viewing computer conferencing within a communications framework. It
supplies an overview of how CC is similar to, and yet different from other
channels of communication. The capabilities of CC such as synchronous and
asynchronous communications and archiving are described. Benefits of CC,
such as professional growth, information processing, independence of time
and distance are discussed, as are the limitations of the media. Those
features most significant to educational uses (i.e., text-based with features
of face-to-face communication; promoting student-student and student-instructor
interactions) are explained.
- Collins, Mauri P. (1996)
Pedagogical Uses of Computer Conferencing
for Adult Learners
- Outline for a "Faculty Instructional
Innovatation Fair" presentation made at Northern Arizona University,
October 10, 1996. Presentation featured a short introducion to computer
conferencing as an acitivity (as opposed to a software package> and
discussed the changing roles of faculty, students and institutions as computer
conferencing is implemented.
- Collins, Mauri P (1992)
Flaming: The Relationship Between Social Context
Cues and Uninhibited Verbal Behavior in Computer-mediated Communication
- One phenomenon occurring in computer-mediated
communication is the appearance of uninhibited verbal behavior. It appears
that the level of uninhibited verbal behavior indulged in by those communicating
via computer-mediated communication is a function of the absence of social
context cues. I will first briefly examine social context cues as they
effect communication content. These include both verbal, non-verbal and
situational cues. Then I will review the literature on uninhibited verbal
behavior (often called 'flaming') in computer-mediated communication, to
determine if there is support for the hypothesis that it is the lack of
contextual cues that allows the phenomenon to occur, and if so, how researchers
have explained the connection between the absence of social context cues
and the occurrence of uninhibited verbal behavior.
- Collins, Mauri P. & Zane
L. Berge (1996)
Facilitating Interaction in Computer Mediated
Online Courses
- This as a background information
paper for our presentation at the FSU/AECT Distance Education Conference,
Tallahassee, Fl. June, 1996. The paper opens with a discussion of computer
conferencing, its advantages and disadvantages, talks about synchronous
and asynchronous communication; interaction; and closes with a look at
the changing roles of teachers and students. References and Bibliography.
- Collins, Mauri P. & Zane
L. Berge. (1994).
Guiding Design Principles for Interactive
Teleconferencing
- Paper presented at the Pathways
to Change: New Directions for Distance Education and Training Conference,
September 29, 30, and October 1, 1994, University of Maine at Augusta.
- Delivery of instruction is usually
more effective when more than one medium is used, (Dekkers et. al., 1990).
When considering the various channels of communication for distance educational
purposes, the strengths and limitations of each available channel can be
analyzed. Once that is done, decisions can be made concerning the better
channel through which to present each instructional goal or learning activity.
While there are dozens of factors that may be significant in the choice
of media, we will concentrate here on two dimensions that can be used to
characterize various channels of communication: 1) its synchronous or asynchronous
nature, and 2) its potential tofacilitate both social interaction and interaction
with course content. This presentation points to ways that can promote
the successful integration of several communications channels into a more
comprehensive and effective system of delivery for distance education.
- Rubin, Eugene (1996)
The ups and downs of running a LISTSERV®-based
computer conference.
- The article was posted to the
IUC96-L Online Conference to explain the workings of the Conference. The
Conference ran for three weeks in April, 1996, covered three aspects of "Course
Development for the World Wide Web" with two expert "Discussants" each
week and over 800 paying participants.
- Woolley, D.R.
Conferencing Software for
the Web
- Comprehensive list of web software
for text-based asynchronous group discussion and links to their home sites.
Forum Software - BBS Software - Internet & Intranet Groupware Software
for Virtual Communities - Virtual Teams - Message Boards - Collaborative
Workgroups
- Wolley, D.R.
(1994)
PLATO: The Emergence of
On-Line Community
- A history of the Plato Computer
Conferencing system and David R. Woolley's involvement in it.
There are a number of other excellent articles by David Wooley (although
some of them are now somewhat dated) at http://www.thinkofit.com/pubs.htm
Back to Index
These books can
be ordered individually or as series directly from the publisher at 1-800-894-8955
or from Amazon.Com (Author Search:Zane
Berge)
Back to Index
On Computer mediated
communication
- Jonnson, Ewa (1998)
Discourse:
On speech and writing on the Internet
The advancement of computer-mediated
language towards the rapidity and nature of spoken language raises the
question whether electronic communication is written or oral discourse.
This essay focuses on how electronic discourse is manifested in two major
communication modes on the Internet - asynchronous and synchronous typing
- and how it relates to traditional notions of written and oral discourse.
To substantiate the discussion, examples from authentic electronic communication
are included and the viewpoint in the study of them is essentially sociolinguistic.
The study also renders an introduction to new terminology that has emerged
over the years of linguistic interaction on the Internet and throws some
light on how the electronic era relates to other periods of human communication.
The conclusion of the study is that electronic discourse is neither writing
nor speech, but rather written speech or spoken writing, or something
unique in the history of human discourse.
Santoro, G. (1995)
What is Computer-Mediated Communication?
in Computer mediated communication and the Online
Classroom. Volume 1 - Overview and Perspectives
Computer-Mediated Communication
(CMC) is the name given to a large set of functions in which computers
are used to support human communication. CMC can be defined narrowly or
broadly, depending on how one defines human communication. At its narrowest,
CMC refers to computer applications for direct human-to-human communication.
This includes electronic mail, group conferencing systems and interactive
'chat' systems. At its broadest, CMC can encompass virtually all computer
uses
- Feenberg, Andrew. (1989)
The Written World. In R. Mason & A.
Kaye (Eds.) Mindweave: communication, computers and distance education.
Oxford: Pergamon Press, pp. 22-39. Archived here with the author's permission.
- The author analyses the 'written
world' of computer mediated communication (CMC), and stresses the importance
of the roles of the social network designer and conference moderator in
initiating and maintaining group communication processes.
- Higgins, R.N. (1991)
Computer-mediated cooperative
learning: Synchronous and asynchronous communication between students learning
nursing diagnosis. Doctoral Thesis. Toronto: University of Toronto
- Chapter 2: Subsection 2.3.1:
Overview of CMC
Computer-mediated communication
refers to human communication via computer. The emphasis is on interaction
between humans using computers to connect with one another. The computers
may be central repositories for human messages, or they may comprise
a network of links and nodes facilitating the transfer of human messages.
Various modes and media can be combined to facilitate the communication
process.
- Powers, Susan M., & Karen
M. Dutt
Expanding Class Discussion
Beyond the Classroom Walls
- With the advent of electronic
communications, student interaction and discussion can be enhanced. We
decided to try one of these electronic avenues to see if we could develop
an electronic classroom devoted to discussion and interaction. . . .Given
the careful managment and encouragement, electronic discussions can complement
current classroom activities and encourage the growth of your students.
Back to Index
Online Dissertations
and Thesis
These all deal in some way with
Mailing List-based Discussion Groups and have the full text online.
- Peter Murray, 1995
Nursing the Internet: A Case Study
of Nurses' Use of the Internet
- This case study, with methodology
grounded in Mason's (1989) thesis and Merriam's (1988) approach, investigates
the communicative exchanges between nurses using the Nursenet list, within
a particular spatio-temporal context. The study utilises a tripartite frame
of reference, incorporating postmodern/poststructuralist philosophy, a
multiple paradigm view of nursing research, and Fairclough's (1992) social
theory of discourse. This latter is grounded in Foucault's work on the
socially constructive nature of discourse and its interrelationship with
knowledge and power.
- Alejandra Rojo, 1995
Participation
in Scholarly Electronic Forums
- This study addresses the issue
of participation in discussion groups conducted through electronic mail
using a mail distribution program. It is concerned with those electronic
groups with an academic or professional content and open to anyone--scholarly
electronic forums (SEFs). How do participants become members of these forums?
What are their purposes in participating? What are users' levels of involvement
in these forums? What influences people to contribute messages to these
forums?
Back to Index
On Teaching On-line
- Berge, Z. L. (1998).
Concerns of teachers in Higher Education. Paper
presented at the ISTE conference TEL-ED '98, New Orleans, LA, 29-31 October,
1998.
- This article focuses on the concerns
of online teachers. Online instruction is limited here to computer-mediated
online instruction and to courses in which online interaction accounts
for at least 50% of the graded part of the course. Forty-two teachers were
surveyed regarding their perceptions of the most salient barriers to their
online teaching. The central question addressed in this article is to what
degree do online teachers encounter the following perennial problems within
education: quality, change, accountability, productivity, and access.
- Berge, Z. L. (1996).
Example case studies in post-secondary,
on-line teaching. In G. Hart & J. Mason Proceedings of the The
Virtual University ? Symposium. Melbourne, Australia, November 21-22,
1996, pp. 99-105.
- This paper presents two descriptions
of on-line teachers' perceptions of their teaching in post-secondary, formal
educational settings. Selected from the 42 cases in a survey the author
conducted in the summer of 1996, these particular cases were chosen because
of the contrasts represented in teaching styles. Teachers responding to
this survey used a wide range of teaching methods-from lecture to student
self-assessment. Still, the teaching styles of most teachers included using
discussion, collaboration, and authentic learning activities as their primary
instructional methods. If the data collected from these 42 teachers can
be used to generalise, then on-line teachers in higher and continuing education
create a learning environment that is characterised as more student-centred
than teacher-centred.
- Brown, Alisson (1997)
Designing for Learning: What are the essential
features of an effective online course? Australian Journal of Educational
Technology, 13(2), pp. 115-126
- How do online courses differ
from traditional university courses? What are the new learning demands
made on students in online courses? Which particular design features optimise
the teaching and learning process in an online delivery mode?
These were the questions explored
in a collaborative course design project involving an economics lecturer
and the instructional designer at Murdoch University. Emerging from the
project is the fully online course Economic Thought and Controversy,
together with an instructional design template. This template is now
being applied to other courses in the discipline with the aim of transferring
the whole economics programme to online delivery in 1998.
This paper describes the pedagogical
rationale of the design template.
- Berge, Z. L. (in press).
Characteristics of online teaching in
post-secondary, formal education.
- Pre-publication DRAFT. Cite only
with the permission of the author.
- This chapter reports the results
of a survey exploring the characteristics of online teaching in formal,
post-secondary settings from the perspective of teachers. The findings
of this survey include that online teachers responding to this survey used
a wide range of teaching methods-from lecture to student self-assessment.
The teachers responding to this survey used discussion, collaboration,
and authentic learning activities as their primary instructional methods,
leading to the conclusion that they create a learning environment that
is characterized as more student-centered than teacher-center.
- Mason, Robin (1991)
Moderating Educational Computer Conferences DEOSNEWS
1 (19)
- This article attempts to build
on the available literature regarding online tutoring by applying the principles
and advice they give, to a particular example of exceptionally good moderating.
Using extracts from a conference showing these general principles in practice,
a model of online teaching can be derived and conclusions can be drawn
about the nature of moderating skills in an educational context.
-
Muilenburg, Lin & Berge,
Zane L. (2000)
A Framework for Designing Questions
for Online Learning DEOSNEWS 10 (2)
-
The discussion method is one
of the most commonly used pedagogical techniques in the online classroom.
Discussion is widely used because it can promote several types of thinking-and
certain types of thinking especially those characterized as constructivist,
are important in education. Proper attention to the design, facilitation,
and maintenance of an online instructional discussion is critical to
promote students' constructive thinking. Questioning is a significant
instructional design element for the promotion of effective discussion.
This article describes a theoretical framework for designing questions
for starting online discussion and follow-up questions to maintain the
discussion. This framework is placed within a broader context of discussion
within a constructivist, online environment. Numerous examples of discussion
questions which were gathered from experienced online instructors are
presented with the goal of preparing students and teachers to participate
effectively in online discussions.
- Murphy, Karen & Collins,
Mauri (1997)
The Development of
Communication Conventions in Instructional Electronic Chats.
- Paper presented at the Annual
Convention of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago. [Online] http://disted.tamu.edu/~kmurphy/aera97a.htm
- The widespread use of computer
conferencing for instructional purposes, both as an adjunct to and a replacement
for the traditional classroom, has encouraged teachers and students alike
to approach teaching and learning in ways that incorporate collaborative
learning and the social construction of knowledge. Discussion and dialog
between instructor and students and among students is a key feature of
computer conferencing and the foundation of constructivist learning techniques.
Computer conferencing can be used both asynchronously, which allows time
for reflection between interactions, and synchronously, allowing real-time,
interactive chats or open sessions among as many participants as are online
simultaneously.
This study used content analysis
to first identify the communication conventions and protocols that real-time,
interactive electronic chat users developed in instructional settings.
The study also determined that the students recognized a need to use
their communication conventions and protocols to communicate clearly
and minimize misunderstandings in their online transactions with others.
The more obvious conventions included using keywords and names of individuals,
shorthand techniques, non-verbal cues in text, and asking questions and
seeking clarification.
- Pitt, Tina Joy and Anne Clark
(nd)
Creating powerful online courses using multiple
instructional strategies.
- Online learning can employ any
of the wide variety of strategies discussed here, from email to online
data base and archive searching. Much of the power of learning via the
Internet lies in its capacity to support multiple modes of communication
including "any combination of student-to-student, student-to-faculty, faculty-to-student,
faculty-to faculty, student-to others, others-to students and so forth" (Ellsworth
in Berge & Collins, 1995, p. 31). Taking into account the varied learning
styles of learners and providing opportunities for self-directed and collaborative
learning, educators can facilitate powerful, effective courses geared to
achieve specific learning goals and outcomes using the vast resources and
capacities of computer-mediated online learning.
- Rossman, Mark H. (1999)
Successful
online teaching using an asynchronous learner discussion forum
- At Capella University online
courses are offered using an asynchronous learner discussion forum. At
the conclusion of each course, learners are requested to complete and electronically
submit a course evaluation form.
A document analysis of more
than 3000 course evaluations from 154 courses conducted during the past
11 quarters was conducted. Each course folder was reviewed. The narrative
responses were ultimately grouped into the following categories: Faculty
Feedback, Learner Discussions and Course Requirements. General observations
related to these categories were presented followed by several tips for
successful teaching in an online environment using an asynchronous learner
discussion forum. The tips were initially generated by the document analysis.
Additional tips were added and the list was revised each quarter following
the end-of-quarter teleconference with the instructors.
- Salmon, Gilly K. (1999)
Reclaiming the territory for the
natives. Presented at "ONLINE LEARNING: Exploiting technology for training" London
23rd & 24th November 1999
- . . . in my view, the productive,
purposeful and integrated use of online learning is still far from common
and where it is attempted, there is mixed responses from stakeholders.
Even in geographical areas where there is large take up of networked technologies
from the population, or small countries with enlightened government policy,
such as Finland and Ireland, the nature of teaching and learning has not
yet changed very much. Technology used in "niche markets" or
specialist courses rarely results in widespread, worthwhile and scalable
further use. This suggests that although access to the tools is, of course,
important, it is certainly not the whole story.
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