There is a danger in technology-mediated teaching of separation between the learners and the community in which they are learning. The distance learners feel in blended or distributed learning has potential to negatively affect the overall educational experience. Balancing the three elements, Social Presence, Cognitive Presence, and Teaching Presence, is critical in establishing a Community of Inquiry (Garrison et al, 2000) and creating an ideal educational experience for learners. A real world example demonstrating the effects of perceived imbalance of these elements recently occurred within the discussion forum of this EdTech course before we explored the concepts of this module. One of the learners commented on her perception that a social element was missing from the online discussions. Most discussion threads focused heavily on cognitive presence and lacked the social interaction required to enhance learning beyond “intersecting monologues”.
Enter the Teaching Presence and his ability to recognize the imbalance between Cognitive and Social Presence and its negative affect on Supporting Discourse. He was able to reset the climate by recommending a different approach to responding to discussion threads. The content selection was relevant to the learning outcomes, but interacting with it became less about reading to answer specific questions and more about discussing application of concepts to the learners’ contexts. The focus shifted from reiterating content to exploring its meaning. These concepts are not exclusive to Community of Inquiry. They are also reflected in recommendations made by Transactional Distance Theory (Murphy & Rodriguez-Manaznares, 2008) in creating ideal blended or distributed learning environments. Physical and perceived distances between learners, their peers, and instructors affect the learning experience. Bringing it back to technology, although physical distance cannot be controlled, it is important to consider how technology impacts the balance between interaction, autonomy, and structure. Does technology enhance or detract from the overall educational experience? Does the technology selected support the learning outcomes? How will technology be used to mitigate the potential distances learners may experience? All important considerations when selecting technology for teaching and training. Module 4: Driving Engagement
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What's this about?Documenting my exploration of Ed Tech and how it applies to the field of Adult Education. These are my Ang-ventures. ...see more Archives
April 2017
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