scholarly journals Online language teaching: The pedagogical challenges

2011 ◽  
pp. 428-447 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Virtual Classroom ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Online Learning Community ◽  
University Of Technology ◽  
Bachelor Of Arts ◽  
The Way

Reflecting on the experience of teaching two fully online papers in Chinese at the Bachelor of Arts (Chinese) program at Auckland University of Technology (AUT) (delivered for a total of ten times since 2008), the object of this paper is to examine the problems along the way, and to address issues which arise. The problems are all pedagogical by nature, instead of being technical concerns upon which a large proportion of online language teaching research has been focused. The issues at stake are two very important assumptions: that there exists a Virtual Classroom, and that one can move the class to the cyberspace and build an Online Learning Community in online language teaching. Discussions are centred on the changing learner profile and the changed learner behaviours in online learning, and their far-reaching impacts on the way we traditionally teach. This author argues that both assumptions are mere myths, and urges a re-think of the online pedagogical approaches which still treat online courses as “classes” and insist on building the online learning community to re-invent traditional classroom-learning in cyberspace. An urgent call is then made for a radical pedagogical shift in online language teaching from teacher-centred approaches towards a personalised, small-group orientated, multi-dimensional model of teaching. In this spirits, a proposal on online language teaching design is formulated with specific and practical suggestions for online language teachers.

Peer Learning and Peer Assessment to Enhance Participation in Online Courses

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
Pierpaolo Limone ◽  
Giusi Antonia Toto
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Future Development ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Peer Assessment ◽  
Peer Learning ◽  
Online Learning Community ◽  
Self Regulated Learning ◽  
Assessment Approach

The chapter discusses the development of a peer assessment approach in an online learning community. Peer assessment is an important construct because it is connected with self-regulated learning and correlated with the use of feedback, two of the most effective issues in facilitating online learning. The aim of the research is to demonstrate the innovative value of peer assessment and peer learning in new tech through a literature review and an analysis of a practical application to show future development in this field.

Assessment, Academic Integrity, and Community Online

2011 ◽  
pp. 108-114
Author(s):  
Rena M. Palloff ◽  
Keith Pratt
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
Academic Integrity ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Online Learning Community ◽  
Teaching Activities ◽  
Assessment Techniques ◽  
Assessment Strategies ◽  
Online Instructor

One of the most difficult tasks the online instructor has is to assess student performance. Magennis and Farrell (2005) define teaching as a set of activities that makes learning possible. Assessment strategies should not only measure the degree to which learning has occurred, but should be learning activities in and of themselves (Gaytan, 2002). Tests and quizzes are most often used to assess learning, but are not necessarily the best way to assess discussion-based courses or even skill-based courses as they generally measure the amount of information retained rather than the degree to which learning has occurred. Angelo and Cross (1993) note that the outcomes of assessments are often a disappointment to the instructor as they do not provide feedback on how well teaching activities promoted learning. This may be especially true in the online environment, where instructors are separated from students by time and space, increasing concern about academic integrity along with concern about assessment outcomes. How, then, does the instructor who wants to move away from the use of tests and quizzes develop assessment techniques that measure student learning? How can the use of varied assessment techniques and the development of a supportive online learning community increase the academic integrity of online courses? The following is a discussion of assessment techniques that work well online, and concerns about academic integrity that are often expressed by instructors regarding online learning. Finally, the development of an online learning community is explored as a means by which to reduce these concerns and increase the level of academic integrity online.

Peer Learning and Peer Assessment to Enhance Participation in Online Courses

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 27-47
Author(s):  
Pierpaolo Limone
Keyword(s):  
Learning Disabilities ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Peer Assessment ◽  
Specific Learning Disabilities ◽  
Online Interaction ◽  
Online Learning Community ◽  
Assessment Approach ◽  
Specific Learning

The essay discusses the development of a peer assessment approach in an online learning community composed of teachers enrolled in a course on Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD). The experience was prompted by the need to promote meaningful learning and online interaction among teachers, then collaborative assessment activities proved to be an efficient strategy to foster engagement.

Presidential Influence: How a University President Handles Crisis and Cultivates Campus Culture for an Online Learning Community

2021 ◽  
pp. 155545892110351
Author(s):  
Meghan Griggs ◽  
Caroline Thouin
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Virtual Learning Environment ◽  
University President ◽  
Racial Justice ◽  
Online Learning Community ◽  
Southern Plains ◽  
Diversity And Inclusion ◽  
The University

The President of Southern Plains University is dealing with coronavirus disease 2019 on-campus that has forced the university to move most of its courses online. Alongside this issue, the country is in a state of social unrest as multiple unarmed African American citizens were killed by local police and White citizens. During these divisive times, university constituents have expressed that the virtual learning environment has failed to provide an adequately safe online learning community for the diverse student population. In response to racially insensitive comments that were made in online courses, a frustrated faculty, and ongoing challenges due to the pandemic and the fight for racial justice, this university president looks to reassure constituents by cultivating an online culture that values diversity and inclusion.

scholarly journals The Presence of Learner Identity in Online Classes in UTAS-Rustaq

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-69
Author(s):  
Munira Said Al Siyabi ◽  
Dalal Abdullah Al Shekaili
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
English Language ◽  
Virtual Classroom ◽  
Learning Context ◽  
Learner Identity ◽  
University Of Technology ◽  
Virtual Classes ◽  
Group Interviews

Learner identity has always been a crucial aspect in shaping learners’ learning process. However, the unprecedented and inevitable shift to online learning increases the need to invest in learners’ digital identities. Virtual classes are a new learning context for many Omani students, including the University of Technology and Applied Sciences-Rustaq (UTAS-Rustaq) students, introducing them to new social norms and relatively new assigned roles. Despite students’ current presence in the virtual classes, they are not new to the virtual world; many are already part of social networks. The present study, therefore, aims to investigate learners’ participation in social media and whether such presence would have an impact on their acceptance and involvement in online learning. There is an urge to examine this area which remains unexplored in UTAS-Rustaq due to its past limited practices. A mixed-method approach was implemented to elicit data; the focus group interviews aimed to seek in-depth insights to illuminate the collected data from the survey. The participants were English language learners who have experienced online learning for almost a year. The results indicated a positive presence in the virtual world in contrast to a negative presence in the virtual classroom. Surprisingly, technical difficulties were not the reason for students’ resentment of online learning; on the contrary, students reported that they elevated their technical skills due to the current situation. Rather, negativity arose from a lack of relational connectedness with the new context, which students kept referring to as a temporary situation and lack of teachers’ support.

scholarly journals Topic Sentiment Analysis in Online Learning Community from College Students

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 33-61
Author(s):  
Kai Wang ◽  
Yu Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Sentiment Analysis ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Topic Detection ◽  
Online Learning Community ◽  
Hybrid Matrix ◽  
Content Recommendation ◽  
Topic Sentiment

AbstractPurposeOpinion mining and sentiment analysis in Online Learning Community can truly reflect the students’ learning situation, which provides the necessary theoretical basis for following revision of teaching plans. To improve the accuracy of topic-sentiment analysis, a novel model for topic sentiment analysis is proposed that outperforms other state-of-art models.Methodology/approachWe aim at highlighting the identification and visualization of topic sentiment based on learning topic mining and sentiment clustering at various granularity-levels. The proposed method comprised data preprocessing, topic detection, sentiment analysis, and visualization.FindingsThe proposed model can effectively perceive students’ sentiment tendencies on different topics, which provides powerful practical reference for improving the quality of information services in teaching practice.Research limitationsThe model obtains the topic-terminology hybrid matrix and the document-topic hybrid matrix by selecting the real user’s comment information on the basis of LDA topic detection approach, without considering the intensity of students’ sentiments and their evolutionary trends.Practical implicationsThe implication and association rules to visualize the negative sentiment in comments or reviews enable teachers and administrators to access a certain plaint, which can be utilized as a reference for enhancing the accuracy of learning content recommendation, and evaluating the quality of their services.Originality/valueThe topic-sentiment analysis model can clarify the hierarchical dependencies between different topics, which lay the foundation for improving the accuracy of teaching content recommendation and optimizing the knowledge coherence of related courses.

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