Pedagogical Patterns and Online Teaching

This chapter summarizes the experience collected after years of researching and experiencing on teaching and learning online in the form of an eLearning pattern-architecture. In this architecture, based upon the leading role of the human factor (according to the vision of the eLearning by GRIAL Group), the whole processes occurring within any training activity is represented, from the institutional planning to the evaluation of the whole process, technological decisions, teaching activity, interaction with students, and so forth. This model is briefly presented after the explanation of the notion of pattern (and its application to the pedagogical context), as a prerequisite for understanding the scope of the use of this methodology in the field of online training.

The Use of the Socratic Teaching Method in E-Learning 2.0 Settings

The aim of this chapter is to outline the use of the Socratic Teaching Method (STM) in e-Learning 2.0 practice. The research included in this chapter is intended as an introductory handout in order to help educators, learners and course designers to identify the advantages and pitfalls of using this teaching method in e-Learning 2.0 applications. More precisely, this chapter gives the writer’s perspective regarding some very interesting issues, such as: a) the range of subjects that could be taught using the STM teaching practice, b) the educators’ additional skills needed in order to apply STM to their online teaching, and c) whether the STM is an adequate learning approach in order to assure learners’ mastery of a subject.

Learning by Playing

This chapter aims to introduce the reader into the concepts Gamification and Game-Based Learning (hereinafter, GBL) and to highlight their influence on the transmission of knowledge and development of competencies and skills in the Society of Knowledge. After a brief prior familiarization with the main features of learning and educational paradigms in the twenty-first century as well as with effective teaching strategies and pedagogical methodologies in such a context, it will move towards the clarification of the meaning of the aforementioned terms and other related concepts in what might be called the framework of playful learning. Straightaway, a detailed description of the main applicable strategies to develop an effective gamified proposal will be offered. These playful techniques have a significant ability to influence learners' motivation and strengthen their commitment to training projects while their participation, engagement, curiosity, fantasy and desire for adventures are stimulated and developed. They also have plenty of remarkable chances in the field of behavioral modeling, a topic also discussed in the chapter and whose applications within Education, and in any other economic or social area, are numerous and varied. The final level of this challenge is an exploration of the key game-based design elements (aesthetics, dynamics, mechanics and components) to close the overview of the landscape that is presented.

A Delayed Treatment Control Group Design Study of an After-School Online Tutoring Program in Reading

This chapter concerns a year-long, United States federally-funded evaluation of Educate Online, an online, at home, 1:1 tutoring program aimed at improving reading performance for middle school students who are below grade level. Participating students receive after-school instruction from teachers in real-time over Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) connections. The researcher discusses study findings, the methodological challenges of conducting research on online tutoring, the multiple perspectives for understanding the effectiveness of a tutoring program, and areas for additional research. The chapter examines a key aspect of the evaluation, a delayed treatment control group design study to determine the effect that involvement in the tutoring program has upon student academic achievement in reading.

E-Learning Technologies for Effective Teaching

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is extensively used in delivering e-learning. The effective use of technology in e-learning fosters learning and communication. E-learning technologies provide dynamism and increase in learning possibilities all over the world. The application of e-learning in education has already changed the organization and delivery of education. E-learning technologies and tools are increasing every day thus it is necessary to learn and know their properties in order to use them effectively. It is also important to know the learners and their skills for e-learning technologies. Digital Pedagogy emerged in response to this challenge; it effectively enhances and transforms teaching and learning to provide rich, diverse and flexible learning opportunities for a digital generation. For effective e-learning an instructor must focus less on lecturing and content presentation, and more on assisting learners in creating personal learning or knowledge networks. Virtual class tools, chat or instant messaging, voice over IP, asynchronous tools, forums, email utilities, blogs, wikis and other asynchronous and synchronous tools are commonly used technological tools. This chapter explores the way in which e-learning technologies have caused a revolution in education, allowing learning to be individualized, enhancing interactions and changing the role of the classical teacher into facilitator.

Three Degrees of Separation

Mentoring connects an experienced mentor with a less experienced mentee to increase the likelihood that the mentee’s goals will be accomplished through the mentor’s provision of support, knowledge, and judgment. Central to mentoring is the relational bond between participants. This chapter considers the relational implications when mentoring participants are separated by distance, culture, and task. Specifically, it examines the mentoring program of an American college with students in the Czech Republic, where distanced mentoring supports the completion of an undergraduate dissertation. The chapter reviews the various “distances” encountered and their impact on the mentoring relationship. The main thrust of the chapter is to consider changes in the underlying dynamics of mentoring when it moves to a distanced experience. The effectiveness of mentoring depends on recognizing, adjusting, and strengthening these dynamics. Based on this theoretical framework, and the author’s extensive distance mentoring practice, actionable strategies are presented for strengthening relational bonds and improving e-mentoring effectiveness.

Designing Online Learning Strategies through Analytics

The online education environment is becoming complex day-by-day. Nowadays, educational institutes are offering various types of courses online to a large number of students having a diverse background, with the flexibility of time and geography. This results in creating a large repository of online data regarding courses, students and instructors. These data may be in text, audio or video format. This chapter is an attempt to understand the use of Learning Analytics that advocates for analysis of these data and to understand the learning process better in terms of student engagement, pedagogy, content and assessment. Educational institutes can utilize the intelligence revealed by learning analytics processes, and communicate them to those involved in strategic institutional planning.

The Collaborative Animation Forum in Facebook

This chapter reports on the use of Facebook as the host site for a collaborative international animation forum between student cohorts from the University of South Australia in Australia, Penn State University in the United States of America, and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. From July to December in 2012, 69 animation students from the three institutions took part in the forum. Students were required to submit work-in-progress imagery related to major assignments, and provide feedback and critiques to their global peers. Locally, resulting discussions were often transferred into the physical classroom, be it a lecture or studio, for further dissemination between peers. Internationally, students took on new roles, with more experienced students mentoring their peers. The evaluation process of the international online learning environment included informal discussions between associated teaching staff, and a post semester survey providing participating students with the opportunity to critically reflect on the experience. The findings of the study are discussed in light of the growing use of social media to support mentoring, learning and teaching in tertiary education, particularly in the fields of design and digital media.

E-Learning Implementation in Developing Countries

E-learning nowadays plays an important role in teaching because it is oriented toward the use of information and communication technologies that have become a part of the everyday life and day-to-day business. E-learning contributes to traditional teaching methods and provides many advantages to society and citizens. The main goal of the chapter is to explore e-learning use in developing countries, using Croatia as an example. This chapter identifies perspectives and obstacles defined by users and non-users of e-learning. Four in-depth interviews were conducted to get a more extensive picture of educational institutions that use e-learning in the teaching process. The results of this research indicate that the potential implementation of e-learning in developing countries faces a number of obstacles, mainly due to the restricted resources of professors and institutions measured both in time and financial terms.

Best Practices of Distance Dissertation Mentorship through Social Presence

This chapter explores online instructors’ distance dissertation mentorship through social presence. Eight dissertation chairs were invited to answer in-depth interview questions in this case study. The theories and definitions of social presence, the effectiveness of social presence in online courses, and the strategies to improve social presence in online settings were reviewed. Major findings of this study reveal the critical role of social presence in dissertation mentoring, successful strategies to improve social presence in online dissertation courses, teachers’ limited use of social media, emoticons, and University Mobile 3.0, the need for synchronous virtual interaction in online dissertation classes, and teachers’ challenges of online dissertation mentorship. Finally, the study recommends future research directions.