Three Models of Online Teaching

1. Three Models of Online Teaching Dr. Tim Xie California State University, Long Beach txie@csulb.edu

2. Web-based instruction or on-line teaching is very popular currently. Many people want to do it. However, it is not clear yet why online teaching is needed and how to conduct teaching online. I will analyze the three models of online teaching based on my personal experience and practice during the past years. I will also discuss the factors affecting your decision to adopt a certain model, the characteristics of online teaching as well as some difficulties and problems.

3. University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign: Research Report of the Faculty Seminar 1999 • Supplemental to traditional classroom teaching • Mixed, partial online teaching • Complete online teaching (for on-campus and long distance education)

4. Supplemental Model(CSULB Web Site) • Course sites in regular web pages and Beachboard Chinese 101 • Web Directory - Learning Chinese Online PageLearning Chinese Online Page • Textbook-based page -PCR: Learning Aids Page PCR Online Aids

5. Mixed Model • CSULB Hybrid courses – 50%-50% model • ULUC, Math Dept.- online teaching plus several meetings with the students. Chemistry Dept. – Meeting with the students once a week. • Carnegie Mellon University: French and German courses – three days classroom instruction plus one day online activity

6. Complete Online course • Australia: La Trobe University La Trobe Universiy 1,2 • Beijing Language and Culture University: http://ww.eblcu.net • East China Normal University:http://www.hanyu.com.cn

7. It is your practical need that you must take into consideration to determine which model to adopt.

8. Questions to ask yourselves:- Is your course unique?- Does your course have a competitive power?- Do you have human and financial resources and technical support?

9. -Do you really need to reduce the classroom instruction time?-Do you have the ability to control online activities?(Creating and maintaining the web course, etc.)

10. Are there any similar web sites or pages?- Are currently available pages good enough for your purposes?- Do you need to add more materials? You may create your own web pages with currently available links and your creative works.

11. Other questions to ask: • Do instructors have sufficient time, resources and knowledge to conduct online teaching? • Are students interested in it? Are they ready for it? • Are the administrative authorities very supportive financially, technically and academically (recognition of academic works, RTP)?

12. Cahracteristics of Online Teaching Students: • They must be self-starters. • They must be comfortable with technology (at least they do not hate it). • They must have a strong desire to learn foreign languages.

13. Instructors: • Instructors are no longer merely course deliverers. They are makers of teaching materials, organizers and executors of activities and mentors. • Instructors must have basic concepts and skills in computing. • Instructors cannot rely on technicians. They need to do it by themselves. • Instructors need to learn and update their knowledge and closely watch the new developments on the net.

14. Characteristics of Teaching and Learning • Invisible students • Activities are in the form of online communication – text and sound • Asynchronous and synchronous • Students’ active learning • Instructors’ specific and task-oriented assignments

15. Online Course Structure • Background information: syllabus, schedule, instructors’ information • Course delivery: learning units, lecture notes, assignments • Communication: E-mail, discussion board and real-time chat • Assessment: self-tests and online tests and exams • Resources: course related links • Other tools

16. Web supported courses in the U.S. • Most web pages in the U.S. are made by professors or professional individuals. They are practical and are very useful supplements to the courses they teach. • There are some similar pages each of which has its own features and characteristics. They are valuable resources for language instructors.

17. Web Courses in China • Online courses in China are mostly made by professional groups. Big projects are supported by either universities or government. • Online schools are good for long distance education. Individual instructors have less control on course content.

18. Suggestions: 1. The realistic approach isto adopt a certain model based on the real situation.2. Complete online courses are more appropriate for those who have more human resources and technical support. 3. Instructors can use web resources as a supplemental or use the hybrid model.

19. 50% of learning and teaching will take place online in 21 century. Chinese language instructors should cooperate in creating and sharing the web resources to meet the new challenges in this e-generation.

20. References • Draves, William A. 2000. Teaching Online. River Falls: LERN Books. • Flex, Uschi. 2001. Beyond Babel: Language Learning Online. Melbourne: Language Australia Ltd. • Green, Anne and Bonnie Earnest Youngs. 2001. "Using the Web in Elementary French and German Courses: Qantitative and Qualitative Study Results". In CALICO Jouranl, Vol. 19. No. 1. pp. 89-123. • CMU. Language Online @CMU: Who should learn language online? <http://mlonline.hss.cmu.edu/online/online.html> • Illinois Report. 1999. Teaching at an Internet Distance: The Pedagogy of Online Teaching and Learning. The report of 1998-1999 University of Illinois Faculty Seminar <http://www.vpaa.uillinois.edu/tid/report/toc.htm> • Orton, Jane. 2001. Building "Bridges": Design issues for a Web-based Chinese course. In Flex, 2001. • Xie, Tianwei. 2001. "e 世代的中文教師如何面臨挑戰", in Journal of CLTA, Vol. 36:3, 2001

21. Thank you!