Facilitating Courses by Computer-mediated Communication and the Role of the Teacher, the Community College Teacher's Perceptions

Facilitating Courses by Computer-mediated Communication and the Role of the Teacher, the Community College Teacher's Perceptions
Author: Christine E. Frank
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2000
Genre:
ISBN:

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the experience of community college teachers who use computer mediated communication in their teaching. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten teachers from three community colleges. The data collection was conducted in two stages: an initial round of six interviews, with concurrent analysis, and a second round of four interviews to further investigate emerging themes. The teachers reported that using computer mediated communication assisted them in moving out of the role of sole content provider toward a learning support role. They found that the characteristics of the medium helped them implement learner-centred strategies such as giving students more independence and decision-making opportunities, facilitating more active learning, and encouraging critical thinking. All of the participants saw online learning, which included the use of both Web resources and conferencing, as empowering for students. Teachers experienced substantial change through designing online course sites and implementing new strategies suitable for online learning. Four teachers said their perception of their role had changed, and they indicated that the changes were founded mainly in constructivist or adult learning theory and were confirmed by the online teaching experience. Interest in new learning and enjoyment of experimenting with technology were personal characteristics common to all participants. Most participants were seeking, and found, a sense of renewal and reward in mid to late career. This study demonstrated how teacher development processes occur in community colleges as teachers implement computer mediated communication in their courses. Some were engaged in personal vision building and all were engaged in inquiry, mastery, and collaboration. The necessity of collaboration and its contribution to professional development were especially strong themes. Several participants had become mentors, and some of these mentors reported that they used the opportunity to guide peers toward a learner-centred approach. The patterns of individual and institutional change in the three colleges provide examples of continuous, integrated change processes.

Effective Teaching

Effective Teaching
Author: Community College of Vermont
Publisher: Amer. Assn. of Community Col
Total Pages: 131
Release: 2004-01-31
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0871173646

"Throughout this guide you will find specific strategies for teaching--the kind of practical advice that circulates among veteran teachers whenever they gather together ..."--Page i

An Analysis of Patterns of Computer Mediated Communication Within the Social Studies Student Teaching Experience

An Analysis of Patterns of Computer Mediated Communication Within the Social Studies Student Teaching Experience
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 1904
Genre:
ISBN:

The purpose of this research has been to examine the computer mediated communication (CMC) among a cohort of middle school social studies student teachers and their university supervisors. CMC was facilitated by desktop videoconferencing and web-based groupware. Desktop videoconference sessions were held weekly using CU-SeeMe software, while, web-based groupware messages were posted voluntarily with NetForum software. The two modes of CMC provided the student teachers the opportunities for professional collaboration from their field placement. A qualitative design was used to identify patterns of discourse and to describe the participants' uses of technology. As a result of the participants' active participation in an online learning community, opportunities for peer collaboration and reflection were enhanced. Data from online conversations, interviews, and observations suggested that the intervention of CMC in the student teaching experience allowed the participants to engage in self-directed professional dialogue. The findings suggest that the participants translated the use of technology from the personal context to the classroom context. As a result of this, they acquired perceptions of themselves as technology users. Desktop videoconferencing as a mode of CMC provided more immediate and satisfactory feedback for the participants than the web-based groupware.

Computer-Mediated Communication: Issues and Approaches in Education

Computer-Mediated Communication: Issues and Approaches in Education
Author: Kelsey, Sigrid
Publisher: IGI Global
Total Pages: 324
Release: 2011-10-31
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1613500785

"This book examines online interactions from different national, cultural, linguistic, legal, and economic perspectives, exploring how the increasingly international and intercultural Internet affects the ways users present ideas, exchange information, and conduct discussions online"--Provided by publisher.