Online
Education in Theory, Practice, and
Applying the Internet to English Education
- a course at
the University of Tsukuba Graduate School of
Education
- from February
16-20, 2004 (Japan time: GMT+9 hours)
Course
Description
- This intensive practicum
for University of Tsukuba graduate students majoring in English
education will be conducted in a computer classroom connected
to the Internet. As the Ministry of Education (MEXT) emphasizes
both computer literacy and developing "Japanese with English
abilities" as young as possible, course participants will
gain readiness to apply Internet information and communication
technologies to their future English as a Foreign Language classes
in Japan. The course aims for an understanding of the discipline
of online education: its basic parameters, concepts, trends and
issues, globally as well as in Japan. Online educator skills
will also be developed through hands-on training in the WebCT
learning management system based at Portland State University
in Oregon. Demonstrating one of the advantages of online education,
there will be expert participation in the course from abroad
through the Internet. Participants will first brainstorm what
online education is, by comparison with related fields such as
distance education and e-learning. The level of development of
online education in Japan and other countries will also be discussed.
The lecturer will present PowerPoint slides and Web pages on
themes including the parameters of online education, such as
space, time, culture and face; trends, such as online academic
conferences, virtual universities, global networking by educators,
and the new occupation of Instructional Designer; issues, such
as student support, teleconferencing vs. Web-based education,
and whether to replicate face-to-face relationships vs. more
ambitious goals made possible by the new media; and theoretical
considerations, such as definitions of terms, and research on
the similar effectiveness of online learning compared to face-to-face
classes. With this knowledge, the Internet can be applied to
teaching English: in writing, such as composition or content-based
subjects, possibly combining English literacy with computer literacy;
and orally, such as by adding a voice discussion board or voice
chat room to an online course. The practicum will be evaluated
by short writings submitted and class participation. Classes
will be mostly in English, with some Japanese resources and questions
welcome.
- Pages in this subdirectory:
- Brainstorming Parameters of Online Education
- Book Passages on Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs)
- Various bilingual Screen Shots from the Web | more mostly in English
- Pedagogy of
Distributed Education, quoting Chris Dede and Maggie McVay-Lynch
- Interactivity and Web-Based Pedagogy, quoting
Maggie McVay-Lynch
- Links to writings on
online education by the instructor:
- The Instructor's elementary
level Internet
English class home
page (1998-2004)
- Opening the Conference Gates to K-12 and Worldwide Educators
(1997)
- Japanese Culture Meets Online Education (1999)
- Reforms in Computer Education that are Possible for Japan (2000)
- What Online Education Is, with particular reference to
Japan (2001)
- Online education and advanced English [in Japanese] (2001)
- WebCT for the Language Teacher (2001) {presentation home page}
Reaching
out to Students - Education Online [bilingual magazine interview] (2002)
- Japan's correspondence education and online education [in Japanese] (2002)
- {PowerPoint presentation}
- Overcoming Face-to-Face Dependence in Distance
Education:
- Gender and Cultural Considerations (2002) {PowerPoint presentation}
- Worldwide survey on the state of online education [in Japanese] (2003)
- Voice Technologies help turn the Computer into a Communication Device
(2004)
- Outside links:
- WebCT platform for this class at Portland State University in
Oregon
- WebCT platform for
Wimba voice
technologies in
Australia
- Audioconferencing site at Portland State University
in Oregon
- World Association for
Online Education (WAOE) | in Japanese
- See also The Rewards of Effective Online Instruction by Diane Howard and
- Developing Effective
Interaction in Online Courses
by Maggie McVay-Lynch,
- Articles #1 and #2
in the December 2003 WAOE Electronic Bulletin (WEB)
- This page URL is http://www.waoe.org/president/tsukuba/index.html
- Created on 29 January 2004, updated on
1 March 2004
- This site is not the course venue of
password-protected VLEs;
- it is to make most of the resources
available on the open Web
- Steve McCarty
is a full professor in Japan and elected president of the World
Association for Online Education from 1998-2005. His bilingual
Website starts at: http://www.waoe.org/steve/