http://oubs.open.ac.uk/gilly

e mail Dr Salmon: gks13@leicester.ac.uk

As the Century turns, establishing the acceptance, let alone the effectiveness and quality of technology-mediated learning, is still seriously problematic. Many of us in universities have felt uncomfortable about the aggressive selling of hard and software products on campuses. We struggled to hold onto our autonomy and academic integrity. Many institutions are increasingly experimenting and piloting online learning but there is still a long way to go, even from those who like the Open University, started a decade ago . There appears to be increasing and often significant progress in providing technologically infrastructures, systems and networks. However, much of the discussion I have heard throughout the world in learning and teaching communities has been looking at cost-effectiveness and alternatives rather than technology’s fresh potential for teachers. There has been little attempt to look beyond the obvious in terms of action research and evaluation. Many of the models in use are of a previous era when online meant something to do with synchronous telephone calls and learning largely about attending lectures.

So in my view, the productive, purposeful and integrated use of online learning is still far from common and where it is attempted, there is mixed responses from stakeholders. Even in geographical areas where there is large take up of networked technologies from the population, or small countries with enlightened government policy, such as Finland and Ireland, the nature of teaching and learning has not yet changed very much. Technology used in "niche markets" or specialist courses rarely results in widespread, worthwhile and scalable further use. This suggests that although access to the tools is, of course, important, it is certainly not the whole story.

The issue is that online teaching and learning, changes the scope and the competencies we require of teachers. It changes what we actually do with students. Currently the online trainers and teachers do not themselves have enough training to make this truly successful and productive for learners. Where training is provided it often concentrates on the use of the technology rather than the role of the online teacher.

My Colleague at the UK OU, Dr Robin Mason, summarised her recent survey of the issues and practices of globalizing education in the following way:

"There is absolutely no evidence that learners are able or willing to do without teachers, no matter how well designed the materials, how extensive the resources or how "just in time" the learning…. The fundamental role of the teacher or tutor has not changed but the mode of operation has…." (my italics)

Experienced e-moderator, Prof. Charles Jennings writes:

"There are a few unchanging cornerstones in the education process. One such cornerstone is the inspiration from a teacher who both understands the needs of his learners and can respond to those needs appropriately to make the learning experience a richer one. A second is the provision of quality learning materials that will further inspire, delight and enlighten. Without both of these the educational experience of both the learner in the classroom and the learner sitting at the computer in some distant location will be the poorer"

Experienced CMC e-moderator and online designer, Zane Berge insists:

"The use of technology is secondary to well-designed learning goals and objectives. What distinguishes online instruction from entertainment or recreation, is the purposefulness of the designers and developers in provoking responses to the learning materials, context and environment".

p. 1

The OUBS currently employs around 650 part time "tutors" (employed as associate lecturers of the University). They are located throughout the EU and continental East and West Europe. They are typically experienced managers and trainers .

The OUBS recognises that management learning has to keep up with changes in businesses, and is now using technology for teaching in its well known distance learning methodology. In particular, computer mediated conferencing is an important new way of sharing, constructing and transmitting knowledge among students taking the management courses. However, the key aspect is the extent to which online conferencing is appropriated designed, integrated and moderated by the OUBS tutors. The Business School has undertaken large-scale online training for its management tutors as part of an action research study.

We offer considerable support and development to OUBS tutors to enable them to fulfil their role as providers of online mediation for management students

So what might these online teachers be and do?

A long string of relevant teaching qualifications or experiences are unlikely to be found at this stage of development of online teaching, although some universities including the OU are offering good online Masters degrees in distance teaching.

It is most important to look at the potential and at skills.

These will include:

• the ability to learn online communication and e-moderating skills (rather than only learn the software)

• The ability to promote appropriate use of own and participants’ time online

• The ability to provide support and counselling through e mail

• Creativity and flexibility to design and adapt conferences for differing purposes , participants needs and conference dynamics

• The Ability to conference cross culturally and value diversity

• Flexibility in considering approaches to online assessment and evaluation

• Appreciation of the benefits of online working and hence ability to act as resource guide & monitor

• A personal meta-cognitive and adaptable approach to learning

• Ability to reflect and input into overall course learning processes

• empathic skills
• flexibility to working, teaching and learning online
• a willingness to be trained and developed into the e-moderating role

• IT trainers will need to understand the important of online social and communication skills

• Good face to face groups trainers will need to understand that online, they cannot project their personalities in quite the same way and may even need to hand over some control to the learners
• Good lecturers may be used to being the "expert". Online hierarchies tend to loose their power and communication is more informal.
• Students need to become more self reliant. Online moderators need to manage the students expectations online.

A Model of Teaching and Learning Online

Action research in OUBS over several years has lead to the development of a model of understanding of how management students and tutors use conferencing.

• Flexibility (when bottom up, when top down

• Adaptability to audience

• Understanding of working where the online energy is

• Confidence to intervene

• Build trust

• Looking towards development by "letting the bird out of the hand"

• Be a catalyst

• Provide purpose

• Provide Focus for groups

• Explore understanding of ideas

• Ensure outcome from online discussions

• Know how much to control and when to stand back
• Summarise threads and arguments

• Develop online "argument"

• Foster online discussion

• Promote particularly valuable threads of discussion

• Bring in lurkers and non-participants

• Close off non-productive threads

• Summarise threads, restate, and challenge

• Knowing who should be there and what they should be doing

• Know how to pace

• Know when to archive

• Monitor

• Evaluate

• Experiment with different approaches

• Positive attitude towards computer mediated communication
• Commitment and enthusiasm

• Self motivation

• The ability to project a Personality online and establish online identity

• Authenticity

• Trust and trustworthiness

• Provide online role model in cmc

• Ability to see computer mediated communication from the participants’ point of view

• Ability to acknowledge contributions in a specific way- make people feel positive

• Technical skills (not necessarily to give advice but for own comfort)

• Operational understanding of software (sound!)

• Affableness

• Courteous, polite, respectful

• Able to support, able to challenge

• Engage with people not machine (technology irrelevant)

• not write too much but write enough online

• Concise, energising, personable, written online communication

• "conversational" skills - how to start them off, move on if sticks

• Ability to interact and achieve interaction

• Operate comfortably without visual cues

• Cultural sensitivity

• Be flexible- have wide range of techniques from structured conferences to free wheeling discussions

• Be careful of process of knowledge construction- at least equivalent to that of face to face

• Have knowledge to share

• Encourage sound contributions from participants

• Add own contributions as examples and illustrations

• Trigger debate by posing intriguing questions for students to answer

• Refer students to valuable resources e.g. on WWW

• Correct (glaring) mistakes by students

• Carry authority by awarding marks for participation (if appropriate)

Any significant initiative aimed at changing of teaching methods or introducing technology should include staff development and effective support and training of those response for the delivery, otherwise its outcomes are likely to be meagre and unsuccessful. Even where technological infrastructure and support are strong, and even when worthwhile learning applications are developed, without staff development nothing is likely to happen beyond pilots.

Any training for online programme must accommodate people with a wide range of prior skills and knowledge. It needs to provide for development of skills that trainers might not have at the start. The programme needs to be intrinsically motivating and lead to competent practice.

Furthermore online training programmes cannot just be about acquiring new skills but also have to enable the trainees to explore their attitudes to teaching online and its meaning for their teaching. In this sense, trainees may move towards experiencing "metacognition" i.e. "what the learners think and feel about the subject under consideration" p. 216). In this way they gain the confidence to support and develop others (and thus the territory is reclaimed).

For some four years OUBS has trained experienced managers, working part time with the OUBS as tutors to work as moderators of online conferences . Some 400 tutors have taken part in the training programme, which is based on FirstClass software. Version 5 of the training, undertaken entirely online and at a distance has the following aims

1. provide technical skills to access and use the FirstClass system and to undertake a range of tasks online;
2. provide experience and confidence to use the FirstClass system as a key resource in teaching and learning online as a tutor
3. enable tutors to become an active member of the OUBS online community, participating in and contributing to School, programme and course conferences