[LINK] Library naming (was Apple iPads for Victorian School Students)

[Tom Worthington]

Bernard Robertson-Dunn wrote:
> On 12/06/2010 10:16 AM, Tom Worthington wrote:
>> ... I use a computer to help me do ... Mentored and Collaborative Online 
>> Learning ...
> 
> On-line learning or education is sterile compared to the rich experience 
> of face-to-face teaching and mentoring. ...

On-line learning is a different experience, but not necessarily less 
rich. You get to interact with other students and with your teacher, via 
the computer. That is not the same as a small group face-to-face class, 
but is a useful alternative. It is better than sitting in a lecture 
theatre with 100 students you don't know, listening to a lecturer, who 
you never get to speak to, who is reading out their Powerpoint slides.

> ... The web page you cite has nothing on teaching methods. ...

The web page recounts my visit to an old olive tree by the
gymnasium below the sacred way, at Delphi in Greece. My point was that
this was where the ancient philosophers did their teaching and has
parallels to the modern university:
<http://www.tomw.net.au/technology/it/mobile_elearning/>.

I included an image from a 2500 year old pot, of a scribe writing on a
wax tablet, which looks remarkably like a tablet computer. The point was
that the gadgets have changed but the teaching methods have not:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wax_tablet#Use_in_antiquity>.

> ... The Aristotelian teaching act is push teaching based on instruction. On-line 
> learning is a pull model based upon unfocussed presentation of material. ...

You need to catch up with how online teaching is now done. It is not
about the unfocused presentation of material, nor is it just pushing
information at students.

I am sure Aristotle would approve of the use of e-learning at the 
university named in his honour (which I visited after Delphi):
"Evaluation of E-learning systems: experiences in teaching human - 
computer interaction" by M Nikolaos, M Dimitrios and P Dionysios, 
Computer Science Department, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 
Greece, 2008: <http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1411718>.

> Guidance is different from teaching ...

Sorry, I was trying to put it in simple terms for a general audience. 
The andragogy/pedagogy jargon will be flowing at the World Computer 
Congress 2010, in Brisbane in September, where we will be discussing ICT 
for education and sustainability, using clouds, tablets and all that 
stuff: <http://www.wcc2010.org/>.

For a practical overview of how e-learning is done, Lauren Kane, 
Educational Developer at the ANU College of Engineering and Computer 
Science Flexible Learning Unit is running seminars over the next few 
months. These are intended for local staff, but I don't think they would 
mind if a few outsiders sat in:

* Flexible Curriculum Design, 5 August: 
<http://cecs.anu.edu.au/seminars/more/SID/2616>
* Blended Delivery Expo, 16 August: 
<http://cecs.anu.edu.au/seminars/more/SID/2608>.
* Opportunities offered by educational technologies, 2 September 
<http://cecs.anu.edu.au/seminars/more/SID/2618>
* Assessment and feedback, 11 November: 
<http://cecs.anu.edu.au/seminars/more/SID/2619>.

ps: ANU uses the terms "Flexible Learning" and "Blended Learning", 
rather than "e-learning". This is partly a matter of andragogy and 
partly marketing. ANU is a hands on place and not about to replace 
everything with online distance education.


-- 
Tom Worthington FACS CP HLM, TomW Communications Pty Ltd. t: 0419496150
PO Box 13, Belconnen ACT 2617, Australia  http://www.tomw.net.au