Online teaching vs Face-to-Face teaching

The Covid-19 pandemic is upon us. It’s been this way since the beginning of 2020. Given the way things are going, we are likely to celebrate the new year amidst an environment in which physical distancing and movement restrictions have become the norm.

Of course the extent of movement restrictions differ from country to country. In Malaysia, a total country-wide lockdown was implemented between March and May 2020. As infection rates declined, the controls were loosened from June to September 2020. The emergence of a third wave of infections prompted the government to carry out a conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) beginning mid-October 2020. As of today, the CMCO is still on-going with a likelihood of being extended till next year. In the US and the EU region, varying degrees of movement restrictions have been put in place. Even in countries that take a more lenient approach to managing the pandemic are upping the ante and enforcing stricter controls.

The economic casualties of the pandemic and the movement restrictions have been nothing short of catastrophic. Aside from supply chain disruptions, the need for physical distancing has rendered an absolutely necessary shift in operating procedures in industries where close human interactions are the norm. One industry experiencing this shift is the education sector. A major change in teaching delivery began in at the start of 2020 with online teaching gradually replacing the more traditional face-to-face (F2F) teaching. Such changes are monumental to say the least, as they pit the older and more conservative teachers against the younger teachers.

There is no prize for guessing which type of teacher would be more resistant to such changes. The reality is that the learning environment online (virtual classrooms) differs substantially from that of actual classrooms where F2F teaching is delivered. As such, the teaching preparation process would also be dissimilar. Naturally, schools that keep switching between online and F2F regularly would be wreaking havoc on the teaching preparation process and exert undue pressure on the teachers. The tendency to switch back and forth between the two vastly different teaching systems results from a conflict between the older teachers who favour a return to actual classrooms whenever opportunity permits on the one hand, and circumstances arising from the pandemic which makes F2F teaching impossible on the other hand. Schools should just make up their minds as to which system of teaching delivery is best and stick to it until the coast is really clear. The constant switching between two vastly different delivery systems is not only stressful to the teacher, but also disruptive to the students who have to keep adjusting to these changes.

How is online teaching different from F2F teaching?

Firstly, in F2F teaching the individual teacher takes the center stage. The character/personality of the teacher shines through in the physical dimension. It is not only necessary, but also encouraging for students to participate in discussions because the teacher will simply be breathing down their necks. There is a greater ease of speaking and expressing oneself with all the verbal and non-verbal cues in facilitating communication. The occasional stand up comedian would be able to make use of body language to her advantage to elicit certain responses from the audience. The implication on teaching delivery is that verbal and non-verbal communication (especially the latter) are factored into the teaching preparation and delivery because the environment is conducive.

In contrast, the channel is very much limited for non-verbal expressions or body language in online teaching. It is perhaps impossible to see how much a teacher tries to express herself. The voice inflections would not be quite as spectacular had it been done F2F. There is also audio disruptions and the ever-present white noise each type one uses the microphone. And one would be hard-pressed to see a person’s body movements since the laptop screen can only be so large. Hence, all the factors that make F2F teaching becomes virtually (pun intended) impossible in a virtual classroom. Gauging students’ responses is also challenging especially since you are viewing them via a webcam. Precisely because of these difficulties, a teacher has to change the teaching style completely. Attempting to expand one’s energy by doing as many body contortions in front of the webcam would not only be exhausting but also ineffective if not pointless.

What changes must a teaching make in migrating from the F2F to the online platform?

First thing is to not only use, but maximise the potential of the Learning Management System (LMS) or Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). The LMS is not merely for students to download materials uploaded by a teacher. It is also a platform for interaction – posting announcements and setting up Q&A forums and chatrooms can go a long way in keeping students updated and connected. Since they are no longer in the physical realm, these apps in LMS are a close if imperfect substitute. Furthermore, the materials that one usually delivers during a class could be prepared in advance and put on the LMS as downloadable content for pre-class reading and preparation.

Second, instead of playing the role of a action-packed stand-up comedian that one is so used to in a F2F environment, the apps once again take precedence in the online environment to keep students engaged. Online quizzes, interactive content and breakout rooms (in many virtual classrooms such as Zoom and Teams) can be used effectively to facilitate interaction and discussions especially when deadlines are set for particular activities. Moodle has many features to track the participation of students. A teacher can easily prompt a non-participating student to join in the fun via the messaging system or new apps that help obtain feedback from clients. I now prefer typing on Word and sharing what I type rather than writing on white boards – not only is this more systematic but also a cleaner approach.

Third, many underestimate the power of pre-recorded videos and podcasts. There are many apps that can perform this function, such as Panopto. Done correctly, an instructional video can be a highly entertaining and informative way of presenting information. In this regard, a few short videos is a better option than one long video. The art of video making and editing should be skill for a teacher to explore. Moreover, interactive content can be embedded into these media to enable participation lest the viewer gets bored. Video-making and podcasting are preferred platforms for the Google generation.

Fourth, there is a need to change the assessment methods in an online environment. Automated quizzes and tests can be designed and unconventional assessments could be explored. Get students to write blogs, Wikipedia entries and tweets in addition to online quizzes. Make online submission and marking of assignments habitual.

To summarise, teaching online requires a total change in methodology and style in comparison to F2F teaching. There is a whole lot more of preparation to do prior to the class (e.g. uploading materials, pre-recorded videos, preparing online quizzes and other interactive contents, posting announcements and addressing questions in the forum and chatrooms). Also, we tend to let the apps do more of the talking – a partial automation of the teaching process if you like. As such, you’ll find that there is far less to do during the class itself.

It takes time and effort to get oneself ready for this kind of engagement. Needless to say, it is quite impossible to switch back and forth between F2F and online teaching without causing major physical, emotional and psychological disruptions.

Becoming a Digital Teacher

This is Task 23, which is also the final task of the course.

After having tried erasing all traces of existence in the digital world a few months ago, I now find myself occupying a much bigger space in the internet than ever before – and I do notice the irony. It all started with blogging and this quickly spread to other activities, covering a broad range of digital tools and technologies. It is like having died and then being brought back to life again.

In my first brush with digital technologies, I found them to be troublesome, because I was putting my hand into every bit of cakes and pies – hence the burnout feeling. The natural response was to quit social media. In my second encounter with digital technologies through the TDA course, I have decided to scale down my exposure to these technologies – adopt the ones which I use frequently and ignore the rest. This is the best way to engage technologies sustainably. To this end, being a digital teacher means being able to constantly and proficiently use a number of applications of digital technologies to enforce learning. Some essential applications include

• Presentation tools (to engage students) – PowerPoint, Prezi, Slideshare, YouTube/videos/podcasts, mindmaps and flow charts
• Social networking tools for maintaining digital identity (to network with students and other teachers) – LinkedIn, Blogs, Twitter
• Internet-based search tools – Library search tools such as Google, Google scholar, open education resources
• Resource management, collaboration and data storage tools – Mendeley, OneNote, GoogleDocs
• Survey tools – KwikSurveys

Similarly, a digital learner is someone who can harness digital technologies for learning. S/he must be someone familiar with the tools mentioned above, especially the search tools to look for information. In this regard, students of the Google generation are already familiar with such technologies, and hence many students are already digitally literate or have some familiarity with digital technologies. The only problem is that they are using digital technologies mostly for entertainment and socialising. If the teacher could just demonstrate in class that the tools which students already use can also be applied to the learning environment, students will be able to pick up these learning applications easily. For instance, if a student already use YouTube for watching videos, the teacher could direct the student to search for academic videos instead. This is how a teacher can develop digital literacies in students through use of technology. To use a simple analogy, the students already know how to read – you just need to show them more technical reading materials.

I have enjoyed every bit of this course – although not every digital technology application is relevant/useful, fiddling with them is already an eye-opening, educational experience! I always thought that all endings are sad, and the term ‘happy ending’ is meaningless – the party is coming to an end, I don’t think I can pat myself in the back – I’ll probably do this when I get over the sadness of parting ways.

Last but not least, a big mega thanks to the fab four: Jane, Lynn, Chris and Craig. You deserve a pat on the back too!

Few thoughts about what to do with this blog when July ends. I can

1. Stop blogging, and keep this blog as it is, and hope that some archeologist finds it buried somewhere a couple of centuries later.
2. Keep blogging (and not just keep the blog)
3. Kill the blog and return to seclusion

I’ll have to see what my colleague Rachel will do about this before finalising my decision 🙂

 

Tagging and hashtags

We are almost at the finishing line of the Teaching in a Digital Age course, with the completion of Task 22 in this posting.

In Task 22, I read the article Ontology is Overrated: Categories, Links, and Tags by Clay Shirky. It was a rather painful read initially, not only because of its length but also because of the content. The language took a lot of getting used to. But as I continued reading, the experience became more and more of a joy. It may be quite an old article by the standards of the digital world (where technologies are made obsolete real quick) but the age of the article does not do justice to the content, which I feel are still highly relevant. I am not sure if I understood the article entirely, but here are a couple of things that caught my attention (points paraphrased in my own words and understanding).

• The world is full of professionals who try to fit people and their work into boxes – it turns out that no classifications are perfect, not even the periodic table we used in chemistry.
• Classifications that are widely used in the pre-digital age were hierarchical or top-down in nature. These classifications are used in ‘brick and mortar’ libraries.
• Despite the imperfections, these classifications are useful in helping people to save their search time and to manage space constraints due to the large volume of books.
• With the widespread use of the internet and digital tools (e.g. search engines like Google), it made little sense to classify resources like how ‘brick and mortar’ libraries do (i.e. hierarchical structures).
• Instead of squeezing resources awkwardly into some hierarchy of classification, it is perhaps a better idea to do away with these classifications and let people decide what they want to search for. This is where tagging becomes useful.

I am quite happy to agree with the author’s claims. From my own personal experience, despite the ‘messiness’ of the internet things can and do work out in the end. With so much data unleashed in the information highway called the internet, it does not seem economical to try classifying everything in the conventional way when internet was not yet born. Interestingly, the author has written two books which I am considering browsing.

I have added more tags to each of my blog postings – other than #UOL23Things the readers will find a section at the bottom-right corner of the blog (under ‘Tags’) summarising all the tags I have used so far (see screen capture below). Clicking on, say, #twitter will bring you to the blog post(s) where twitter is mentioned. I might add more tags in future.

 

Managing information: Zotero and Mandeley

For Task 21, I tried exploring Mendeley – because I am more familiar with Mendeley than Zotero. I used the web-based version initially.

Like many of my social networking accounts which have been dormant for ages, I had to request for a re-send of the password before I could log in. This was the first time I was accessing the account after so many years. I struggled with the features of this service, in the end spending more time on Mendeley than with my blog updates simply because there were so many features to explore. My biggest find of the day was following Dr Jane Secker’s account 🙂

There were some cool looking functions on the dashboard, and I spent a good deal of time playing with these tools. I joined a couple of research groups that I found interesting, although the range of research activities was rather narrow. After searching for people I know, I realised that not many researchers I knew actually used Mendeley. However, the day was not entirely wasted as I managed to find some interesting and familiar research materials and got them added to my library. I am keen on compiling reading lists for my students using this feature, although I suspect the search engine was not very efficient – had trouble finding some papers I wrote some years ago.

Next, I downloaded the desktop version. It didn’t take long for the software to finish installation. An interesting feature is the use of citations and bibliography of materials stored in Mendeley’s library. Not only can the materials in the library be used for viewing, but they can also be used directly and automatically for citations in a word processor. Nonetheless, it is convenient for helping students do their referencing. The only drawback is that some journals would like the bibliography to follow a particular format so a lot of manual amendments need to be made.

I got quite annoyed with Mendeley’s profile updating system. I could not manually type in the name of my current and past employers. The names of employers had to be chosen from a dropdown list. Any attempt to manually type in data would end in failure as the system would automatically delete manual inputs. For example, I tried updating my current workplace to ‘HELP Academy’ but unfortunately this info was not accepted. I had to key in something else that sounded similar.

Having re-visited a tool that I started used quite a long time ago, I must say that the features are pretty impressive and it’s good to be re-acquainted with Mendeley. I will recommend this tool to my students as a way to get them more organised with their studies and resource management. As there are so many features, it will take a lot of time to explore everything in detail.

Online storage and sharing – Dropbox, Onenote and Evernote, Google Drive

For Task 20, I reflect on some storage tools that are currently available in the market.

Students and colleagues have shared files with me using OneNote. It was interesting how online files can be shared and deleted (especially the latter, which happens too frequently! Call that accident). However, the use of OneNote was sporadic and not habitual. I am still stuck to the old habit of emailing documents to students/staff. The reason why I find emailing more convenient is that for my work I usually deal with a very small group of students and colleagues so I did not feel that it was worthwhile to go through all the trouble of signing up for the online storage tools.

For Task 20, I tried using Dropbox, which is a tool I have heard of but not got into the habit of using. Even as I am typing this line, Dropbox is being downloaded. I went through the motions of setting up an account, which was to my surprise quite hassle-free. I’ve also experimented putting files into Dropbox – the process is pretty easy and effortless. It’s just copying some files and pasting them in your Dropbox – it’s that simple really!

Here is a link to a file I’ve just dropped into my Dropbox.

Meet Bruno the cat, whom I introduced in Exploring Flickr.

I will definitely use this tool in future for sharing files with students. I will also suggest that they give it a try with Dropbox. My students are not always organized but it is never too late to pick up some useful work habits.

Using communication tools in teaching

After a brief hiatus, I am now available again for more tasks. I was attending a 2-day Learning and Teaching Development Seminar conducted by Mr. Andy DiMarco and Mr. Chris New. Still feeling exhausted, I regret that I have neither the energy nor the initiative of my colleague Rachel, who seems to be able to conjure up the most interesting blog postings with minimal effort. Now I have plenty of catching up to do. So here’s my response to Task 19.

In my previous job, I used Skype for networking with my bosses who were located in another office. But Skype in the Classroom is something new to me. So I tried exploring this tool – managed to sign in with an old Skype account (after going through the trouble of requesting a new password!). The lessons I found were mostly for students below 18. I never knew one could create/follow lessons in such a flexible way. But the lessons and teachers I found were all unknown to me. My experience with this tool was not very encouraging. Perhaps I could create some new lessons in future. An even more radical idea – get some of my students to create new lessons as an assignment!

Next, I tried exploring KwikSurveys. I plan to use this in future, to get feedback from my students/colleagues. What’s also interesting is that you can also do quizzes and polls. I am not sure what my boss would think but it would be a good experiment to try it on large academic departments/schools to gauge feedback from teaching staff.

I suppose both KwikSurveys and Skype can be used to connect with other teachers from different locations. Other teachers can follow or comment on your lessons on Skype and participate in the polls/surveys you created using KwikSurveys.

Collaborative project with students – using Wikis and Google docs

Moving on to Task 18, here is a reflection on using Wikis and Google Docs.

I regularly read the contents on Wikipedia. It offers a first-point-of-contact information on a topic with which I am not well acquainted. However, as a user/content-producer I am new to both Wikis and Google Docs, partly because my current job does not necessitate the use of either tool. I teach only subjects in the University of London International Programmes, where summative assessments are 100% exam-based. Of course there are formative assessments, but these are mostly exercises that test a student’s learning in an economics or finance-related subject (which in most cases require no more than the use of pen and paper).

The tools are probably useful in collaborative research projects, but at the very most I usually collaborate with one other co-author (a person whom I usually know). I prefer to meet face-to-face to iron out key details of the project. I suppose that the value of Wikis and Google Docs increase exponentially when the number of collaborators gets larger and larger – the coordination problem can be resolved by the applications of digital technology. These are wonderful tools to use for large-scale research projects. This is where Wiki will shine. ‘Things to do’ and ‘things that are already done’ can be written down by one collaborator. Other collaborators can update the information as the project moves along.

Currently, there are no attempts to get students involved in collaborative projects. But like all other tools, their adoption is usually driven by a need. If such needs arise in future, both Wikis and Google Docs are surely ‘nice-to-haves’. I’ll keep these tools in view for now. Interestingly, I have colleagues who teach ‘skills-based’ subjects where students have to do group projects. These tools would be highly relevant in that context.

Going beyond the PowerPoint: Prezi and Slideshare

As part of Task 17, I will reflect on the use of Prezi and Slideshare. Both offer another set of options to Microsoft’s PowerPoint – which is good news since nobody likes a monopoly growing bigger by each day.

I went through the motions of signing up for a free Prezi public account. Which kiasu Malaysian doesn’t love free stuff? I thought the sign-up page was rather flattering and most ‘un-conservative’. Every time I completed a field, some cheeky comment will appear (see the screen capture below). Playfulness is an attribute of the digitally literate. Most old-school teachers in this part of the world would frown at the informality.

Prezi offers a very eye-catching way of presenting content. Given the short-attention span of most Google-generation students, this is a cool way of getting a message across to them without causing them to drift into daydreams. There is far more action and engagement than the typical PowerPoint presentation. One thing that I like about prezi is its ‘non-linear’ format which brings more flexibility. A prezi can also be printed by first converting it into a pdf file.

Here is one prezi presentation that I like. I found many Economics teachers using this tool.

I also signed up for Slideshare. Like Prezi, it seems a more evolved form of PowerPoint. It reflects convergence of technologies – presentations are now a combination of static slides, multimedia and visual elements plus some networking feature, all run on steroids, harnessing all the creativity endowed upon the human species. It will impress many students who are visually- inclined! Here is an example of creativity

15 Lessons from Behavioural Economics – by @tjalve @boardofinno – Board of Innovation from Board of Innovation

Before we let these tools bewitch us, it’s worth remembering that the main advantage of Prezi and/or Slideshare is to help capture/retain attention. If one is confronted with  students who are just not engaged with the world they live in, then no learning actually takes place – the presentations will merely be taken as entertainment. Moreover, one must not overlook the importance of good internet connection – something that I sometimes do not get here.

Video-making tools

As part of Task 16 I will talk a bit about some video-making tools that are currently available at a reasonable price.

One interesting video-making tool is Animoto, which enables us to create video slideshows based on music, photos and video clips. I explored Jing, Screen-O-Matic and Camtasia also. There are plenty of practical examples of how to use these tools. Admittedly, I am a newbie in video-making – used to think that this was the territory of the professional movie-makers. We still need the professionals to create good videos but the lower-end/amateur videos can now be made by the ordinary person on the street. Cheers for digital technology, which has lowered entry barriers for video creators.

Although video-making is not my thing, it is something worth trying in the classroom for the upcoming academic year in September 2015. Video presentations are good for introducing a subject to students who are not fond of hearing my voice. I’ll just let the video and background music do the job. To this end, it also helps me retain more energy for other activities in class since I can talk less. For big classes, the videos are excellent substitutes for board work – it is easier to see video content than someone’s handwriting. Moreover, video content can leave a deeper and more lasting impression on students – a great aid to the learning process! The downside is that it takes up a good deal of time to prepare the videos – time is not usually on our side here as the teaching hours usually exceed 20 hrs per week.

Finding scholarly videos and podcasts for teaching

This posting is in response to Task 15.

I began by viewing LSE YouTube channel and their Public Lecture and Events page. There are numerous high-quality content that are suitable for teaching at the Year 3 level of the EMFSS degree. Among the videos viewed, I was particularly drawn to a video on the European Debt Crisis with a focus on Greece. Not only is it contemporary but the talk in the video would be appropriate for students of International Economics. Another talk that I would consider using in a class is the talk on the EMU. Looks like I will have lots of additional material to use come September. A good video that is probably suitable for Year 2 students (who have definitely heard of Keynes!) is this talk here – which highlights two approaches to macroeconomic management. Most students would have been acquainted with ideas but not the person behind the ideas. I usually attempt to remedy this damage in my teaching. I will consider following these podcasts in future.

I find YouTube to be a constant companion as an academic. In the last three years (prior to the Teaching in a Digital Age), I’ve used video-viewing as part of a lecture or workshop. But the search for video/audio presentations tended to be unstructured and random. There were no particular channels or authors to follow. I learned in a previous teaching workshop (part of a PGCHE course) about adopting audio-visual aids as part of teaching. Showing a video can be so much more effective in explaining, say, disasters and crisis management in a risk management module I used to teach. Videos help to evoke emotions more effectively than third-party narrations. To date, I’ve shown numerous videos from YouTube as part of teaching. This was a favourite among finance students, a brief history of the Black-Scholes pricing theory.

Since I sound like Mickey Mouse with a sore throat, I have no plans of going into podcasting at the moment.