April 2008 — News
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21st Century Teaching and Learning, Part 1
For example, while we are aware that distance learning means mediated instruction that is delivered via technology, we are not fully aware of how distance is becoming more "usual" than optional and what that means for education and teacher training. Distance is also becoming more about mobility than simply scheduling flexibility or physical distance. New mobility capabilities challenge instructional design in all areas from content form and format to mediating technology to delivery technology and, ultimately, to distribution. Additionally, this new mobility is challenging skill development in teachers like never before.
Virtual Connections
Instructional content and supporting information must now be seen as "connective" rather than prescriptive. While this seems "diminishing" or less rigorous for current teachers, the reality is that it can promote a real sense of inquiry in students, which is a good thing. That is, content cannot now be presented exhaustively for students. Current students find that "boring" and unchallenging. Therefore, teachers must realize that information now is only a part or piece of something more ... like a puzzle. Not a puzzle in a concrete sense but a virtual puzzle of obvious or implied connections. Those connections are made by students as they navigate through content when presented with the possibility to do so. They do not necessarily perceive those connections as we linear folks would in a two-dimensional, logical sequence but in a sequence of logic that is three-dimensional and that includes input from a variety of sources and a variety of output representations. Our task as educators is crucial in guiding which of those sources and representations is legitimate and beneficial, but we should not try to control the connections in terms of prescriptive flow, but rather in content coherence, academic strength, and relevance.
Summary of Thought
Additionally, instructors must think through linear content and summarize to support concept building rather than memorization of information. This challenges teachers who are in academic disciplines that are concept-based to maximize the potential of how information is presented to better facilitate the concept-building process. For those teaching in disciplines that reserve concept building for advanced stages (e.g., applied mathematics) they are now challenged to teach conceptually earlier in the learning process.
