Module+02+Reflections

Reflections on Moore's theory of Transactional Distance and the category "Dialogue"
I’m referring to the question **“Is the "dialogue" by exchanging letters, e-mails, virtual discussions practically the same as in a class or seminar room?”** One possibility to simulate oral dialogue are virtual discussions via asynchronous computer conferencing. This method has been described in detail by Hülsmann (2003). He sees its particular strength in the fact that all students can articulate themselves at the same time and therefore to a much greater extent than in a non-virtual classroom (pp. 108-109). Another advantage that Hülsmann describes is the logical structure of conference discussions that are normally partitioned into threads which represent the main topics and structure the ongoing discussion (p. 109). In spite of these obviously positive aspects of asynchronous computer conferencing I would like to express my own impression of this kind of virtual discussions so far. I have to say that this is my first experience in a Distance Education course and besides any eventual critics I am honestly impressed by all the possibilities the course offers. Still I have some reservations to call the conferences “dialogue” or “discussion”. Maybe I have to explain first that I have studied in one of the biggest German universities (in terms of student numbers), the University of Cologne. And as Peters (2001) confirms: “In today’s mass universities, dialogical learning and teaching situations have become more the exception than the rule, if we disregard the more ‘exotic’ subjects” (p. 34). I had the chance (and the choice) to study so-called “exotic” subjects (or at least one which was African Studies, together with Social Anthropology and Linguistics). In my experience, dialogical learning, at least in the advanced classes, was the rule, not the exception (even if I already told also about some negative experiences in another thread). In one course I even had the chance to be the only student, a quite luxurious situation, and I have never learned more in a class than in this one, also in terms of autonomous learning. So for me, oral interaction between teachers and students is something I expect and consider, due to my experience, nearly as self-evident. I am aware of the difficulty to transform this form of interaction into a written form and I do not underestimate the great possibilities that asynchronous computer conferencing offers. However in those cases where the participation is prescribed with regard to a certain form, quality, and quantity and is also graded, I see the risk that the discussions might become somehow “artificial” and “sterile”. Since the student knows that he/she must participate, whether he/she has really something to contribute or not (of course one should expect that students SHOULD have a contribution to make, but this may not always be the case), the student may feel obliged to write something especially significant which ends up in a mini-essay. And this is what in my conception is no longer a part of a dialogue but a mere presentation of acquired knowledge and therefore "artificial”.   Therefore and due to my experience described above, I would say that “written dialogue”, at least in the case of asynchronous computer conferencing can never be the same as an oral form of dialogue.

** References: ** Hülsmann, T. (2003). Texts that talk back - Asynchronous conferencing: A possible form of academic discourse? In U. Bernath, & E. Rubin (Eds.), Reflections on teaching and learning in an  online master program - A case study (pp. 75-120). Oldenburg: Bibliotheks-und Informationssystem der Universität Oldenburg Peters, O. (2001). Learning and teaching in distance education – Analyses and interpretations from an international perspective. London: Kogan Page

Reflections on non-linear learning
//I would like to describe my experience with non-linear learning, i.e. using hypertext and hypermedia as a learning space. I have to admit that my role during these experiences is hybrid, that means that the fact that I learn something during this procedure makes me a student while I’m officially in the role of a teacher. // //The situation is the following: I teach in a West African university with an extremely bad infrastructure. The university has no library nor our faculty nor our department. My colleagues use for their work some out-of-date books and photocopies. I have a small library of my own but of course this is not sufficient for my work. Fortunately I have a (almost always) working internet connection so I can and must get most of my teaching materials in the web. // //It happens that I do not search straightforwardly via a search engine for a special text or fact but that I literally want to learn something about a special topic. This is especially the case for my “German Society and Culture” class where I always need to obtain information about special topics and recent events. It’s not just about finding an article or some isolated information but in many cases I also have to go deeper into a certain topic, find background information, critical statements about something to present other point of views and so on in order to collect enough material to make up a whole module. During this procedure I work of course autonomously and I rely on my learning (and teaching) objective and my own interest. I use all the techniques described by Peters (2004, p. 94): navigating, browsing, searching, connecting, and collecting. // //Although I appreciate this possibility of learning (and of transforming the learnt subjects into teaching material) I see some major disadvantages: 1) It is very time consuming because one very often starts to exploit sources and information that turn out to be irrelevant and because there is a big temptation to spend time on irrelevant but maybe interesting subjects; 2) It is also time consuming and often difficult to check out the authenticity and accuracy of information; a high percentage of hyperlinks leads to “junk” (from a scholarly point of view); 3) It needs a lot of experience to use these exploration techniques, and even if I use them myself I would not recommend them to my students who are more or less unacquainted with the internet. // //Besides the question of non-linear learning I think that this experience shows that the roles of learner and teacher are not always so definite. // //Reference: // Peters, O. (2004). //Distance education in transition: New trends and challenges //. Oldenburg: Bibliotheks-und Informationssytem der Universitat Oldenburg.
 * Have you any experience in // non-linear learning? // **