© ole lauridsen, asb, 2003 get wired! on the pros and cons of modern technology based learning ole lauridsen aarhus school of business, denmark ciuti - genève, may 2003

© ole lauridsen, asb, 2003 presentation Ole Lauridsen, associate professor, mag.art. (≈ ph.d.) German Department Aarhus School of Business ICT: Chair of the ICT-Board of the Faculty of Modern Languages Study Director of the Master Program “ICT in Language Teaching and Learning” Member of an Expert Team on NT in Language Teaching and Learning (ELC) Various Lingua Funded Projects in the same field

© ole lauridsen, asb, 2003 preamble it is beyond doubt that HE institutions all over Europe have trained very good translators using the classical instructivist teaching methods these classical methods will remain part of all sorts of training at all educational levels – from primary school to HE the use of e-learning and constructivist methods can make the graduates even better and give them crucial tools for living in the learning society of the 21 st century

© ole lauridsen, asb, 2003 program what is e-learning (not)? why constructivism? ·the instructivist paradigm vs. the constructivist one why base the training or part of the training on ICT/e-learning? concrete examples ·partly leading on to Morten Pilegaard’s paper discussion

© ole lauridsen, asb, 2003 what is e-learning (not)?

© ole lauridsen, asb, 2003 what is e-learning? the two schools school 1: on-line learning distance learning blended learning a mixture of on-line learning and on-campus (F2F) learning school 2: the mere use of ICT tools information retrieval pp-presentations databases various web based tests, and so on standardization needed

© ole lauridsen, asb, 2003 e-learning standards international standardization Information Technology for Learning, Education, and Training (ISO/IEC JTC1 SC36) Collaborative Technology (ISO/IEC JTC1 SC36 WG2) standards ready

© ole lauridsen, asb, 2003 what is e-learning? e-learningmere online learning tel(l), cal(l) cbs, cbt… the mere use of ICT in the learning process = distance learning, virtual classroom, virtual university =supplement to on-campus/F2F, subset of e-learning

© ole lauridsen, asb, 2003 focus of the standardization so far database structure data flow data transfer collaborative workspace L2L interaction technicalities

© ole lauridsen, asb, 2003 focus on technical aspects: reasons and problems reasons costs and profits are the cardinal point in many educational activities for years now, e-activities have been driven by technicians problems pedagogical aspects are being ignored or suppressed the users are being forgotten and often give up e- learning solution: focus on the user (too) integration of soft values

© ole lauridsen, asb, 2003 what is meant by ‘soft values’ the ‘Danish model’: based on the leitmotif of Grundtvig’s folk high school pedagogy: the living word in true dialogue and not the word in dry books N.F.S.Grundtvig human values human contact

© ole lauridsen, asb, 2003 in summa e-learning is web based or web supported learning but e-learning is more than a web site used for storing materials combined with a communication platform

© ole lauridsen, asb, 2003 in summa e-learning is learning and not teaching focus: the subject and the individual learning process of the learner focus: the subject autonomy, personalization, knowledge processing and knowledge management imitation, learning by rote, no active processing learning, in its purest form, supports skills and competences; teaching, in its purest form, supports only skills

© ole lauridsen, asb, 2003 why constructivism? the instructivist paradigm vs. the constructivist one

© ole lauridsen, asb, 2003 why human contact and human values? human contact and human values are, in fact, the fundament of the constructivist paradigm which is gaining ground world- wide constructivism focuses on the individual learner and his/her individual learning process as well as the subject ≠ instructivism that focuses merely on the subject and the material

© ole lauridsen, asb, 2003 why human values and why constructivism? HE institutions are now mass institutions with quite another segment of students than 5-10 years ago because of their social background and inheritance, many of these “new” students are not acquainted with the study life – but, still, they are very competent individuals; they only need a helping hand solution: the constructivist paradigm with its focus on the individual learning process NB!NB! also strong students benefit from the constructivist teacher’s individual support constructivism is by no means a life vest for new segments of students, but a strong tool that focuses on and supports all types of learners

© ole lauridsen, asb, 2003 why human values and why constructivism? it is crucial that all students know their learning potential and know how to make their learning process even more effective otherwise they have but limited possibilities as members of the learning society solution: the constructivist paradigm with its focus on the individual learning process so altogether: constructivism helps new segments of students finding their feet in a world into which they are not born and of which they are therefore insecure like instructivism, constructivism focuses on the subject and on skills, but, besides that, personal competences are crucial to the concept constructivism supports all types of learners and prepares all students for the learning society constructivism thus makes all students more competent

© ole lauridsen, asb, 2003 why ICT? why e-learning?

© ole lauridsen, asb, 2003 teaching and technology Imagine a technology that instantly connects teachers to resources around the world, that allows teachers to reach parents on a moment's notice, that helps teachers reach out to the community and even helps bring the community into the classroom. Imagine a time when virtually all professionals have such terminals in their work spaces, and virtually all homes - even those of the poorest citizens - are connected to the net work. Imagine the day when all teachers in the state of California have that crown of 1880s technology, the telephone, in their classrooms.

© ole lauridsen, asb, 2003 teaching and technology “The ……………………… is destined to revolutionize our educational system and (...) in a few years it will supplant largely, if not entirely, the use of textbooks." motion picture Thomas Edison 1922

© ole lauridsen, asb, 2003 teaching and technology “The time may come when a will be as common in the classroom as is the blackboard.” portable radio receiver William Levenson 1945

© ole lauridsen, asb, 2003 teaching and technology the language laboratory the audio visual method

© ole lauridsen, asb, 2003 why ICT? why e-learning? modern times call for a shift in pedagogical method, i.e. the use of the constructivist paradigm, and only ICT can support this shift ICT is the tool in a constructivist concept it supports autonomy it supports differentiation, personalisation, individualisation – and democratization it lets us help the individual student in accordance with his/her individual needs

© ole lauridsen, asb, 2003 why ICT? why e-learning? ICT is pervasive and has an impact on all parts of our lives – therefore education must be affected, too, and therefore education must take ICT seriously ICT must be considered the fifth cultural skill besides reading, writing, arithmetic and foreign languages

© ole lauridsen, asb, 2003 how? social contract with the students how often am I on-line as the teacher? response time – students and teacher communication styles – set of rules use of web site and communication platform (CampusNet) dynamic course web site managed by all participants (materials etc.) all course materials adapted to the learning styles of the students based on tests and interviews

© ole lauridsen, asb, 2003 how? process translation writing all activities via the Internet ( ) translations marked (MARKIN) in correspondence with learning styles feed back in print (visually) or individual F2F (auditively), later audio files

© ole lauridsen, asb, 2003 how? electronic logbooks and electronic portfolios for weekly or monthly discussion of progress in the long run, as part of course assessment –a good alternative to the traditional exams

© ole lauridsen, asb, 2003 results so far the students are very satisfied they like the individual approach they like the just-in-time and just-in- place concept they like the overall flexibility their progress seems to pick up speed their human competences grow (self assurance, capability of working in teams, autonomy, etc.)

© ole lauridsen, asb, 2003 results so far - reasons is it really the new concept? or is it, after all, only the enthusiasm of the teacher and the charm of novelty that is crucial to apparently good results? we need action research and broad longitudinal investigations of the effect Give it a try! – Get wired!