The planning of virtual seminars Project MiLCA Katrin Vogt

Content Summary of the dimensions of the planning of virtual seminars (Peterßen,2000) –Learning and teaching goals –Contents –Learning and teaching methods –Media –Interaction –Organization –Learner requirements Basic structure of seminar planning (system of categories)

Goals and Intentions The whole structure of the seminar is governed by this decision. Teaching and learning goals play an important role on each step of the planning process. 1.Can the seminar be integrated in the Curriculum? 2.Which intermediate steps can be made during the seminar and how can the achievement of these partial goals be controlled? 3.How can partial goals be integrated in general learning goals?

Goals and Intentions Which goals can be differentiated? Psychomotorical goals (e.g. acquiring skills, like craft or sports..) Affective goals (e.g. feelings, attitudes…) Cognitive goals (e.g. what to think of and how to think of and how to solve problems)

Contents When goals of a seminar are formulated, contents are always formulated as well. Learning contents are needed to operationalize and realize the goals of a seminar. 1.factual, logical order of learning and teaching goals or contents within the seminar 2.Fitting of the goals/ contents with prior knowledge of the students 3.Controlling of internalisation of the contents So contents are related to the teaching and learning methods as well.

Methods Kerres (1998) distinguishes among the following didactical designs: 1.Exposure/ temporal structured learning environments: Here the learning process is prescribed by a temporal order of media supported learning offers. 2.Construction/ implicit structured tools: Here abilities and skills are acquired by independent solutions of complex problems, which then can be transferred to other situations. 3.Exploration/ logical structured learning environments: This is a mixture of construction and exposure. It is an instructed learning method with open exercises and problem solutions.

Media The decision about media is interwined with the decision about the learning method – especially within the planning of a virtual seminar. This is for two reasons: Media present the contents and In virtual seminars media are means to communicate in a synchronous or asynchronous way between the students and the tutor.

Interaction WBTAsynchronous seminarSynchronous seminarCollaborative working environment For individual learningFor collaborative, but time- and place-asynchronous learning For collaborative, synchronous learning via chat- or conferencing-tools to keep weekly meetings like in a presence seminar For collaborative work on software or a project Online-modules of relatively flexible order and in individual learning intervals Students work individually or in small groups on the contents and discuss the results together and with the tutor Tutors work as information- brokers and moderators within the discussions Spatially distant students can work together on one product. Communication with the tutor via and newsgroups (FAQs) Communication via (more elaborated contributions) Communication via chat- or conferencing-tools, whiteboard and screen- sharing Co-writing, application- sharing, shared screen, shared file systems Exercises and feedback by or automatically Learning must be synchronized by setting clear intermediate goals and controlling them via exercises Controlling of learning progress and feedback within the discussion or via Controlling within the project or the product Large groupsSize of the group not so important Only 3 to 5 participantsOnly 2 to 5 participants

Organization Following aspects are important: How many sessions do we need? When does the seminar start and when does it end? Will there be tests? When? From where do the students take part? From which university do they come from? Do they have access to a computer with internet? How deep is the prior knowledge of the students?...

The Basic Structure of Seminar Planning 1 General Planning Kind of interaction:WBT, asynchronous seminar, synchronous seminar, collaborative learning environment? Are there any presence meetings? Organisation: Curriculum and semester:Is the seminar part of the curriculum? For which course of studies is the seminar relevant? For which semester is the seminar relevant? For which university is the seminar relevant?

The Basic Structure of Seminar Planning 2 Students:How many students can take part? Which motivations for participation do they have (interest/ grades)? Which prior knowledge do they have? Which media competence do they need to have? Room and equipment:From where do the students participate? Which technical equipment do they need? Which tools, platform and so on will be needed? Which minimal requirements must be met? Which document-formats will be used?

The Basic Structure of Seminar Planning 3 Learning goals/ contents:Which goal should be met in general? Which contents will be used in which order? Are there parallels to other seminars? Special steps: Time: Will the seminar last one or two semesters? Which rhythms will it has (one SWS/ two SWS/ block)? Exercises/tests:How many exercises will there be? How many tests will there be? Which type of test (report, in writing, verbal..)?

The Basic Structure of Seminar Planning 4 Concrete planning of a session DurationFor which period of time is this planning (SWS)? Learning goal/contents:Which general goals should be reached? Which intermediate steps? How can the content be presented in a motivating way? Which prior knowledge on the learner-side is important?

The Basic Structure of Seminar Planning 5 Method: Didactical model:Which design/ method should the session have (exposure, construction, exploration)? Visualisation:Which visualisation will be used (pictures, texts, video, animation, simulation..)? Why exactly are these visualisations chosen? Which references can be named? Communication:Which ways to communicate are chosen (chat, , newsgroups..)? Why exactly are these communication channels chosen? Which tools/ platforms are used?

The Basic Structure of Seminar Planning 6 Part of the teacher:Who creates and looks after the contents? Who moderates the seminar? Who controls the learning progress? Who leads the students? Part of the learner:Can the contents be learned individually? Are there references beside the contents of the session, which can be read?