Current evidence of CMC facilitation strategies in online distance education courses.

摘要

This quantitative, descriptive research project examines online facilitation techniques being applied by university professors in Canada, to courses using primarily web-based teaching/learning environments. The purpose of this study is to provide a snap-shot view of current online teaching practices---it focuses on the views of a number of online instructors regarding their implementation of facilitation strategies recommended in the literature, and their application of online teaching techniques which the new technologies offer and support.; Findings indicate that considerable effort is being made by professors teaching online in Canadian universities, and marked success is being achieved in meeting the needs of students learning at a distance. This is being accomplished by taking advantage of the teaching techniques provided by current course software, and of the facilitation strategies recommended in the distance education and the computer-mediated communication literature. Anchored in a constructivist theoretical framework and based on 'active learning' principles, this snapshot of current professional practice in online teaching and learning emphasizes the application of unique elements of online course design, including specific course materials, and of communication strategies and evaluation methods tailored to a Web-based learning environment. The diversity of teaching strategies used by online instructors, including an exploration of online teaching techniques, is described. Course interactions are seen to be critical to knowledge transformation, and are being implemented in a variety of ways, from asynchronous discussions to integrated face-to-face class meetings. Specific offline strategies continue to be part of online courses due to reasons of convenience, issues of copyright, and questions of technology accessibility.; This study has shown that a number of factors do exert significant impact on the implementation of specific facilitation strategies on the teaching and learning process online. These influential factors include: geographic location of the university/course; discipline of study or faculty of provenance: course timeframe; type of software interface; size of student enrollment in individual courses; and course teaching levels, from undergraduate to doctoral degrees.