Web Based Learning

Thursday in our Internet for Educators course we had a visit from two Manitoba Education professionals, Sophia Palahicky and Donald Girouard. The topic they brought to our attention was Web Based Learning. The first important point that I took from this presentation is that there may be distance in many types of learning, as an example: lecturing. This doesn't seem like it would be a distance learning model, but if the student isn't engaged in the classroom, then there is a distance between the teacher and the student.  Sophia had a great point when discussing if Web Based Learning is right for you - this tool is simply going to mediate "your pedagogy"- whatever that may be. Web Based Learning does not simply mean that the student is learning independently through online course work and test taking, without a teacher present. Web Based Learning can be done: face to face, as a teaching resource, as part of a blended learning environment, or with distance learners. Sophia and Donald expressed the importance of using this Web Based Learning tool along with your own resources, and to use it to benefit your own teaching style. 

Growing up in a small town, I understand the benefit to these types of web based courses being offered. Although I never took part, I remember 3 different classes (from schools surrounding Melita) getting together and taking part in a broadcasted course, from the comfort of our own schools. One worry with this is that it clearly took one teacher to teach three different groups of students, instead of three teachers. However, if you look at this from a different perspective, those students wouldn't have had the opportunity to take that course if it wasn't for web based courses. Web Based Courses benefit students of all ages, especially university level, as we aren't limited to courses only offered on campus. This is important especially to small campuses such as BU who only have a limited number of courses and professors to accommodate such a small student body. When attending IUPUI last year (with a student body of 30,000), I felt completely spoiled when registering for courses in the fall as I had SO many options of courses to take. This was largely because of the online and web based courses being offered. It was a convenient way to get the credit while accommodating my other courses. To add to this convenience, the professors who were the instructors of these courses were located right on campus, in case of any trouble with the course material.

As a pre-service teacher, I do wonder about how often these types of courses will be used when I am teaching middle (or even early years). However, like anything, there is both advantages and disadvantages to these web based courses, and I need to keep an open mind about the idea.  While I can't speak from experience (of having my own classroom) I do feel we need to keep the student's best interests in mind and accommodate their needs when possible. I think it will be extremely important to collaborate with other teachers in your school and division once teaching, and web based courses should only add to this convenience. On a final note, I can't help but think the more possibilities and resources offered for teaching our students, the better. We always keep different learning styles in mind when creating our lesson plans, as it is one of the most important aspects of a lesson  to consider. So, on a final note, having web based courses as an option for learners who do not benefit from face to face instruction seems like a no brainer!