Philosophy

**Websites for Teaching and Learning** Susan Pretorius ** With my appointment at The Correspondence School I had to make the transition from a traditional face-to-face environment to a 'correspondence' environment. This is forcing me to rethink the way I used to teach, how I felt about my role as teacher. Teaching at TCS presents me with new challenges and opportunities. It is my goal to now take Computing from 'correspondence' to fully 'online'.  I do not have a single philosophy for teaching or for using ICT, whether face-to-face or online, but rather philosophies. My main belief is that my **students must learn in a fun and relaxed environment**, that they must be **active participants** in the process of learning. My students must take **control of their own learning** and must **learn at a pace that suits their abilities and needs**. Even in an online environment I want to provide this to my students, and I belief it is easier in an online environment than in a face-to-face classroom. Students enrolled online do control their own learning (within limits) and they do study at their own pace, when and where they choose to. It is a challenge to develop courses which are interesting, effective and rewarding, offering them with a learner-centred experience which is so important to me. I agree with Dell (n.d) when she says 'online teachers need to be more focused on students and their needs because they lack the luxury of physically interacting with students one on one'.
 * My Personal Philosophy** **
 * I am the Senior Computing and Information Management teacher at The Correspondence School, with responsibilities, amongst others, for Computing and Information Management and the development of the junior and senior Computing programmes. All my classes are being taught by correspondence, with contact with students through email, eTxting, letters, Skype, Video Conferencing and phone calls. (At TCS the HoD is known as Senior Teacher.) At this stage I am busy preparing and developing a whole new course for Computing and Information Management. This course will be online and not print-based as it currently is. ** 

It is my responsibility to equip students with the skills and knowledge that will prepare them for future employment and careers. I am the **facilitator**, leading the students to discover, manipulate and present information. Respect is important in my role as teacher. I treat my students with **respect; acknowledging and understanding their differences and abilities**. Whether it is online or face-to-face teaching, I must provide my students with the right tools, and this includes motivation. My material must be interesting and interactive, keeping the students invloved, motivating them to study and learn.

I have high expectations of all my students. I believe they can **all succeed** and it’s my responsibility to ensure they acquire the required tools and confidence. I provide them with an informal, stimulating and creative environment. I also believe I am a teacher and a student.

It is my responsibility, as teacher, to build relationships with my online students, encouraging them to ask questions, to feel comfortable and to trust me. This is more difficult to achieve online than in a face-to-face classroom. But online teaching is more flexible, more convenient - students can study at any time. Timely feedback is very important in online teaching, as it helps the student to learn.

In my teaching it is important to **engage students in authentic tasks**. I also aim to use students’ own ideas and approaches. My students are given the opportunity to share their thoughts and views on topics they are interested in.

When I started teaching it was in the very formal, old-fashioned way where teachers were expected to share their knowledge, with students listening without any input or the opportunity to talk except when answering a question. I realised quickly that I didn’t enjoy this setup and neither did the students, and gradually became the facilitator, adjusting the way I teach and adjusting my expectations from students. I found teaching Computing lend itself to this more relaxed way of ‘teaching’ and it became a rewarding experience. In this subject I could easily teach the way I feel comfortable with.

Computing is an assessment-based subject. In the past my students also had to complete task after task in preparation for assessment. I now hand the assessments to the students at the beginning of a unit. These assessments are written especially for the students, making it interesting for them. Although tutorials are available they learn and acquire software skills while completing the work.

I have found it difficult in the past to link my philosophy of teaching to a specific, relevant learning theory as it doesn't specifically fits into behaviorism, cognitivism or constructivism as such. Though, if I have to chose between constructivism, behaviorism and constructivism, my philosophy fits in best the the constructivism theory - 'learning occurs through learners engaging in creative experimentaion and activity' (Key & Hill, 2008). But I also believe learning takes place formally and informally and occurs in a variety of ways; that it lasts for a lifetime; that technology is changing the way we think on a daily basis. According to Siemens (2004), and I agree with him, the traditional learning theories do not address learning that occurs outside of people (learning that is stored and manipulated by technology). A new approach was needed and the learning theory for the digital age is called 'Connectivism'. And this theory underpins my philosophy of teaching.

I base my teaching on the fact that new information is continually being acquired, that the learner must have the ability to sift through important and unimportant information - exactly what we expect from our students when they are using the Internet! Knowledge is developed in an ongoing cycle - personal to network to organisation. (simply look at a Wiki to see a practical example of this ongoing cycle!). Connectivism underpins the ability to plug into sources and to know where to look for the information. I agree with Downes' (2007) definition of Connectivism: knowledge is distributed across a network of connections, and therefore learning consists of the ability to construct and traverse their networks.

I am still in the process of adapting effective strategies that worked in the face-to-face school to the online environment. I know that, whether in a face-to-face environment, a correspondence environment or an online environment, students must be provided with the necessary skills, I must promote responsible work ethic and I must remember that all students are different.

When I originally enrolled in the Graduate Certificate for Online Teaching and Learning it was to learn more about the online environment and how to use it in my classes, not realising that I would be in a perfect situation a year later to use the skills I have been taught and facing the challenge of developing an online programme for the biggest school in New Zealand. A daunting, but exciting and once-in-a-lifetime challenge.


 * Bibliography:**

Chang, S. (n.d). Teaching Philosophy. Retrieved June 1, 2009 from the World Wide Web: [|http://www.cs.iastate.edu/~shchang/TeachingPhil/teachingPhil.html]

Dell, D. (n.d). Philosophy of Online Teaching. Retrieved June 7, 2009 from the World Wide Web: []

Downes, S. (2007). What Connectivism Is. Retrieved June 9, 2009 from the World Wide Web: []

Kop, R. & Hill, A. (2008). Connectivism: Learning theory of the future or vestige of the past? Retrieved June 12, 2009 from the World Wide Web:  [|http://www.u-learnspace.info/Connectivism%20learning%20theory%20of%20the%20future%20or%20vestige%20of%20the%20past%20Kop%20and%20Hill%20IRRODL] [|%20Sept08.pdf] Nolte, N. (2005). Online teaching Philosophy. Retrieved June 7, 2009 from the World Wide Web: []  Siemens, G. (2004). Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age. Retrieved June 9, 2009 from the World Wide Web: []  Van Note Chism, N. (n.d). Developing a Philosophy of Teaching Statement. Retrieved June 1, 2009 from the World Wide Web: [|http://www.cofc.edu/~cetl/Essays/DevelopingaPhilosophyofTeaching.html]  Wiesenberg, F.P. & Stacey, E. (2008). Teaching Philosophy: Moving from face-to-face to online classrooms. Retrieved June 1, 2009 from the World Wide Web:[]