Online Roles of Faculty and Students:
Changing the Way We Teach
Curt Bonk, Indiana University
(and CourseShare.com)
cjbonk@indiana.edu
http://php.indiana.edu/~cjbonk
Are You Ready???
Administrators and faculty members
at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology are debating what could
become a $100-million effort to
create extensive World Wide Web
pages for nearly every course the
university offers.
Jeffrey R. Young, March 1, 2001, The Chronicle of Higher Ed
Faculty Entrepreneurship
Douglas Rowlett has turned his Englishdepartment office into a virtual radio
station that broadcasts continuously on
the Internet, offering a mix of poetry
readings, lectures, and popular music. He
plans to deliver entire courses over the
Internet radio station.
Jeffrey R. Young (Jan 8., 2001). Chronicle of Higher Ed.
Faculty Entrepreneurship?
Santa Clara University has fired an
adjunct instructor who sold his
students thousands of dollars worth of
stock in an online-education venture
that appears to never have gotten off
the ground.
Sarah Carr, The Chronicle of Higher Ed.
What Percent of Time Teach Online?
Percent of Respondents
Figure 21. Percent of Instructional Time Spent
Teaching Online During the Next Decade
80
60
40
20
0
1 Year
2 Years 5 Years 10 Years
Time Teaching Online
0%
1-25%
25-50%
51-75%
76-100%
To Cope with the Explosion, We
Need Instructor E-Learning
Support!!!
Problems Faced
Administrative:
Pedagogical:
• “Lack of admin vision.”
• “Lack of incentive from
admin and the fact that
they do not understand
the time needed.”
• “Lack
of
system
support.”
• “Little recognition that
this is valuable.”
• “Rapacious U intellectual
property policy.”
• “Unclear univ. policies
concerning int property.”
• “Difficulty in performing
lab experiments online.”
• “Lack of appropriate
models for pedagogy.”
Time-related:
• “More ideas than time to
implement.”
• “Not enough time to
correct online assign.”
• “People need sleep; Web
spins forever.”
Training
Outside Support
•
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Training (FacultyTraining.net)
Courses & Certificates (JIU, e-education)
Reports, Newsletters, & Pubs
Aggregators of Info (CourseShare, Merlot)
Global Forums (FacultyOnline.com; GEN)
Resources, Guides/Tips, Link Collections,
Online Journals, Library Resources
Certified Online Instructor Program
• Walden Institute—12 Week
Online Certification (Cost
= $995)
• 2 tracks: one for higher ed
and one for online
corporate trainer
– Online tools and purpose
– Instructional design theory
& techniques
– Distance ed evaluation
– Quality assurance
– Collab learning communities
http://merlot.org
http://www.utexas.edu/world/lecture/
Inside Support…
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Instructional Consulting
Mentoring (strategic planning $)
Small Pots of Funding
Help desks, institutes, 1:1, tutorials
Summer and Year Round Workshops
Office of Distributed Learning
Colloquiums, Tech Showcases, Guest Speakers
– Newsletters, guides, active learning grants, annual
reports, faculty development, brown bags, other
professional development
Four Key Hats of Instructors:
– Technical—do students have basics? Does their
equipment work? Passwords work?
– Managerial—Do students understand the
assignments and course structure?
– Pedagogical—How are students interacting,
summarizing, debating, thinking?
– Social—What is the general tone? Is there a
human side to this course? Joking allowed?
– Other: firefighter, convener, weaver, tutor, conductor, host,
mediator, filter, editor, facilitator, negotiator, e-police, concierge,
marketer, assistant, etc.
Study of Four Classes
(Bonk, Kirkley, Hara, & Dennen, 2001)
• Technical—Train, early tasks, be flexible,
orientation task
• Managerial—Initial meeting, FAQs, detailed
syllabus, calendar, post administrivia, assign email pals, gradebooks, email updates
• Pedagogical—Peer feedback, debates, PBL, cases,
structured controversy, field reflections, portfolios,
teams, inquiry, portfolios
• Social—Café, humor, interactivity, profiles,
foreign guests, digital pics, conversations, guests
How to Combine
these Roles?
E-Moderator
• Refers to online teaching and facilitation
role. Moderating used to mean to preside
over a meeting or a discussion, but in the
electronic world, it means more than that. It
is all roles combined—to hold meetings, to
encourage, to provide information, to
question, to summarize, etc. (Collins &
Berge, 1997; Gilly Salmon, 2000); see
http://www.emoderators.com/moderators.shtml.
Other Hats
Online Concierge
• To provide support and information
on request (perhaps a map of the
area…) (Gilly Salmon, 2000).
Personal Learning Trainer
• Learners need a personal trainer to
lead them through materials and
networks, identify relevant materials
and advisors and ways to move
forward (Mason, 1998; Salmon,
2000).
E-Police
• While one hopes you will not call
yourself this nor find the need to
make laws and enforce them, you
will need some Code of Practice or
set procedures, and protocols for emoderators (Gilly Salmon, 2000).
Online Conductor
• The pulling together of a variety of
resources as people as in an orchestra to
produce beautiful integrated sound or
perhaps electrical current conductors if
your conferences are effective and flow
along, there will be energy, excitement,
and power (Gilly Salmon, 2000).
Convener
• A term that is used especially with
online conferences and courses
where there is a fairly sizable
audience (Gilly Salmon, 2000).
Online Negotiator
• Where knowledge construction
online is desired, the key role for the
e-moderator is one of negotiating the
meaning of activities and
information throughout online
discussion and construction (Gilly
Salmon, 2000).
Online Host
• The social role of online working is
important so there may be a need for
a social host or hostess. They do not
need to run social events online
(though they may) but ensure
everyone is greeted and introduced
to others with like-minded interests
(Gilly Salmon, 2000).
Other Hats
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Weaver—linking comments/threads
Tutor—individualized attention
Participant—joint learner
Provocateur—stir the pot (& calm flames)
Observer—watch ideas and events unfold
Mentor—personally apprentice students
Community Organizer—keep system going
Still More Hats
Assistant
Devil’s advocate
Editor
Expert
Filter
Firefighter
Facilitator
Gardener
Helper
Lecturer
Marketer
Mediator
Priest
Promoter
Sure…but Cat Herder???
Activity: Pick a Online Instruction
Metaphor from 40 Options
Reality:
Ideal World:
 ___________
 ___________
 ___________
 ___________
 ___________
 ___________
 ___________
 ___________
 ___________
 ___________
Online Mentoring and
Assistance Online
Twelve forms of electronic learning
mentoring and assistance
(Bonk & Kim, 1998; Tharp, 1993; Bonk et al., 2001)
1. Social (and cognitive)
Acknowledgement: "Hello...," "I
agree with everything said so far...,"
"Wow, what a case," "This case
certainly has provoked a lot of
discussion...," "Glad you could join
us..."
2. Questioning: "What is the name of this
concept...?," "Another reason for this might
be...?," "An example of this is...," "In contrast
to this might be...,""What else might be
important here...?," "Who can tell me....?,"
"How might the teacher..?." "What is the real
problem here...?," "How is this related to...?,“,
"Can you justify this?"
3. Direct Instruction: "I think
in class we mentioned that...,"
Chapter ‘X’ talks about...,"
"Remember back to the first week of
the semester when we went over ‘X’
which indicated that..."
4. Modeling/Examples: "I think I
solved this sort of problem once when
I...," "Remember that video we saw on
‘X’ wherein ‘Y’ decided to...," "Doesn't
‘X’ give insight into this problem in case
‘Z’ when he/she said..."
5. Feedback/Praise: "Wow, I'm
impressed...," "That shows real insight
into...," "Are you sure you have
considered...," "Thanks for responding
to ‘X’...," "I have yet to see you or
anyone mention..."
6. Cognitive Task Structuring:
"You know, the task asks you to do...,"
"Ok, as was required, you should now
summarize the peer responses that you
have received...," "How might the
textbook authors have solved this case."
7. Cognitive
Elaborations/Explanations:
"Provide more information here that explains
your rationale," "Please clarify what you
mean by...," "I'm just not sure what you mean
by...," "Please evaluate this solution a little
more carefully."
8. Push to Explore: "You might
want to write to Dr. ‘XYZ’ for...,"
"You might want to do an ERIC
search on this topic...," "Perhaps
there is a URL on the Web that
addresses this topic..."
9. Fostering Reflection/Self Awareness:
"Restate again what the teacher did here,"
"How have you seen this before?," "When
you took over this class, what was the first
thing you did?," "Describe how your teaching
philosophy will vary from this...," "How
might an expert teacher handle this situation?"
10. Encouraging Articulation/Dialogue
Prompting: "What was the problem solving
process the teacher faced here?," "Does
anyone have a counterpoint or alternative to
this situation?," "Can someone give me three
good reasons why...," "It still seems like
something is missing here, I just can't put my
finger on it."
11. General
Advice/Scaffolding/Suggestions:
"If I were in her shoes, I would...," "Perhaps
I would think twice about putting these
people into...," "I know that I would first...,"
"How totally ridiculous this all is; certainly
the “person” should be able to provide
some..."
12. Management (via private e-mail or
discussion): "Don't just criticize....please be
sincere when you respond to your peers," "If
you had put your case in on time, you would
have gotten more feedback." "If you do this
again, we will have to take away your
privileges."
What About
Student Roles???
Participant Categories
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Web Resource Finder
Starter-Wrapper
Researcher
Online Journal Editor
Expert Resource Gatherer
Technology Reviewer
Mentor/Expert
Instructor
Seeker/Questioner
Role 1: Starter/Mediator
Reporter/Commentator
• Summarizes the key terms, ideas, and issues in
the chapters, supplemental instructor notes,
journal articles, and other assigned readings and
asks thought provoking questions typically
before one’s peers read or discuss the concepts
and ideas. In effect, the starter is a reporter or
commentator or teacher of what to expect in the
upcoming readings or activities. Once the
“start” is posted, this student acts as a mediator
or facilitator of discussion for the week.
Role 2: Wrapper/Summarizer
Synthesizer/Connector/Reviewer
• Connects ideas, synthesizes discussion,
interrelates comments, and links both explicit
and implicit ideas posed in online discussion or
other activities. Here, the student looks for
patterns and themes in online coursework
while weaving information together. The
wrapping or summarizing is done at least at the
end of the week or unit, but preferably two or
more times depending on the length of the
activity.
Role 3: Conqueror or
Debater/Arguer/Bloodletter
• Takes ideas into action, debates with
others, persists in arguments and
never surrenders or compromises
nomatter what the casualties are
when addressing any problem or
issue.
Role 4: Devil's Advocate or
Critic/Censor/Confederate
• Takes opposite points of view for
the sake of an argument and is an
antagonist when addressing any
problem posed. This might be a
weekly role that is secretly
assigned.
Role 5: Idea
Squelcher/Biased/Preconceiver
• Squelches good and bad ideas of
others and submits your own
prejudiced or biased ideas during
online discussions and other
situations. Forces others to think.
Is that person you really hate to
work with.
Role 6: Optimist/Openminded/Idealist
• In this role, the student notes what
appears to be feasible, profitable,
ideal, and "sunny" ideas when
addressing this problem. Always sees
the bright or positive side of the
situation.
Role 7:
Emotional/Sensitive/Intuitive
• Comments with the fire and
warmth of emotions, feelings,
hunches, and intuitions when
interacting with others, posting
comments, or addressing problems.
Role 8: Idea Generator Creative
Energy/Inventor
• Brings endless energy to
online conversations and
generates lots of fresh
ideas and new perspectives
to the conference when
addressing issues and
problems.
Role 9:
Questioner/Ponderer/Protester
• Role is to question, ponder,
and protest the ideas of others
and the problem presented
itself. Might assume a radical
or ultra-liberal tone.
Role 10: Coach
Facilitator/Inspirer/Trainer
• Offers hints, clues, supports,
and highly motivational
speeches to get everyone firedup or at least one lost individual
back on track when addressing
a problem or situation.
Role 11: Controller/Executive
Director/CEO/Leader
• In this role, the student
oversees the process,
reports overall findings
and opinions, and
attempts to control the
flow of information,
findings, suggestions,
and general problem
solving.
Role 12:
Slacker/Slough/Slug/Surfer Dude
• In this role, the student does little or
nothing to help him/herself or his/her
peers learn. Here, one can only sit
back quietly and listen, make others do
all the work for you, and generally
have a laid back attitude (i.e., go to the
beach) when addressing this problem.
Activity: Pick a Role
Or Role Taking Task
Name a role missing from
this sheet and discuss how
you might use it
(see Bonk’s 28 roles)
Web Facilitation???
Berge Collins Associates
Mauri Collins and Zane L. Berge
http://www.emoderators.com/moderators.shtml#mod
Changing Role of the Teacher
The Online Teacher, TAFE, Guy Kemshal-Bell (April, 2001)
• From oracle to guide and resource provider
• From providers of answers to expert
questioners
• From solitary teacher to member of team
• From total control of teaching environment
to sharing as a fellow student
• From provider of content to designer of
learning experiences.
Knowledge Sharing & Construction
E-Moderating: The Key to Teaching and Learning
Online, (Gilly Salmon, (1999) Kogan Page)
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Be an equal participant in the conference.
Provide sparks or interesting comments.
Avoid directives and right answers.
Acknowledge all contributions.
Weave, summarize, and model discussion, but
be tolerant of new twists in it.
• Reward knowledge construction &
accomplishments.
Pedagogical Tips
(Bonk 1998)
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Test system with immediate task
Build peer interactivity
Embed choices (avatars, tasks, etc.)
Simplify (everything!!!)
Embed peer and portfolio fdbk
tools
• Offer early feedback
• Link to prior work (legacies)
Dennen’s Research on Nine
Online Courses (sociology, history,
communications, writing, library science,
technology, counseling)
Poor Instructors
• Little or no feedback
given
• Always authoritative
• Used factual Q’s.
• Created tangential
discussions
• Only used “ultimate”
deadlines
Good Instructors
• Provided regular
qual/quant feedback
• Participated as peer
• Allowed perspective
sharing; relevant tasks
• Tied discussion to grades,
other assessments.
• Clear goals
Facilitating Electronic Discussion
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Provide Guidelines and Structure
Weave and Summarize Weekly
Be patient, prompt, and clear
Foster Role Play, Debate, and Interaction
Assign Due Dates, Times, and Points
Constantly Monitor, Converse not Dictate
Assign Buddies/Pals or Include Mentoring
Is
it
that
simple?
NOPE!!!
But How Avoid
Shovelware???
“This form of structure… encourages
teachers designing new products to
simply “shovel” existing resources into
on-line Web pages and discourages any
deliberate or intentional design of
learning strategy.” (Oliver & McLoughlin,
1999)
Motivational Terms?
See Johnmarshall Reeve (1996). Motivating Others: Nurturing inner motivational
resources. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. (UW-Milwaukee)
1. Tone/Climate: Psych Safety, Comfort, Belonging
2. Feedback: Responsive, Supports, Encouragement
3. Engagement: Effort, Involvement, Excitement
4. Meaningfulness: Interesting, Relevant, Authentic
5. Choice: Flexibility, Opportunities, Autonomy
6. Variety: Novelty, Intrigue, Unknowns
7. Curiosity: Fun, Fantasy, Control
8. Tension: Challenge, Dissonance, Controversy
9. Interactive: Collaborative, Team-Based, Community
10. Goal Driven: Product-Based, Success, Ownership
Intrinsic Motivation
“…innate propensity to engage one’s interests and
exercise one’s capabilities, and, in doing so, to
seek out and master optimal challenges
(i.e., it emerges from needs, inner strivings, and
personal curiosity for growth)
See: Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M.
(1985). Intrinsic motivation and
self-determination in human
behavior. NY: Plenum Press.
1. Tone/Climate:
Ice Breakers
1. Eight Nouns Activity:
1. Introduce self using 8 nouns
2. Explain why choose each noun
3. Comment on 1-2 peer postings
2. Coffee House Expectations
1. Have everyone post 2-3 course expectations
2. Instructor summarizes and comments on how they
might be met
(or make public commitments of how they will fit into
busy schedules!)
Multiple Rooms for Chat
2. Feedback
Requiring Peer Feedback
Alternatives:
1. Require minimum # of peer comments
and give guidance (e.g., they should
do…)
2. Peer Feedback Through Templates—
give templates to complete peer
evaluations.
3. Have e-papers contest(s)
3. Engagement:
Electronic Voting and Polling
1. Ask students to vote on issue before class
(anonymously or send directly to the instructor)
2. Instructor pulls out minority pt of view
3. Discuss with majority pt of view
4. Repoll students after class
(Note: Delphi or Timed Disclosure Technique:
anomymous input till a due date
and then post results and
reconsider until consensus
Rick Kulp, IBM, 1999)
3. Engagement
Survey Student Opinions
(e.g., InfoPoll, SurveySolutions, Zoomerang, SurveyShare.com)
4. Meaningfulness:
Job or Field Reflections
1. Instructor provides reflection or prompt for
job related or field observations
2. Reflect on job setting or observe in field
3. Record notes on Web and reflect on concepts
from chapter
4. Respond to peers
5. Instructor summarizes posts
Alternative: Pool field interviews
of practitioners
5. Choice:
Multiple Topics
• Generate multiple discussion prompts and ask
students to participate in 2 out of 3
• Provide different discussion “tracks” (much
like conference tracks) for students with
different interests to choose among
• List possible topics and have students vote
(students sign up for lead diff weeks)
• Have students list and vote.
5. Choice: Multiple Topics
6. Variety
7. Curiosity:
Electronic Guests & Mentoring
1. Find article or topic that is controversial
2. Invite person associated with that article
(perhaps based on student suggestions)
3. Hold real time chat
4. Pose questions
5. Discuss and debrief (i.e., did anyone
change their minds?)
(Alternatives: Email Interviews with experts
Assignments with expert reviews)
8. Tension: Role Play
A. Role Play Personalities
• List possible roles or personalities (e.g., coach,
optimist, devil’s advocate, etc.)
• Sign up for different role every week (or 5-6 key roles)
• Reassign roles if someone drops class
• Perform within roles—refer to different personalities
B. Assume Persona of Scholar
– Enroll famous people in your course
– Students assume voice of that person for one or
more sessions
– Enter debate topic or Respond to debate topic
– Respond to rdg reflections of others or react to own
9. Interactive:
Critical/Constructive Friends, Email
Pals, Web Buddies
1. Assign a critical friend (perhaps based on
commonalities).
2. Post weekly updates of projects, send reminders of
due dates, help where needed.
3. Provide criticism to peer (I.e., what is strong and
weak, what’s missing, what hits the mark) as well as
suggestions for strengthening.
In effect, critical friends do not slide over
weaknesses, but confront them kindly and
directly.
4. Reflect on experience.
10. Goal Driven:
Gallery Tours
• Assign Topic or Project
(e.g., Team or Class
White Paper, Bus
Plan, Study Guide,
Glossary, Journal,
Model Exam Answers)
• Students Post to Web
• Experts Review and Rate
• Try to Combine Projects
Peer Questions & Team Meeting:
Moderated
Motivational Top Ten
1. Tone/Climate: Ice Breakers, Peer Sharing
2. Feedback: Self-Tests, Reading Reactions
3. Engagement: Q’ing, Polling, Voting
4. Meaningfulness: Job/Field Reflections, Cases
5. Choice: Topical Discussions, Starter-Wrapper
6. Variety: Brainstorming, Roundrobins
7. Curiosity: Seances, Electronic Guests/Mentors
8. Tension: Role Play, Debates, Controversy
9. Interactive: E-Pals, Symposia, Expert Panels
10. Goal Driven: Group PS, Jigsaw, Gallery Tours
Pick One…??? (circle one)
So What Happens to
Instructors and
Students in the
Future???
“We are evolving out of the era of the
Lone Rangers…faculty members
can choose to be involved in the
design, development, content
expertise, delivery, or distribution of
course…” (Richard T. Hezel)
Sarah Carr, (Dec 15, 2000, A47), A Day in the Life of a New Type of
Professor, The Chronicle of Higher Education
Faculty Member in 2020
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Track 1: Technical Specialist
Track 2: Personal Guide
Track 3: Online Facilitator
Track 4: Course Developer
Track 5: Course or Program Manager
Track 6: Work for Hire Online Lecturer
Track 7: High School Teacher
Track 8: Unemployed
Track 1: Technical Specialist
• Help critique technical aspects of media
and materials built into online courses.
Here one would be part of a course
development team or instructional design
unit. Freelance learning object evaluator.
Here one would likely operate alone or as
part of a consulting company.
Track 2: Personal Guide
• Provide program or course guidance to
students on demand or preplanned.
Becomes more of a generalist across
university offerings. For example, one
might help students see how different
learning objects or modules fit together
into a degree.
Track 3: Online Facilitator
• Offers timely and informed support to
students struggling to complete an online
course or inserting questions and
nudging development of students who are
successfully completing different
modules. This is the most similar to
college teaching positions today.
Track 4: Course Developer
• Help develop specific courses or topic
areas for one or more universities. In
many institutions, this will move beyond
a course royalty system to a paid position.
Track 5: Course or Program
Manager
• Supervisor or manager of an entire new
program or courses, most often leading to
certificates or master’s degrees. Similar
in stature to a development head or
chairperson.
Track 6: Work for Hire Online
Lecturer
• Is a freelance instructor for one course or
a range of course. May work on just one
campus or on a range of campuses
around the world. While this will be
highly popular and rejuvenate careers,
institutional policies are yet to be sorted
out.
Track 7: High School Teacher
• As universities begin to offer secondary
degrees, some college faculty with online
teaching experience and teaching degrees
will find positions in those classes. Some
may view such positions as being
demoted to the minor leagues.
Track 8: Unemployed
• If one does not find a niche in one
or more of the above tracks or
roles, he or she will likely be
unemployed or highly unsuccessful.
Student Differences in 2020
• Live Longer
• More Educated
– Multiple Degrees
– Accustomed to Multiple Learning Formats
– Design own programs and courses
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Specialists AND Generalists
Courses/Degrees for unknown occupations
Expect to Take Courses Where Live
Cyber-students (various digital aids attached to appendages)
So Where is Nebraska Headed?