by Dr Fred Lockwood, Open University, UK.
Friday 22nd September, Rotunda 7,
Clayton Campus, 1:00pm
This presentation was accompanied by
overhead transparencies. A list of references was also provided.
We are in the midst of an educational and technological revolution.
The innovatory teaching methods that were pioneered by the Open
University are being adopted and refined by thousands of institutions
around the world and the communication technologies of the 1970s are being
replaced by those of the twenty-first century. However, at the core of
this revolution is interaction between learners and between learners and
teachers. Currently, for a majority of learners, this interaction is
encouraged by questions in print-based texts. However, increasingly
interactivity will be encouraged using on-line materials.
The paper will initially review the theory and practice associated with
encouraging print-based interactivity; of simulating a Tutorial in Print,
of creating Reflective Action Guides and representing Dialogue in teaching
materials. It will offer a framework for the design of these interactive
elements, outline the costs and benefits that learners associate with them
and describe the dynamic model that learners operate.
The paper will then consider whether previous theories and practices
can be applied to on-line activities. The provisional findings from
evaluations of the interactivity within on-line courses and Virtual
Seminars will be reviewed. Models and frameworks that have been offered to
encourage interactivity and its quality will be outlined and areas of
future research identified.
About the Presenter
Dr Fred Lockwood is the Head of Programme for Professional Development
in Educational Technology at the Institute of Educational Technology, The
Open University. Fred began his career as a schoolteacher and has over the
last 25 years or so been actively engaged in a wide range of distance and
open learning activities with the Open University. He has extensive
experience in writing and developing learning materials for open and
distance learning and is now putting this experience to use in the area of
on-line learning. He has conducted hundreds of workshops and written and
edited many books in this field. A more extensive background on Fred is
available at:
http://iet.open.ac.uk/pp/F.G.Lockwood/Fred.html
For further contact, e-mail the HEPCIT administration office.
Copyright © Monash University 1998
