Purpose

Technology advances change the way we work and live and, inevitably, the way we teach and learn. In this module we will explore pedagogies – that is, practice grounded in theory – for online teaching and learning environments. We will start the module by establishing how people learn and what teaching should be like to help people learn. In order to do this, we will explore principles on which the main learning theories are based and then examine their implications for the design of learning experiences. From here our attention turns to online teaching and learning. The availability of information and information technologies, which we will refer to as educational technologies to define our focus, changed the way educators think about the consumption and construction of knowledge. Hence, we will reflect on the unique characteristics of educational technologies and how these can be harnessed for teaching and learning.

Please note that this module is tied closely to Online Teaching and Learning (Technology) where you will implement the pedagogical insights you gain here by using actual educational technologies in a way that maximises learner success. You will also return to the assessment activities you designed in this module when you participate in Online Teaching and Learning (Assessment) to critique and improve on what you have done.   

Learning outcomes

Once you’ve completed the learning activities for this module, you should be able to:

• Outline and explain the notion of a broad online teaching pedagogy. 
• Outline and explain the notion of an online collaborative learning pedagogy. 
• Integrate online materials and assessment activities to achieve intended learning outcomes in a given teaching context.