Canning-Wilson, C. (2000). E-Learning, E-Teaching, E-Assessment: Aspects of Course Design for On-Line Web Based Courses Used with EFL/ESL Learners. Retrieved
Summary: The overall focus of this paper is that “as educational technology moves closer towards eliminating the practices of traditional classroom teaching, on-line teaching and learning will become a more practical and viable solution to meeting learner’ education needs” (1). The author discusses the use of online learning for ESL as compared to traditional classroom learning. She quotes a fact that the classroom teacher is predicted to be one of the jobs eliminated within the next century and that over 50% of students will be in online classes.
When teaching an online class, it is very important to consider several different things. For example: assessing the needs of the learners and the institution. It is also important to consider cost, time needed, materials, content, assessment methods, classroom management strategies, and more. The teacher must also find a way to share their own personality with the students in order to allow the students to feel more comfortable.
The article goes on to describe how to evaluate an online course. Start with the course layout: content, graphics, etc. Also, the length, presentation of content, material etc. For a language course, one must also evaluate the way the lessons are being taught and the theoretical founding behind it. Is the e-classroom culturally sensitive? There must be ways to ensure that tests are taken by the student and not someone else.
When designing an online course, organization is essential. Tasks must be sequential and related to the content and materials. There are a lot of areas to consider: will the class be taught in real-time or on the students own time? Do you have the technology to accommodate this class? How do you test listening skills? And so on…
Response: I thought that this article was going to offer more ideas and suggestions about how to teach an online ESL course. It really didn’t focus only on language courses, but rather online courses in general. It’s a little scary to think that the classroom teacher will soon be extinct, so the article does appeal to me as a teacher. I have never designed an online course and it’s interesting to read about how much work goes into it. When planning an online course, we still have all of the same aspects of planning any class plus so much more. If the class it wholly online, then how will we get to know the students and create a relationship with them?
Teaching an ESL course online seems like a difficult task. However, if careful consideration and planning is used, it could turn out to be a very effective class. A language teacher must think about how to teach reading, writing, listening and even speaking over the internet.
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