Adventures In Cyberspace: Connectivity And Interactivity To Enhance The

Learning Experience Of Trainee Teachers

Dr. Ng Kee Chuan

Abstract

This action research focused on the inaugural use of on-lineconnectivity and interactions in the training of beginning scienceteachers. This endeavour was facilitated through the use of theCLAROLINE system, a free webpage template provider forteachers. The first cycle of this action research revolved aroundthe use of the website and e-mail facilities to keep track of an on-going e-investigation in science carried out by the traineeteachers themselves. Resources by the lecturer were also postedon the site. One discovery was that the trainee teachers had atendency to report only successes and not “failures”. Anotherfinding was my initial misconception that these trainee teacherswho grew up in this era of ICT would find using the website easy.Nevertheless, e-reports received an enthusiastic thumbs-up fromthem because of its ease and economical nature. They alsofound the postings of lecture files and resources useful anddesirable. The second cycle of the action research revealed thatthe uptake of the website was better when felt-needs in real andauthentic context were met.

Introduction

“Connectivity.” That seems to be the buzz word in today’s era of

Information Communication Technology. These days of internet, mobile

phone, email, 24/7 news broadcast, blogging, chat groups and the like

has changed the lifestyle and expectations of people. People are no

longer contented to just receive snail mail. They want instant

information, instant reply and the latest update…and they want it now!

Such lifestyles and megatrends are bound to impinge on the

educational scene. Schools and educational institutions have a major

challenge to keep up with the latest in ICT.

The worldwide e-learning industry is estimated to be worth over 38

billion euros according to conservative estimate, although in the

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European Union only about 20% of e-learning products are produced within

the common market (Wikipedia, 2008)

It is in light of this that an interesting, new word has been

coined: ‘technolust.’ Welsh (2008) described technolust as “a disorder

affecting publicity-obsessed school administrators that manifests itself

in an insatiable need to acquire the latest, fastest, most exotic

computer gadgets, whether teachers, and students need or want them.”

As a teacher educator and trainer, I cannot afford to be left

behind in the trends of education be it proven or on a trial basis. It

is with this impetus that I have embarked on this quest to explore the

world of e-learning through connectivity and interactivity in the

educational endeavour.

Related Literature

Wagner (1994) described interactions as “reciprocal events that

requires at least two objects and two actions.” Instructional

interactions that take place between a learner and his/her environment

are events that are engineered “to change the behaviour of learners

towards an educational goal.” (Mishra and Juwah, 2006).

The three major types of educational interaction include student-

teacher, student-student and student-content (Anderson, 2006; Moore,

1989; Fulford and Zhang, 1993; Wagner, 1994). Furthermore, Berg (1999)

makes a point that interactions are both intrapersonal and

interpersonal, both of which are just as essential. The intrapersonal

interaction is that which the learner must do on their own through the

process of reflection and information processing and thus constructing

their own knowledge. The interpersonal interaction happens when learners

interact with other learners and/or their instructors to make sense of

what they are learning (Mishra and Juwah, 2006).

There are three types of environments in which online interaction

can occur: where students and teachers are separated geographically,

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online interaction blended with face-to-face on-campus environment and

on-line resources as a supplement to face-to-face interaction (Sims and

Hedberg, 2006). The desirability of on-line interaction can thus range

from meeting a great felt need for connectivity and interactivity to

enhancement of connectivity and interactivity. It can be a tool to

tackle an existing problem or limitation to enhancing what is already

acceptable or good.

This is an important consideration because online interactivity

does engender an increase in workload and effort both on facilitators

(instructors) and participants (Sims and Hedberg, 2006). It takes a lot

of effort to learn up new skills to manage a website, discipline to keep

it current and viable, perseverance to encourage meaningful interaction

and a huge challenge to respond satisfactorily to thoughts and questions

raised to keep the site “alive”.

So, before embarking on this track of online interactivity, one

must be clear on its purpose and intentions so that the project will not

suffer a premature death. The expectations of learners, designers and

administrators play a significant role to the success or failure of

online learning and interaction (Sims and Hedberg, 2006).

Mayes and Fowler (1999) suggest the cyclic three-stage in which

technology can add on to interactive learning as conceptualization

(interacting with concepts), construction (interacting with tasks) and

dialogue (interacting with people). This involves moving from forming

new understanding from pre-existent frameworks of understanding

(conceptualization) to applying and testing those new conceptions

(construction), ending with affirmations of the tested conceptions

through conversations with tutors and fellow learners (dialogue) (Mayes

2006).

Background and First Cycle of Action Research

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I only meet my students for an hour every week for interaction. I

felt that this was inadequate to keep in touch with them. Therefore,

when I learnt of this Webpage Support for teachers, CLAROLINE.com, I was

thinking that this might be a good way to at least keep in touch with

them in-between classes. Claroline is an Open Source e-Learning and e-

Working platform allowing teachers to build effective online courses and

to manage learning and collaborative activities on the web. This they

could do almost immediately by using the ready-made webpage as a

template to customize their own course webpage. As soon as they register

and get accepted, the webpage is ready to be used as seen below.

One could hold forums, upload files (Documents and Links), make

announcements (with an option to send out an email to every student

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registered), upload exercises, learning paths and assignments, have

chats or forums and other helpful functions up and running immediately

upon registration.

Furthermore, as we head towards a paperless society, I thought

this would also be a good way to pass on electronic notes and lecture

slides to my trainees. It saved me the arduous task of printing reams

and reams of notes which one is not sure will be read anyway.

Another reason for trying out this website method is purely a

self-protective mechanism. Sharing of files by copying into thumb drives

had proved to be a highly risky work due to rampant computer viruses and

worms. So, posting files to be downloaded by the learners cut off the

possibility of computer viruses if I were to allow the students to copy

my files directly from my laptop computer. This method could also save

time and leave the initiative to the trainees according to their need

and desire.

As I moved from theory-based lessons (topics related to theories

of learning) to more practical aspects of primary science instruction,

it also occurred to me one day that I could use this “on-line” avenue to

track their on-going science experiments and investigations. It was also

for me an innovative way to interact meaningfully in cyberspace.

I have been exposed to this method of cyber interaction when I

taught Open University Malaysia classes which also practiced on-line

learning. The interaction of the students were graded and given marks.

My experience of that on-line interaction was not very positive as most

of the questions and opinions posted by the students were superficial

and contrived. After all, they had to ask questions or give their

opinions on the forum as an indicator that they were involved in the on-

line forum with the expressed purpose of getting marks from it. Thus, I

did not find the interaction particularly stimulating or beneficial.

Thus, with this background in mind, I embarked on this journey

into the cyber world of on-line learning with the intention of pursuing

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a pathway towards stimulating and beneficial on-line interaction with my

trainee teachers.

The Procedure

i. The People Involved in this Research

I started this endeavour with my three groups of trainee teachers

of 58 people who were taking the Kursus Perguruan Lepasan Ijazah (KPLI).

Two groups had science as their main option and another took science as

their minor subject.

ii. The Beginning Process

I started off by introducing the Claroline Website where my portal

was situated to my trainee teachers. I had the assumption that my

trainee teachers were quite familiar with websites. I was wrong. Even

after I had given a general view on how to access the website and where

to go to find and post matters of their interests, they still came back

with questions after questions, often over areas that I had already

covered. I learnt that it was better to give them notes on how to access

and use the website. I prepared these notes and posted it on the

website.

I then introduced the science investigation that they had to do.

The question was what affected the growth of plants. I had done this

investigation in my previous research but I was pleasantly surprised

when the groups came up with new areas that had not been covered before

and new methods of carrying out their test.

The common factors that were usually tested were sunlight, water

and air. The new areas that were suggested by other groups were:

Types of soil (sandy, clay, red, black/humus)

Fertilizer and amount of fertilizer

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Amount of water

Minerals

Competition

Apart from that, I was also pleasantly surprised when my trainee

teachers suggested using other types of plants apart from the usual

green beans. Some groups proposed using vegetable seeds, corn seeds and

even fully grown potted plants. This was something different for me and

I encouraged them to do so. At the same time, it gave me the excitement

of covering new areas which I had not experienced myself.

I spent over three hours with them planning their investigations

and then left it to them to implement their investigations in their own

time and place that they themselves decided. Some of the groups carried

out their investigations in their dorms, homes and even their

classrooms.

I suggested to them that they were to post their science reports

as they were carrying it out. This was an innovation for me. I called

this an ‘e-report’. This eliminated the need to print the reports out

and make an appointment to see me personally. I suggested to them that

they could take digital photos of the progress and paste them on their

e-reports as proof of the investigation being carried out. I did not

specify the format for them to use. They could use either Word Documents

or PowerPoint slides to present their reports. I could open up the

reports and respond to their continuous observations and data. I had

high expectations that the reports would be progressive in stages and

increase interactivity outside classes. Did this happen?

iii. Instruments and Methods of Analysis

I recorded my own observations and reflections during the whole

process of the research. I also got my students to write their

reflections based on some prompting, open-ended questions. I looked

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through their e-reports and the interaction that went on in the forums,

chats and postings on the website. All these were analysed using

qualitative methods to look for patterns and significant points.

Findings

i. The Fertile Soil of Process and Not Just Fruits of The Product for

Learning Science

One of my initial desire and aspiration in doing on-line learning

in the context of a science investigation was that I wanted to monitor

the process of science investigation so that I could give continual

feedback on the progress of their test. This I found was easier said

than done. I discovered that my trainees tend to self-censor their

progress. This self-censorship inclined towards reporting only their

success rather than their failures or difficulties.

I discovered this during the early stages of my research when

after a period of time whereby I still did not receive any posting on

the website, I decided to have an impromptu time of monitoring the

progress of their science investigation during my face-to-face

interaction with them.

One of the first groups that presented said that they had already

started the investigation but they faced two problems. The first was

that their seeds got “drowned” in water when they used cotton wool. That

was because the cotton wool could not absorb the amount of water that

was poured in every day, thus resulting in a “flooded” situation. So

they changed the use of cotton wool to soil. But that led to their

second problem: some snails came and ate up their seedlings! When I

asked them whether they documented what happened, they said they had

not.

This showed that they did not deem failure cases as worthy of

reporting. Such viewpoints would of course jeopardize the “monitoring”

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process because it could only be effective if I knew clearly their

challenges and failures. Only then could I give suggestions and “guide

by their side.” If they self-select only to report what they consider as

“success” and left out the rest, the on-line monitoring would be

rendered useless. Therefore, I told them that what has happened was

important for their learning and important for my monitoring. I said

that I was more interested in the process rather than just in the final

product!

Another group brought their seedlings to class and showed us. They

were testing whether fertilizer helped in the growth of seedlings.

Initial observation by them indicated the seedlings with water only had

begun to sprout but the seedlings that had fertilizer added to the water

had not! So, they were wondering what went wrong since they were

expecting the seedlings with fertilizer to grow even better. The cotton

wool for the container with fertilizer was yellow and there were

laughter all around when others in the class joked teasingly that the

toxic organic fertilizer that looked like urine was too potent! The

group wanted to give up and start again. I told them to be patient and

keep recording their findings. Again this group did not deem it

important enough to document their initial “failure”.

I recorded this perceived shortcoming in my reflection after the

class:

This showed the problem of documentation. The prevailing perspective fordocumentation is to give the final report of “success”. Thus “failure” was not deemedworthy enough to record. This is the mind-set that I had to break and encounter. I haveto emphasise that I am interested to keep track of their progress. (NKC_26 Mac 2008)

Nevertheless, after the interaction I noticed that the two groups

were more at ease to report their “failures”. The first group in their

later reports did not self-censor some unforeseen “failures” like the

one below:

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Picture 12 :I noticed that every tim e I water the 2nd and 3rd specim en, the water leaks out from the plastic.

Water leaks out from the plastic

Picture 12 :I noticed that every tim e I water the 2nd and 3rd specim en, the water leaks out from the plastic.

Water leaks out from the plastic

The second group was even more explicit about reporting their

“failure” as their earlier hypothesis that fertilizer helps in the

growth of seedlings had to be rejected because the results of their test

showed that the seeds did not sprout at all! They proceeded to report it

just as they observed even though it went against their initial

prediction. Nevertheless, it was a good learning situation on the

process of science investigation as indicated by the reflection of the

members of the group:

From this investigation, I found that the result we have is different from our first opinion.It is totally different which the seeds without fertilizer grow faster and show a positiveresult. It makes me think again why this thing can be happened because in my priorknowledge, fertilizer can make the plants grow faster and better. It changes myperception on the fertilizer which the purpose of it is not only to make the plants growbetter, it also can kill the plants if the fertilizer amount is too much or the kind offertilizer not suitable for certain plants. (SIT_Reflection)

First things that I learnt are that we cannot use blindly any types of fertilizer on plants.Some of the fertilizer is meant for certain plants. I just discovered that the fertilizer thatour group used actually for flower. No wonder that the seeds cannot grow. Thesubstance in the fertilizer some how affected the seeds. Next things that I discovered arethat we also cannot use fertilizer in the early stage of planting. It will produce anenvironment that unstable for the seeds to start growing. (RAM_Reflection)

In the teaching of science, all too often, we give a wrong

impression of what the nature of science actually is. The way we conduct

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experiments with our students is often according to the recipe method.

The recipe method is when students are given a set of fixed instructions

to follow from beginning to the end much like a recipe for cooking. If

they followed the instructions correctly they should see the desired

results. This process that yielded results in an almost mechanical way,

usually during a one-hour double period, gives a rather “fairy tale”

view of the process of doing science which is a far cry from the actual

intricacies and reality of doing science. One trainee reflected this

way:

There were two things that made this investigation different from all previous scientificexperiments that I have conducted many years ago when I was still studying in asecondary school. The first thing that occurred to me was that this investigation tookquite a long time to complete as compared to a typical scientific experiment, whichusually can be completed within an hour or so…(PITY_reflect)

Therefore, science educators fail to show the true nature of

science which is often wrought in uncertainties until some measure of

confidence is yielded through rigorous testing over a period of time

that varies from days to years. Even then, it is never with absolute

certainty, until the test is repeated to ensure rigorous testing.

I learnt that years of undergoing such experiments in school tend

to mold learners into a mindset that values the product and undermines

the process. That is why, in future undertakings of science e-

investigation, I must begin by breaking this mindset and explicitly

emphasis the importance of the process including reporting all

uncertainties, challenges and failures – these are fertile soil for the

learning of science.

Thus, it was heartening to read that the teacher trainees

appreciated the value of the process as they expressed it in their own

way:

Compared to science investigations that I have done in the past, this one felt more real tome. I get to have a hands-on experience to how it really works rather than read it from

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the book. Another thing that made me a little bit reluctant was the responsibility involved. This science project needed at least a week to see results. It requires someone tomonitor it throughout the experiment. I learned not to believe in everything the book tellsyou. You must experience it yourself…I like the fact that this experiment focuses more on the process rather than result. [KEY_reflection]

I never did any progressive experiment before. Previously I only did a one-time experiment which I can get the result at the end of the experiment on the day itself. However, through this science investigation, I experienced an experiment which required more intensive observation and took longer period of time. Also more care towards the object was needed in order for the experiment to succeed.[ONE_reflection]

ii. The Hurdles of Using ICT

When I discovered the CLAROLINE Webpage Support for Teachers which

conveniently provided an available template that could be used almost

immediately to initiate an online learning environment with very little

technical knowledge for setting up a webpage, I thought that I had

discovered the panacea for e-learning. It was so convenient since I did

not need to spend many hours to set up a webpage and learn all the

intricacies of administrating such a page. The convenience was real and

indeed helpful. But I had not anticipated the difficulties and the many

hurdles that arose with the use of ICT in e-learning.

The first misconception that I had was that the trainees who grew

up in an ICT culture will be able to fit into this orientation with the

greatest of ease. After all they should be used to websites, uploading

and downloading files with information, chatting, forums and blogging.

Therefore, I did not make any clear effort to provide detailed

instructions on how to use the website.

If a slow “dinosaur” like me can learn the CLAROLINE environment

by trial and error, I thought that my supposedly ICT savvy trainees

should have no problem maneuvering the ins and outs of the website. This

assumption proved to be wrong. On the contrary, I had to almost show

them literally all that is needed to use the website.

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I learnt that I need to expose them explicitly on how to use the

website. I had to back track and show them how to use the website step-

by-step. It did not help that I myself was on a sharp learning curve on

how to use the website’s template and different link areas. Every time

they came up with a problem, I had to go back and try to solve it. The

positive thing about this was that I learnt a lot more about the

website.

The trainees’ reflection also indicated that they found it a

challenge to learn how to access and use the website with the different

but relevant ICT skills as the following comments indicated:

Basically this is the first time I (am) using internet to submit my report. This techniqueactually really improve my understanding to technology especially internet. I learnt lot ofthings to improve my ICT capabilities. I learnt a lot of software that maybe before these Inever heard about it. (RAM_reflection)

Since this web site is still new to me, I am still in the process of getting to familiarize withthe menu in the web pages. So far I am satisfied with what the web site can offer me.(ONE_reflection)

At first, when I was given this assignment, I was shocked and worried that I might not beable to complete on time. This is because of the short time frame given and I am notreally good in computer literacy. The task given need to be uploaded in CLAROLE ONLINE(sic); therefore, I have no confident in finishing this project in time. However, withproper guidance and help from both my dearest lecturers and fellows trainees. Thisproject not only requires us to attain the report but also to be IT literate and able tocommunicate online and to do online reporting as well…I have to admit that I am notreally good in IT or computer; therefore, I am having a little struggle in uploading andpreparing this project. However, I am glad that through this fruitful project, I manageto learn more about it and experiencing new idea using computer and IT.(FUNKY_reflection)

Such outlook could also have contributed to the very slow uptake

to the use of the website. Usage was unexpectedly low except for the

downloading of electronic files used in my face-to-face interaction with

the students together with the extra notes that I wanted to pass on to

them. The opportunity to stay in touch with the lecturer was not by

itself a strong enough incentive to get involved in the website’s

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connectivity. In fact, I reached a point when I wondered whether the

managing of the website was worth the effort because there was very

little input and feedback from the trainees themselves.

It was during one of those times of vacillation that I sent out

the following message to all my trainees expressing my frustration and

the possibility of closing down the website. I wrote about this

struggle:

After several attempts to get replies from the students and failing, I sent out an email and posted an announcement that if the website failed in maintaining connectivity, then it is better not to carry on. So far only a small number of students actually posted files and thoughts. Is the website merely useful as a place to post my files so that the studentscan access and download? Is that the only value that this website has? Connectivity has to be more than that! (NKC_25 April 2008)

After posting that announcement, the response started to trickle in

either by sms, email or verbal feedback. That was when I started to

discover all the hurdles that they also faced in keeping connected

through the website. These were some of the hurdles and limitations that

were expressed by the trainees:

They did not know how to upload files on the website.

When they tried to upload the files which contained electronic

pictures (thus making the files to be quite large), they found

that the CLAROLINE website did not provide sufficient storage

space for that purpose. This snagged up the whole process.

It was not always easy to get on-line to access the website

because of limited connectivity on campus.

These challenges were not anticipated by me. My assumptions of the

level of computer ICT competency among the young generation of teacher

trainees need to be moderated. The next time, I have to diagnose the ICT

competency of the trainees so that the introductory session to the use

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of the website could be suited to their level. The other challenges of

ICT can only be tackled specifically.

iii. The Hugely Popular E-Report

The use of e-report received rave reviews from the trainees. Most

found that the flexibility and the economical nature of sending the e-

report for their science investigation and course work was a welcome

novelty. In most other course work, a lot of paper was used to print the

many drafts to be shown to the lecturer before finally settling on the

final product to be handed in which also involved reprinting and

presenting in a nicely bound format. Students gave these positive

feedback about the e-report:

The process is more on ICT exposure. I found that it was a new practice and it was quiteconvenient as it is very accessible, not costly, energy and time-saving. The collaborationwent smooth and are much more easy compared to traditional way. Besides, it ispaperless and does not consume much work. (MARS_reflection)

…the Claroline website used during our science investigation project..In a way it is a goodand convenient way of reaching out to all users. One can save on paper and ink as it isvirtually a paperless tool. I find the ability to contact the administrator of this website atanytime and at anywhere to be extremely useful. (PITY_reflection)

By doing the e-report, I find it is faster to communicate and get feedback from the lecturer. Plus it saves the usage of paper and storage area. It is also convenient because we can send the report at any time and anywhere that has an internet connection. (ONE_reflection)

I felt very excited in doing this science project because this is first time that I have to submit the report via on-line. In my point of view, e-report will give benefit to us for example we can save our time, money and also faster compare than before. (WANT_reflection)

The flexible format of the e-report was also appreciated by the

trainees. They could put the report in the form of slides using

PowerPoint or Word documents. This enabled them to be creative in their

presentations.

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I was personally extremely pleased with their use of digital

pictures which made the reports more “real” and “believeable”. It was

concrete evidence that they did carry out the test and made their

progressive observations. The pictures definitely helped me to “see” the

investigation in their different stages as if I was with them. ‘A

picture speaks a thousand words’ became true for me as I read through

their e-reports.

After reading their report, I could feedback to them. I did this

by typing my comments in red and sent it back to them by e-mail. Many of

them improved on their reports according to the feedback and sent it

back to me. The reports continued to be improved with each feedback. The

final report also was in electronic form and I did not require any hard

copy. All in all, the reporting was practically paperless.

They also appeared to appreciate that it was more convenient and

flexible since they need not arrange for an appointment to meet me and

show me their progress:

First of all, I do not have to meet my lecturer face to face. Just as long I have the internetaccess I can update him with the progress of the experiment. Which really safe both ofour time, we do not have to wait until both of us are available to sit down and discuss.Unlike other reports, where we have to wait for the lecturers to finish checking ALL of thereports, I can get the lecturers comments and do the correction as soon as the lecturerfinishes checking the e-report. (LENA_reflection)

iv. The Website

The most useful thing about the website is getting the lecturer’s notes andannouncements/ assignments (LENA_reflection)

This comment from one of my trainees basically tells me the

general feeling that they saw the website as a useful tool for a one way

communication. I was personally not very satisfied for the website to

remain on this level. When I started, I had the desire and opinion that

connectivity should open the possibility for vibrant two-way

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communication. Alas, I must admit I did not achieve my desire. The

website provided so much more untapped possibilities for two-way

communication but that remained a dream.

The forums and chat was something that I felt could have been

better used. My mistake was that I waited for the students to post their

questions. One of my students’ comments made sense only in hindsight:

Other than that, I would like to suggest to post an interesting topic to the forum sectionfor the students to exchange ideas and views and on the same time, lecturers will justmonitor or add some ideas if they want to. This will increase the usage of this website byus. (LENA_reflection)

I should have taken more initiative to post matters of interest.

This being the first time I am doing this, I have much more to learn to

enhance the usage of the website and optimize the application of

connectivity. The busy and hectic lifestyle in the institute also

contributed to the low usage of the website as expressed by the

following trainee:

We were unable to utilize fully on the website. This was due to many activities we had toinvolve and limited internet connections in the institute…At this moment, we cannot seethe usage of the website other than downloading the notes but for long – term or infuture, in my point of view, the website is useful to keep in touch among my peers andthe lecturers. We able to share and exchange teaching experience, suggestions and mostimportantly, keeping in touch with our lecturers as I think I still need guidance in thisprofession. We may seek advices and maybe if there is a training course to updateourselves, it can be posted/advertised there. We may share new information or methodsin the education. (AL_reflection)

This trainee also expressed my own dissatisfaction with the low

level of interactivity. Such reductionist effect was expressed by Shale

and Garrison (1990):

Without interactions, instruction may simply become ‘passing on content as if it weredogmatic truth, and the cycle of knowledge acquisition, critical evaluation and

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knowledge validation, that is important for the development of higher-order thinkingskills, is nonexistent’ [Used by Hirumi (2006)].

Therefore, I decided to extend the pursuit of this connectivity

and interactivity in teacher training to the next cycle.

The Second Cycle of the Action Research in an Authentic Context

i. The Basis and Issues for the Second Cycle

Vygotsky (1978) espoused the role of dialogue and organized social

activity in the development of higher mental processes and learning in

his theory of social constructivism. As such, verbal thought, reasoning,

selective attention and reflection which comprise higher mental

functions originate in the context of social interaction (Ravenscroft &

McAlister, 2006).

In this second phase, I am attempting to transit the design of the

interface from functionality of the tasks – assignments, discussions,

grading – to the process of learning (knowledge construction) or the

context of learning (workplace, laboratory) (Sims and Hedberg, 2006).

This is because Herrington, Reeves and Oliver (2006) have argued that

the quality of interactivity is strongly related to the authenticity of

the tasks or activities. They suggest that the closer the learning task

is to the ‘real world’ tasks, the greater the quality of learning that

develops knowledge, skills and attitudes.

I hope to take this a step further designing an ongoing learning

through interactivity and connectivity in a real and authentic context.

I decided to use the next phase in their training which is the practicum

or teaching practice in school which is a compulsory component of their

course. As teachers in training, real experience of teaching is

absolutely vital for professional preparation.

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Lecturers usually invigilate their teaching through on-site visits

and observations. This involves discussions before the classes and after

the classes. However, the visits are sporadic and limited (ranging

between 4-5 times during a period of 12 weeks). In between visits, the

students are practically left on their own under the tutorship of

practicing teachers in their various schools they are attached to.

Connectivity and interactivity with lecturers are practically nil during

this period. I figure that on-line connectivity could fill this void of

interactivity.

I decided to learn to maximize the use of threaded discussion

boards, which are “messages displayed on the Web as they are received

and appended to the original message, showing hierarchical relationships

of messages” (Mishra and Juwah, 2006).

ii. Scratching Where it Itches

I did not wish to make this on-line forum a compulsory activity

and left it to free flow according to the initiative of the users. I

wanted to see how far the trainee teachers would go to use this threaded

discussion. As the practicum began, I started to notice that action

started almost immediately amongst some of the trainee teachers who were

encountering real life primary school students for the first time. The

challenge that was commonly faced by them was how to control their class

and handle discipline problems. This matter cropped up almost regularly

in the beginning phase of their teaching practice. It showed me that

when we scratch where it itches, they will respond. This was very much

in line with the findings of Herrington, Reeves and Oliver (2006) to the

close association of interest in on-line activities to real world tasks.

Here are some of the threaded discussions that reflect some rich

interactions over real situations and challenges.

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hello frens..........

Here i would like to share one of the technique that really works in controlling the class. As Dr. Ng has mentioned earlier, he has told me to use reward system in controlling class... i have tried it...and the result...it really works!!!!!! all the " monkey" students in my class (especially the weak class) really can sit down for one and a half hour listening to my T & L process!!!! it's really amazing!!!!!! so...frens...try it...i think it should work in your class too....

P.s: hopefully they will not get bored lah if this system carry onfor one month...what do you think? will they get bored?

Trainee 1 (9 July 2008)

++++++++++++

I'm glad to hear that the reward system is working for you. I further suggest that to keep the reward system fresh and interesting that you must give sincere compliments and praise to your students from time to time. Not all the time or your praise loses its value. Furthermore, let the team celebrate their progress from time to time. Ask the class to clap for the team that is leading. Also give a clap to the team that is most improved, so that even the trailing teams can be encouraged and publicly acknowledged. The last team should be given special attention from time to time by praising them when they win some points.

Continue trying and let us know what happens.

Hey, where are the rest of u? Nothing to share in this forum?

Blessings

Dr Ng (10 July 2008)

++++++++++++

i have tried the reward system in school and it's really work.... believe me..the nougthy students also will keep silents listening to your lesson even some of them are still walking around, when you are not notice them(must really keep an eye with these nougthystudents)..but...our voice and intonation must be loud and clear...lah.....Plus....must be very very strict..i notice that if

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we used different intonation, students really pay attention and "wake up" if the lesson is boring for that day...

Now i am trying to keep the system works and not make it boring bytrying out Dr. Ng's advice...give them praise......and "push" the weaker group....really hope can make it...it is becouse i have found out that some of the students start to make trouble again and do not afraid with the reward system....the big main problem is that their group members are still not so cooperative ("peer pressure")..still not enough....I also don't know why.....frens......if you have opinion..can you tell and share with me? do you think that the culture of the students....selfish?students comes from the wealthy family? or....what ya??????   thanks.

Trainee 1 (11 July 2008)

++++++++++++

it is really good to hear that the rewards system is working to some extent. Keep trying different approaches and see how it goes.Keep us all informed about it...

Will let others respond to your question first....

Do not want to dominate the forum...

I do not have all the answers anyway...

God bless

Dr Ng (13 July 2008)

++++++++++++

Ok regarding the reward system... I have an opinion here.  I did the same for my Coorperative Learning group, u know what, the pupils like what u said lah.... a bit selfish... Those that are good tend to try to answer as many question as they want, and those slower or weaker pupils will not have the chance to answer. I tried out this method last Friday and its worked.  I set the rules that 1 pupil can only answer 1 time.  Therefore in a group, those who are good definitely they will give their answer first after that they will not have another chance to answer and these chances will be given to weaker students to answer.   I also allowed the better pupils to help their friends in answering so

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that they can achieve more points in their group.    Maybe you cantry this “Trainee 1”

Trainee 2 (20 July 2008)

++++++++++++

Thanks “Trainee 2” for your contribution and suggestion. That is really a good method. As the good students pass on their answers to those weaker in their group, they learn to be unselfish. This builds up team spirit. Well done in doing that.

Dr Ng (20 July 2008)

++++++++++++

Juwah (2006:248) wrote that “quality interactions lead to quality

experience”…and as Dewey had expressed the quality of the learning

experience is dependent on the initial and immediate appeal to the

learner.

Nevertheless, this fervour of discussion soon died down as they

learnt how to handle their classes better. By mid-way of their

practicum, the forum had again sunk to cold silence. A very clear lesson

for me is that connectivity and interactivity is only as useful as it

meets real needs. If the needs are not met in the on-line forum,

interest will soon fizzle out. I learnt that the successful use of

connectivity and interactivity is really quite dependent on how we

engineer its use to meet the needs of the users. I intentionally chose

not to engineer artificial needs or create external forces to whip up

interests in the threaded discussion.

As I look into the number of trainee teachers who were actively

involved in the on-line forums, I realized that this method of

interaction was still very much alien to them. In spite of the

proliferation of on-line chat groups and blogs, the usage in education

for my particular group of students had limited interest.

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Nevertheless, I personally enjoyed interacting with the trainee

teachers who had taken the time to post questions and to make

suggestions. The website served its purpose for them and I was quite

happy with the outcome. I had found one way to keep in touch with some

of them and had the opportunity to interact with them over real issues

that enriched my professional interest.

Conclusion in a Nutshell

I had started off this research with high hopes of the usefulness

of the on-line connectivity and interactivity but I must confess that it

did not meet my initial expectations. I discovered that it was difficult

to get high quality interactivity going in the website. My trainee

teachers did not take to it like a fish in water but rather more like a

cat forced to take a bath! They were quite content to use the website

only when they had a need or were forced to. Face-to-face interaction

was still their preferred mode. Connectivity was more a tool of

convenience for resource rather than for interactivity. Nevertheless,

authentic activities and real needs help to bring life into the on-line

interactivity but sustaining its appeal was difficult and challenging.

Skillful scaffolding was needed to bolster the use of on-line

connectivity and interactivity. Its usefulness is dependent on our

initial intentions and on the learners’ interest. Yet, I only sense that

I have begun to skim the surface of on-line connectivity and

interactivity in the professional development of beginning teachers. The

depths of meaningfulness and quality of learning through on-line

interactions have vast potentials and frontiers that I have yet to

explore.

References

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Anderson, T. (2006) ‘Interaction in learning and teaching on the

Educational Semantic Web’, in Juwah, C. (ed), Interactions in Online

Education: Implications for Theory and Practice, Oxon: Routledge, 141-155.

Berg, Z.L. (1999) ‘Interaction in post-secondary Web-based learning’,

Educational Technology, 39(1), 5-11.

EC (2000). Communication from the Commission: E-Learning - Designing

tomorrow’s education. Brussels: European Commission in Wikipedia,

Electronic Learning http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_education

on 2 April 2008.

Fulford, C.P. and Zhang, S. (1993) ‘Perceptions of interaction: the

critical predictor in distance education’, American Journal of Distance

Education, 7(3), 8-21.

Herrington, J., Reeves, T.C. and Oliver, R. (2006) ‘A model of authentic

activities for on-line learning’, in Juwah, C. (ed), Interactions in

Online Education: Implications for Theory and Practice, Oxon: Routledge, 91-

101.

Hirumi, Atsusi (2006). “Analysing and designing e-learning

interactions”, in Juwah, C. (ed), Interactions in Online Education:

Implications for Theory and Practice, Oxon: Routledge, 46-71.

Juwah, C. (Editor). (2006). Implication in On-Line Education:

Implications for Theory and Practice. Oxen: Routledge.

Mayes, J.T. (2006) ‘Theoretical perspectives on interactivity in e-

learning’, in Juwah, C. (ed), Interactions in Online Education: Implications

for Theory and Practice, Oxon: Routledge, 9-26.

Mayes, J.T. and Fowler, C.J.H. (1999) ‘Learning technology and

usability: A framework for understanding courseware’, Interacting With

Computers, 11. 485-97.

Mishra, S. and Juwah, C. (2006) ‘Interactions in online discussions: A

pedagogical perspective’, in Juwah, C. (ed), Interactions in Online

Education: Implications for Theory and Practice, Oxon: Routledge, 156-170.

Moore, M. (1989) ‘Three types of interaction’, American Journal of Distance

Education, 3(2), 1-6.

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Ravenscroft, A. and McAlister, S. (2006) ‘Designing interaction as a

dialogue game’, in Juwah, C. (ed), Interactions in Online Education:

Implications for Theory and Practice, Oxon: Routledge, 75-90.

Sims, R. and Hedberg, J. (2006) ‘Encounter theory: A model to enhance

online communication, interaction and engagement’, in Juwah, C.

(ed), Interactions in Online Education: Implications for Theory and Practice, Oxon:

Routledge, 27-45.

Vygotsky, L. (1978) Mind in Society: The Development of Higher

Psychological Processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Wagner, E.D. (1994) ‘In support of a functional definition of

interaction’, American Journal of Distance Education, 8(2), 6-29.

Welsh, P. (2008). Article, ‘A case of technolust: Can schools overdose

on technology?’, The Star, Education, Sunday 2 March 2008, pg.E2.

Dr. Ng Kee Chuan, PhD.

Head of Science Department, IPGM Kampus Gaya

e-mail: drngkeechuan@gmail.com

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