Innovation Profile 069

Who is the teacher?

Learning environments are available which allow pupils to communicate with experts about the topic they are studying. The expert adults involved will bring to their task their own ideas about the best ways to stimulate interest and to provoke learning.

In this situation, who is the teacher? If the online expert is taking the role of ‘teacher’, when they respond to questions, what is the role of the class teacher?

Though some schools have set up ‘ask the expert’ systems individually, for many schools doing this has been too difficult. Granada Learning have responded to this problem with ‘Events-Wise’, a new learning environment that structures creative writing, role play and analytical activities, and enables pupils to communicate with experts while the topic is being studied. They can also share ideas with pupils in other schools. See http://www.events-wise.com for details and demos. The service is available for younger and older school pupils, with varied topics appropriate for each.

Bringing the outside world into the classroom, with the (virtual) presence of other adults and pupils in other schools is very motivating and can stretch pupils’ thinking. They are able to pursue their own lines of enquiry and can interact with others who are passionate about the subject.

An online expert should not be expected to provide just factual answers, which might more cost-effectively be found in books or on the web. The expert may probe for the pupil’s thoughts, or extend the debate, or point the pupil in research directions, or propose analogies and ways of thinking about the issue. The expert may take any of the different pedagogical approaches that a teacher could adopt in question and answer work with pupils.

The class teacher will need to complement the approach of the expert, when the teacher works with the pupil as they react to the answer. The teacher in this role may be a mentor, or a co-learner, or a research assistant, or may move from teaching the topic to teaching about thinking skills.

From their first introduction into classrooms computers have made it much easier for teachers and pupils to escape from the (often stereotyped) roles of ‘teacher’ and ‘pupil’. The result is much more complex pedagogy but a much improved experience for both teacher and pupil.

The Granada Learning Company Profile on our web site will give you an overview of this company and a list of other Innovation Profiles connected with it.

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If you know of examples of innovative use of ICT-for-learning that others would be interested in, please email innovations@eep-edu.org

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