WEB 101: Implementing New Ways to Learn and Teach

As a way of doing this, I'd like to share the following lists of indicators of what might be called "transformative communication."  The term and the thoughts below regarding this are adapted and drawn from "Transformative Communication as a Stimulus to Web Innovation," by Lorraine Sherry and Bernt Wilson, a chapter in the book Web Based Instruction, edited by Badrul H. Khan.
 

Key Indicators of Transformative Communication

• The participants teach the facilitators things they didn't know before about the technology or about the content.



• The participants go beyond the textbook or the lecture to reveal differences of opinion among the experts.



• More emphasis is placed upon finding support or backing for a position than on conforming to authority.



• Participants are calling the facilitators' attention to valuable learning resources.



• Participants are having conversations with knowledgeable people the facilitators don't know.



• While the facilitators help establish expectations and set a clear assessment standard, the participants collaboratively guide much of their own learning.



• The facilitators find themselves saving participant's work - not merely as examples of student work, but as content resources for future reference.