Abstract
THE PROLIFERATION OF WEB COURSEWARE TOOLS has yet to match the pedagogical needs of higher education. Just how much do Web tools foster the development of student thinking skills, collaboration, and active learning? Before pointing to various ways to embed such pedagogical techniques in on-line instruction, some of the costs and benefits related to the use of these tools are documented. Many of the benefits are made apparent within a ten level Web integration continuum as well as from the clarification of potential on-line interactions between instructors, students, and practitioners. To further illustrate these benefits, ideas related to teaching on the Web from a learner-centered point of view are described. Next, ways to embed critical and creative thinking as well as cooperative learning or teamwork in standard and customized Web course development tools are detailed. Sample Web courses and tools developed at Indiana University are presented along with a review of several types of Web courseware and conferencing systems. Finally, key pedagogical implications and recommendations for the near future are outlined.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bonk, C. J. (1998, April).Pedagogical activities on the “Smartweb”: Electronically mentoring undergraduate educational psychology students. Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association annual convention, San Diego, CA.
Bonk, C. J., & Cummings, J. A. (1998). A dozen recommendations for placing the student at the centre of Web-based learning.Educational Media International, 35(2), 82–89.
Bonk, C. J., Cummings, J. A., Hara, N., Fischler, R. B., & Lee, S. M. (1999, April).A ten level Web integration continuum for educational psychology: New resources, activities, partners, courses, and markets. Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association annual meeting, Montreal.
Bonk, C. J., & Cunningham, D. J. (1998). Searching for learner-centered, constructivist, and sociocultural components of collaborative educational learning tools. In C. J. Bonk, & K. S. King (Eds.),Electronic collaborators: Learner-centered technologies for literacy, apprenticeship, and discourse (pp. 25–50). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Bonk, C. J., & King, K. S. (Eds.). (1998).Electronic collaborators: Learner-centered technologies for literacy, apprenticeship, and discourse. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Bonk, C. J., Malikowski, S., Angeli, C., & East, J. (1998). Web-based case conferencing for preservice teacher education: Electronic discourse from the field,Journal of Educational Computing Research, 19(3), 267–304.
Bonk, C. J., Medury, P. V., & Reynolds, T. H. (1994). Cooperative hypermedia: The marriage of collaborative writing and mediated environments.Computers in the Schools, 10(1/2); 79–124.
Bonk, C. J., & Reynolds, T. H. (1997). Learner-centered web instruction for higher-order thinking, teamwork, and apprenticeship. In B. H. Khan (Ed.),Web-based instruction (pp. 167–178). Educational Technology Publications.
Bonk, C. J., & Smith, G. S. (1998). Alternative instructional strategies for creative and critical thought in the accounting curriculum.Journal of Accounting Education, 16(2), 261–293.
Chong, S. M. (1998). Models of asynchronous computer conferencing for collaborative learning in large college classes. In C. J. Bonk, & K. S. King (Eds.),Electronic collaborators: Learner-centered technologies for literacy, apprenticeship, and discourse (pp. 157–182). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Cummings, J. A. (1998, April).Promoting academic discourse with the web. Paper to be presented at the American Educational Research Association annual convention, San Diego, CA.
Cummings, J. A., Bonk, C. J. & Jacobs, B. (1999).Twenty-First century syllabi: Dynamic tools for promoting interactivity. Unpublished manuscript, Indiana University at Bloomington.
Davis, G. A. (1992).Creativity is forever (3rd ed.). Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt Publishing.
Duffy, T. M., Dueber, B., & Hawley, C. L. (1998). Critical thinking in a distributed environment: A pedagogical base for the design of conferencing systems. In C. J. Bonk, & K. S. King (Eds.),Electronic collaborators: Learner-centered technologies for literacy, apprenticeship, and discourse (pp. 51–78). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Hara, N., Bonk, C. J., & Angeli, C., (in press).Content analyses of on-line discussion in an applied educational psychology course. Instructional Science.
Harasim, L., Hiltz, S. R., Teles, L., & Turoff, M. (1995).Learning networks: A field guide to teaching and learning online. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Harris, J. (1997). Content and intent shape function: Designs for web-based educational telecomputing activities.Learning and Leading With Technology, 24(5), 17–20.
Johnson, D. W., & Johnson, R. T. (1992). Encouraging thinking through constructive controversy. In N. Davidson & T. Worsham (Eds.),Enhancing thinking through cooperative learning (pp. 120–137). New York: Teachers College Press.
Kagan, S. (1992).Cooperative learning. San Juan Capistrano, CA: Kagan Cooperative Learning.
Kang, I. (1998). The use of computer-mediated communication: Electronic collaboration and interactivity. In C. J. Bonk, & K. S. King (Eds.),Electronic collaborators: Learner-centered technologies for literacy, apprenticeship, and discourse (pp. 315–337). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
McLellan, H. (1998). The Internet as a virtual learning community.Journal of Computing in Higher Education, 9(2), 92–112.
Oakes, C. (1996). First grade online.Learning and Leading With Technology, 24(1), 37–39.
Owston, R. D. (1997). The World Wide Web: A technology to enhance teaching and learning?Educational Researcher, 26(2), 27–33.
Rowley, D. J., Lujan, H. D., & Dolence, M. G. (1998).Strategic choices for the academy: How demand for lifelong learning will re-create higher education. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
Wagner, E. D., & McCombs, B. L. (1995). Learner-centered psychological principles in practice: Designs for distance education.Educational Technology, 35(2), 32–35.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Curt Bonk is an associate professor in the Learning, Cognition, and Instruction Program within the Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology at Indiana University (IU). Currently, he is a Faculty Fellow for Research at the Center for Excellence in Education, as well as a core member of the Center for Research on Learning and Technology located in the IU School of Education. As a former corporate controller and CPA, he is interested in enhancing college and K-12 pedagogy with technological supports, scaffolded instruction, and alternative instructional strategies that he seldom observed in business school. His other professional interests include nontraditional learning, distance education, thinking in a social context, collaborative writing technologies, and teleapprenticing preservice teachers. He recently edited: “Electronic Collaborators: Learner-Centered Technologies for Literacy, Apprenticeship, and Discourse” published by Erlbaum and was technology contributor for the 9th edition of Houghton Mifflin’s educational psychology textbook,Psychology Applied to Teaching by Jack Snowman and Robert Biehler. Dr. Bonk holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in educational psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a B.A. in accounting from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
Vanessa Dennen is a Ph.D. candidate in Instructional Systems Technology at Indiana University and a visiting assistant professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo. She teaches both traditional and distance education courses, with extensive use of Web-based conferencing in both formats. Her research interests include computer-mediated communication patterns and the design of Web-based learning environments. In addition, Vanessa is the Director of the Radio-Television-Film Division of the National High School Institute at Northwestern University. She holds an M.S. in Educational Psychology from Indiana University and an M.S. in Instructional Design from Syracuse University.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bonk, C.J., Dennen, V. Teaching on the web: With a little help from my pedagogical friends. J. Comput. High. Educ. 11, 3–28 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02940840
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02940840