Wiki Resources/Teaching Philosophy

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Why A Teaching Philosophy For E-learning?
In discussing the need for a teaching philosophy of elearning, it may be important not to confuse the process of sharing information with the process of teaching. They are entirely separate mechanisms, even though they can appear to be identical because of the shared functionality of the website platform. As an illustration, if I simply hand a book to someone, then I am technically sharing information, but am I teaching? The book may contain all the content the student requires, but I have given no guidance as to how that content relates to the student’s needs. The ‘medium and the message’, while related, are not identical.

Establishing an open source wiki that is designed for networked learning is not in itself an educational process. If anyone in a learning community can create and edit content, the system of learning and knowledge creation can quickly settle into simple forms of thinking, such as recollection of facts and knowledge, rather than higher order thinking skills of analysis and interpretation. In order for Higher Order Thinking Skills to be integrated into any wiki, a system of learning should preferably be incorporated into the design of that wiki. This system is a philosophy that orders information based on educational principles, not web design—in other words, a pedagogical design that combines a philosophical design for learning and the physically-designed process of learning.

Two assumptions can be made about almost any elearning community. Those participating share a common interest, and they want to learn together both as a group and from within the group. In order to facilitate this goal, the content that appears on the wiki should be relevant and have a shape, and achieving that necessitates filtering and organising that content, so that the wiki becomes an effective form of knowledge management based on a recognition of the participants’ cognitive processes.

To sum up: Knowledge filtering and management should reflect a systematic approach based on educational principles that go beyond the physical design of elearning platforms. Such an approach can be guided, if not formulated, through a teaching philosophy.

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For examples of Teaching Philosophy Statements please go to:

http://ucat.osu.edu/portfolio/philosophy/elizallen_phil.htm