Introduction

Teaching and Learning with OnLine Conferencing: Introduction:

My story begins at OISE/UT in the fall of 1994.

My first course for an EdD in Curriculum: Teaching and Learning was called Educational Research and it was delivered online in a sytem called parti. My most recent experience in conferencing is with Web Knowledge Forum for an OISE/UT course called Computers in Education.

In this report, I will revisit the experiences of communicating using online conferencing systems, through a variety of systems both at OISE/UT as a learner and at Seneca College where I teach. As a result of my involvement in graduate studies in computers applications, I began teaching SMS333/MRK530, Computer Applications in a computer lab. I began using online conferencing as an additional experience for my students.

I also joined a team of pioneers at Seneca who have developed courses for a certificate program called Designing Curriculum Using Technology which is delivered online. For the past year, I have been teaching the course I developed for this program, CTC203, Web-based Learning. This experience gives another perspective to my online conferencing profile.

I will briefly describe each system I have used (and in some cases, continue to use). I will relate how it was used and what my role was in the conference, either as learner or facilitator. I will give selected examples of my messages posted online in those conferencing systems. Finally, I will summarize my reflections on the online conferencing process as I have experienced it.

Thanks to Bob Marchessault for the image map on the main page. The other graphics are by me.