Academic Writing Development

Friday, December 3, 2021

Insights into Online Teaching and Learning

Sandra Fabbri

Department of Education, Universidad CAECE

Lengua Inglesa Especializada I: EAP

Mg. Verónica Pintos and Mg. Melina Barbero

November 22nd, 2021

Useful Information and Advice on Online Teaching and Learning Outline:

Routledge. (n.d.) The theory and practice of online teaching and learning: a guide for academic professionals. Routledge and Taylor & Francis Group.

https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/tandfbis/rt-files/docs/FreeBooks+Opened+Up/Theory_and_Practice_of_Online_FB_final.pdf

Purpose: To provide an overview of the characteristics, advantages and other aspects of online teaching and learning.
Thesis statement: Educators must become IT literate and use technology in education to exploit the advantages of online teaching and learning and benefit participants.
Audience: Educators

Introduction

Explaining how to use the book
Summarizing its content

II. Chapters excerpted from six online Routledge books

A. Chapter 1 Describing the main features and advantages of online teaching

1. Examining educators’ fundamental digital skills

B. Chapter 2 Specifying characteristics and assets of online teaching and learning

1. Comparing synchronous and asynchronous learning

2. Giving advice on online course preparation, delivering and, time-management

Chapter 3 Examining several aspects of online collaborative activities

1. Analysing their advantages, purpose, characteristics, design and use

Chapter 4 Presenting an online learning classification system

1. Using four dimensions: context, design features, implementation and, outcomes

Chapter 5 Analyzing the advantages of reusing online open resources

1. Highlighting the reuse of open learning in education, work and, life.

Chapter 6 Proposing the use of technology to enhance education

1. Describing the advantages of using technology in education

2. Highlighting the importance of mastering technology as educators

Expert Views on Online Teaching and Learning

Taylor & Francis Group. (n.d.). The theory and practice of online teaching and learning: a guide for academic professionals. Routledge and Taylor & Francis Group. https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/tandfbis/rt-files/docs/FreeBooks+Opened+Up/Theory_and_Practice_of_Online_FB_final.pdf

The authors of the six chapters of this book provide a general overview of online learning and teaching. Ko & Rossen (n.d.) analyse the main characteristics, basic requirements and advantages of online teaching and learning. Vai & Sosulski (n.d.) also evaluate different aspects of it and give time-saving advice on the design, implementation and, delivery of online courses. Salmon (n.d.) explains the development and use of collaborative online activities to enhance online learning. Means et al. (n.d.) present an online learning classification system framework based on context, design features, implementation, and intended outcomes. Littlejohn & Pegler (n.d.) examine the advantages of reusable digital open resources for learning and their extensive reach. Laurillard (n.d.) emphasizes the importance of the use of technology in education and digital literacy for educators. Despite its limited information, this book offers helpful information and advice and, invites the reader to gain further knowledge on the matter.

Knowledgeable Perspectives on Online Teaching and Learning Academic Public Summary

The theory and practice of online teaching and learning: a guide for academic professionals (Routledge, n.d.) is an online book that consists of an introduction and six chapters written by online experts who analyze the different aspects of online teaching and learning.

Essentially, Ko & Rossen (n.d.), the authors of chapter one, compare online and face-to-face teaching, recommend educators to do online courses to improve their digital literacy and specify the minimum computer skills and equipment an educator needs to teach online.

In addition to that, in chapter 2, Vai & Sosulski (n.d.) compare teaching online and onsite, delve into synchronous and asynchronous learning and the requirements to design, deliver and manage an online course and give advice on time management.

Furthermore, in chapter 3, Salmon (n.d) explains the use and advantages of collaborative digital activities. She also describes their purpose, design and participants and gives examples of participants’ experiences.

Additionally, Means et al. (n.d.), the authors of chapter 4, present a classification system framework to describe online learning based on four dimensions: context, design features, implementation and, intended outcomes.

Moreover, in chapter 5, Littlejohn & Pegler (n.d.) examine the advantages of reusing open digital resources in education, at work and in life and emphasize that their use is extended to many kinds of contexts.

In addition, in chapter 6, Laurillard (n.d.) proposes that educators become IT literate to be able to teach using technology and work collaboratively to enhance education and adds that this will be possible when educators master technology and know the possibilities it offers.

In conclusion, The theory and practice of online teaching and learning: a guide for professionals (Routledge, n.d.) summarizes the main aspects and advantages of online education and gives recommendations and advice to be taken into account by educators.

References

Routledge. (n.d.). The theory and practice of online teaching and learning: A guide for academic professionals. Routledge and Taylor & Francis Group. https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/tandfbis/rt-files/docs/FreeBooks+Opened+Up/Theory_and_Practice_of_Online_FB_final.pdf

Vai, M., & Sosulski, K., (n.d.). Orientation to online teaching and learning. In Taylor & Francis Group (Ed.), The theory and practice of online teaching and learning. A guide for academic professionals (pp.16-27). Routledge.

Advances in Online Teaching and Learning

Natalia Calveiro

Sandra Fabbri

Florencia Menendez

Paula Santucci

Department of Education, Universidad CAECE

Lengua Inglesa Especializada I: EAP

Mg. Verónica Pintos and Mg. Melina Barbero

November 11th, 2021

The book The Theory and Practice of Online Teaching and Learning: A Guide for Academic Professionals (n.d.) compiles six works written by experts of the growing field of technology. It provides valuable guidelines and information about online teaching and learning. Each chapter covers different issues related to online teaching. The aim of this paper is to provide evidence of the convenient and helpful advice on online teaching and learning provided by this work and also of its limitations.

The first chapter, Teaching Online: The Basics (Ko & Rossen, 2010), explains directly the basics of teaching online as regards differences between online and face-to-face classes, training, qualifications required and benefits. According to Ko and Rossen, “...still scarce is the availability of reliable and effective training for online instructors” (2010, p.11). The fears but also the beneficial aspects of communicating online are highlighted. Nevertheless, the fears are not explained with proper examples. Thus, the authors should not have made use of an anecdote to illustrate the fact that not knowing someone face to face may be frightening and fears regarding online communication ought to have been exemplified.

The second chapter, Orientation to Online Teaching and Learning, is written by Vai & Sosulski (2011). The key points in this chapter are the characteristics of teaching online, pointing to the differences between synchronous and asynchronous learning as well as blended learning. In this instance, the authors should have provided more characteristics of the third type of learning. This chapter also offers a clear guidance for designing online classes referring to time and includes a reflection chart to give teachers a source of critical thinking that the author should have written at the end of the compilation for practicality.

The third chapter, E-tivities for Active Online Learning (Salmon, 2012), presents a dissection of the functions, benefits and participants of e-tivities, which are defined as “frameworks for enabling active and participative online learning” (Salmon, 2012, p.29). Not only does this chapter provide information on e-tivities but also shares experiences with them from both students and teachers, and their thoughts and opinions on them. However, there are no concrete examples of e-tivities, their construction or platforms to design or post them. Therefore, the author should have provided detailed examples of e-tivities, a step-by-step design guide and recommendations of online platforms for teachers to create this kind of activity.

The fourth chapter is The Varied Terrain of Online Learning (Means et al., 2014) where a set of dimensions is specified to classify online learning: context, design features, implementation, student-instructor ratio and intended outcomes. The authors subdivide each dimension and explain each of them in detail. Although this categorisation may be useful to classify online teaching methods, the authors do not explain a key issue: how to achieve that their typology is used extensively.

The fifth chapter, Reusing Open Resources for Learning (Littlejohn & Pegler, n.d.), states that Open Educational Resources (OERs) impact the learning process because they are free of charge and this allows them to be built upon to a large degree. They give the opportunity to reuse, remix resources or make something new with the creations of others. Despite the fact that the ideas expressed in this chapter about reusing open resources are worthwhile, the authors should have explained how to implement the development of these resources by creating or adapting social networks to the educational environment.

The sixth chapter, Teaching as a Design Science (Laurillard, 1969), depicts teaching as a science whose aim is to make the world better: a design science. This kind of science is aided by the constantly changing technology, and the book explores how the original purpose of technology was not to be used as a teaching tool but it was to take it and adapt it to help in education. Additionally, it mentions that although teachers may feel they are being left behind by technology, they have the option to acknowledge technology, harness it and exploit it for educational purposes.

To conclude, the book The Theory and Practice of Online Teaching and Learning: A Guide for Academic Professionals offers thought-provoking and useful information regarding online teaching and learning. It is a new field that is continuously changing and evolving, so educators must keep updated and knowledgeable in the use of technology and its wide variety of tools and applications. This not only benefits their practices but also enriches their online or face-to-face classes. Although the reading of this book is recommendable for teachers, it must be highlighted that the development of its contents is rather brief and it is necessary to complement its reading with other materials to gain thorough knowledge and put the theory into practice.

References

Taylor & Francis Group. (n.d.). The theory and practice of online teaching and learning: A guide for academic professionals. Routledge. https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/tandfbis/rt-files/docs/FreeBooks+Opened+Up/Theory_and_Practice_of_Online_FB_final.pdf

Ko, S., & Rossen, S. (n.d.). Teaching online: The basics. In Taylor & Francis Group (Ed.), The theory and practice of online teaching and learning: A guide for academic professionals (pp.7-15). Routledge. https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/tandfbis/rt-files/docs/FreeBooks+Opened+Up/Theory_and_Practice_of_Online_FB_final.pdf

Laurillard, D. (n.d.). Teaching as a design science. In Taylor & Francis Group (Ed.), The theory and practice of online teaching and learning: A guide for academic professionals (pp.56-60). Routledge. https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/tandfbis/rt-files/docs/FreeBooks+Opened+Up/Theory_and_Practice_of_Online_FB_final.pdf

Littlejohn, A., & Pegler, C. (n.d.) Reusing open resources for learning. In Taylor & Francis Group (Ed.), The theory and practice of online teaching and learning: A guide for academic professionals (pp.46-55). Routledge. https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/tandfbis/rt-files/docs/FreeBooks+Opened+Up/Theory_and_Practice_of_Online_FB_final.pdf

Means, B., Bakia, M., & Murphy, R. (n.d.). The varied terrain of online teaching. In Taylor & Francis Group (Ed.), The theory and practice of online teaching and learning: A guide for academic professionals (pp.39-45). Routledge. https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/tandfbis/rt-files/docs/FreeBooks+Opened+Up/Theory_and_Practice_of_Online_FB_final.pdf

Salmon, G. (n.d.). E-tivities for active online learning. In Taylor & Francis Group (Ed.), The theory and practice of online teaching and learning: A guide for academic professionals (pp.28-38). Routledge. https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/tandfbis/rt-files/docs/FreeBooks+Opened+Up/Theory_and_Practice_of_Online_FB_final.pdf

Vai, M., & Sosulski, K. (n.d.). Orientation to online teaching and learning. In Taylor & Francis Group (Ed.), The theory and practice of online teaching and learning. A guide for academic professionals (pp.16-27). Routledge. https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/tandfbis/rt-files/docs/FreeBooks+Opened+Up/Theory_and_Practice_of_Online_FB_final.pdf

Sunday, November 28, 2021

A Magnifying Glass on In-text Citations and References

Authors generally pursue excellence in their writings. Thus, the American Psychological Association (APA) has developed and published a manual that details a specific writing style and format for academic documents to aid better reading comprehension and to ensure transparency in communication: the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition (2020). The following essay will analyse the article Beyond Reflection: Teacher Learning as Praxis by Peter Hoffman-Kipp, Alfredo J. Artiles, and Laura López-Torres, published in 2003 in the journal Theory into Practice according to the rules that APA has established for in-text citations and reference pages on its 7th Edition.

Regarding in-text citation, APA (2020) established that writers must provide credit to the sources that influenced, provided information, or supported their works. Two formats can be used to paraphrase other authors’ ideas: Narrative and Parenthetical. In narrative citations, the author and the year of the publication being cited must be present, the author’s surname appears in the text and next to it, the year of publication is specified between parentheses. In parenthetical citations, both the author and the year appear in parentheses at the end of the sentence. However, if writers want to quote another author directly, not only do they have to provide the author, year, and page number of the quotation but also, they have to consider the number of words they wish to quote: if the quote contains 40 words or less, it is a short quotation, which has to be written between inverted commas. A quotation of 40 words or more is a block quotation, which has to start on a new line and with an indentation of 1.27 cm from the left margin.

The reference list, which must be ordered alphabetically by author’s surname, have their own page, with its heading is centred and in bold. To begin with, a hanging indent is used at the beginning of each reference and authors’ surnames are written first, followed by a comma, and their initials. If there is no author, the title of the work takes its position. Secondly, dates might take different forms but the most common is year only. In case that the publication has no date, n.d. (no date) must be written between parentheses. Thirdly, the title can follow two formats: if it is part of “a greater whole” (APA, 2020, p.291), the title does not have to be italicized or written between quotation marks and only the first word is capitalized. However, if it can stand alone, the writer does have to italicize it. Finally, as with titles, sources can fall into two categories: if it is a journal article or a chapter from a book, the source is the journal or the book along with any functional DOI or URL. However, if it stands alone, the source is the publisher of the work or wherever the source comes from, in addition to any functional DOI or URL. In the case of periodical sources, “provide the periodical title, volume number, issue number, and page range or article number” (APA, 2020, p.294). Unlike the 6th edition (2002) of the manual, locations are included only if the work cited is associated with a specific location, and it must include the city; province, state if necessary; and the country.

Concerning the analysis of the in-text citations and the reference list of the article it can be stated that some rules of APA (2020) guidelines are followed. As regards in-text citations, the authors of this article follow the indications established by APA (2020) . An example of a narrative citation is one about Vygotsky’s theory: “Vygotsky’s (1978) concept of the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) suggests…” (Hoffman-Kipp et al., 2003, p.251). In relation to parenthetical citation, an example of this is found in the first paragraph: “Reflection is generally treated as an isolated skill (Giroux, 1985; Lindsay & Mason, 2000)” (Hoffman-Kipp et al., 2003, p.248). The authors of this article apply the format of direct quotes of less than 40 words when referring to the meaning of prolepsis “‘...the representation or assumption of a future act…’ (Cole, 1999, p.89)” (Hoffman-Kipp et al., 2003, p.252).

However, errors in citation have been found. Firstly, a wrong citation is noticed when citing Freire’s theory as the comma after the author’s surname is omitted: “(Freire 1972, p. 96)” (Hoffman-Kipp et al., 2003, p.249a). Secondly, a confusing citation is observed in the following example: “Since Dewey (1933), teacher reflection has been seen as an important avenue for enhancing teacher labor (Schön, 1983; Sparks-Langer & Colton, 1991)” (Hoffman-Kipp et al., 2003, p.249b). For readers, it is not clear enough who the idea belongs to. The next example demonstrates the authors did not maintain the style chosen as they interchanged narrative citation but omitted the year and parenthetical citations at the end of the paragraph: “Engestrom explains…”; “(Engestrom et al., 1999)” (Hoffman-Kipp et al., 2003, p.250).

The reference list, despite its label being centred and in bold and its entries being alphabetically ordered, is neither displayed on a separate page or double-spaced. While following APA (2020), examples of incomplete reference entries can be found such as “Giroux, H. (1985). Teachers as transformative intellectuals. Social Education, 49 (5), 376-379.” (Hoffman-Kipp, 2003, p.254a) where the DOI or URL is missing. In addition to this, the following citation exemplifies how the author interchanges APA 6th (2002) and 7th editions (2020): “Cole, M. (1996). Cultural psychology. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.” (Hoffman-Kipp et al.,2003, p.254b).

To conclude, this text analysis reveals that the authors do not comply with the APA (2020) guidelines. Despite having applied some formats, many differences were found after comparing and contrasting this article and the theory summarized. An error has been noticed when citing in narrative and, in parenthetical citation, some guidelines are not applied as regards works with more than one author. It is utmost important to remember that according to APA rules references must be written on a separate page. This contrasting feature may correspond to a mixture of the APA 6th ed. (2002) and 7th ed. (2020) when citing.

References

American Psychological Association. (2002). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). American Psychological Association.

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). American Psychological Association. http://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

Hoffman-Kipp, P., Artiles, A. J., & López-Torres, L. (2003). Beyond reflection: Teacher learning as praxis. Theory Into Practice, 42(3), 248–254.

Saturday, November 27, 2021

Hello:

The book review on the book Uncovering EAP: How to Teach Academic Writing and Reading meets the requirements of a good review. The review author, Sally Ashton-Hay (2012), specifies the subject, scope and type of book in the review introduction. Although there are no in-text citations, the author summarizes the content of the book effectively in the body of the review. Finally, the review author gives her opinion on the book in the conclusion. In spite of making a negative comment about it since the book lacks technological applications, she recommends it to its target readers: teachers in need of developing their academic writing.
Regards,
Sandra Fabbri.

Ashton-Hay, S. (2012). Uncovering EAP: How to Teach Academic Writing and Reading. Asian EFL Journal, 14(3), 9.

Hello:

The Lost Queen by Signe Pike is a historical novel. The link to its review is https://bookpage.com/reviews/23001-signe-pike-lyrical-new-historical-saga-fiction#.YWGxMdpByM8. The reviewer, Matthew Jackson, firmly recommends the book and expresses a high opinion of it The novel is described as "moving, thrilling and ultimately spellbinding". Although the reviewer does not specify the date of publication or the publishing company, this information is published in a box below the review on the website. The tone is serious and admiring. The review is aimed at readers of historical fiction and the reviewer summarises important points of the plot in an engaging way. There is not a rating system but it is clear that the readers are definitely advised to read the book.
Regards,
Sandra Fabbri

Sunday, October 10, 2021

https://view.genial.ly/6153e5105830790d9fbe3e10/interactive-content-our-growth-as-academic-writers

Tuesday, September 28, 2021

Annotated bibliography: There is corrective feedback in my writing!

Yamashita, T. (2021). Corrective feedback in computer-mediated collaborative writing and revision contributions. Language Learning & Technology, 25(2), 75–93. http://hdl.handle.net/10125/73434

In the reviewed article, Yamashita (2021) explores and highlights the benefits of corrective feedback in computer-mediated collaborative writing when a new piece of writing is composed, focusing on the use of English definite and indefinite articles. The author's classroom research also supports the positive effects of individual revision in long-term learning. Although his findings are not certain due to some limitations, the observable transferability of the corrective feedback in this kind of writing to an individual’s development of language proficiency is clear.