Net Pedagogy Portal - Background

The Evolution of Internet Pedagogy - Background
Computer technologies have been used since 1968 to enhance learning, and since those early days the challenge has continuously been to leverage, through appropriate use the great potential that technology has to enhance student achievement ( Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 1999A).  Early developments of the Internet saw the creation of communication tools such as gopher, newsgroups, email, listserv, and the World Wide Web.  These new tools were quickly adopted by early innovators to enhance and supplement discussion, to provide access to content and information, and create materials that students could use (O‘Donnell, 1996).  Here were the beginnings of Net Pedagogy.  The explosive commercial growth of the Internet in and around 1995 saw a parallel growth in the educational use of the Internet (BBC News, 2006).
Early innovators struggled with how to use these new tools to create quality, learning experiences that fostered student success.  Follow up research provided valuable insights.  Two examples are Paulsen‘s (1995) examination of computer mediated communication, and Chizmar & Williams (1997) suggestion that a pedagogy for Internet courses should be consistent with the following Seven Principles for good teaching practice that "summarize decades of research on …teaching and learning":
Encourage contacts between students and educators Develop reciprocity and cooperation among students Use active learning techniques Emphasize time on task Communicate high expectations Respect diverse talents and ways of learning
Today online learning has entered the mainstream (The Sloan Consortium, 2004).  In the United States, some states have set requirements that all students must take an online course as part of their high school graduation requirement.  In Canada, provincial Ministry of Education initiatives have created virtual schools serving mainstream students throughout their provinces of jurisdiction (seeBC,Alberta)  Virtually every University in Canada has courses with fully online learning environments, and/or blended learning environments (seeDistanceEdCanada.ca andThe Canadian Virtual University).  Colleges collectively and/or individually offer online courses (for example seeOntario,BC).  These developments are paralleled throughout other countries in the developed world.
With developments in online learning reaching into its 10th year, specific trends and practices directing Net Pedagogy have emerged.
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BBC News, (2006).  Fifteen years of the web.  Retrieved October 15, 2006 fromhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/5243862.stm
Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L., & Cocking, R. R.  (1999A).  Technology to support learning.  In How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school (Chap. 9).  Retrieved October 28, fromhttp://fermat.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=6160&page=194
Chizmar, J.F. & Williams, D. B. (1997).  Internet delivery of instruction:  Issues of best teaching practice, administrative hurdles, and old –fashioned politics.  Retrieved October 24, 2006 fromhttp://www.educause.edu/ir/library/html/cnc9703/cnc9703.html
O‘Donnell, J.J. (1996).  New Tools for Teaching.  Retrieved October 15, 2006 fromhttp://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/jod/teachdemo/teachdemo.html
Paulson, M. F. (1995).  The online report on pedagogical techniques for computer-mediated communiation.  NKI, Oslo, Norway.  Retrieved October 19, 2006 fromhttp://www.nettskolen.com/forskning/19/cmcped.html