According to Hooten (2002), the design of ‘guide on the side’ provides an opportunity for learners to study current knowledge and create new knowledge while they have access to the facilitator for further references and direction. He states he agrees with the concepts of Berge who observes that there are four parts to managing the role of the instructor pedagogical, social, managerial and technical (Berge, 1995). Hooten (2002) uses some of the same ideas but defines the roles as instructor, social director, program manager, and technical assistant. In the role of instructor, the guide offers resources, strategies for learning, and help connecting to prior knowledge. The guide focuses on student learning rather than the technical side of learning. In this role, the guide arranges the direction and creates meaningful and credible assignments which deepen the learning taking place. Timely and individual feedback is important in this role as well. As a social director the guide arranges opportunities for collaboration with peers and others. Developing a sense of community is important as learners elicit further learning and bring unique perspectives to share. They can, as a group, work on skills in project and time management and other varieties of teamwork. In the role of program manager, the guide organizes, steers the learners toward learning activities and resources. They can help learners manage their time and knowledge creation and he defines expectations for behavioural standards and netiquette (Hooten, 2002). As a technical assistant, the guide needs to be proficient in technical skills and communication abilities. “Gen-Xers typically prefer fast-paced presentations with visual images and frequent feedback“(Hooten, 2002). Berge (1995) has suggestions for ensuring that e-learning functions well for the learner. He states you should have “clear objectives, flexibility, encourage participation, maintain a non-authoritarian in communicating with you students, be objective and ensure the information is relevant”. Some learners participate much less than others but they need to be acknowledged and to receive appropriate feedback. Feedback from a peer is important but they need to be aware of netiquette and guidelines for giving and receiving feedback. Garrison, Anderson, and Archer (2000) propose that “the creation of an effective online educational community involves three critical components: cognitive presence, social presence, and teaching presence.” My own thought is that all of these scholars have some ideas that are certainly reliable however; the ones that ring true with me are the theories of Garrison et al (2000) and Hooten (2002). I believe the ability to be present cognitively, socially and in teaching are essential to online courses and that the instructor should be the ‘guide on the side’ so the students/learners can develop a sense of collaboration, teamwork and leadership. If they can do these things as a cohesive group, they will be able to manage their own learning with some help on the side.
References Anderson, T. (n.d.). Teaching in an online learning context. In Theory and practice of Online Learning (p. chapter 11). Retrieved February 15, 2015. Athabasca University. Berge, Z. (1995). Facilitating Computer Conferencing: Recommendations From the. Educational Technology, 35, 22-30. Retrieved February 18, 2015 Hootsen, E. (2002, June 1). Retrieved from Association for talent development: https://www.td.org/Publications/Newsletters/Learning-Circuits/Learning-Circuits-Archives/2002/Wearing-Four-Pairs-of-Shoes Retrieved February 18, 2015