Review of “Teaching in a Digital Age. Guidelines for designing teaching and learning.”

Stephen J. Hall, Malaysia

Professor Stephen J Hall, Sunway University, Malaysia is part of the Creativity Group. E-mail: kiakaha88@gmail.com

Bates, A.W., “ Teaching in a Digital Age. Guidelines for designing teaching and learning.” A free, online open textbook at
https://opentextbc.ca/teachinginadigitalage/

It is rare to find a free resource with no catches and a carefully constructed series of reflective tasks over 500 pages in 12 easy to read chapters. Teaching in a Digital Age .Guidelines for Teaching and Learning is such an in-depth, downloadable text. It is written in a jargon-free approach, so it should be useful for classroom teachers, as well as course designers, University lecturers and teacher educators. Nord Research Associate Dr Tony Bates draws on over 40 years of international and Canadian experience to integrate theory and practice in digestible chapters. Reflection and individual ownership of concepts develops through reflective tasks which build a critical, yet creative awareness, beginning with wider issues. These include the nature of knowledge with a focus on cognitivism, constructivism and connectivism and a comparative look at teaching methods. Yet the author avoids any reader fatigue as any theoretical concepts in the earlier chapters are clearly presented and related to classrooms and a reader’s discovery of his or her needs.

Most of this text is firmly based in practice. In building an understanding of technology in education, the focus of Chapter 7, the author addresses various levels of digital literacy and the use of technology. In the chapter and the other parts of the book he puts pedagogy front and centre, so avoiding the all too common advocacy of tools, software and hardware as some kind of new miracle process, much as television was presented as in the days of yore. Contemporary questions such as the balance between face to face teaching, blended delivery and on line learning are addressed for both classroom practice and course design.

The pedagogy evident in the text structure itself shows the author’s considerable experience in distance education and consultancy for varied settings. Questions on selecting media from a learning perspective are a much-needed contribution, when so often the tools are viewed as the answer to teaching and learning. The focus is clearly on skills and competencies in a digital age, rather than on information technology. Those interested in creativity and critical thinking will appreciate the reflective approach to addressing the when, where, why and hows of using MOOCs, OERs and open textbooks. Techniques for addressing quality teaching and learning in this time of technological change are focused and yet broad enough that they will address varied situations. Appendices include questions to guide a learning-based selection of media, effective course design and a summary of online learning standards. As an open resource the E book is a work in continual progress.

Dr Tony Bates generously provides an entire free open text of 12 chapters. This is available on a website, in varied E-formats, editable XML files and as print on demand. This valuable resource is also available in Chinese, French, Portuguese, Spanish and Vietnamese. As an Open Access project there is work ongoing for Arabic, Farsi and Turkish translations. The author is to be commended for the open sharing of his expertise as he has added depth and breadth to global skills development in our digital age.

Please check the Practical uses of Technology in the English Classroom course at Pilgrims website.
Please check the Practical uses of Mobile Technology in the English Classroom course at Pilgrims website.
Please check the How to be a Teacher Trainer course at Pilgrims website.