In writing my work, the feedback from the peer reviews indicated that I had not spent enough time on the critiques around new media learning. It is my intention to take a retrospective look at the critics of this type of learning, even though my work has mostly been completed that this time.

In Mehlenbacher’s work, he discovered that “issues related to learning styles, attitudes about learning and learning ability, self-motivation and personal drive, and the ability to monitor one’s learning strengths and weaknesses all factor significantly into every learner’s processes for engaging in instructional situations” (Mehlenbacher, 2010). What this holds towards learning with technology is that even with the best selection of technology for a complex activity, a learner may still not be engaged enough to want to see the benefits of the learning activity resulting in nothing learnt, despite the best intentions of the teacher.

Literature tends to look at these learning styles and their relation to online learning as being positive and appealing towards instructional designers, and it is also revealed that learning style often indicates student preferences of media and information presentation (Mehlenbacher, 2010). James and Gardner (1995) point out that it isn’t possible to incorporate technology into learning without considering the individual learning styles of students. Therefore, student motivation, experiences, learning preferences play an important part of the success of a teacher incorporating technology into the classroom.

Tomlinson-Keasey (2002) had cautioned against reductivist interpretations of the roles of instructors as just being the “guide on the side”, instead of the “sage on the stage”, there is much more changes that take place when an instructor proactively engages students with technology. Holmberg (2003) points out that instructors using technologies would have many more demands placed on them, besides the obvious incorporation methods of technology into the curriculum, they also need to take into account learner empathy, a sense of belonging in the classroom, importance of quicker turnaround times for grading assignments and providing feedback, getting additional support for their students through tutors and learning counsellors.

Not all instructors are capable of making the switch to use technology either in online or hybrid classes, so teachers need to have proper training when moving from traditionally in-person didactic teaching styles to in-person or hybrid online teaching supported by new media technologies.

There are so many factors around how teaching engagement changes when instructors are teaching online. Bransford et al. (2000) point out “to effectively integrate technology into teaching, instructors need to

• develop expertise in subject content and teaching,
• develop understanding of theories of knowledge,
• develop understanding of pedagogy as a discipline,
• understand principles of learning and apply to them as learners,
• have opportunities to learn from recent research and cognitive discoveries, and
• develop models for lifelong learning that guide their own career planning and teaching.”

References

Bransford, J. , Brown, A. L. , Cocking, R. R. , and National Research Council ( 2000 ). How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School. Washington, D.C. : National Academy Press.

Holmberg, B.( 2003 ). A theory of distance education based on empathy . In M. G. Mooreand W. G. Anderson(eds.), Handbook of Distance Education (pp. 79 – 86 ). Mahwah, NJ : Lawrence Erlbaum.

Mehlenbacher, B. (2010). A Framework for Everyday Instructional Situations. Pp.193-330 in Instruction and technology: designs for everyday learning. MIT Press.

Tomlinson-Keasey, C.( 2002 ). Becoming digital: The challenge of weaving technology throughout higher education. In S. Brint(ed.), The Future of the City of Intellect: The Changing American University (pp. 133 – 158 ). Stanford, CA : Stanford University Press.