What's the opposite of 'open learning?' 'Straitjacketed' or 'restricted' learning? 'Teachercentric' learning? I was interested in Kerres' models of instructional design found in the readings for this week. The Didaktik model, 'Less planning for better instruction', struck a chord as it has some parallels to the 'Dogme' approach in ESL. This is ironic, as the commandments of Dogme require that we don't use materials or technology in the classroom and here we are talking about online learning. However there are some similarities, such as teachers being sensitive or open to the emergent language (in ESL) or content produced by students, then building on it. Recently I have been using Dogme more and more in my teaching, as well as training, in order to respond better to the students' needs, which in turn is more relevant and motivating for them. Plus it saves planning time and paper. The advent of Web 2.0 and what Stephen Downes calls 'E-Learning 2.0' will make course design (or lack of it) exciting for teachers and even more interesting for students. Here teaching is about participating and evaluating within the learning environment online. But what about the learners who are resistant to this approach or get lost when navigating the vast array of content available? When discussing his views on 'open learning' Downes comments that beginners can 'jump in' and learn by trying out new things on the internet. He also adds that there's nothing wrong with being a lurker and nothing good about it either (maybe learning by lurking is ok). His argument is that we learn by doing and that teachers can't produce knowledge for people. George Siemens also says here that learners can have the 'capacity to shape and direct the activities they find meaningful' so that real learning can take place. While I agree with this, many of my students from China or Saudi Arabia might not; rote learning, spoon-feeding and teacher-led classes are often what some of these students consider to be 'real teaching'. I wonder if this attitude about classroom teaching would transfer to online learning or if online education would be considered a different category, where these preconceived ideas don't fit.What's the opposite of 'open learning?' 'Straitjacketed' or 'restricted' learning? 'Teachercentric' learning? I was interested in Kerres' models of instructional design found in the readings for this week. The Didaktik model, 'Less planning for better instruction', struck a chord as it has some parallels to the 'Dogme' approach in ESL. This is ironic, as the commandments of Dogme require that we don't use materials or technology in the classroom and here we are talking about online learning. However there are some similarities, such as teachers being sensitive or open to the emergent language (in ESL) or content produced by students, then building on it. Recently I have been using Dogme more and more in my teaching, as well as training, in order to respond better to the students' needs, which in turn is more relevant and motivating for them. Plus it saves planning time and paper. The advent of Web 2.0 and what Stephen Downes calls 'E-Learning 2.0' will make course design (or lack of it) exciting for teachers and even more interesting for students. Here teaching is about participating and evaluating within the learning environment online. But what about the learners who are resistant to this approach or get lost when navigating the vast array of content available? When discussing his views on 'open learning' Downes comments that beginners can 'jump in' and learn by trying out new things on the internet. He also adds that there's nothing wrong with being a lurker and nothing good about it either (maybe learning by lurking is ok). His argument is that we learn by doing and that teachers can't produce knowledge for people. George Siemens also says here that learners can have the 'capacity to shape and direct the activities they find meaningful' so that real learning can take place. While I agree with this, many of my students from China or Saudi Arabia might not; rote learning, spoon-feeding and teacher-led classes are often what some of these students consider to be 'real teaching'. I wonder if this attitude about classroom teaching would transfer to online learning or if online education would be considered a different category, where these preconceived ideas don't fit.