Digital Pedagogy VS Online teaching

In a recent article I read written by Sean Michael Morris, there was a dispute about whether digital pedagogy and online teaching is the same thing. He concluded his article by saying that the answer to this question was NO.

I think when most people hear digital pedagogy, they think that it means learning through technology, and this is most definitely not the case! Online teaching is nothing but a mere method of teaching, as is teaching a subject in a classroom is, with the only difference being the fact that it is available on the internet and that you might have never met your “online teacher”. According to Morris (2013), teachers are not yet ready to teach online and I fully agree with him. Firstly, online teaching- the way in which it is set up at this stage- is not interactive at all and no learner will receive any better education than what they will receive in most classrooms. A learner’s engagements in classrooms with fellow students are also not limited to academic interaction but also to learn about each other’s cultures and ways of doing things. We do learn a lot from our fellow classmates by going to school and learn how to become a citizen in our community. Now none of this can be learned by watching a few YouTube videos. Another important point is that with online tests, it is difficult to determine whether a student has learned as tests are online and the info can be searched.

Now back to the digital pedagogy. Digital, in digital pedagogy, means to make use of electronic elements. This means that technology is used as a mere tool to enhance the learning process. Pedagogy, on the other hand, is the instantaneous, momentary, vital exchange that takes place between both a learner and a teacher or between two learners. It also means to teach in such a way so that learners are willing to open-up themselves for lifelong learning as they will engage with each other and with their subject content. They will be willing to learn as they would enjoy what they are doing and the teacher will entertain them by practising different types of digital pedagogy as to keep the learning experience enjoyable.

Finally, to become pedagogues is not something that usually happens overnight. It is a process that one has to go through and there are no available resources that can teach one how to master this skill. It is something which you will learn through experience and through daily practice. In a second article written by Jesse Stommel, she says: “The digital pedagogue teaches her tools and doesn’t let them teach her. So you must use what is available and not looking only at the available technology, but looking at the ways in which they can creatively be used in a classroom.

I hope this helps you to notice the difference between online teaching and digital pedagogy as well as the difference between using technology and practicing digital pedagogy.