Preparing for e-Literature Issues, Methods, Implementation

European Journal of Social Sciences – Volume 7, Number 4 (2009) Preparing for e-Literature: Issues, Methods, Implementation Ruzy Suliza Hashim School of Language Studies and Linguistics, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia E-mail: ruzy@ukm.my Imran Ho-Abdullah School of Language Studies and Linguistics, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia E-mail: imranho@ukm.my Abstract This paper discusses the preparations that were made in the running of the course Malaysian Literature in English that was taught face-to-face as well as in the virtual mode. Learning Care, the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) learning management system was used as the web-based delivery tool. The system allows for various activities: notes to be uploaded and downloaded; providing links to other sites; conducting a survey; taking tests; tracking students’ learning time; blogging. It is found that various tools such as Microsoft Office FrontPage, SWiSH, and Adobe Fireworks can be used to prepare literature students to embrace new technology in their learning, and they found the blend of virtual teaching and learning, and face-to-face teaching an innovation and makes literature more accessible. Keywords: Blended teaching, learning management system, literature, web-based delivery tool. 1. Introduction: Issues The nature of education has seen various transformations in recent years. The changes come from pressing developments – k-economy, globalization, aggressive competition, technological innovations – all of which require people to acquire skills which would allow them to operate efficiently, progressively and productively. An edge in education is the key to keep up with these changing times. As Stuart (1997,67) argues, ‘If we lack skills, we lose out. The economy, the performance of every business and the prosperity of every citizen suffer. We have no choice. We must all invest in learning for the future.’ Concomitant with that scenario, the global economic lexicon only acknowledges terms such as competition, competitiveness, productivity, innovation, creativity, originality, excellence and efficiency. The advent of the 21st century, with rapid technological innovations revolutionizing teaching and learning, means that the dated methodology of chalk and board as well as the technique of spoon-feeding will not help Malaysians inculcate characteristics that thrive on innovation and creativity. Education has always played a crucial role in moving society forward in the face of changing realities and needs. Ibrahim Bajunid (2001, 06) categorizes the Malaysian education system into 5 periods. In the last quarter of the 20th century, the fourth period, the Malaysian education system proposed the ‘widespread use of new technologies, particularly computers, in teaching and learning’. He further defines the current period as Malaysia embarking on the ‘path to develop itself as a nation that would embrace technological changes’ (Ibrahim 2001, 106). The implementation of steps and policies to make Malaysia a developed country by the year 2020 through Vision 2020 has prompted the 58 European Journal of Social Sciences – Volume 7, Number 4 (2009) education system to keep in tandem with world wide movement towards a knowledge-based society and economy. More than ever before, access to up-to-date information and knowledge, together with the motivation and skills to use these resources intelligently on behalf of oneself and the community as a whole, are becoming the key to strengthening Malaysia’s competitiveness and improving the employability and adaptability of the workforce. Hence, the investment in learning which takes the form of incorporating technology is a move in the right direction. The Malaysian education system, however, as many practitioners, parents, students have lamented, has produced students who are unable to operate autonomously because of its strong orientations towards national-based assessment. Many of these examinations require students to regurgitate readymade answers, which does not encourage creativity or autonomy. When these students enter the university, they expect similar spoon feeding to take place. However, courses at the university require students to be more proactive, and rely less on their instructors. Furthermore, with the introduction of e-learning in many universities, traditional teaching methods may be a thing of the past. Considering the omnipresence of e-learning, and the enormous opportunities and risks that it presents for higher education, we need to explore whether Malaysian learners are ready for this mode of learning, and to what extent this technology has the potential to develop a community of teachers that promote skills for students to be independent learners. Continuing access to learning or life-long learning is especially crucial in the new millennium for Malaysian citizens to survive in a k-economy environment. A memorandum on life long learning lists these skills as necessary for active participation in the knowledge society and economy: digital literacy, foreign languages; social skills such as self-confidence, self-direction and risk-taking; entrepreneurial skills to improve job performance (http: www. education. mt /edu/ edu_division/ life_long_learning/key_message_1.htm 6/11/04). These features of contemporary social and economic change are interrelated. They underlie two equally important aims for lifelong learning: promoting active citizenship and promoting employability. Active citizenship focuses on whether and how people participate in all spheres of social and economic life, the chances and risks they face in trying to do so, and the extent to which they therefore feel that they belong to and have a fair say in the society in which they live. For much of most people’s lives, having paid work underpins independence, self-respect and well-being, and is therefore a key to people’s overall quality of life. Employability – the capacity to secure and keep employment – is not only a core dimension of active citizenship, but it is equally a decisive condition for reaching full employment and for improving competitiveness and prosperity in the ‘new economy’. Both employability and active citizenship are dependent upon having adequate and up-to-date knowledge and skills to take part in and make a contribution to economic and social life. The institutions of higher learning, with their commitment to produce students self-directed, proactive, lifelong learners, must come to terms that the use of technology is imperative. Educational practitioners, says Claude Ghaoui (2003, 21), need to ‘embrace IT in order to “provide high quality, flexible teaching and learning.’ Katy Campbell (2004: xiv) also reiterated the new social and political contexts for learning which include these key issues: ‘the changing learner, the rise of the information and global economy; the emergence of the consumer culture; and the changing nature of work and implications for higher education.’ She argues that the profile of learners has changed in terms of age groups, location, gender, and nationality. The design of courses therefore needs to cater to their different needs and strategies of learning. Hence, the attitude that one does not have the time or inclination to change educational practices will make the place of learning less attractive and dated, and during these times of commercialisation, less attractive. In the new world order, educators must keep with the pace of technological innovations. 59 European Journal of Social Sciences – Volume 7, Number 4(2009) 2. Learner Autonomy Learner autonomy is not a new concept in the education system. However, as educators, we are often frustrated by students’ over reliance on their teachers, and passivity in class which relate to the students’ fear of being responsible for their own learning. Some of reticence of students in being bolder in class can be understood as culturally bound. Part of the shyness to speak in class and to offer an opinion can be linked with the ways in which cultural practices influence classroom interaction. Lack of proficiency is another reason for their passiveness. In language and literature studies, the teachers may provide the input, but learning can only happen if learners take cognizance of their individual needs. They may need to go back to a lesson repeatedly; they may need to think through certain concepts by themselves. More specifically, in the literature classroom, understanding literary mechanics does not come easily to many students. The difficulties associated with literary terms and the language of texts present literature as a subject to be feared. What are the ways in which this fear can be minimised, and eventually overcome? The best way to prepare them for this task is to guide them slowly through the aid of technology with the eventual aim of getting them to become autonomous. Autonomous learning for language and literature is made relatively easier with the introduction of technology. In the mid-1980s, owning a personal computer became possible for many people. In Malaysia, incentives on purchases for computers through various schemes made computers accessible to many people. Today, the computer has become an essential interface to the Internet and the World Wide Web, and almost everything we do now requires a computer. The distance learning programme was made possible with the use of computers, internet, and the World Wide Web. The technology allows for the combination of text, voice and visual, as well as making instantaneous feedback possible. Whether one is in Besut or Kuala Lumpur, education is possible. As Garrison and Anderson (2003, 5) succinctly argue: The challenge is to turn e-information into human knowledge. This is not a technological problem but a social challenge that requires an educational solution. That solution lies in the integration of meaningful educational approaches with technological enablers. At the intersection of this quest is e-learning, with its ability to create rich communities of inquiry in an asynchronous, anytime, anyplace context. Creating rich communities of inquiry necessitates programmes that encourage cognitive independence. The advent of technology calls for educators to respond more quickly to the present challenges. The traditional teaching within the set up of the four walls of the classroom is not exactly a thing of the past. The sage on the side is still an important factor in teaching and learning. But teaching in the new millennium has taken on a new look. It need not necessarily take place in the traditional classroom. With various technological gadgets, teaching and learning can take place at the canteen, in a garden, by the beach – the possibilities are endless. This challenge of teaching on line requires educators to be innovative. The implication is that online courses need to be better or at least different than face-to-face classroom experiences. Simply dumping printed information on a website is not going to promote learning because that would be equivalent to giving handouts to students. Interaction and socialization are keys to effective online education. The questions then center on how best to deliver the materials and provide the experiences and interactions that promote learning and how educators can guide students throughout the learning process. It is of course impossible to keep up with all the latest advancements, but educators are entrusted with the preparation of younger students who cannot ignore the importance of technology in their lives. Online teaching can be highly rewarding and enjoyable, but much needs to be done to improve. Completely automated programmes are not altogether advisable. Thus human touch, as provided by tutors, is important for the success of most online curricula in academic settings. Determining how much technology is needed to meet the needs of learners and the demands of a specific subject is also an important part of developing successful online programmes. 60 European Journal of Social Sciences – Volume 7, Number 4 (2009) Malaysian Literature in English, a second-year compulsory literature course for students enrolled in the programme for Bachelors of Education (Teaching English as a Second Language) has been taught traditionally in the past. The usual on site teaching with the ranging pedagogical modes such as lectures, tutorials, student presentations, essay writing, and creative presentation have largely dominated the teaching and learning of the course. But with the availability of Learning Care, the UKM learning management system, the course goes beyond the traditional classroom to engage students in more exciting ways. As Luis Borges Gouveia and Joaquim Gouveia (2003) aver, web-based learning system provides an environment created on the World Wide Web in which students and educators can perform learning-related tasks. It is not just a mechanism for distributing information to students, but also performs tasks related to communication, assessment and class management. It allows for regular face-to-face teaching to co-exist analogously with web resources to enhance learning. This hybrid method, while challenging on the moderator, is more satisfying than the traditional approach. Two terms of reference need to be explained. Asynchronous and synchoronous modes refer to the ways in which internet activities are conducted. Synchronous, or real time activities refer to online chat sessions, whiteboard drawings, in-person discussions and lectures, streaming video, and streaming audio. Asynchronous activities refer to tasks done by individuals at their own pace and time. E-mail and forum discussions are asynchronous in nature because of the time delay between question and answer. The response is not instantaneous, as it is with a chat session. Bulletin boards and online assessments, web links, can be used at the learners’ convenience. Not everyone learns at the same pace or require all the information at the same time. The Learning Care does not support the synchronous mode because total web-based teaching is not necessary since each course is allocated a one-hour lecture and two-hour tutorial periods as contact hours. Hence, the instructor will see the students faceto-face weekly but more of their learning time actually take place in cyberspace. The Learning Care has several features. It provides a platform for announcements, notes, documents, forum, learning tracks, links, references, news, assignments, and assessments. Announcements related to the course or any literary events considered to be of interest to the students can be posted on a regular basis. Weekly lecture notes are posted in the document section, and normally the notes are given in a PowerPoint presentation format which is brief by definition. Another feature is the notes section which can take the form of discursive explanation of contexts and terms. In order to make the course interactive, we have certain short stories and poems are available on line using various programmes such as Microsoft Office FrontPage, SWiSH, and Adobe Fireworks. The forum provides an outlet for students to blog with their friends and instructor. The instructor also has access to students’ behaviour online to discern which students have gone through the notes and which students may have problems with the materials. The links section provides students with various links related to the issues in the course. Similarly, references and current readings can be easily accessed via the References section. Assignments are also normally posted. Examples of good assignments are also made available as models to analyse. The assessment section is not user-friendly to literature students because it does not cover essay-based evaluation. 61 European Journal of Social Sciences – Volume 7, Number 4(2009) The screen above captures the content of the course. As a user-friendly system, students have very little problems accessing the portal. They were introduced to the system at the beginning of the semester to reduce ‘technology-anxiety’. Accessing the Learning Care was relatively easy for most of the students. 3. Methods and Implementation The design of the course is based on a learner-centred approach. For an online education to be effective, course developers have to consider students first in course and curriculum design. Curriculum design can take the constructivist approach which emphasises real-world work experiences and social contexts in which knowledge and skills are typically used. Online activities reproduce those tasks required in the workplace. Problem solving, simulation, and team building are some of the skills required in the real world which can be reproduced in the cyber world. Social interaction, made available by the forum, is an item that promotes this constructivist model. A behaviorist approach, on the other hand, takes the form of providing students with notes and concepts. Links to other websites, providing more notes, balance the need for students to be more active in research by following the instructor’s leads. Learning Care is more behavourist driven because students can be given copious notes, depending on how much the instructor wants to impart. Before the course is designed, the instructor outlines its expected outcomes. This approach is in line with the outcome-based education where both the instructors as well as the students know exactly the kinds of skills and knowledge that must be acquired at the end of the course. In the case of Malaysian Literature in English, the outcomes are stated as below: 1. To identify the characteristics of Malaysian Literature in English 2. To identify and discuss pertinent themes and issues in Malaysian Literature In English 62 European Journal of Social Sciences – Volume 7, Number 4 (2009) 3. To apply postcolonial theories in understanding the works in Malaysian Literature in English 4. To work effectively in a group 5. To demonstrate a satisfying ability in lifelong learning practices In addition, Bloom taxonomy is appropriated as in the design of the curriculum. Rote memorization and repetitive tasks are the lower levels of the Bloom taxonomy. The mastery of knowledge, such as synthesizing and applying concepts should be part of the design in the curriculum. Thus, varying the activities which allow the students to progress from low level skills to higher ones is crucial. In planning the e-literature module, both constructivist and behaviourist approaches are combined. This combination allows for a teaching and learning plan that aims for the students to think critically, not merely to memorize key terms, so as to be able to apply the concepts to other texts that they read. The online course is centered on providing several short stories and poems that portray the concerns of Malaysian writers writing in English. The issues range from preoccupations with colonialism, race relations, nation building, gender matters, and diasporic writings. Because of the time required to prepare materials online, our preliminary work only involves a small number of works which include KS Maniam’s Arriving and Haunting the Tiger, Kris Jitab’s Victor’s Last Wish, Che Husna Azhari’s Mariah, Lee Kok Liang’s Ibrahim Something, Shirley Lim’s Modern Secrets and Hilary Tham’s Eclipse. The set texts used in class were The Spirit of the Keris and Kee Thuan Chye’s We Could ****Birch. The Spirit of the Keris consists of a number of short stories and poems which we scanned before we used various programmes such as the Microsift Office FrontPage, SWiSH and Adobe Fireworks. For the poem “Modern Secrets” by Shirley Lim, the programme Fireworks was used to make the text more interactive. The pop-up menu was used because it allows for lines from the poem to be explained, as shown in the diagrams below: 63 European Journal of Social Sciences – Volume 7, Number 4(2009) The pop-up menu allows for students to get clues in understanding the poem. For example, when a student reads the first line “Last night I dreamt in Chinese”, the notes that accompanies the line will guide her to several questions such as “Why does the narrator dream in Chinese,?” “What language are your dreams?”, “Where is the narrator located?” These questions, while they may be asked in the class during the face-to-face interaction, may not allow each student to think through carefully how it impacts on his/her own respective situation. But the pop-up questions will alert them to different ways of reading and thinking about the poem. It shows them that in literature, there is no one right or wrong answer, and the pop-up menu can be seen as a kind of scaffolding for the students to build up interpretive skills in reading other texts in the course. For “Haunting the Tiger” for example, we appropriated SWiSH animation to bring to life the reader’s experience upon interaction with the text. The animation created is called a movie, and within each movie is a collection of scenes. Each scene has a timeline consisting of one or more frames. Each scene consists of texts which explain parts of the story. Here’s an example: 64 European Journal of Social Sciences – Volume 7, Number 4 (2009) The visual image of a moving tiger enhances the metaphor of the tiger used in the story. Because the story is relatively complex, the instructor helps the students along by providing notes where necessary. Certain key phrases are highlighted to guide students into analyzing the story. As can be seen on the screen, the page captures four phrases numbered 1 to 4. When students click on the tiger, the explanation will appear, as captured below: 65 European Journal of Social Sciences – Volume 7, Number 4(2009) The explanation helps students understand why the protagonist has trouble dying. A key concept, “alienation,” is explained to contextualize the postcolonial condition of the immigrant experience, and the possible reasons for the protaganist’s slow and painful death. By preempting and highlighting certain phrases which students may find difficult to understand, reading a complex literary work can be made a less tedious task. Sometimes they lose interest because they are hampered and impeded by unfamiliar words and phrases. By providing some tips how these phrases can be understood, it is found that students read the work more readily and came to the tutorials with enlightened perspectives. 4. Feedback Because the course is also taught face-to-face, getting feedback is not a problem. Students generally enjoy posting responses in the forum section, and these responses alert the course instructor to problem areas that were sorted out in the face-to-face interaction. Learners are encouraged to discuss key topics and share experiences and information. The forum provides an excellent avenue to bounce off ideas, responses, or impromptu reactions to texts. The occasional comments or replies to entries by the course instructor shows that she valued the students’ comments and created a learning community that was vibrant, responsive, and active. Much of what they posted on the web would not be articulated in class because of the nature of Malaysian students who are generally more reserved in front of the teacher. But with the computer, their reactions were more animated and expressive, as shown in the response below: At the beginning the British and Japanese invaded our country to grab rubber, tin and palm oil and prevented Allies from having access to our economic wealth. But throughout their stay in Malaya both British and Japanese have left a great impact on our people. For instant in Victoria and her kimono and Victor's Last Wish, there was portrayal of an Indian Malayan experience of the Japanese occupation. In Victoria and her kimono, the protagonist Ramanan, an English teacher, staunch practicer of the English language, do not want to give up love for the language. He was so much into the British mentality. But his wife Victoria was just the opposite. She was an angel who 66 European Journal of Social Sciences – Volume 7, Number 4 (2009) saved her husband's life by just pleasing the Japanese soldier with her few learned Japanese language and the kimono she was wearing. As for Victor's Last wish the protagonist Victor wanted to be so much like the English man in speaking, dressing and way of doing things, which leads him to convert to Christianity. The story gives an insight into crisis suffered by Victor, emulates everything Western. Internal crisis, feeling incomplete and the search for perfection is portrayed in this story. Here I could see how the British occupation had changed the mind set of the people who are still searching for their identity and feels shameful of what they are. Besides the two stories discussed above Matsumoto is different from other portrayals of Japanese occupation where details of cruelty are apparent. It shows how the captain Matsumoto trusted the little boy in lending the horse, the conversation they had and the books they discussed (Emden) shows that the Japanese are not that cruel as we taught. As to conclude I would say that colonialism did leave a great impact on Malaya and its people. But being Malaysian I think we should take the 'sweet' out of what was left and leave the ' bitter'. (taken from the forum discussion) The student took time to ruminate on the various stories that she has read in the course that deal directly with the colonial experience. Although grammar mistakes abound, the purpose of the forum is not to worry too much about sentence structure and perfect grammar. It is an outlet for a free expression of one’s thoughts. The instructors, however, can take cues of problem areas in the response – content and grammar – and include that as part of their teaching materials in class. 5. Limitations The biggest challenge that instructors have to cope with is the amount of time needed to make available these texts for the Learning Management System. Many of the works used in the Malaysian Literature in English course are not available as open source. Hence, a lot of time was spent scanning and editing each work. Providing prompts and clues for students to work on the possibilities of interpretations were also time consuming. Learning and working with different programmes and keeping up to date with the latest software that can help make a text more interactive and interesting can also take a toll on the instructor’s time. More often than not, the content manager is not fully equipped to design courseware. Certainly, the content manager cannot be expected to be the graphic designer as well. As the course manager, a lot of time needs to be devoted to moderating especially the forum section where we are sometimes compelled to respond to queries, or to develop a cyberspace bond with the students. On the part of the users, the use of the Learning Management System is sometimes limited by the system being inoperative, or slow because of aged computers. While most students carry laptops everywhere, it would seem imperative to hotspot the whole campus so that these students can learn anytime, anywhere. These are hardware problems which can be rectified so that teachers and students can fully make use of technology to teach and learn literature more efficiently. 6. Concluding Remarks Blending traditional teaching and technology is definitely the educational practice for the new world order. In the future, we can expect future younger generation to have different skills and expectations. Teaching literature cannot remain within the four walls of the traditional classroom. Teaching literature will stagnate if the teacher insists on the old practices of chalk and board, or take centre stage by being the all-knowing sage, or simply asking students to read and write. The combination of technology and face-to-face interaction enhances the learning of literature. The comfort of knowing that one can rereturn to a page and having to security of the space afforded in the forum, and yet still interacts with the human teacher at the end of the day, has certainly motivated the students in exploring literature in a 67 European Journal of Social Sciences – Volume 7, Number 4(2009) more convivial ambience. By appropriating technology, the world of literature, as is the world out there in cyberspace, can be a place of discovery and excitement. References [1] Ibrahim Ahmad Bajunid. 2001. ‘The Transformation of Malaysian Society Through Technological Advantage: ICT and Education in Malaysia’. Journal Of Southeast Asian Education. 2:1: Pp.104-146. Campbell, Katy. 2004. 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Toronto: Zed Books. Majlis Peperiksaan Malaysi, 2003. Spirit of the Keris: A Selection of Malaysian Short Stories and Poems. Kuala Lumpur: Maya Press. Nunan, David, 1988. The Learner-Centred Curriculum: A Study in Second Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Roberts, Tim S, 2004. Online Collaborative Learning: Theory and Practice. Hershey: Information Science Publishing. Sadagopan, Fiona Lalitha. 2004. “An Analysis of Student Preferences for Online Learning of Literature at Undergraduate Level in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia”, unpublished MA Thesis. Bangi: Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. Scharle, Agota and Anita Szabo. 2000. Learner Autonomy: A Guide to Developing Learner Responsibility. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Stuart, N. 1997. ‘The Policy of UK Government on Lifelong Learning’, in Coffield, F.(ed.) A National Strategy for Lifelong Learning. Newcastle: University of Newcastle. Pp. 65-95. 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