Networked Learning: New Opportunities and New Issues

SCOPE:

  • Background, case study, ideas to stimulate discussion, lessons are general.

TALiSMAN:

  • Why - encourage use of MAN's, prepare for change
  • Who - staff at Scottish HEI's - access no problem, IT awareness, reasonably good
  • How - awareness raising, training, communities, research

JTAP

  • The Role of Virtual Learning Environments in the Online Delivery of Staff Development (JTAP-573)

CHANGE

  • The main development in the last two years - a move away from supporting face to face learning and towards enabling networked open learning.

ONLINE LEARNING

  • TNA identified a need, also informal discussions
  • Research
SUBTLY INTRODUCE THE BENEFITS OF TECHNOLOGY

 
EXPLOIT THE FLEXIBILITY OF THE MEDIUM

TALiSMAN ONLINE

  • Simple course - using the www in teaching and learning,
  • Home-made, administered through email and excel, delivered via web, simple communication.
  • Summer - revision
  • Subject focus, extra tutors, face to face sessions, smaller groups
PERSONALISE THE EXPERIENCE

CONCLUSIONS

  • This method fine for small courses, easy to administer, tailor and run, but not scalable
  • Not accredited - high drop out rate (or fall behind rate) - though people did the work.

ONLINE STUDY CENTRE

  • Many courses-small, inaccessible training room,
  • Emergence of Virtual Learning Environments to MANAGE THE LEARNING PROCESS
  • VLE ILE OLE ...
  • Truly open networked learning
  • No cohort minimal tutor support no accreditation

CONCLUSIONS

  • Great for some, but sometimes, NO COHORT = NO COURSE
PACING IS CRITICAL

 
MOTIVATION IS CRITICAL

 
NAVIGATION IS CRITICAL

PROGRESS

  • LOLA - combined the best elements of each, within constraints.
  • What we didn't exploit, as well as what we did wrong.

LESSONS LEARNED

  • Don't think of the web as a delivery medium, or a broadcast medium, take advantage of it's strengths - supporting.
MAKE A CLASSROOM, NOT A LIBRARY OR A LECTURE HALL

 
MAKE THE STUDENT THE CENTRE
  • Encourage the student to contribute and organise their own resources,
  • Encourage sharing and re-use,
  • Students should think of the network as a place where they LEARN from others.

TAKE THE BENEFITS OF THE TECHNOLOGY BUT DON'T OVERPLAY THEM

  • e.g. use conferencing because it will enable an interaction which would not otherwise occur, not just for the sake of it.

TAKE HOME LESSONS

  • SUBTLY INTRODUCE THE BENEFITS OF TECHNOLOGY
  • EXPLOIT THE FLEXIBILITY OF THE MEDIUM
  • TAKE THE BENEFITS OF THE TECHNOLOGY BUT DON'T OVERPLAY THEM
  • MANAGE THE LEARNING PROCESS
  • PACING IS CRITICAL
  • MOTIVATION IS CRITICAL
  • NAVIGATION IS CRITICAL
  • MAKE A CLASSROOM, NOT A LIBRARY OR A LECTURE HALL
  • MAKE THE STUDENT THE CENTRE
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Last updated by Colin Milligan, 2nd December 1999