Spring 2005

Online teaching & learning

Not just for rural and remote

The possibility of more schools offering more subjects and catering for more of their students is being made a reality through the option of online learning. CARMEL KRIZ and ANDREW BURGESS overview the online project in the Catholic Diocese of Broken Bay.

The email hit the inbox and got me thinking: ‘This project is going great guns. Four Dioceses now involved. We should consider it for 2005 maybe?’ So consider it we did.

The project in question is the Stage 6 Online project managed by the Lismore Catholic Education Office. The project commenced in 2002 with funding from the Commonwealth Quality Teacher Program (QTP). Its primary aim was to investigate the use of emerging technologies for teaching and learning at a distance and upskill teachers in terms of ICT, specifically online learning. Crucially, the initial program focused primarily on the pedagogy of online learning, rather than the technology.

After some initial trials, it became obvious to the developer and manager of this program that it had potential for application beyond the classroom. Many secondary schools in the Lismore Diocese were geographically isolated and catered for small numbers of students. Similarly, in the neighbouring Diocese of Armidale, the issues of isolation and limited enrolments were exacerbated. This combination meant that subjects that could be offered in Stage 6 (years 11 and 12 in NSW) at these schools were necessarily limited. There are obvious repercussions of this reduction for both students and teachers: some students may choose to move schools to access courses they want to study; some students will choose ‘the next best option’ and become disappointed and perhaps disengaged in the process; and some teachers will not be able to teach the course they love because only five students chose it. Not a good situation! But one faced by many systems and schools.

Other realities of the secondary school also encouraged a consideration of online learning. The inevitable timetable clashes, lack of staff with the requisite knowledge and opportunities for accelerated progression for individual students all pointed to online learning at Stage 6 being a good option. The Lismore teachers who had been supported by QTP funding were now in a position to use their skills to offer a high quality of learning online.

By 2005, five Dioceses (Lismore, Armidale, Broken Bay, Maitland-Newcastle and Wilcannia-Forbes) have students accessing Stage 6 courses online. The Diocese of Lismore Distance Education School has now applied for and successfully attained provisional registration through the NSW Board of Studies, making it the first non-government e-school registered under new government requirements in NSW.

Essentially, the ‘package’ that was developed for online learning comprises: units of work accessed through Moodle www.moodle.org an open source learning management system designed on the principles of social constructivist theory to help educators create quality online courses; the online teacher, expert in their subject area and trained in online requirements; a school-based mentor who can track the student’s progress and provide pastoral and administrative support; and face-toface contact between the online teacher and students once per term.

The role of the school-based mentor has developed in an interesting way. In the Lismore model, it is recommended that the mentor is not a subject area specialist (ie don’t appoint the HSIE coordinator as a mentor for the Ancient History students in the hope that they can provide additional tuition). Experience has indicated that this sets up potential competition between the online teacher and the mentor. The mentor is there to support the students in a pastoral and administrative sense, not to potentially undermine the online teacher. Indeed, the role of the mentor in terms of supporting the learner and providing a safe and supportive learning environment has been crucial in the success of the program.

A key strength of this model of online learning is the high quality of the teaching. The online delivery of courses involves weekly quizzes, weekly chat sessions and weekly tasks submitted via email. The chat sessions are synchronous and enable the teacher to interact with students in much the same way as would normally occur in a classroom discussion. These chat sessions occur out of school time, at a time agreed upon by all participants. The obvious consequence of this is that students must have access to a reliable computer with Internet access at home. It is made clear to students that if they can’t make a chat session they should advise their online teacher (just as every school must be formally advised when a student is absent).

Clearly, another consequence of the online course is that students will have spare time during the school day. Participating schools have managed the supervision issues in a variety of ways. Other schools have created a culture where expectations around self-regulation mean that students choose how to spend their study time, and generally use it effectively. In one school where the online student studied alone because of timetabling constraints, he dropped the online course after several weeks. His reason? Very simply, he didn’t have peer support. This issue will be monitored closely in the future.

The reality is that it suits some students, but not all. Our experience indicates that the successful online student is one who is open-minded about sharing; able to communicate through writing; self-motivated and self-disciplined; willing to speak up if problems arise; able to think before responding; able to read and follow written instructions and directions; and willing to commit the time required for the course.

The advantages of online learning are clear: students can work independently without being tied to a timetable or a bell; they can progress at a rate that suits them; they can focus on the learning without being distracted by the multitude of things that have the potential to distract; and it provides the opportunity to study courses that may otherwise be unavailable.

There are also disadvantages: there is less opportunity to work with peers; less opportunity to get immediate help from a teacher; more pressure on the student to teach themselves; and definite pressure on the students to be self-motivated and self-disciplined (not always easy for 17 year olds).

As a system of schools, there are also advantages and disadvantages. There is the fear that we may lose teacher expertise when courses are ‘outsourced’ to the online school. We also need to think carefully through system support for the mentor. Paying for courses has the potential to emerge as part of a wider issue of paying for external delivery generally. Should the school cover costs of students accessing these courses or should our system promote a user-pays system. Should the system pick up the tab by removing financial barriers to participation?

Finally, the best features of effective online courses mirror the best features of effective teaching (generally). The intellectual quality of the learning (exemplified in the depth of communication and the teacher’s ability to encourage higher-order thinking), the high quality of the learning environment (demonstrated in student self-regulation and the role of the mentor) and the significance of the learning activities, make for effective learning whether online or in a classroom.

Certainly, as subject selection processes kick in for year 11 2006, the online option will be presented to all of our schools. My bet is that our participation rate will be up on 2005.

Carmel Kriz is the senior education officer, secondary curriculum with the Catholic Schools Office, Diocese of Broken Bay (NSW).

Andrew Burgess is the learning technologies advisor for the Diocese of Lismore and the manager of the Diocese of Lismore Distance Education School.

The author owns the copyright in this article. For information related to the reuse of this work in any form please contact the publisher denise.quinn@curriculum.edu.au