Winter 2006

The ICT agenda

The absent centre

John Dabinett contends that e-learning policy should be driven by curriculum rather than by technology experts. He says teachers and students are still at the margins of the e-learning action rather than central to it.

For the past 15 years, Access Media has developed student materials for the Open Access College, South Australia’s distance education provider. The creation of digital materials for use by students and teachers, including digital objects and resources, to support existing distance education material has expanded rapidly over the last six years.

The background

Development of digital materials by Access Media is underpinned by the belief that they should be constructed within a learning sequence, have intuitive user navigation and be driven by sound educational pedagogy. Engagement with the work of The Le@rning Federation (TLF) and participation in the National Materials Development Network (NMDN) means Access Media staff have a broad operational perspective of the work done in other jurisdictions at systemic, school and classroom levels. The NMDN has representatives from distance education materials providers in each Australian jurisdiction (except the ACT) and New Zealand.

Similarly, working with teachers, students and private providers creating online learning materials has generated robust dialogue about the place, purpose and success of digital materials in classrooms and e-learning environments.

Shared development of content and digital resources has multiple benefits. TLF, a national body, has provided the cohesion and focus for much of the debate and exploration of e-learning issues. Addressing copyright, licensing, digital rights management, metadata tagging, interoperability, content management and distribution strategies, and the consequent growing capacity to share materials within and across systems are major achievements.

At the system level, responsibility for the take up of e-learning falls under two broad groups: the providers of technical infrastructure, the pipes of the e-learning machine; and the providers of the curriculum, the stuff that flows through the pipes. Curriculum, the foundation for teaching and learning in schools, should drive systemic e-learning policy, program establishment and resource allocation. The technology sectors should undertake a crucial supportive role. Often, however, real responsibility for both areas lies with the technical expertise available.

Engagement of teachers in e-learning, particularly the take up and use of TLF digital materials and resources, is patchy. E-learning is a new and challenging area. Long-term change is more likely to be achieved when a critical mass of teachers is enabled to work collaboratively in developing common understandings of e-learning and its implications for teaching and learning. Meanwhile, those least intimidated and most successful in engaging with digital environments are the students.

Understandings

There is a pervasive view that good practice is inherent in an e-learning environment. For some, the act of learning to use a new technology or to work in a digital environment equates with transformational practice. Engaging with a new teaching strategy is seen as improved, not just different, practice and by definition thought to be better pedagogy. E-learning environments built from these foundations may look different, the digital materials and colourful engaging resources incorporate a great wow factor, but the practice is no different. A content-driven pedagogy directed by the teacher does not change to a process-driven pedagogy with the teacher as guide just because it’s presented in digital format and through different media.

Work with distance education teachers has highlighted the innovations, insights, challenges and developments that arise when a significant number of teachers are engaged in e-learning. The information and issues distilled from their interactions informs our own understandings in creating digital materials and exploring the use of online learning environments.

Diverse challenges are reported by teachers. Some articulate an initial concern about the level of implied skill required to engage in e-learning with students—from downloading patches and plug-ins to confidently using learning management systems. The unreliability or limited capacity of some local and system computer networks to deliver effectively, even when the skills are learnt and correct procedures used, compounds the concerns of some teachers.

Some teachers are concerned that the time and technical skills needed to develop learning objects or digital resources for a lesson or theme compete with the many other priorities they face daily. Some teachers doubt their capacity to fruitfully support and extend students in e-learning environments when many students have better digital skills and experience than the teachers.

Dealing with the issues

Clear connections between the evolving area of e-learning and systems-mandated curriculum frameworks and relevant priorities would help teachers. Approaches that encourage a whole-school approach to e-learning are more likely to engage teachers.

Most students are skilled participants in the digital world, highly conversant with its digital tools. These end users are often the last to be acknowledged and the least consulted when creating and engaging in e-learning environments. Strategies that enable participation by users are more likely to lead to materials and environments that accommodate user needs and challenge and extend user capabilities.

Engaging e-learning

Digital materials structured within a learning sequence are useful for teachers who are new to e-learning or who are working outside their normal subject or year level expertise. Access Media online learning sequences may cover several lessons, several weeks or, in the case of senior secondary, full year courses. All online learning sequences incorporate offline activities. The digital materials can be accessed via the Internet or on CD-ROM. Teachers engage more confidently when working back from an established sequence rather than trying to master new technical skills or subject expertise, as well as create a learning environment from scratch using digital material.

As teacher experience and success grows, so does confidence, capacity and interest. This is more likely to lead to teachers adapting learning sequences and materials, using other digital materials or creating their own.

Where to from here?

The diversity of teacher expertise and confidence in engaging with e-learning environments argues for professional development programs that enable local, collaborative opportunities. Teachers need opportunities to have a go at e-learning with their students. They also need opportunities to reflect in supportive environments with colleagues and systems staff. These opportunities provide fertile ground for exploration and growth in e-learning.

Such an approach also argues for resources to be allocated to local programs rather than, for example, to systems roll-outs of particular digital tools. Teacher expertise and confidence can grow quickly and divergently in e-learning, as with any new endeavour. Flexibility in supporting this differential growth is crucial.

Distance education staff have expertise in using online environments and digital materials in a number of jurisdictions. This expertise can be utilised to support both student and teacher engagement with e-learning. Distance education print materials are used by teachers outside distance education environments. Teachers adapt the materials in multiple ways to meet the needs of their students. The same is possible with digital materials.

The key to success for e-learning in schools is to focus on the end users—teachers and students. They are the ones who generate or embrace innovation, challenge and exploration in learning paradigms. This should provide the foundation for systemic policy. Clarification and consolidation of the partnership between schools and policy makers is essential.

For more information go to http://oac.schools.sa.edu.au

John Dabinett is manager Access Media, the educational publishing house of the Open Access College in South Australia.

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