On-line Learning

The above company drew my attention to some challenging statistics concerning on-line learning. Obviously, I see on-line learning as the future for all ages and strata of society. And, as I've argued previously, mainstream schools need to start thinking about how 'the school without walls' will actually support teaching and learning and to what extent the curriculum will change.

Despite the statistics being American it gives us six significant pointers for discussion and how we should be arguing for on-line provision in our own countries or localities.

Again, for readers who might not have seen some of my previous posts, the benefits of having one's own e-Portfolio cannot be over stated. eFolio meets the needs of all learners, Lifelong and Lifewide (ie whatever one's abilities).

Citrix on-line also provides some very thought-provoking papers including 'Questions senior executives ask about eLearning' and 'Five Keys to getting started with interactive on-line training.' Again, very thought-provoking papers to be read in the context of schools and Virtual Learning.

Small-Group Collaboration

I have just come across a very useful article on teaching and learning with a particular emphasis on collaboration from eSchoolNEWS. The article is well worth reading with the proviso that one can think in terms of on-line learning instead of the scenario depicted of US schools still living in the 20th Century.

Almost every single point could be translated into 21st Century Virtual Learning using a good e-Portfolio system such as eFolio. The Author, Ellie Ashford writes:

"Everyone needs to be able to collaborate in a group, because that's how things are done in the real world. No one sits alone and works by themselves any more," said Stan Silverman, director of technology-based learning systems at the New York Institute of Technology.

Some educators believe students gain a deeper understanding when they participate in group projects.

Lance Sutton, a teacher at Westview Elementary School in Goose Creek, S.C., said: "When a teacher lectures to them, they forget; when you have kids help design something, they will remember for a lifetime."

Sutton said collaboration is "a more positive way of teaching" and addresses the needs of students who learn best in different ways, such as those who are visual learners or auditory learners. He uses an interactive whiteboard and Interwrite Workspace software from eInstruction to facilitate small-group instruction with his fifth-graders."

As much as I agree with the teaching and learning style eloquently put in this extensive article, surely it is time to encourage, even at this young age, that students work on computers attached to a VLE or at least the Internet. This way all the exciting discussions, and activities, the artefacts produced etc are recorded for the teacher to assess or for the pupils to collaborate even more effectively, to reflect upon, access from home or present to an audience.

Everything Ellie Ashford says is true, but how much more effective can collaboration be through the use of e-Portfolios!

Virtual Schooling ?

Following on from my previous post I wanted to explore with you the impact of 'Virtual Schooling' and came upon a post by Tony Bates commenting on the newsletter from ReViCa. This looks like a document that we should all be watching.

However, as a footnote to the newsletter was the link to Morten Flate Paulsen's book 'Online Education'. Although somewhat dated (pub 2003) and at 338 pages (.pdf) it is still a serious read. The following SlideShare brings out just a few of the salient points to whet appetites:

I make no excuse for quoting this academic document which deals primarily with 'Virtual Learning' across Higher Education in Europe. I believe that mainstream schooling can have much to learn from such documents. - It is just a pity that teachers in Secondary schools do not have the time to produce such works.

I quote, below, a number of key points identified as, ' Fourteen interventions to stimulate learner persistence and reduce dropouts.' Most of these points should be discussed in relation to on-line learning and virtual schools:

1. Students’ active participation should be sought in planning remedial or introductory courses.
2. Interviews with students while in their first year (or even before it starts).
3. Skilled diagnostic counseling to “help each applicant to explore his aims, motivation and commitment and comprehend how they might relate to the ... [institution]”
4. Counselling-out of high risk students.
5. “Conditional registration ... after students have taken advantage of the counseling service, every effort should be made by the University to ensure that they are able to follow the courses they really want... Students interested in courses which entail projects should be made aware of the volume of work involved and the type of library resources required (especially remote students)”.
6. “Counselors, academic advisors, course designers, and administrators of distance-taught programs should develop a diagnostic and remedial program to assist students in organizing their time and energy toward a successful completion of their study program”.
7. Regulate the study load of students.
8. Active tutorial assistance during the course. This might be provided either face-to-face or via mediated communications.
9. Examination of students’ completed assignments to analyze students’ cognitive learning styles, strengths and weaknesses, and affective responses to the instructional materials.
10. Provide option of longer time period for students with difficulty to complete the course.
11. Monitor the performance of participant instructors for needs amenable to improve via in-service training.
12. Distance education institutions should develop programs to enhance their academic status and social credibility so as to enhance student satisfaction and commitment.
13. Concentrate resources for student advising and other assistance on the more vulnerable first-year students.
14. Periodical redesign of courses and print (on line? -ed) materials. Cookson (1990)

Where does Learning take place?

Adults, or certainly those in Higher Education, may be free to do their learning when and where and from whom they like. However, the same is not equally true for those younger students or even adults who need some guidance.

Bob Harrison recently quoted on a NAACE forum the following from 'The Impact of ICT in schools-a landscape review-Becta 2007' :

'While this study has looked closely at the impact of ICT on how pupils learn and how this might be enhanced....it has not addressed the impact of what they learn or where learning takes place and whether the schools of the future will be the physical entities we have today.'

Some two years later we still do not have clear answers and probably there will not ever be one set of answers which will suit everyone. However, building upon Mal Lee's graphic of the 'Home-School Nexus' (highlighted in the above diagram in blue) and looking further to Networked School Communities, I have tried to identify most of the major influences affecting any young learner. The nature of 'Virtual Learning' and how this might impact on current school practice and 'physical entities' will be explored more in my next post.

What young people learn has been the centre of discussions and the culture of a digitally aware society has begun to impact on curriculum design in most of our schools. Whether examination boards are ready to develop new ways of assessing learning is another question altogether.

How young people learn in a digital age is still not well-defined. Despite the fact that many schools may have an abundance of digital appliances, schools may still have a large proportion of teachers who believe in the "I teach, you listen" philosophy. The problem with this is that where children attend such a mixed-strategy school, it is doubtful that either system can be successful. And, again, despite a tacit recognition of the theory of Multiple Intelligences, it is often the case that lesson after lesson the children only experience one form of teaching and learning.

When and where young people learn has been the subject of much discussion and in some cases a serious indictment of our academic culture. We tend to expect children to learn only in lesson time and do not appreciate the vast amount of 'out-of-school' time which can be rich with experience and capable of much reflection and collaboration with others outside of the immediate home-school environment. Although the following graphic might raise some questions about the quality of the research relating to students in Holland, again, it raises questions about whether tapping into the power of modern media is recognised by schools as having any real merit.

from: CISCO Equipping_Every_Learner_for_21st_Century_White_Paper.pdf

The question is, do these figures represent total media usage by students in your country or is Holland different to other countries?

Minds on Fire?

This morning I came across a blog from 'Supercool School' which pointed me to the Educause document
'Minds on Fire', from last year. The document is well worth reading, even if a bit out-of-date now.

What particularly attracted me was the strapline to their recommendation, "In a rapidly changing world social learning will dominate over formal education."

'How daft', was my instant response. For ages we have recognised that more sex education is taught behind the bike sheds than in the Biology labs, that 5-year-olds are taught how to say 'please' and 'thank you' not by being told that this is the accepted norm, but by the fact that parents and grandparents informally and unconsciously teach these things by regular practice between themselves and also upon the informal correction, at the point of need, of the child.

Similarly, schools recognise that they only have an input to the child's education for some 12% to 20% of their young lives. Recently, through the Home Access Programme in the UK we are supporting the need for closer contact with parents and carers in order to reinforce good educational practice. (Use the search tool at the top right column for more on the Home Access Programme.)

Nowhere is the e-Portfolio a more practical and effective tool for supporting informal or social learning and documenting the transitory and ephemeral experiences of out-of-school learning. What I would like to see in the coming months is more examples of good practice in capturing that 'butterfly' of informal learning, particularly with younger students. - Any offers?

Informal Adult Learning

This new .ning site addresses yet another area in which an easily 'portable' e-Portfolio can meet a wide variety of needs. The thread started by Christine Lewis needs serious attention. I quote her opening challenge:

"Chapter 4 of the Learning Revolution white paper states that Local Authorities will work with others to provide five core elements to underpin a strong local offer of informal learning:

• Innovation: public funds used flexibly, complementing private and third sector investment effectively, enabling learning opportunities to thrive by building new partnerships and connections;
  
• Universal access: all adults able to shape and access the learning activities they want for personal development and fulfilment wherever they live, whatever their qualifications and income;
  
• Targeted support: those in most financial need given greatest support. In relation to taught courses, most adults should contribute in part or in full to the cost of their learning wherever it is provided, and local areas should actively use fee collection to reinvest in extending the reach of what’s on offer;
  
• Collaboration: a wide range of partners and services working in partnership, aligning funds where appropriate, to maximise the scope for offering high quality, inspiring learning opportunities, increasing choice and helping adults move from one learning opportunity to another;
  
• Promotion: the maintenance of good, up-to-date information on informal learning opportunities to be freely and openly available to local communities.

Am I the only one who believes that a good e-Portfolio is the only real solution to this present debacle? It seems that Local Authorities in particular are failing to recognise that a tool such as eFolio in the UK can meet all of the above criteria. eFolio, in particular can meet the needs of those who may not be so ICT 'savy' and yet at the same time lends itself to any level of sophistication that a learner may wish for.

If any Local Authority staff are reading this, I challenge them to come up with a solution that is more cost effective than eFolio! Or better still, come back at me at:

support@maximise-ict.co.uk

Quality, Choice and Aspiration

Or as the subtitle reads, "A strategy for young people’s information, advice and guidance." At 52 pages this is a serious read that all involved in the education of children should be aware of. Click here to download the .pdf file.

The document outlines yet more initiatives to be included within an already crowded curriculum. That said, it identifies issues that most schools are taking on board or have had as part of their Careers responsibilities for some years. Careers teachers and counsellors will probably shout out, 'What do you think we've been doing for the past 20-30 years? It talks, correctly about the need to help young people to be aware of the opportunities available to them and repeatedly encourages teachers, parents and students to "think outside of the box".

As the introduction says: "Young people need high quality information, advice and guidance (IAG) to help them find their way in the world and make decisions that will set them on the path to success. We want young people to access the support and opportunities they need to:

• succeed in education and continue participating in learning until the age of 18
  
• make informed choices about their careers and be prepared for the demands of working life
  
• raise their aspirations and fulfil their potential
  
• overcome barriers that may be preventing them from releasing their talents."

Taken as a set of guidelines, this is basically a common-sense document about communication skills, how schools and employers relate to each other, how parents and pupils are encouraged to gain impartial and appropriate advice.

Every page is about communication, BUT, as with many government documents it leaves open the question of how best to encourage processes of communication. For me, every single page is shouting out, 'Why not use an e-Portfolio?'