Who are your learners?

Rhona SharpeOxford Brookes University

26 May 2011

Goodenough College, London

Who are your learners?

What do we know already about our learners?

What do you still need to find out about your learners?

Image by Snowmanradio, Flickr

Learner experience Phase 2: Summary

Learners are immersed in technology rich environment The concept of ‘e-learning’ as course related technology

provided by the institution provides a narrow perspective of students’ technology use

Learners have high expectations of institutions to provide robust, reliable and accessible technology.

Some learners feel disadvantaged by lack of functional access to technology or the skills to use it properly

Some learners are making deliberate choices to adopt sophisticated technology mediated learning strategies, using a range of tools in personalised, creative ways to support their study

Digital Natives?

Learners’ ICT skills are less advanced than educators and learners think (Nicholas et al. 2008, JISC 2008-9)

Characterisation of young people as ‘digital natives’ hides many contradictions in their experiences (Luckin et al. 2009)

Learners’ engagement with digital media is complex and differentiated (Bennet et al. 2008, Hargittai, 2009)

Learners experience many difficulties transposing practices from social contexts into formal learning (Cranmer 2006)

Active knowledge building and sharing e.g. writing wikis, tagging, reviewing, recommending, repurposing, are minority activities to which most learners are introduced by educators (Selwyn 2009)

Some aspects of learners’ everyday practice with technology are at odds with practices valued in traditional academic teaching (Beetham 2009)

Birkenhead Sixth Form College SLiDA Case Study

“I don’t want to have to waste time on technology, I just want it to do whatever it does quickly”

Finding out about your learners

Thinking about learners at your institution, what do you know about their current access, skills and strategies for learning in a digital environment?

What challenges do you think they face in becoming digitally literate?

Individually, Spend a couple of minutes answering the questions on the checklist.

Activity: http://tinyurl.com/digilearners

1. Share, which questions do you find difficult to answer? Which will be important for your teaching?

2. Compare, How are your students similar and different? Where are the gaps in what you know about your students?

3. Choose one section of the checklist to discuss in more detail.

4. Discuss to what extent do your learners have the access, skills, or strategies necessary for that section?

5. Add comments to http://tinyurl.com/digilearners

Learner profile tool