Getting there….Another chance to blow it?

Professor Mark StilesHead of Learning Development & Innovation

Staffordshire University

Some things to focus on…

• “The philosophers have interpreted the world – the point is to change it”

(Karl Marx)

Some things to focus on…

• “Build it and they will come…” ???(“Field of Dreams”)

First some things to focus on…

First some things to focus on…

The Big Picture

• Drive to support the life-long learner

– Affects the whole of UK– BUT context differs

• Pressures to “engage with technology”• Lots of eLearning strategies!

The Big Picture - learner focused?

•Institutional business processes•Institutional systems•Management of learning•The learning experience

Except sometimes in the case of the last point, NONE of these are generally learner centred

The Big Picture - ringing bells?

“The BEST POSSIBLE learning experience ?”Practitioners probably DO want this – BUT at a CEO level does it take precedence over:

Satisfying Funding bodies?Retention?Recruitment?Saving money AND staff?Passing inspections?Meeting targets?

The Big Picture - systems? o Marketingo Recruitmento Enrolmentso Feeso Learner Recordso Transcriptso PDPo ePortfolioo VLEso Repositorieso eResourceso Portals

Not many of these are “learner centred”?

The Big Picture - joined up systems? • Recruitment – for consortia selling FDs?

• Enrolments – making sure everyone gets their money – avoiding repetition of effort?

• Sharing of content – reuse or repurposing? What are the real benefits from an institutional/national viewpoint?

• Aiding progression – ok but again often more about recruitment than anything else

Much of this is still about MANAGEMENT and REPORTING

The Big Picture - Government(s)?

What are the real agendas?What does LLL mean to them?

A FLEXIBLE workforce first and foremostCommodified and easily accessible workforce?

The Big Picture - Government(s)? Is it all about empowering the individual or de-institutionalising things?

For example ePortfolios, widely exposed, do not contribute to an institutional view – BUT is it a LEARNER view either?

What does government see as the real benefit of ePorfolio?

What about national eLearning content repositories – reuse or repurpose? OR: • Deskilling the teaching workforce• POSSIBLY REDUCING the workforce POSSIBLY a “content market”

Rubbish, I know, but are there people who BELIEVE this?

What is eLearning?

• When push comes to shove it’s just learning

• When we stop labelling it, we’ll have it• It offers:

– Innovative pedagogy?– New ways of widening participation?– New modes of course structure and

delivery?– Learning centred on the Learner? – An improved learning experience?

What is eLearning?

• It’s about the WHOLE learning experience• It requires we integrate ALL our systems

(that impact on all aspects of learning and research) – manual and electronic

• It challenges:

– The nature of the “institution”– Our organisational foci– Organisational and academic culture– Policy, Process, Role and Responsibility– Concepts of “ownership” and legal “givens”

Pedagogy & the Learning Experience

2003 JISC MLE “Landscape Study” of UK HE & FE

•little evidence of enhancement of learning and teaching

•pedagogic issues had not in general been addressed:

“It could be said that HE has never addressed pedagogy; … Until now, pedagogy has traditionally barely figured in planning or professional development.”

•MLEs not embedded in institutional strategic and operational frameworks.

•MLE activities rarely an integral part of the philosophy, policies and practice of the institution

Pedagogy & the Learning Experience

2005 JISC MLE “Landscape Study” of UK HE and FE Consultation:

“…the results also show two thirds of modules of study being web supplemented which would seem to indicate that the ‘stuff your notes into your VLE’ model is prevalent and increasing”

Back to the sheep?

eResources vs eLearning

•The eLearning world tends to focus on the intention of resources•The library world tends to focus on the content of resources(nod to John Paschoud, LSE)

“Pedagogical issues need to be incorporated, to ensure the academic validity of teaching and using information online. These issues have a history of being ignored by librarians in particular, but for academics to accept the close library input necessary, this must change.” - Inspiral Report , 2001

eResources vs eLearning

A question from the JISC SURF X4L Project:“I’ve got a first-year biology field trip coming up: has anyone good anything useful to support some small group work?”

I’d like suggest our current eLearning AND library systems would have trouble answering this request(A good subject librarian or eLearning development specialist might not!)

eResources vs eLearning

A point made from the JISC SURF X4L Project:

“I don’t want to just take other people’s stuff and reuse it, I want to be able to repurpose it to tailor it to my students’ needs and exercise my own teaching skills”

This poses all sorts of issues for resource providers

“Just in Time” Learning

Given the diversity of modern learners, and agendas for lifelong learning, inclusion and widening participation, learners require access to resources (and all the other information that impacts on their learning experience):

“Just in Time” or, “At point of need”

This poses both pedagogic and information provision challenges

A traditional course• Content driven

• External resources separate from internal

• External resources grouped

• Lectures can be physical or electronic (virtual or e-content)

• Resources can be physical or electronic (embedded or links)

A more active course• Output driven/activity led

• Lectures are resources

• External resources targeted at activities

• Lectures can be physical or electronic (virtual or e-content)

• Resources can be physical or electronic (embedded or links)

Strategy is not enough

• Institutions are good at writing strategies, but less good at putting them into practice!

• Strategies tend to be about introducing eLearning & e-Environment not their “normal operation”

eLearning, culture & practice

• Much of staff and learner cultures are formed by the context in which they operate

• If eLearning is seen as something “different” much staff development on practice will not “take”

• eLearning can be considered embedded when policies, procedures, roles and responsibilities pertaining to eLearning are integrated – with those applying to “normal” practice.

Reinforcing the Message

•The place of eLearning Policy–‘Vertical coherence’–Policy

–‘Horizontal coherence’–Policies, Procedures, Roles & Responsibilities

•The place of staff development–Cultural Change“In terms of barriers to development in support of eLearning, … institutional culture was in the top six”

In conclusion:

We are on the way, but:– Roles must change– eLearning is just learning– All parts of institutions need to “join together” in a

planned way - not just by rhetoric– Technology is NOT the biggest problem

• If we don’t address all this… It’s the plughole again!!!