Generally speaking one of the themes that’s become abundantly clear to me in the faculty over the last two and a half months is the relative lack of awareness of the diversity and opportunity that exists in online learning and online engagement. In practice this has meant that that environments that are looked to and adopted in terms of eLearning and educational technology are fairly generic, and so too is the manner in which they are frequently used.
This is no criticism of the staff mind you, merely an observation.
The big question for me, though, becomes what to do about it. I’ve vowed from the beginning not to become a harbinger or preacher of technology, trying to mindlessly convert people to join some sort of “online revolution.” Certainly I believe there is extraordinary opportunity in online environments – and technology more broadly – to support and empower the learning and teaching processes, but the key is not mindless adoption, but relevant, strategic implementation and the realization of personal meaning and significance that educational technology has for each individual.
Content is still King
I’ve also noticed the degree to which content is still king (or queen) in the classroom. Most of what is discussed and demonstrated revolves around the structuring and delivery of content, not what the learners will be doing with it, how they’ll be synthesizing it, interpreting it, deconstructing it, reconstructing it, and in particular interacting with one another and with the broader world beyond the classroom.
Based on comments from the staff, a key factor for many academics seems to be lack of time – lack of time to learn new systems or acclimate to different online dynamics; to establish the online presence or hub for the course; to help students understand the systems; to moderate or monitor the conversations or debates that arise in their wake.
The immediate technical concerns and logistics seem to be preventing much experimentation or innovation from occurring, and limiting much of the use that is occurring to content delivery.
This is not the case universally of course, and there are some fantastic, key initiatives that strive to facilitate openness, foster diversity, encourage people to reach beyond the classroom and think bigger and broader than just content and courses to include broader notions of digital or network pedagogy – however these would seem to be a small but crucial minority at present, and much of the rest of the faculty still operates on a much different, far more content-based model.
As a result, for good or for bad, in practice the discussion on educational technology still tends to boil down to tools and systems rather than pedagogy or broader notions of online literacy.
What to do about it?
So the question remains, what to do about it. Experience has shown me that some form of basic training is going to have to exist; there are simply too many gaps to do otherwise. In several notable instances I’ve tried to leap straight into the broader discussions on use of educational technology and how it fits within the broader learning process only to be met with blank stares and basic questions of tool functionality.
Clearly, support needs to be available for staff who need assistance learning the basics of the systems.
That said, I think it’s critical to start cultivating a culture where people feel empowered and confident enough to experiment with new technologies on their own – and to recognize that challenges and mistakes are all important components of the learning process that are as much an opportunity for growth as they are an immediate inconvenience – but not every one will fall into that category.
And yet it would be a tremendous mistake, I think, to get hung up on the basics and the button pushing and ignore the broader concepts and discussions on what online learning is, what it looks like, how you cultivate it, and what implications it has for the learning process.
We need to leave space for blue-sky creative musings and theoretical contemplation, not just functional practicalities of software use.
Two-pronged approach
So what all this points to, really, is the necessity of a two-pronged approach – one that addresses the need for development of basic software skills and digital literacies and yet also broaches the broader themes of digital pedagogy and properly situating educational technology within the learning process.
[Next Post: Exploring the specifics of the plan…]
