To me, one of the enormous surprises regarding the Browne review of Higher Education funding was the complete absence of any mention of online or blended delivery. Here was a report about the future of the delivery of education at university level, but it missed a trick by omitting the innovative online delivery going on at present. Our recent study into online learning , delivered by the technology assisted lifelong learning centre (TALL) at the University of Oxford, identified more than 2,600 courses already being delivered online in the UK, and worldwide the area is seen as having huge potential for growth.
However journalist Anne Mroz, writing in the Times Higher Education magazine, cautions that:
“Any broadening of provision and innovation in delivering it is welcome. But online distance learning needs careful handling. Problems will arise if courses grow out of financial and political pressures rather than considered educational strategy.”
HEFCE, on behalf of the government, will shortly be publishing the final report of an Online Learning Task Force examining precisely this area of opportunity. The taskforce, chaired by Lynne Brindley of the British Library, has seen evidence from across the sector – including the TALL report cited above and a fascinating study by the National Union of Students.
The Online Learning Task Force has a difficult remit. How do you capture the full experience of university, with all the personal growth and development that this entails, via a web browser? Is it simply a cheaper way to get more students through the system? Who is looking for online learning, and what do they want? Are Kaplan right that technology is the only possible future for higher education?
Ahead of the report, we discuss the issues with David White who led on the TALL report, Richard Hall e-Learning co-ordinator at De Montfort University, and staff and students from the University of Leicester, as part of the latest JISC On Air radio show. The show explores many of the issues around the questions raised above.
Listen now
Episode 2: Online Distance Learning (Duration: 24:04)
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Great podcast, lots of eminently quotable lines for persuading people of the potential of online learning. Good to hear Dave and Rich sounding like radio professionals, a career on R4 await.
For hard data that training students in a Second Life environment can work in a real life environment, check out Nigel Wynne’s Comslive project http://comslive.health.bcu.ac.uk/
I think there are a couple of siuses here that need to be drawn out:How are podcasts used by lecturers:Podcasts should be used, as has been stated above, to give added value’ information. Or possibly, to allow a student to catch up with a lecture that they have missed. They should be entertaining and informative as the aural medium is one of the weaker ones for humans. Have you ever been in a bad presentation? What do you do? Do you listen to the speaker, or do you ignore them and just read the information on the slides? How are podcasts used by students: A recent survey conducted by Bridge Data has shown that 80% of podcasts never get moved onto a portable medium. This suggests that most people would rather listen to it while at a computer when they are in work mode’. The idea of a 24/7 student, listen to extra learning material on the train to work etc quickly disappears if you listen to the students themselves. How should downloadable content be managed: There are two sub-points here, depending on the lecturer. If the lecturer is a normal’ lecturer, you can make some assumptions: (Note: these are based on experiences my friends and I have had.) The most relevant one here is that they will not know how to give a presentation, and seeming most lectures are in a presentation format, this is interesting. But on the plus side of this, this means that when they upload their presentation files, there is enough information there for the student to be able to recreate most of the information from the lecture. However, if they present correctly, then their uploaded files will be meaningless without some audio as information should come from a lecturer not a .ppt file. If it did come from a file, why keep lecturers on staff, just get them to create the files and then pay Equity minimum and get actors to give the lessons. In this case, a podcast coupled with a presentation would be best. This would also give the best experience for the learner. And, before you start complaining, this is easy to achieve. You could just record the lecture and edit it together without any breaks or ums’ and ahs’. I could go on, but I think this may be long enough for the moment. Mark
My quote from this
………..Turning material into ‘intake’ e-tivities
Impressive podcast – especially liked the emphasis that learning materials need to be designed for online learning, not just transferred. I would, however, take issue with the discussion on online learning being the poor relative of face-to-face learning when it comes to networking. Having just completed the Open University online Masters module H800, I have expanded my network tremendously with contacts all over the world. The course encouraged us to use blogs, forums and Twitter and we built a very good and supportive working relationship.
I’m currently both a post-grad, distance learning student and a digital practitioner within UK HE (Digital Comms Manager at Warwick).
I’m very interested in the subject but currently assessing for myself how/if e-learning supports a good student experience.
As a practitioner I think it’ll be a mistake to think that cost reduction is a benefit, done well digital/online content (in ever sector) tends to cost more, at least in the upfront capital expense.
Speaking as a student the critical issue is the appropriate engagement from the lecturers, they need to engage regularly and communicate clearly. The key fundamental though has been the opportunity to blend the experience with face to face contact (although some of my peers haven’t attended any of the discussion days yet have still done well in their assignments).
Although story-boarding is a necessity when designing anything interactive, it’s important to acknowledge that perfection can be the enemy of progress. Sometimes good enough, is an appropriate standard.
Should have mentioned I’m not a student at Warwick. My MSc is with Econsultancy and MMU.
Absolutely loved this podcast, and agree with Lynn. I have been doing a distance learning course with the aptly named Distance Learning College and Training (www.dlcandtraining.co.uk) and i was slightly apprehensive about the lack of face to face support. They have a structured the support package so that you can speak to a tutor as many times as you need too. The main thing for me, was that i was working full time and going back to university or college wasnt really an option. Id 100% recommend this to people who are looking to further there education there are so many benefits.