Theme 1 keynote: Responding to learners
e-Learning online conference 09 programme
Presentation and associated materials
Some additional materials are also available:
Abstract
In this keynote we want to debunk two myths about learners and technology, and replace them with a more nuanced understanding of what learners want from educators, and how we might respond.
The 'digital natives' myth has already been discredited in the research literature, and by practitioners who recognise the diversity of learners' attitudes to technology. But there is no doubt that learners' relationships with knowledge and study are changing, and that their relationship with technology is implicated in this. We consider what is happening at the interface between digitally 'native' practices such as tweeting, blogging, social networking, gaming and filesharing, and the practices of study as they too are transformed by technology. How can learners navigate these different cultures, and what is the experience like?
The 'learners' expectations' myth is our second theme. Although we believe learners must be fully engaged in decisions about their learning, 'what learners want' emerges from the research as diverse and contradictory. Contrary to the fears of many educators, we find no evidence that learners are demanding more, and more cutting edge, technology in the learning environment. In fact the opposite is often the case. If we understand the potential benefit of technology in learning, we need a position that is not just responsive – though we should respond to learners' fears and lack of confidence around technology - but that positively challenges and progresses them. Our approach is a developmental one, which brings together findings around learners' experiences of learning and learners' digital literacies.
Presenters
Helen Beetham
Helen is a Consultant to JISC, in which role she supports the Curriculum Design and Open Educational Resources programmes, as well as other aspects of e-Learning development and strategy. She is widely published and a regular speaker at conferences in the UK and abroad. Rethinking Pedagogy for the Digital Age, edited with Rhona Sharpe, is becoming a standard textbook in the discipline, and a second volume, Rethinking Learning for the Digital Age, is forthcoming from Routledge. Other recent publications include a study into digital literacies, and reviews of the Learners' Experiences of e-Learning and Design for Learning programmes.
Rhona Sharpe
Dr. Rhona Sharpe is principal lecturer in the Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development at Oxford Brookes University UK where she is responsible for the research and consultancy activities of the unit. Recently her research has focussed on learners' experiences of e- learning managing projects funded by the JISC and Higher Education Academy. She also researches how professionals learn, develop and design for learning within an academic environment. She was one of the founder members of ELESIG, is co-editor of ALT-J, Research in Learning Technology and is Fellow of the Staff and Educational Development Association.
Facilitator
Greg Benfield
Greg Benfield is a senior lecturer, e-learning specialist educational developer at Oxford Brookes University in the Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development (OCSLD). His work focuses on supporting e-learning. He runs workshops and online courses for higher education staff across the UK and leads the Course Design Intensive (CDI) workshops for programme renewal and redesign at Oxford Brookes and externally. He has been involved in a number of JISC and HEA projects, most recently in the Synthesis and Support project of the JISC Learner Experiences of e-Learning Programme. His particular areas of interest are students’ experiences of e-learning, in particular technology-mediated group work, and assessment. Greg is a Fellow of the Assessment Standards and Knowledge exchange (ASKe).