Online Learning - does it pass the taste test?

20 June, 2004

This resource is based on a discussion held between 7 - 20 June, 2004 where members were invited to share their views, experiences, opinions and observations about online learning - from the student's perspective. It was moderated by Chris Sutton, a 2003 Flexible Learning Leader with a long history of training elearning facilitators.

Participants, mostly educators, were asked to describe their own experiences as online learners. These are a few of the things they had to say –

Online learning experiences can be transformative!

After completing 5 subjects online I don’t want to inflict elearning on anyone!

I like to take my time, so I now choose online courses that give me more time.

I had an exceptional facilitator. There was collaboration, interaction, and rich reflective dialogue. The students took control of the learning – it had all the elements of social constructivism. There was a strong social environment. We interacted on the board and via email.

Only half the subjects I studied online were enjoyable. As an aural learner it’s demotivating not to be able to have those informal discussions over coffee.

Practical subjects were easier to study online.

At the end of the year, a few of us had a brief forum discussion about our ability to remember concepts and ideas from the course - there was a distinct agreement that compared to "real world" learning, it was quite difficult to remember anything we had done in the previous year. I don’t think elearning has much of a future.

One of my most striking online learning experiences was sharing knowledge, skills, opinion and gossip with people from other countries.

I had to download and print a lot of information. There were technology problems. None of my classmates ever wanted to chat or use the forum.

Some general comments about online courses made by the participants were…

One of the biggest challenges for both students and teachers is trying to understand what is expected of them. Communication is a big key to this. The expectations on both sides need to be clearly stated up front, because if they aren't, all sorts of problems and misunderstandings can occur.

One person commented that some older learners can get confused and distracted by the technology. Another responded by suggesting Marc Prensky’s website. His article about Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants usually cheers the older learner up a bit, they said.

It’s often the new language – not the technology - that’s the biggest problem for newbies.

Elearning is dead. Blended learning is the future.

A common problem is too many people in the forums - and too many forums.

I don’t think you can have deep discussions in a forum – that is better left for f2f.

One uni lecturer said they offer flexible delivery but nobody takes it up. They describe the problems -
“(a) learners (especially aural/oral learners) want to listen and talk to each other face-to-face
(b) part of the learning experience IS the social interaction, which cannot be replaced by anything online and
(c) offer them a printed alternative and 95% will go and buy it at the bookshop (which is what happens in my "blended learning" offering).”

One of the great difficulties is the development of collaborative groups online, building trust is so difficult.

Participants were asked what they think makes a good online course. Here are some of their ideas –

One of my best experiences was one where things were:

clear
sequential
orderly
logical
predictable.

I used the Blackboard environment in 1999 and 2000 as a student and it was a nice straight forward process. From 2000 – 2002 I tried WebCT – it was challenging but taught me the real nature of a pure online course that works. It all depended on the reliability of the written communications between the group and the tutor.

A successful course is one where:

a variety of media, presentation and communication techniques
learners are allowed to make their own journey through the learning
SMS and games are essential
synchronous and asynchronous activities (forums, blogging and chat, voice and text) are used

It isn’t “you beaut” materials and interactivity. It's access to a good teacher, communication with other students and relevant, interesting content.

Learning activities must be interactive and include a variety of methodologies and strategies to suit different learning styles.

Telephone contact for distance learners is a good idea.

To get over the isolating effects of online - the mix between real-time (synchronous) and non-real time (asynchronous) communication is very important. And have the course run over several months.

The Learning Management System needs to be the right platform for the teacher and learner. Some teachers like to move the furniture around in a classroom - you should be able to do the same with an LMS. But sometimes it’s hard to even know what furniture is there! It’s a good idea to show new teachers what’s available at induction.

Who's to say that the larger organisations produce a better product? Maybe the more elearning an organisation produces the less character the learning will have? Or doesn’t it matter? Is it the role of the facilitator to blend and bring together all of the parts of the product that the learner has indicated that they enjoy and cater to the 'audience of one'?

The group began to realise that for most people having a good facilitator is the most important element for a successful online learning experience -

The communication style of the facilitator is THE MOST SINGULAR element to get right.

There is plenty of research now that says the quality of online learning is really all about the quality of the teacher and how they facilitate learning.

A good facilitator never allows the forums to be meaningless, they guide and thread and stimulate discussion. There has to be a reason for a discussion - a question, a problem to solve, a real world case study to get into.

You’ve got to give solid training to teachers before putting them on an online course. It IS different to face to face teaching and requires an understanding of the learning theory behind the practice.

It’s up to the moderator to create the atmosphere, to make it friendly and social - the right environment for learning.

One person drew the group’s attention a recent comment from Professor Brenda Gourley of the Open University in the UK about how the only reason for our existence (meaning lecturers, teachers and trainers) was the student experience.

It’s not about the technology – it’s about the learner experience. It's not WHAT you use, it’s HOW you use it.

How to become a fantastic facilitator –

One person said the best way to learn to teach online is to first be an online learner.