I found the eLearning guidelines really interesting. I was reading them and thinking 'oh yes' thats really important!!! The two that I have decided to use are based on some situations that I have come across recently. I will use the Moodle scenario as this is now what I spend a lot of my time working on.
TO1 Are staff development programmes for e-learning developed in consultation with teaching staff, in order to identify and meet staff needs?
I have noticed that we are doing a lot of staff training and not really thinking about the content and how it is structured. The staff are not asked the level of knowledge they have or whether there is something specific that they want to learn about. I feel that we have the team members and knowledge to made the staff development more dynamic and relevant.
SD5 Do students acquire the learning skills for successfully completing the course?
Another favourite of mine and something I am very passionate about. I am seeing so often students who have been accepted on courses, whether it be f2f or online who are ill equipped to succeed, who eventually give up because it is to hard. I think there is definitely an assumption that students who enrol in courses have a certain level of computer skills and information literacy. I can only imagine how much tougher this would be without being able to come into the library and talk with someone who can physically help you with what you need to know.
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Hi Donna,
I have also chosen TO1 and have put my thoughts in my blog (http://gordon-esol.blogspot.com/).
I think it is easy to underestimate the importance of providing adequate professional development for the staff in order to bring them up to a level of competence such that they can both design and facilitate on-line courses. I think sometimes there is an assumption that because they are teachers/lecturers they will automatically have the requisite skills. I am a teacher and have learned a great deal through doing these papers. Mostly I have learned how much I didn't know!
However, I think you are right that the PD must be well structured and aimed to build on the existing skills and knowledge of the individuals. It must be effective and relevant. They are a key group of stakeholders and their buy-in is critical.
I would be a fan of modular training, to allow them to pick and choose as appropriate, with an on-line component, to experience e-learning from the learners perspective.
Gordon
Referring to your SD5 comments Donna, I just wondered if there was any scope within your organisation to enable students to 'come up to speed' with the necessary computer skills?
Donna two very good choices for your situation. I have a question - is your organisation changing to Moodle and is this why there is staff development training in Moodle? If so , the evaluation project presentation by Selena, Lois and Trish is based on a similar scenario. This presentation and is on the course blog at: http://bestpracticeevaluation.blogspot.com/2008/04/presentation-sandra-elias-evaluation-of.html
You make a good point about staff training and how important it is to make the staff development relevant and contextual - straight step-by-step "training" does not help people get to a point where they can easily transfer what they are learning into any situation.
Gordon's preference for online modules could fit with the need for just-in-time, short packages which staff can access whenever they need to know something.
I am a huge fan of helping staff develop greater self-efficacy ie confidence in eLearning. Those who dabble and use a lot of informal learning strategies tend to be more willing to try things out and are not afraid to make mistakes. I have been involved in a couple of research projects on this subject.
It is a huge achievement to get staff used to using the tutorial and help features in any software they use, and get them to a point where they will "give it a go".
Re SD5- student learning skills. Otago Polytechnic has adopted an open enrolment policy for most programmes. To support this they assess students on entry and refer them to the necessary foundation courses and learning centre support they will need to be able to study successfully. It is early days yet but staff are coming around to the idea.
What are your feelings about the need for adequate support to help students and staff develop strong digital information literacy skills in all areas - defined broadly as the ability to access, interpret and create digital information sources.
Hi Bronwyn
UCOL is currently using both Blackboard and Moodle. There are a few lecturers who have made the change from Blackboard and the staff training helps those lecturers use all the different modules.
I don't think that we provide enough support to aid staff and students to develop strong digital information literacy skills. It is taken for granted so much that everyone has these skills or that training delivered should be 'one size fits all'. If only it were that easy.
Hello Donna
yes strong DIL skills are essential and PD help when the need arises seems to work best rather than, as you say, "one-size-fits-all" types of training.
We find a mix of training and individual or group mentoring works best where people work on real projects and problems.
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