Views From the Gulch

Social psychologists have contributed much to the theories and practices of adult learning and improving the effectiveness of adult learning practices.  Adult educators are familiar with the concepts of group learning, the influence of group dynamics, individual differences in learning and application of learning, the impact of self-disclosure and feedback and learning through modelling and comparison of ourselves with others.

With the increasing use of e-learning it is important to remind ourselves of these principles espoused by social psychology and examine how they can be implemented in the e-learning environment. 

Some suggestions include:

• providing opportunities for both individual and group learning (eg individual readings/activities plus participation in discussion forums and social networks)    
• Adult educators need to ensure their own performance and behaviour is congruent with their espoused theories and appropriate to the situation, with clear boundaries regarding appropriate behaviour that are established at the outset and are modelled by the educator (eg discussion of netiquette)
• Learning needs to be broken into small chunks to maximise effectiveness (eg weekly tasks/activities)
• There must be opportunities for practice of new skills and knowledge in a supportive, safe environment (eg tasks to practise and apply the learning with feedback provided)
• Learners need to be encouraged to share information/assist each other to achieve learning outcomes.  This is particularly so for complex tasks where co-operative learning is effective (eg a social network, group assessment tasks)
• Educators should encourage learners to explore all points of view, value diversity and share both the communication process and leadership and power in the group (eg a range of reading/activities recommended; netiquette guidelines applied; social networks with a moderator seeding forums; group activities; compulsory participation in online activities, with grades dependent on this)
• There need to be suitable models for comparison to match the various skill levels of learners.  This may involve starting off with a model who is competent in the area to show how objectives can be achieved; then moving onto comparison with a highly skilled person to encourage mastery (eg discussion forums that start with basics and progress to more advanced topics; a social network where all levels of expertise are demonstrated)
• Feedback about behaviours and performance is provided.  Effective feedback should describe the behaviour/performance and explore alternatives for addressing any deficits and be given at an appropriate time place (eg feedback on assignments and performance in class activities; development of a coaching or mentoring relationship with participants where appropriate) 

Implementing suggestions such as these will assist in maximising the effectiveness of online courses and learning activities. 

 I have posted Assignment 1.1 - Selecting A Learning Community.  Click here to view my thoughts.

The Sydney Morning Herald recently  ran an article titled “Death By Internet” (15 March 2008).  The article stated that at least 8 players have died during marathon online gaming sessions.  One man died after 86 hours non stop gaming, another after 50 hours.  Apparently players forget to eat, sleep, move and drink for hours at a time.  Deaths have been due to heart attacks and DVT’s caused by the hours of inactivity. 

A few weeks ago I would have shaken my head in disbelief at this article.  Now, with my own experience of “internet time” the story grabbed my attention.   Hopefully, I won’t need the specialised counselling services established for just this problem in South Korea.  But I now understand how the problem could arise.  I’m getting hooked on this “online stuff”.

I am 3 weeks into this journey and what a ride it’s been.   

Initially it was full of confusion and frustrations as I tried to cope with this alien culture and language.  I thought I was pretty computer savvy but I’ve had to learn a whole new language and explore a whole new world of concepts, thinking and ways of doing things.  What were these things such as Ning networks, social bookmarking and how on earth could I ever create a weblog????  .  I was certainly “immersed” in the technology, some days I felt I was drowning and wanted to flee back to my comfort zone. 

But after the second week things started to come together – I lurked around the e-learning community and found the courage to make an entry; I got my weblog created and even managed to post information to it.  I was so excited by my success I emailed all my family and friends with the link – regardless of whether they might be interested in it’s content.  Then I got my first comments – I was ecstatic! 

I am now more comfortable with this world of e-learning and am keen to explore it’s possibilities.  I have ideas for creating an e-learning community of my own and can’t wait to get into the details of how others are using the technologies available.  I finally understand how “internet time” happens.  Where do the days go when I’m online? One of the greatest supports during these initial weeks has been the e-learning community.  I was comforted to see others experiencing similar difficulties and frustrations, even those who had been exploring this world for a while.  The tips and advice from others helped keep me coming back to my travels.  So, the social psychologists are right – learning in a group does result in changed attitudes, new learning and a willingness to apply that learning.  

I feel like the real adventures are now about to begin. 

Each year the Horizon Report looks at emerging technologies that may impact on teaching, learning and creative expression within higher education in the coming 5 years. The 2008 Horizon Report identified the following technologies:

• Grassroots video – I have heard of these, but never explored their use, either socially or educationally
• Collaboration webs – again, something I have heard of but have never had the opportunity to utilise
• Mobile broadband – I am aware of some of the increasing range of technology available in mobiles but have not even activated those on my own phone
• Data mashups – is something I had not heard of until reading the report, however they appear to be an exciting tool for educators
• Collective intelligence & social operating systems – are both concepts that I am not familiar with. 

 The 2008 Horizon Report identified a number of significant trends in teaching and learning.  According to the report there is a growing use of Web 2.0 and social networking which is resulting in changes in the way we work, collaborate and communicate.  This is being facilitated by improved access to, and portability of, technological devices.  From my recent university experiences I would agree that this is an increasing trend, at least in the higher education sector.  I would also agree with the Report that there is an increasing gap between the perceptions of students and faculty regarding available technology and it’s applications, generally with the deficit being amongst faculty.  I would also add that, particularly for mature age students, there is potentially a gap within the student body that educators utilising the technology need to cater for. The 2007 Horizon Report outlined technologies with which I am slightly more familiar.  At least two of these technologies  have potential for use in my workplace. Social networking could provide an opportunity to form a network of trainers and assessors, both within my own organisation and across the public safety sector.  In my organisation there are 55 staff involved in training and assessment activities spread across numerous locations.  One of the challenges of this geographically dispersed structure is consistent communication.  Social networking can provide a forum where changes can be communicated, latest tools discussed and validated, queries raised and answered and a sense of “community” can be achieved amongst the staff involved.   In a similar vein, I believe an industry-wide trainers/assessors network could be established for the various agencies working in the industry – providing a forum for discussion, information and resource sharing and validation processes in a cost and time effective manner. The other technology that I see of benefit to my workplace is virtual worlds.  Working in the public safety sector it is difficult to develop simulations to effectively practice or assess skills.  One particular area in which I see this as a useful tool is the development of incident management skills.  Traditionally, this has been done using desktop exercises.  Utilising virtual worlds could provide the opportunity to develop realistic and detailed scenarios that allow learners to immerse themselves in the scenarios and fully assume the responsibilities of the roles involved, without incurring real-world consequences.  This could provide cost and time effective exercising across an organisation, between organisations and between states, which could further facilitate the implementation of these skills in large scale emergencies.    

There have been a number of significant changes since Seely Brown (1999) presented his paper ”Learning, Working and Playing in the Digital Age”.  Many are in line with his predictions:

• the web has become an increasing part of our lives and our social infrastructure (the things we do, the language we use, our social/leisure activities) and the speed at which we share information and communication (or the speed we expect to communicate at
• more people have become involved in the production and distribution of knowledge via Wiki’s, social networks, etc
• the need for rapidly acquiring new knowledge and skills (for work or other pursuits) continues to increase

I’m not sure if “digital kids” are learning as Seely Brown predicted - especially with recent research that is questioning the efficiency of multi-tasking.  I do know that many older workers are struggling with the impact of technology on their work - eve the basics such as word processing and emails.

Many of the issues raised by Seely Brown have been, or are being, adopted:

• online learning experiences are being encouraged at all levels of the education system and in industry.  “e-learning” is a catch cy and seen as a panacea for the time/costs associated with participants attaining new skills in many organisations
• an increase in the use of social networks - from my own initial experiences with them I am keen to see how they work and are adopted
• the need for reflective use of these technologies - too often they are introduced into an organisation with little or not thought and no follow up or development to ensure that their full potential is realised.

From my perspective there are a number of challenges in using these technologies in my workplace:

• my own developing knowledge and comfort level
• a workforce with a significant number of older, blue collar workers who are not interested in using technology AND a significant number of professionsals who are very familiar with the technology.  Finding a happy medium will be challenging
• outdated IT infrastructure - many sites have dial up access; broadband speed even in some urban environments; an  IT policy that blocks access to many educational sites and downloads from them
• the limited exposure of senior management of the organisation to the use of technology for learning and the associated lack of understanding of issues around it (eg how social networking can result in learning)

 I look forward to continuing to explore these technologies and finding ways to deal with these challenges. 

This weblog will chronicle my journey into the world of e-learning. I will be exploring various aspects of e-learning and looking at how I can apply these in my professional activities as an adult educator.