Views From the Gulch

I confess.

I’m an e-learning technology convert.  I now see so many possibilities for e-learning and it’s associated technologies in my practice as an adult educator.  Mind you, my conversion isn’t complete - I still see a definite need for f2f interaction and I don’t believe that an e-learning “course” is the panacea for all training woes.

What I do see are the possibilities that e-learning technology provides - to go beyond the bounds of traditional classroom training;  to move towards communities of learning for organisations; to increase dialogue and interaction between staff and to capture the “explicit knowledge” in the organisation - all enhancing learning for both individuals and organisations.

I’m now promoting my ideas and learnings to others and trying to encourage a similar acceptance in my colleagues by demonstrating how we can use the technology.

At a recent conference on emergency management training I attended a stream on e-learning.  Good I thought, more ideas and ways to apply them to what we do.  So, off I went and encouraged some colleagues to do the same.

What a disappointment - while the presenter knew her stuff it was pretty much a “show and tell” session - using PowerPoint!  We had the opportunity to look at some of the technologies such as blogs, wikis and Skype - but only at their websites - there was no attempt to contextualise the information and give participants ideas on how the technology could by used in emergency management training.

An article I read recently stated “… technology implementation in a positive learning experience can be one of the strongest influencing factors in their subsequent uptake” (Weller, Pegler & Mason, 2005).  This conference was an situation where the exposure to e-learning tools and technology was not positive - in fact it had the opposite effect on my colleagues - they left the session as soon as possible, uninspired.

If only this session had used some of the technologies to present the message, or had been contextualised to show how the tools could be used in developing and presenting training materials for emergency management agencies I could have had a cohort of supporters.  This observation was supported by my colleagues’ responses to another session which did exactly this - they came to me saying “we’ve got to get this really great program - we’ve seen how we can use it to make our training better”.

This is another salient lesson for me as I endeavour to covert others in my organisation and win support for the introduction of new technologies and approaches in the learning arena. 

Where to start with so many options available to me is the next question - I need to reign in my enthusiasm, give it some direction and remember how to eat an elephant - mouthful by mouthful.

Reference

Weller, M., Pegler, C. & Mason, R. 2005, Use of innovative technologies in an e-learning course.  Internet and Higher Education, 8(1), 61-71.

I have just experienced my most positive group work experience - via participation in an online learning community.

I’m the first to admit that I don’t enjoy group work - I have high standards and I don’t like to be in a situation where I have to rely on others to achieve them.  Too often, in both study and work environments, I have found the outcomes of group work not reaching my standards.  While this may be perfectionist tendencies (and something I need to deal with elsewhere) it’s been a reality for me. 

Social constructivist theory holds that we learn best from interacting with others and the environment - debating, sharing, collaborating.  The research recommends this approach for online learning.  Now it was time to put it to the test.  So, it was with a certain amount of trepidation that I approached a group project to design an online learning community

After some initial discussions seven people joined together to form the Mending JuJu project - it was actually two small groups with slightly different aims but with enough similarities in purpose for us to think we could achieve the desired outcome.

The members had met briefly and had interacted online for approximately 6 weeks- via discussion forums, blogs and comments - but had no real affiliations.  The group largely self-selected - people with like interests or aspirations were drawn together to achieve an outcome.  The other similarities are all based around my perceptions of my group members- all looking to utilise e-learning in their work; all busy people with full work, academic and personal lives; a variety of experience in e-learning and all high achievers. 

The group reflected all learning styles - activitsts, reflectors, theorists and pragmatists.  All contributed actively to the group processes and learning.  We shared our strengths, learnt from each other and contributed to the group goal.

The group went through Tuckman’s stages of group development - we formed, we stormed (a little - maybe more internally than externally), we normed and then we performed - and achieved our stated objective to the satisfaction of all members.  We are yet to adjourn/mourn, although this is likely to come as our studies draw to a close.

What helped this group to form and function so effectively?  This is a question I find fascinating - especially as almost all members expressed similar reticence with group projects.  There are a number of factors that I think contributed to the effectiveness of the group which I wish to reflect on and explore in more depth over the coming weeks.  These include:

• A stated group charter where we learnt more about each others aspirations, concerns, strengths and limitations, perhaps engendering a sense of trust among the team members
• Self-selection by members
• A common goal - both in terms of the project outcome and our personal goals
• A shared theoretical basis - of social constructivism and e-learning community design
• The mix of learning styles, and personalities
• A common personality trait - high achievers
• A common background in adult education and a commitment to developing our own knowledge and practices as educators
• The impact of e-learning technologies and “virtual” group work

 Maybe it was one or more of these factors, maybe it was just a serendipitous event.  Regardless of the cause I now have a new perspective on group work and am looking forward to my next experience.