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.

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”.

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.