I am employed by a training provider located in South Wales, at present it is seen by the Welsh Assembly as one of the top providers delivery quality training to the post 16 sector specifically the vocational routes. We are all encouraged to ensure that we maximise on a learners expectations, however it is nearly impossible to realise everyone's expectation however hard you try. As this is a core value and is embedded into the work ethic it becomes increasingly impossible and demanding to ensure this happens. One of the major problems is the additional factor of the delivery of similar qualifications to adult learners too. As we are all aware of the differences between adult expectations and youth expectations, how then can these two opposing dychtomoies be resolved without letting one side down?
First impressions, a very strong visual selling point that none of us can ignore. Whether the first impression is of a training environment or the content of a qualification or the initial delivery on the first lesson. Each and everyone of us will remember a specific element and this element then becomes the driving force behind the learners perceptions of his/her environment or learning. I say very powerful because first impressions can be the carrot or the stick when it comes to learning! Why am I asking these questions, simply because in the world of Online education, the one factor that can remedy or exacerbate a learners perception is missing - a face-to-face tutor! This omission which is the stalwart of traditional teaching and consequently teaching strategies lends itself to two further questions - Does this releasing of ties to traditional methods encourage diversity and motivate practitioners to reach out and encompass cutting edge principles ? or does it simply mean that without the ever presence of the teacher and to a greater extent fellow learners increase the possibility of taught session imploding on themselves due to stagnation and apathy leading to drop out and closure?
I have asked these questions because they are the questions that online tutors must reflect on. As a prospective learner on this Masters I have first impressions and expectations. Luckily they are all positive, but one element that has been playing on my mind is the myrriad of platforms used to deliver content to the learners and for learners to use. For example, Facebook, Second Life, Myed, Blackboard, Blogs ect. That is a great amount of technology that needs to be learnt in the first instant before a learner can comfortably know which platform is used for what and for when! Granted this is a Masters level and is aimed at technologists but is the greater use of technology the better the result, the best paradigm to use ? Overkill comes to mind or is it just too much too soon ?
Keywords: expectations, IDEL08, impressions
Comments
Hi Peter
Hurrah for getting the blog up and running!
You’ve raised some interesting points about expectations, that I hope you come back to in later posts. For me, managing expectations is key, ensuring students have a realistic expectation of the course, their role, my role etc, in a way that is both encouraging and motivating but also achievable. I would relate this to impression management as well.
It reads as if the responsibility for maximising expectations is placed firmly on the training provider – where are the learners’ responsibilities in this?
Why am I asking these questions, simply because in the world of Online education, the one factor that can remedy or exacerbate a learners perception is missing - a face-to-face tutor! This omission which is the stalwart of traditional teaching and consequently teaching strategies…
I’m a bit confused here – are you saying that the teacher role is missing from online education? Wouldn’t this relate more to the curriculum design and pedagogical approach of any given course than to the medium itself? For instance, this course has a high level of tutor presence, arguably more so than in a face-to-face course.
Does this releasing of ties to traditional methods encourage diversity and motivate practitioners to reach out and encompass cutting edge principles ?
What are your initial thoughts on this?
or does it simply mean that without the ever presence of the teacher and to a greater extent fellow learners increase the possibility of taught session imploding on themselves due to stagnation and apathy leading to drop out and closure?
That’s hardly a “simply”! There are a lot of questions and assumptions tied up in that one question that are worth teasing out!
As a prospective learner on this Masters I have first impressions and expectations.
It would be great to hear what they are Peter!
Facebook, Second Life, Myed, Blackboard, Blogs ect… is the greater use of technology the better the result, the best paradigm to use ? Overkill comes to mind or is it just too much too soon?
There is certainly a steep learning curve for any student engaging in online learning for the first time, as they adapt to new learning environments. Though I wonder – how does this compare to being a f2f student, moving to a new town, finding their way around campus, setting up “digs” etc? As for this course, to be fair, it is “An Introduction to Digital Environments” J so you will be introduced to a wide range of different types of digital environment. Other courses in this MSc focus activities around two or three environments that best support learning that particular course content through a particular pedagogical approach.
Some general comments about the blog
Below are some quick comments I’ve shared with each student as they have started up their blog…
The purpose of the blog is be an open, reflective, dialogue between the two of us – somewhere you can develop ideas, not somewhere where ideas are delivered fully formed, evidence and argued. The metaphor I find myself working with is a cross between a diary and a chat I might have with a lecturer before or after a small group seminar.
You might want to consider scheduling time to make your blog entries. One to two entries a week is ideal. It might be a good idea to include time to blog with your time for doing the course reading. Then again a great ‘blog thought’ might hit you at any time – so find a way to keep track of those ideas for when you later have time to reflect on them. Indeed, there’s nothing wrong with making a 2 line blog post, and following it up later.
I’ve set up a live feed of the blogs, which tells me each morning if someone has posted an “IDELO8” keyword blog. I will try to respond as quickly as I can, but it might be a day or two between your post and my response.
What the live feed doesn’t do is tell me if you’ve commented on my comments – so I’ll try and do a “sweep” for this once a week. If you feel I’ve not responded to something in time – it might be because I didn’t “see” it – so just let me know –perhaps via the WebCT mail – that you think something’s amiss.
Usually I will aim to brief-ish comments – probably a paragraph or so. I might not comment on every blog post either – as you might make some posts to track you own ideas rather than needing my input.
If you’ve not been much of a blogger before now, I’d recommend checking out some of the information on blogs in the Course Handbook (there’s also some links to blogs and information on reflection in the discussion board area that you might find useful).
Finally, this is my first time tutoring on IDEL, and so my first time responding to blogs. My intention is to be supportive, clarifying and challenging. So please do give me feedback and let me know if you are having any problems or need something further from me.
Cheers
C.
Peter, I forgot to add - this post is currently published as "public" (anyone can see it). You might want to follow up the instructions in the Technology Handbook on setting up a restricted access group.
Cheers
C.