This weeks readings on Quality Assurance, combined with Marg Partridge and her amazing presentation on RECA, and the class discussion afterwards has me thinking. We need to challenge E-Learning in K-12 to be better, and we need to challenge in a way that promotes quality embedded collaboration. As was discussed in tonight’s class, during the presentation and afterwards, there is little research for E-Learning in the work place, and even less for the K-12 environment. Just as Marg Partridge borrowed from the Post-Secondary research, and adapted it for her own learners, teachers, administrators and researchers need to do the same for the E-Learning environment for K-12 (and in the Calgary Board of Education this means 7-12). As it stands now, and this is based on my own experience working in the department where CBE-Learn lives, the students that are best suited for online learning are not enrolled in the program. The online program for grades 7-12 are viewed in many cases by administrators as a last-chance stop for students to get through school. By and large these students do not have the motivation or desire to take on, and be successful at online learning. If this is the demographic the public board has targeted for E-learning opportunities, then the public board really needs to do what Marg Partridge did. What did the needs assessment for CBE-learn tell them? What do the students who are enrolled in online learning require to be successful? These students need to feel connected. These students need to feel successful. These students need to be learning in an environment that provides structure, and in an environment that promotes care and understanding of where these students come from. In what ways does CBE-learn provide this for their students? How do they make connections with students who need it most? Chances are these connections were lacking in a face to face environment. As a parent, I would want to know what is going to be different in an online environment that is going to help my child experience success.
When I look at the various Quality Assurance rubrics I wonder what the rubric looks like for CBE-learn or other public education sites for e-learning. Have they completed a needs assessment for the type of learner they are receiving? Are the teachers knowledgeable in the issues that come from having children who are having difficulties? Are the teachers capable of creating an online atmosphere that focuses on collaboration while developing a participatory culture? In the CBE-Learn School Development Plan for 2005-2008, a concern is raised after data is collected via focus groups, which suggests that it hasn’t.
Those who do not plan to be in the program next year, indicated that they would want to return to regular school as it provides more opportunities for social interaction. Some perceived online learning as too unorganized and not suitable for their style of learning. Parents also expressed a desire for more frequent contact between teachers and students, and clear program guidelines (p. 2).
In the social studies 10-1 course syllabus for CBe-learn, the description does not suggest a collaborative approach. Description of the course material states that “There is one major project, discussion and unit test as well as three to four quizzes per unit”. If students require accommodations due to learning needs, it is the student’s responsibility to inform the instructor. Where is the connection here? The teacher-student relationship is largely non-existent. Introduction to the teacher is done via a note online in the news section. In terms of providing quality assurance around building a collaborative atmosphere, perhaps CBe-learn needs to follow the research on constructing a participatory culture. In Jenkins et al (2009), Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century they describe a participatory culture as
[…] a culture with relatively low barriers to artistic expression and civic engagement, strong support for creating and sharing creations, and some type of informal mentorship whereby experienced participants pass along knowledge to novices (p. xi).
It is obvious to me that the post-secondary model of e-learning is not suitable for the K-12 organizational system. Students need to be part of a collaborative and participatory culture with embedded mentorship. Developmentally, few students in the k-12 system are ready for the demands and requirements of an e-learning environment, and therefore we need to look at the research from a different angle. Though the Jenkins paper is not aimed at e-learning, it does speak to specific skills for learning via media in the 21st century. It speaks of developing new literacies which involve “social skills developed through collaboration and networking” (p. xiii). In conjunction with developing new literacies, the Jenkins article lists skills that are required in the 21st century workplace and need to be developed through school. These skills include play, performance, simulation, developing distributed cognition and the ability to take advantage of collective intelligence. Jenkins also focuses on networking, negotiation and the ability to follow the flow of stories and information across multiple modalities.
In developing e-learning environments for k-12 we cannot forget what students require of us, the educator. Jenkins asks us to look at education in a new way, and perhaps we can use the ideas in this paper as a basis for developing guidelines of quality assurance for k-12 e-learning. The module format where students are required to check in with their instructor once a week to ensure they are not “inactive” does not work for students in our k-12 education system. This creates a great challenge for educators and researchers alike, however, in this age of personalization of learning, it is a challenge that needs to be undertaken.
References
Jenkins, H., Purushotma, R., Weigel, M., Clinton, K., & Robison, A.J. (2009). Confronting the challenges of a participatory culture: Media education for the 21st century. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
The Calgary Board of Education (2005). Cbe-learn school development plan 2005-2008. Retrieved from http://projects.cbe.ab.ca/sss/ilscommunity/archive08/21stcentury/schooldevelopmentplan.pdf.
The Calgary Board of Education (2011). Course Syllabus. Social studies 10-1: School year 2011-12. Retrieved from http://www.cbelearn.ca/seniorhigh/course_syllabi/cbel1112ss101syllabus.pdf
No comments:
Post a Comment