(Martin’s Question)
How can we overcome the barriers that impact the
effective use of on-line tools in adult learning?
This will of course depend to a large extent on what the actual barriers
are, which will vary from situation to situation and individual to individual.
For someone in my situation, for example, where I’m working in a low
socio-economic, widespread relatively isolated and rural district (the Far
North), with limited communication networks and electronic hardware
infrastructure, then most of the main
initial barriers simply revolve around lack of access to the digital
wherewithal. Many households – even if they are able to afford and maintain the
hardware, are simply not within the broadband and cell phone broadcast and
reception areas. Additionally, many of the students we encounter seeking some
sort of literacy/numeracy assistance at our literacy centre are quite often
having to seek that assistance because of poor school experiences, often precipitated
by the physical and social issues listed above. For many learners in this category,
school will have been one of the few places where they would have been able to
have some degree of interaction with the online media, so low attendance rates
and limited in-class engagement will have stymied opportunities to build
expertise and confidence in these areas.
Overcoming these considerable barriers, therefore, is a matter of doing
what you can, when and where you can, and hoping incremental gains will somehow
accumulate to the extent that they can make a difference. For instance, for
quite a few students in our district, gaining a learner’s driving licence will
be considered a major achievement. For those students able to make it to our
literacy centre, we can offer (limited) access to a computer and therefore
access to the online Road Code practice tests now available. If they have
literacy issues limiting their ability to engage with the online material, then
we are also able to offer tutor support, facilitate peer support, and the like.
For those unable to attend the centre for logistical or financial reasons, we
have a certain amount of capacity to have a tutor (with laptop) visit that
student at their home or at a mutually convenient neutral venue. However, often
these places would not have broadband or even landline connection to be able to
access the practice test. In response to this situation one of our tutors spent
a considerable amount of his own time developing our own interactive Road Code
instruction programme that doesn’t
require the net. (Similar programmes are commercially available, but
expensive.)
However, where these types of mainly infrastructure related issues are
not pressing, then a range of strategies can be adopted to address barriers specific
to digital learning (as opposed to learning barriers common to learning in
general):
-Minimise learning anxiety by ensuring programming and formatting is
suited to the computer literacy level of the
learners concerned.
-Ensure that students have very open lines of communication to the
tutor/s through provision of direct personalised email addresses (or phone
numbers) in order that students are able
to contact the tutor/s on a one-to-one basis, should they prefer, regarding
enquiries or concerns. Having to do so only through the course online links may be inhibiting for
the student for fear of perhaps being seen to be a bit of a ‘goof’ by other
students.
-Where appropriate, without divulging the initial source, respond to
those individual student concerns with feedback to the whole group. Chances
are, if one student has those concerns and anxieties, others do too.
-Where possible and appropriate, tutors should attempt to integrate
face-to-face tuition sessions with the distance online learning components.
Often, a few minutes ‘live’ demonstration, exampling or individual student
support may cut through anxieties and technical shortcomings that have been
unnecessarily inhibiting the student’s progress.
-For the tutor to provide consistent and regular feedback, together with
ongoing formative assessment of how the students are generally progressing. Distance
learning has many potential advantages, but, as the term suggests, for the
student, ‘distance’ learning can leave the student feeling just that –
‘distant’ and somewhat isolated or removed.. Whatever means that can alleviate
that perception are to be pursued where and when possible.
Ally, M. Foundations of educational theory in T. Anderson Ally Foundations of educational
theory for online learning chp01 of Anderson.pdf
Kanuka, H. (2008). Understanding
e-learning technologies-in-practice through philosophies-in-practice. The theory and practice of online
learning, 91–118.
Martin,
A., Madigan, D., (Eds.). (2006). Digital
Literacies for Learning.London: Facet Publishing.
Chen, B and Bryer, T. Investigating Instructional Strategies for
Using Social Media in Formal and Informal learninghttp://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/rt/printerFriendly/1027/2073
Yes those are very real constraints, not just in the Far North, but for many areas of New Zealand outside the main metropolitan areas. On the one hand remoteness of students is an ideal reason to implement online learning interventions, but on the other hand this is of little use unless the technology and requisite internet access are available!
ReplyDeleteIt was impressive that one of the tutors developed his own interactive road code instruction programme, but most of us of course don’t have that capability, so we are left with something of a dilemma.
To be able to avail ourselves of online learning for remote students requires a top-down policy approach at a political level, and the current rural broadband intervention is a step in the right direction (see http://www.chorus.co.nz/rural-broadband-initiative ). This initiative is predicted to embrace up to 87% of the population by the time of its completion at the end of 2015, and this will provide a solid backbone for further extension. But that doesn’t address the issue of individual or community socioeconomic constraints of course – a little beyond the scope of you and me!
Given the death of funding for ACE – which precludes the provision of sufficient laptops and monthly wireless broadband connections fees for tutors – I am wondering if partnerships between community groups could be set up. For instance would a school, which is more likely to have a computer suite and internet connection, be willing to make available its equipment for evening or weekend LLN tuition? Or could a group of small organisations contribute toward installing an internet connection and half a dozen computers in a community centre that could be booked for students/clients of the contributing groups?
I’m sure this is already being done in some instances (is anyone aware of this sort of arrangement?) But it seems to me that while we wait for the wholesale provision of affordable broadband, and an overall improvement in economic conditions, it would be constructive to be proactive in facilitating access for students.