Please note: The purpose of this document is to act as a forum for
discussion. It is designed to bring to the attention of the reader that the
adult learner within the FE sector is in danger of being neglected in the
fast-moving e-learning environment.
Penny Everett
Senior Learning Materials Developer
MLE Unit
Oaklands College
Smallford Campus
Hatfield Road
St Albans AL4 0JA
t. (01727) 737 700 x 6755
email: [log in to unmask]
FROM AN ADULT LEARNER'S PERSPECTIVE...
When I first started to compare my various learning experiences a very
simple analogy came to mind - my experience as a learner was that of an
airline passenger.
Imagine you wish to fly from A to B. Do you choose the most expensive
airline, or the cheapest knowing that the result in the end will be the
same? Do you choose to avoid the Russian airlines because of their
reputation for not keeping up-to-date, or do you go on the Internet and find
the 'just in time' air ticket that gets you there quickly, efficiently and
without any frills but using modern up-to-date (reasonably) planes?
To continue with that analogy the trainers/lecturers who have all become
part of my learning experience over the years also fit into this picture.
If I am to compartmentalise this experience we have the three main
approaches.
The Air Hostess Trainer
This is the typical private training provider who gives the trainer a
"script" and tells them to get the punters through. I have been on several
of these one-day, two-day and three-day courses. Here the trainer tells you
where the oxygen mask is and how to use the lifejacket in a robotic manner.
They then proceed to do a well-acted professional job. They give you an
overview, show you video clips, demonstrate how to do it, and set you an
exercise from the 2" manual you will be taking away.
You find yourself mesmerised (or should I say traumatised) by the
bombardment of continual learning. Yes, you successfully complete each
exercise, but in answer to the question could you do it again back at your
workplace - it would have to be NO! Usually, it is not quite geared to what
you actually need to know, secondly you may be working on a set up (network
or software) which is nothing like the one you have back in the office.
If you don't get a headache by 11am on the first day because the pace is too
fast - you suffer from boredom because only day 2 is relevant. Also, try
asking the airhostess the odd question not on their script and you'll get a
plastic smile and a pat answer that "your question is more relevant to the
next course and that the receptionist has a brochure of all the courses that
they currently offer should you like to enrol".
If the course is way above the head of the delegate sitting next to you, you
will have to not only cope with the lesson but also the constant whispering
in your ear whilst your fellow delegate desperately seeks your support.
Conversely, if the company has "sent you on the course so that you can
cascade on return" and you're not coping - you end up being the whisperee
and the acute awareness that you're being a pain to others. Why did the
providers say the course was suitable for you? - because they needed to make
up the numbers to run a viable course - that's why.
The Airline Pilot
This is the arrogant - I know it all lecturer. Here the only one that is
empowered is them. They will only tell you what they consider you should
know. There is no pause in their delivery for asking questions. By the time
they get round to asking "any questions?" most people have forgotten what it
was that they desperately needed to know. The entire class feel intimidated
by their "presence", their voice booms and their sense of humour is at the
expense of their current focus - namely you, if you have the temerity to
"put them on the spot".
If you miss a week of your evening class - you will be given short shrift
and generally punished. Let's face it most adults cannot manage 12
consecutive weeks without having some other commitment to go to - so apart
from offering an apology in advance and promising to crib notes and 'catch
up' there isn't much else that can be done on your part. The airline
pilot, however, has an indelible memory and is now armed with even more
ammunition to put you down. You daren't ask for more explanation when it
comes to consolidation in case it was covered in detail on the one week that
you didn't attend.
The Russian Steward
Here we have the knowledge expert. They have the initiative to cope with
situations as they arise but cannot impart knowledge. If you ask them
anything - they're very willing but they don't speak the same language as
you. If you want to know how to evacuate the plane, they will point to the
laminated instruction sheet under your seat. I've recently enrolled at a
local FE College to learn programming. The knowledge expert is a nice chap
in his mid-thirties - obviously knows his stuff, but the quality of teaching
is abysmal.
The list of errors is growing by the week. I've yet to have a handout which
tells me what the aim is if I follow the exercise. The only time he uses
the white board is to correct an error on a handout. I found myself
condemning him completely when he couldn't even write an ampersand (&) on
the board. Poor chap it's not the easiest symbol to write. Once you become
dissatisfied everything just exacerbates that feeling. Each week I'm given
a couple of handouts and told to ask for help if I need it and each week
he's busy helping one of the other 18 students. I note that three out of
five of the females have already stopped coming and we're only in week five.
What happened to the big push "Women into IT"?
Having condemned outright my current learning experience at an FE College, I
must (at the very least) also record the experience of my peers. The
introduction to "Japanese" evening course for one of my associates is
brilliant. They think their lecturer is the greatest and the whole class
apparently is unanimous. They all feel thoroughly motivated and the tutor
is very supportive - the class numbers are still high as there has been very
little drop off. However, one of my close colleagues (a well-read
postgraduate) attends a day release course and says that the lecturers vary
(as one would expect) with some of them doing an excellent job. My
colleague insists that had they actually been given the choice they would
have preferred to have a mix of learning from a book/computer with
additional tutor support.
On the other hand, my assistant (who has recently attended a Flexi-study
Centre) says that flexi-learning was good, but a little frustrating at
times. When pushed into giving more details it seems that not all the
tutors in attendance at the flexi centre are able to run all of the exams
which were part of her course. So apart from the frustration of not being
able to take an exam when she was ready she also wasted a bit of time
because the CD's that were used on her open-learning course did not have the
facility for bookmarking (saving your place so you can return to where you
left off at a later date). This meant that she would spend many a 20
minutes or so revisiting chapters and exercises she had already completed
before she could move on.
You get what you pay for...
The average FE College is grubby and dilapidated - the corridors have
rubbish and deposits of chewing and the refectory can be both noisy and
filthy (tables, chairs etc).
To be fair, though, there are a lot of building programmes in progress in
many colleges so these things will be improved, but will the skateboarders
still be hanging about in the car park in their hoards with no-one prepared
to control them? Will they have a quieter refectory so people like me can
avoid the teenage louts shouting and swearing...and jumping over the tables?
One could possibly compare the FE College with the National Health - if you
want to be treated in a civilised manner and seek better conditions - go
private!
The learn to fly myself approach
Over the last few years I've needed to know very quickly how to use the
ever-changing versions of software as they've come on the market. Here the
most satisfactory solution has been the "Learn to Fly Myself" approach. I
would rush off to Waterstone's Computer section, it seemed like every 6
weeks at one stage, in fact it became so frequent that I started to
recognise the 'regulars' and was on nodding acquaintance with them.
This was the most rewarding yet most frustrating way of learning. By the
time you had got to page four hundred and something you were pretty 'genned
up', but it took ages and required enormous self-discipline. I would come
across a brief statement one inch through which would have saved hours and
hours of work on the computer had I known it before. From that moment on I
was the Guru; I was the one that was the office knowledge bank. I got
resentful in the end especially if there wasn't a win win situation (no fair
exchange) - why should all these people have such quick access to the
"fix-its" when it had taken me 200 odd hours to get to that stage?
I'm basically a middle-class (isn't everyone?) dingy - double income no
grandchildren yet. My sort need to know business French/German/Spanish, how
to use Access, Excel and Word, am mildly interested in History, work for a
new employer every 3 years or so. I am also a manager. The number of
subordinates I am responsible for is ever-increasing. Where will people like
me and my subordinates who aspire to my position be going? The answer is,
of course, they will be turning to e-learning in their droves.
E-learning is great - long live e-learning!
So what are the advantages of e-learning. The off-pat statement is
e-learning is "Martini" learning "...any time, any pace, any where"! If you
have a PC or laptop with access to the Internet - you're away! Bored in
your lunch hour? Nothing on TV? Stuck in a hotel room? Rain stopped play?
Countryside closed? You name it - e-learning can fill that gap.
E-learning is learning in "bite-sized chunks". Manageable chunks of
learning with constant reinforcement and backtracking if you need it. Most
courses offering tutor support and constant "how am I getting on?" feedback.
A quick reference of terms used (something I haven't got on my programming
course - although there is the Help menu on the program itself!). A
well-thought out explanation of what you need to know and detailed
descriptions of the learning process. I still don't know what the dot
represented in my programming language course - experiential learning no
doubt will reveal all eventually.
This would be sorted out in a group discussion with fellow delegates via the
e-learning environment. The discussion "thread" could be set by me and
answered by a fellow peer, or the tutor. No longer would the students have
badly photocopied, full of errors, handouts. Instead access to regularly
updated instructions. Fully tried and tested. In other words instructions
that work! No going straight from work to evening classes tired with no
time to eat. No long journeys to a provider - not all of us are happy to
travel by car to Birmingham, Manchester or London for a day's course!
The advantages go on and on. Some systems offer you student tracking and
knowledge maps. To put it simply student tracking means that the tutor
knows how well you are doing, where the gaps in your knowledge are and
therefore what areas you need to revisit. You can sit an informal
diagnostics test to establish your prior learning so you can skip parts of
the course - no longer held back by the other students or rushed on before
you're ready. The knowledge maps are brilliant. At last, as a manager, you
can work out a sensible training plan and time scale for those you are
responsible for. They (and you) can see their progress and the routes they
can take.
What will we miss?
The lack of human contact. Whether you like it or not - homo sapiens are
all natural groupees. However, with the advent of web-technology it won't
be long before you will be able to see your friendly tutor's face and fellow
delegates (if they choose to be on view). Of course not all e-learning
courses will be a million miles away. Many will be in addition to attending
lectures or meetings once every six weeks or so for a tutorial. On the
other hand think of the advantages of anonymity. Nothing to hold you back
from what you may consider is making an idiot of yourself. Now you can ask
those basic questions and get a sensible non-judgmental answer!
The Weakest Link!
Finally, I have to tell you - the reader (thanks for staying the pace) that
my Russian Steward is the weakest link. It's nearly time for him to have to
go. I will be doing an Anne Robinson and saying "Goodbye". Then I'll be
off to Waterstone's or logging on to find out whether there is a reasonably
priced e-learning course that I can afford. As long as it is roughly the
same price as the FE College is charging there will be no contest! And as
for management courses - most of which cost the earth, I know that if I do
my research and present the facts to my boss (the savings) I will shortly be
going on an e-learning one!
(c. 2300 words)
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