I confess I am still waiting for the ICT savvy students to arrive, but they must be coming ;-)
Regards,
Bruce
-----Original Message-----
From: e-learning and Pedagogy Experts Group [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of C.A.Pegler
Sent: 27 May 2004 17:33
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Recipes or chefs..and Archimedes
A word about those demographics from another grey-hair(ish) one. Bruce points out that: "50% of everyone working in HE (and I think the figures are similar through education) will retire during the next 10 years. Us baby boomers are headed out to greener pastures. This means that there will be a great influx of new talent into the profession."
May be true, but by 2006 the age group forming the largest sector of the UK workforce will be aged 46-59 and that is also the year that the EU Directive prohibiting Age Discrimination kicks in, so presumably retirement ages may soar? So while I am not banking as strongly as Bruce on an influx of new ICT talent in terms of academic staff I am counting on a different demographic - a huge influx of ICT-savvy students (see Becta (2003) Young People's use of ICT for example http://www.becta.org.uk/research/reports/youngpeopleict/index.cfm). We will shortly be teaching Prensky's "digital natives", students who have grown up with the internet in a way that even the non-grey haired amongst us have not. These students will do a lot to push forward the use of technology in HE and FE.
I offer this as another co-terminous window of opportunity to motivate change.
Chris
Chris Pegler
Lecturer, Institute of Educational Technology (IET) Deputy Course Team Chair: H806 Learning in the Connected Economy Course Team Chair: H850 PG Certificate in Teaching and Learning in HE
The Open University,
Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA
[log in to unmask]
http://iet.open.ac.uk/pp/c.a.pegler
(01908) 654015
-----Original Message-----
From: Ingraham, Bruce [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 27 May 2004 17:08
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Recipes or chefs..and Archimedes
While I would agree that personal interest (in both senses) are the strongest motivators in achieving successful development outcomes, it occurs to me that there are a couple of co-terminous windows of opportunity arising that the group should consider in thinking about how to embed of ICT literacy and good practice in education.
The first window of opportunity is the demographic one. 50% of everyone working in HE (and I think the figures are similar through education) will retire during the next 10 years. Us baby boomers are headed out to greener pastures. This means that there will be a great influx of new talent into the profession. Accordingly, it is important that future planning insures that whatever training for the profession is around includes the development of e-pedagogic skills.
The potential of this to have a strong impact can perhaps be seen by looking at the outcome of TLTP. The government invested £100M in developing 3 or 4 successful packages, which was a pretty poor investment; but what we really got was a generation of IT competent young academics. Indeed, I suspect that most of the HE practitioners in the room in London who didn't have grey hair were probably TLTP products.
The second window of opportunity is the current development of professional standards for HE. There is again an opportunity to insure that these standards include appropriate levels of e- and e-pedagogic literacy. FE already has standards and, if necessary, perhaps they can be changed.
In any case, the combination of a government will to train and develop educators combined with a huge change in the actual population of the profession together would seem to provide both a lever and a place to stand in order to insure that staff competence (if not development) in this area evolves relatively quickly in the immediately foreseeable future.
However, perhaps as one of the grey-haired rats headed off down the hawser, I am being too sanguine ;-)
Regards,
Bruce
Bruce Douglas Ingraham, ILTM
Teaching Fellow
Centre for Learning & Quality Enhancement
University of Teesside
Middlesbrough
United Kingdom
tel. 44 (0)1642 384260
fax 44 (0)1642 342544
email [log in to unmask]
-----Original Message-----
From: e-learning and Pedagogy Experts Group [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Tony Toole
Sent: 26 May 2004 20:18
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Recipes or chefs..the significance of CPD
I agree when Helen says: the strongest motivating factor is personal interest and commitment Although I don't necessarily go along entirely with the next part: and things that happen from the ground up rather than the top down. I think that inspirational managerial vision can motivate staff to commit themselves to institutional and personal change. Personal input and commitment can be generated in an instant by revealing a new way of doing things that is compelling in its logic, convincing in its achievability and exciting to be part of.
I think Helen is also right when she says:
I think having a community of peers to talk to is incredibly important in maintaining this kind of commitment on the ground. This is something we have in the Experts list and in other networks In the e-learning community I do not regard myself as an expert - merely a practitioner with a few years experience of what works and what doesn't. I find the JISC community in particular most helpful in developing new ideas.
Tony
-----Original Message-----
From: Helen Beetham [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Wed 26/05/2004 09:11
To: [log in to unmask]
Cc:
Subject: Recipes or chefs..the significance of CPD
I agree with everything that has been said about time, training and
commitment from managers.
From the research we did into how professionals come to use learning
technologies, the phrase 'peer supported experimentation' sticks in my mind.
Yes, people do need time and space (i.e. opportunity) to try things for
themselves, and I like the idea that it is this that should be mandatory,
rather than any specific 'threshold of competence' in e-learning. As Martin
says, different people will develop different sets of skills, and that must
be seen as a strength.
But as well as opportunity there needs to be motivation to engage, and there
need to be resources to draw upon, otherwise we are all inventing e-learning
from the ground up. I think there has been a lot of focus on extrinsic
motivations i.e. rewards, policy mandates etc, but we know from the EFFECTS
project that the strongest motivating factor is personal interest and
commitment, and things that happen from the ground up rather than the top
down.
I think having a community of peers to talk to is incredibly important in
maintaining this kind of commitment on the ground. This is something we have
in the Experts list and in other networks e.g. the FPP champions.
Perhaps this programme is about how we represent and share the good work
that is going on, in a way that allows other people (given the time and
space) to respond and learn from it. And building links across existing
networks, based on real activities and resources. In my experience the
people who are not engaging with e-learning will not suddenly start to
engage because 'proof' of effectiveness is shown to them. What they need are
often small-scale, local examples of things that have worked, and someone
close at hand - who is well-resourced - encouraging them to give it a try.
Perhaps if we can show this approach working on the ground, in real
communities (e.g. via the subject centres in HE, or regional support centres
in FE, or via workshops organised through this programme and its expert
group), we can win a few more of the arguments about time, space and
training provision. I do feel committed to this being a practitioner-based
rather than a managerial programme, and we have had lots of positive
feedback about that.
Helen
----- Original Message -----
From: "David Dana" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, May 25, 2004 2:34 PM
Subject: Re: Recipes or chefs..the significance of CPD
> ">I believe the primary motivator for lecturers to change their practice
> >must remain the perception of benefits to their students learning."
>
> "I'd agree that creating a space for people to learn about the
technology -
> ideally by trying it out and probably making mistakes - is vital. And it's
> not really there right now."
>
> Lecturers perceptions of what will benefit their students is not always
> based on relevant experience. How many lecturers have tried elements of
> e-learning on which to base their judgement that they should not change?
> Trying to raise the standards of 'good' teaching and learning to 'very
good'
> is a significant challenge whether it involves e-learning or not.
>
> Creating space for teachers to try out new strategies is vital. The
> 'mandatory' should in my view be directed at managers to ensure the
> opportunities exist.
>
> Recruitment policies and adverts can be important motivators!
>
> Going back about 10 steps! - teachers tend to be very busy and frequently
> sceptical. Case studies showing that strategies can work are important.
>
> Regards
>
> David
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Martin Oliver" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Tuesday, May 25, 2004 1:26 PM
> Subject: Re: Recipes or chefs..the significance of CPD
>
>
> >I believe the primary motivator for lecturers to change their practice
> >must remain the perception of benefits to their students learning.
>
> I'd agree - but there's an important corollary here. Ok, you can't promote
> everyone each time they learn a new piece of technology. Fair enough. But
> equally, you shouldn't expect everyone to learn each new piece of
> technology. If you want everyone to engage, then you need to provide
> incentives; if you don't care about the patchiness of uptake, then it's ok
> to leave it to lecturers to decide whether it's relevant given their
> students and approach to teaching. People will develop the portfolio of
ICT
> skills that they need, rather than the ones that policy makers (or
> researchers or...) want.
>
> Whichever of these two options you opt for, though, I'd agree that
creating
> a space for people to learn about the technology - ideally by trying it
out
> and probably making mistakes - is vital. And it's not really there right
> now.
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Martin
>
