JISCMail - VLE Archives

Dear All

I have watched this list for some months, without feeling much urge to contribute, but, as with many others, the comments flying around that took it off list, have stirred me out of my lethargy (and the result is more or less cogent to this list).

Over the aeons we have developed and used an endless number of teaching/learning systems.

Cavemen scratched pictures of deer and lions in the sand to teach their kids what to eat and when to run. And the kids managed to get it right, despite Dad being a completely uncool Neanderthal who still chipped his axes.
Boring old school masters made boys learn by rote, chant their answers and copy on slates and still William Shakespeare learnt to write the greatest of English plays.
Crusty Cambridge dons hectored students in Latin verse and still Newton learned how to unravel the physics of existence.
Now we use computers and whiteboards and presentation systems and VLEs and still the students come out having learnt just as well as the ones I taught with those new-fangled overhead projectors all those years ago.

No matter how hard we teachers work at it, we just can't stop people learning. The ability to learn is possibly the most important defining feature of humanity. We may help in this process, but when we do, it is not usually in the way we anticipated.

So what serious point am I trying to make? People will learn, whatever environment they are immersed in. We can encourage, advise, criticise, praise, motivate, assess, demoralise (sadly) or whatever, but the basic learning they do themselves. When I look at how most VLEs are used, I think "They are not learning environments, they are teaching environments." The learning goes on between a student's two ears, not in front of her two eyes and certainly not inside the processors of a computer. VLEs can be and will be very useful tools, but as is so often the case with any new tool, we the practitioners run the risk of concentrating on the tool itself and not the people we are trying to aid through its use. I think this is why this list suddenly erupted, when it did go off list and started discussing ideas rather than processes. Then we all became learners and wanted to make our own points.

The message from Stuart Lee today, on E-learning: Some student reactions, I think makes the point that I am struggling to make:if we want to discuss learning, we need to talk to the learners. The discussions we have amongst ourselves are often of no greater consequence than those old Shakespearian school masters discussing what sort of chalks to make their boys use for the next copying session. Young William didn't care. He was miles ahead of them.

If anyone can figure out what I'm trying to say, I would be interested in hearing!

Julian
--
Julian Swindell,
Principal lecturer in GIS and digital education
Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester, GL7 6JS, UK
tel. +44(0)1285 652531 fax. +44(0)1285 642740
email [log in to unmask]
http://www.rac.ac.uk/~julian_swindell

-----Original Message-----
From: Virtual Learning Environments [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Anita Pincas
Sent: 10 March 2005 15:16
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [VLES] List Moderation - Re: [VLES] How widespread is the use of the term (and the concept) of e-learning?

Dear Matthew, and others,

I know you asked to be contacted off-line, but - as one can see - people are continuing with a slight change of subject header.

I think it would be a pity to cut off one of the rare online discussions that has aroused considerable reactions of so many varied kinds,
and offered quite stimulating titbits, especially from the very will informed Niki.

As a discussion between total strangers [I have come across only one or two familiar names] I find it a model of useful internet interaction. Even the rare little flaming gives it a touch of reality, and certainly has not spoiled it in any way for me. It is something to show the sceptics that cyber-talk among strangers does have a point. I very rarely feel impelled to bother, but this time....

Anita

At 11:04 AM 10/03/2005, Matthew Tipson wrote:

Dear All,

As Amber mentioned in her posting about list moderation, we have attempted to maintain a ‘light-touch’ with this list to encourage discussion and free exchange of ideas. However, we have to balance the interests of all member of this list and I believe that the current discussion has now moved beyond the reasonable boundaries of this list.

I would therefore ask that anyone who wishes to continue this discussion should await instructions about the formation of a more appropriate forum for these discussions. Please do not continue to use this list for this discussion.

If you wish to contact me regarding this decision please contact me off-list at [log in to unmask]

Regards,

    Matthew Tipson
    Content Officer - Technology
    Ferl, Becta
t: 024 7641 6994 ext 2216
f: 024 7684 7166
e: [log in to unmask]
   http://ferl.becta.org.uk

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