Interesting question and one that really raises two issues: firstly whether students will still come to class when they can get the information from the web anyway and secondly, how teachers feel about putting their material out there for anyone to access. If I address the second issue first, sharing content in such an open manner seems to be a particularly prickly point with many teachers and probably worries them more than it should. I think that teachers who are very protective of their resource material fall into 2 categories: 1) those that think their material is superior and don’t want anyone to use it and take the credit when they have put a lot of work into developing it and 2) those that think that maybe their material is not really good enough and are perhaps afraid of criticism. Are there other reasons for wanting to limit sharing of resources?
Of course we are currently under the threat of complete contestability for funding (see Patty 2011) and the question of private RTO’s gaining access to quality TAFE resources to save money usually spent on developing resources is a real issue. Often the cut rate private RTO’s are seen as demonstrating “best practice” by governments that want to opt for the cheap option. How do we maintain TAFE’s position in the education sector when there is not a level playing field?
The answer to that question also answers the first issue….will students still come? They come because they want to get a quality product and employers choose our graduates because they know they are getting well-trained workers. For the first time this year my students are able to do one of the theory subjects I teach completely online if they wish. They can access all the notes, links, figures, powerpoints and podcasts of the lectures online through moodle. So far only about 8 out of 90 or so students have taken up the online option and my classes are still bulging with students who want face-to-face interaction. It will be interesting to see the outcome at the end of the semester.
Watching David Wiley speak about our responsibility as educators to share content also made me question my current practice of putting enrolment keys on my moodles. I began to ask myself what would happen if I removed the enrolment key – just who am I trying to keep out? I often think I would like to see how other teachers run their moodles (maybe I might get some ideas on how to improve my own) but in almost all instances I am locked out of their moodles by the enrolment keys. Considering the only people who can access moodle are currently enrolled students and staff really brings into question the purpose of the enrolment key in what is essentially a closed community. Where do you stand? Do you think it is important to keep some individuals from having easy access?
Students will come if they get something out of coming. Talking to them for 2-3 hours and sending them away to complete homework doesn’t work well.
I advise our Diploma students early on that the lessons are online (Moodle & Adobe Connect), and they need to view the resources and prepare for lessons in their own time, and come to class to complete the homework.
That is the time when they need support, and it seems to work.
A few things to consider here.
1 Why are we so worried about content. Content is all over the web (eg Khan Academy ‘learn almost anything free’ http://www.khanacademy.org/) We have to be very careful about what it is that makes students come to us and put the effort in there and it is not necessarily content. Agreed I have to have some content that I might arrange myself but why would a student come to TAFE when they can get it free at Khanacademy, read notes from Harvard or MIT or any other set of available content?
2 We are in the business of providing
a. a learning experience (social and otherwise)
b. a structure to the learning so the student knows what is expected to gain a certain qualification
c.a recognised qualification that is quality controlled
d. appropriate assessment that is quality controlled and fair.
e.Customer service making all the above come together in an effective way that suits the learner, is timely and at the right price.
3. My own experience of putting a heap of stuff on a wiki was that the students still came to class, used the online material for personal study at their own pace, used the online material for study when they could not attend class (some even were overseas at one stage) This flexibility in access is appreciated by students.
4. The other thing is what is so special about coming to class? Do I really need the students to come to class? Can they learn without coming to class? What is so great about coming to class that they will be motivated and engaged (teachers need to answer this before worrying about ‘will someone get my stuff if it is online’
5. A teacher is a very expensive resource. Why do we spend a lot of dollars having a teacher write stuff on a board for students to copy down? Learners should already be engaged with the material through prior study, review…etc online getting the basics so that a class is an intense learning experience with the teacher facilitating that learning. Have a look at this kind of approach in eLearning 2010 – the keynote speaker Andrew Douche provided a great example of classroom as an enrichment rather than getting the basics. See http://talkingvte.blogspot.com/ scroll down the page to the eLearning 2010 to download mp3 and slides.
Just to finish we should remember that we are here for the students and we need to understand them. We once surveyed a whole body of students starting engineering to find out what was the most important thing, thinking that it would be something like; ‘getting a job’, ‘interesting work’, ‘opportunities’….etc.
No sorry – they wanted a great educational experience including social opportunities. All the employment focus came much later when they neared graduation. So will they still come if everything is online – yes if you provide the opportunity for a rich learning environment that supports their needs and is flexible enough for all to learn what they need at their own pace. The challenge is not about content it is about Customer Service! Look after your students because they are the means of your job satisfaction and continued employment!
I agree with both Con and Brian that students will only come when they feel that a face-to-face class can augment their learning experience. I also saw Andrew Douche’s talk at eLearning 2010 – great speaker, inspirational and I wish I had teachers like that when I was at school. In my experience at TAFE though we probably spoon feed our students way too much and insisting they come to class often reinforces this attitude. When they choose the online option they have to take charge of their own learning but really appreciate the flexibility that online offers.
I think that many teachers concentrate on content and struggle with providing an engaging experience in face-to-face classes. This is likely to continue under the present teacher training scheme where the Cert IV in Training and Assessment is the preferred teaching qualification concentrating on training package regulations rather than educational requirements.