People
to People not just People to Content - Learning Environments for Active and
Alive Content: February 14th, 2003
By Paul Stacey
The
focus of much e-learning is on efficiently and effectively bringing people to
content. Providing standardized learning content in a 24/7 form factor,
accessible anywhere anytime, is an aspiration shared by all education providers
be they private or public, large or small.
In
response to the benefits this opportunity provides, a vast array of e-learning
content has been produced. At its best we have libraries and curricula of
off-the-shelf, or custom designed, e-learning content taken and accessed
autonomously through independent self-service. At its worst we have course notes
online.
If
"content is king" then Canada's research investment in the creation of
e-learning object repositories for shared distribution and reuse is sure to pay
off.
Feeding
the rush to more online content are international e-learning specifications and
standards that focus on content meta-tagging - an essential attribute for all
e-learning content.
The
push is on for content, content, content. But e-learning's market pull is for
the human side of e-learning.
The
greatest value of e-learning is in its ability to bring people to people not
just people to content.
Too
much of e-learning content seeks efficiencies by reducing the human interactive
aspect of learning.
I
deplore the e-learning practice of eliminating the teacher from the actual
delivery of a course. It limits student engagement, motivation and learning
success.
I
lament the overuse of independent, self-paced study as an e-learning pedagogical
model, especially in corporate e-learning. Peer-to-peer learning and interaction
is a must have, easily enabled through e-learning. Most adults in the workplace
find interaction with peers one of the most valuable aspects of a course,
workshop, or seminar.
I
implore us all to move past our obsession with prepackaged, fossilized
e-learning content, to active and alive e-learning content. Lets talk about how
we create "learning moments" not "learning objects".
Learners
don't want static, dead content. They want content that is dynamic and alive.
People bring content to life.
What
does active and alive content look like?
Active
and alive content is co-constructed by students, teachers and others together.
I
think we spend way to much of the e-learning effort on having teachers or
subject matter experts create canned content. Why not just build an e-learning
framework or scaffolding and have those who are learning construct the finished
content of the course?
Lets
redeploy some of the e-learning content creation effort into designing
activities that enable active engagement with learning.
Active
content is current and evolving.
Active
and alive content changes and can be easily modified or updated.
Active
and alive learning environments are places where questions are asked and
answered. Where real people provide guidance and inspiration.
Active
and alive learning environments are more like learning communities than learning
repositories. They focus on bringing people to people not just people to
content.
One
of the greatest benefits e-learning provides is the ability to bring
geographically dispersed participants into a shared learning experience.
E-learning enables cohorts of distributed or multinational participants to all
learn together. The resulting experience infuses the e-learning experience with
a rich regional and multicultural perspective.
Learning
environments that don't enable relationship are isolating and impersonal.
Active
and alive learning environments make extensive use of peer-to-peer learning. One
of the most valuable aspects of any learning moment is the interaction and
exchange between peers not just with the teacher. Peer-to-peer online learning
is surprisingly effective at generating bonds between participants and a sense
of camaraderie that enables tacit learning exchange.
Learning
paths and content created by peers is often just as good if not better than
teacher or expert created content.
Active
and alive e-learning environments enable access to remote or high demand
experts. E-learning brings outside resources, inside. Experts can be anywhere
and still facilitate learning. Experts can provide continuous feeds to a
learning environment or be interspersed as scheduled "live" guests.
Real
people, real problems, real experiences heighten learner motivation and bring
relevance and immediacy to the learning.
Online
the role of teachers diversifies from being the sole learning facilitator to
being one of a range of learning leaders. Active and alive learning makes use of
mentors, tutors, guides, demonstrators, evaluators, peers, and subject matter
experts.
Over
the last couple of years when we've talked about e-learning technologies we
reference learning management systems, learning content management systems, and
virtual classrooms.
These
are necessary components of e-learning but not sufficient. The effective blend
of these e-learning technologies with those that enable active and alive content
will provide the full-package deal.
Over
the next couple of years I expect technical discussions of e-learning to expand
and include integration of applications for blogs, instant messaging, polling,
voice boards, threaded discussion and conferencing, knowledge exchange, and
webcasting.
I
expect e-learning content to broaden and emphasize collaboration and
interaction. Virtual meeting rooms, remote application sharing, Voice-Over-IP,
and distributed participation in live events will all create new forms of
e-learning content.
I
beseech e-learning content developers to diversify pedagogical approaches from
an emphasis on lectures, presentations, and course notes to active and alive
pedagogies like webquests, game-based learning, simulations and team-based
learning.
As
the volume of e-learning content builds I can't help but wonder - Does
learning require content?
Paul
Stacey, is an e-learning specialist in corporate and higher education. Paul
works in Simon Fraser
University's eLearning Innovation Centre (eLINC). A frequent e-learning
speaker and workshop leader Paul collaborates with Jonathan Finkelstein in
providing and hosting a free online learning community for educators called LearningTimes.
Contact: Paul Stacey
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E-Learning: An
opinionated monthly column exploring the current use,
future potential, and commercial value of e-learning in
BC’s high tech sector.
E-Learning
Archive: An index and links to all the E-learning columns Paul has written
for T-Net going back to April 2000.
