The changing environment of higher education in a Web 2.0 world means that I have an increased need to be aware of these modalities as well as to increase my knowledge of them all. This does present quite a few challenges as I studied initially in an environment where computers were huge and opportunities to use them, few!
The increase in the use of networking sites, blogs, podcasts, webinars, ipods, ipads etc has been quite mind boggling in the years since my undergraduate degree. However, if we are to stay in touch with our students, we need knowledge of how to use them. Whatever we use in our teaching needs to be applicable to their learning and provide clear links to previous teaching as well as hopefully facilitating future learning. Using different elearning methods may suit different students and thus extend learning to students who may not have been previously included. It also provides some flexibility as to when students can learn; this may therefore improve access to learning.
The free access to such a huge information landscape can be both a positive and negative. There is no longer any need to chase information-it is all available with a few clicks of the mouse! However, we may need to expand our role as teachers to help our students sift through what is available to find what will help them in their learning.
One concern with integration of elearning to conventional teaching is the time it consumes in preparation especially as I am technologically fairly illiterate! I already spend quite a lot of extra unscheduled time in my teaching and preparation of blogs, wikis etc would add even more to this
I also have issues with the privacy and legal aspects of this technology especially the networking sites. I am very concerned about doing something, albeit unwittingly, which may be unethical or illegal.
The issue of copyright and legal developments in the area of internet information is a big one and the law is constantly developing.
ReplyDeleteA TED speaker who has interesting ideas on how things SHOULD develop is Larry Lessing:
http://www.ted.com/talks/larry_lessig_says_the_law_is_strangling_creativity.html
I agree with you, Charlene; making use of technological advancements will certainly benefit those students who may have previously been left out of the traditional 'group'. I found that when I ceased my on-campus learning (due to my increasing frustration at the inept lecturers), and used technology to learn off-campus, my marks increased incredibly, and my learning was much improved.
ReplyDeleteI found what you said about the ethical/legal issues interesting. I think in general Web 2.0 technologies are moving along so fast it is hard for university policies/procedures to keep ahead and formulate useful guidelines. I agree with students needing more about how to use information effectively rather than just how to find information.
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