 
Week 4 - Local School Management
|  | The Global Online Learning Revolution:
Where Does This Leave Local Schools, Their Communities and the Current Management Debate? |
| |
Listing of Papers | |
MRS CYNTHIA MERRILL
Victoria, Australia
OVER THE PAST year the Victorian Registered Schools Board has been considering correspondence, media reports, articles and information from other registration bodies from around Australia concerning the registration of a school which may apply to be registered as a wholly online entity. That is, the possibility that a school may wish to deliver its programs to its students wholly electronically. The precedent has already been set in New South Wales, where the Board of Studies is currently developing policy in response to an application from the Net Grammar School.
This discussion paper attempts to explore the issues surrounding education services delivered electronically.
The Board invites comments from principals and school communities regarding the consideration of policy, which would enable an electronic school to be registered.
A Fast Approaching 'Threat'
For some time there has been the 'threat' that we are fast approaching a period in which schools as we know them will become redundant, to be replaced by computer generated learning programs, which will remove the teacher from the scene. Dale Spender (1999) has argued that so quickly are things changing that online education is now inevitable. Parents now have the ability to make their choices about their students' education within a global context and it may well be that the education system as we know it is faced with challenges that are outside those that have predominated until now.
Competition From Educational Multinationals
It is, therefore, worth exploring the issues surrounding new modes of education delivery in the Victorian context, within a global community, or risk losing track of our students to educational multinationals selling global products not necessarily linked to the agreed needs of Victorian students.
I would contend that we do have a mid-point between full online delivery of education and the traditional methods still in use across all education sectors. My experience in schools is such that I do not believe that we are yet at the point where either society or schools are ready to launch into full online delivery of schooling for our young people. However, there will be some who will choose to take advantage of a new, more independent form of education for their students. We are now, therefore, at a point where decisions will need to be made about how online delivery of education from single subjects to full curriculum will be designed and delivered in a school environment differing somewhat from those we know. There must be mechanisms established which will be used to monitor teaching effectiveness and that of study materials and study processes in terms of our Education Act.
A new model for education delivered in an online mode must provide for, and enhance, the learning opportunities and experiences for students who, due to their particular circumstances, do not attend a regular school, are unable to access subjects/courses in their current school, or whose parents choose an alternative for them. The potential for such an approach to schooling exists within the Government's philosophy, recognising the right of parents to choose schools other than those conducted by the state government to provide for the education of their children.
Most of the research for this paper has been influenced by the experiences of the tertiary sector as, generally speaking, technological modes of delivery have, until now, been considered as possible only for the more mature learner. Attempts have been made to shift the thinking to apply the research to school-age students and their educational needs.
Distance and Online Education
The rapid uptake of telecommunications technologies is having a profound impact on the nature of teaching and learning at local, national and international levels. While expanding and enabling the globalisation of teaching and learning, this globalisation in itself has considerable implications for educational establishments. The challenge lies in providing a quality education to a client base that is not only geographically dispersed but also diverse in terms of age, culture, access, educational experience, expectations about learning and exposure to a range of teaching and learning methodologies and modes of delivery.
Distance education programs for school-age students have a long history in meeting the educational needs of students, while providing an enhanced curriculum for those who are unable to access particular curriculum programs and/or courses through regular schooling. There are now about 50,000 Australian higher education students and a similar number in schools or TAFE using some form of distance education.
Most models of delivery include the provision of a mentor (usually a teacher or supervisor) who is available to provide assistance, in addition to online provision.
Distance education can open possibilities for study, drawing on different learning theory. Where traditional forms of distance education centred on the transmission of print based materials, a rapid change to include technologically-delivered learning programs is emerging.
The Saskatchewan Teachers Federation set up a network to provide leadership in exploring enhanced program delivery through distance education and technology and has put forward the following beliefs:
- distance education programs should support the core curriculum, and should reflect the common essential learnings;
- distance education should be guided by sound pedagogical principles that support an effective teaching and learning environment, rather than determined by particular technologies or economic circumstances;
- teachers should be involved in all aspects of the development, implementation and evaluation of distance education programs;
- achieving equity should guide all aspects of the program; and,
- teachers of distance education courses should have adequate preparation time, which takes into account the circumstances and demands of distance education instruction and technologies.
Changes to Teaching and Learning
One of the major differences between traditional classroom education and distance education has been the former's concentration on what is to be taught, rather than how, whereas distance educators have also had to engage extensively and overtly with the pedagogies and tools of delivery. The future also inevitably involves rapid technological change as the frontiers of knowledge advance faster than ever before.
A further imperative is an awareness of the dramatic social impact of new technology. A well-educated community is needed if we are to have public participation in decisions about the choices we face.
It has become an article of faith that electronic technologies can enrich teaching and learning by opening access to treasure-houses of information not otherwise available; reducing learners' isolation and expanding their communication options with teachers and other learners; and contributing to more learner-controlled forms of education. The convergence of text and graphics with sound and vision offer unprecedented possibilities of changing the nature of knowledge itself and modes of inquiry and discourse. Electronic communications can reduce students' isolation and free up the time/place dynamics of teaching/learning as never before (Moran, L, in Osbourne et al.,1997). 'Increasingly, software is being developed which organises online learning in a more professional way than any classroom teacher could ever do' and 'students can access it at any time, any place and any pace' (Spender, p.4, 6, 1999).
All the literature agrees that the key to promoting improved learning using technology appears to lie in how effectively the medium is exploited in the teaching and learning process.
'It is what the teacher does - the teaching - that influences learning' (Clarke cited in Cottman in Osbourne, et al.1997). What the teacher does, and how the teaching takes place, are the key elements that effect learning outcomes. The pedagogy adopted is more powerful than the technology used. 'If distance education is to develop new paradigms for activities, attention should be directed towards the development and acceptance of appropriate theories and models, rather than to technology-driven solutions' (Kember, cited in Cottman in Osbourne, et al., 1997).
The school must seek to develop applications of technologies that are more likely to lead to success than failure.
It is important for the school to understand that 'instructors cannot be led to assume that success is guaranteed if they simply transfer their face-to-face instructional materials and techniques to a distance learning environment'. (Franklin et al., 1995, p.6-2). Information access where text is required to be read, may be used on a mistaken premise that when a student reads they learn. 'Thinking you can put text-based material up on the web, which is a visual and interactive medium, and that you have gone digital, would have to be the ultimate in self delusion' (Spender, 1999)
Introducing a new technology into an educational situation will need to be monitored carefully for possible deleterious 'side effects'. It will, therefore, be necessary to guard against the potential for reverting to knowledge transmission and not utilising cognitive approaches to learning, that is, the facilitation of learning, rather than just knowledge transmission.
It will be important to shift the focus from the manipulation of technology to the learning strategies that facilitate a deep approach to learning, one that moves from teaching and towards learning. There must exist within the online school's philosophy, an expectation that students will be active, self-directed learners able to construct knowledge rather than simply to receive it.
Knowledge transmission discourages students from adopting a deep approach to study, while a learning facilitation orientation involving interactive teaching, facilitative teaching and motivation of students, on the other hand, is less likely to induce surface approaches.
Interaction
Interaction represents the connectivity the students feel with the teacher, any local tutors and their peers. Distance education works best when there is personal interaction among the participants, that something tangible is known about the personal identity of those involved, even if just by photograph and voice.
The teaching basics are the same, but with some adaptations that emphasise the following:
- good teaching practice;
- planning and organisation;
- vital interaction with learners must be built into the session;
- use of well-designed graphic material; and,
- familiarity with the equipment so both teacher and students feel at ease.
Moral Dilemmas
Education is a moral activity, concerned with people significantly affecting the lives of others. All of the literature agrees that educators have a moral obligation to consider how their individual actions in the teaching/learning nexus might significantly affect the lives of those immersed in it. The use of various technologies to aid distance learning must be supported by human interaction of some kind.
The Technologies
The power of information technology lends a new dimension to the pace of change. The technology is not only the tool itself, but also the knowledge, values and practices surrounding it. Technology cannot be divorced from the environment and ideology in which it is developed and used.
While much money may be invested in the hardware and software, as much must be invested in implementing the technologies and assisting staff and students in developing the necessary skills and understandings to do this, by far the most critical elements.
It is important to note that technologies, even when well-designed, do not guarantee learning. Interactive learning must incorporate the accompanying cognitive activity it stimulates in the learner. Some very interactive WWW pages stimulate little cognitive functioning. The real test is the level of critical thinking and reflection that results.
What Would the Online School Look Like?
Spender (p. 2, 1999) argues that an, 'entirely new infrastructure is needed for online delivery, for the WWW classroom; and with it comes the need for completely new content, new means of development and delivery, new staff skills, even new buildings and support. Not only will it cost more - at least initially - to go online, it will mean that almost everything we do now in educational institutions will be obsolete'.
The staffing profile alone would require the employment of a new set of skills quite different from those in traditional styles of schooling. Other factors for consideration may include:
- information specialists which may differ from traditional forms;
- content developers who translate traditional content into digital format;
- Internet strategists, instructional designers, web developers, graphic artists and directors;
- learning managers/project managers/quality control/protocol evaluators and developers;
- professional presenters/actors;
- tutors/customer support/helpdesk;
- IT staff;
- sales staff - after-sales service, customer liaison;
- researchers, pedagogists; and,
- management capable of exercising leadership in relation to knowledge workers in a global community (Spender 1999).
What if We Just Ignore it?
- Australian students will become part of the growing demand for online education, which may come from anywhere in Australia or the world.
- Communications technology recognises no barriers of distance or bodies of water.
- Once the process is established, the monitoring of the learning activities of students may not take place.
Conclusion
Important learnings in assuming the role of technological distance/online education will include:
- understanding the nature and philosophy of online education;
- identifying learner characteristics at distant sites;
- understanding that teachers and students are likely to have less of an emotional connection and commitment to the instructor;
- understanding the issues of student background, experience and expectations of students, in particular, cultural issues in cases extending beyond Australian boundaries and developing the consequent corresponding cultural shift;
- developing insight into the role and place of distance education in lifelong learning;
- evaluating student achievement, attitudes and perceptions at distant sites;
- understanding that the process of distance education is visible because of the 'openness': the process is essentially public; and,
- dealing with copyright issues.
It is essential that the distance education organisation provides courses of quality and more importantly, that it provides evidence that is doing so. '[E]ducation must never be made secondary to the technology by which it is served. In both pedagogy and the means of delivery, there need to be parallel value shifts: an increased focus on the learner rather than the teacher, on the user rather than the provider, on flexibility rather than rigidity, and on the individual rather than on the institution' OLTC, 1997.
An Invitation
Having reviewed a small amount of the literature, it is now time to come to some understanding about the possibility of registering an online school.
The Registered Schools Board is seeking comments from principals and school communities on the future of online/distance education and its place within a robust and growing non-government school sector. The Board would value feedback from both the education and wider communities to inform its decision-making about future policy. Responses should be emailed to Mrs Cynthia Merrill at merrill.cynthia.e@edumail.vic.gov.au
Alternatively, respond by post to:
Mrs Cynthia Merrill
Manager
Registered Schools Board
GPO Box 4367
Melbourne
Victoria 3001
Australia
In responding, could you please comment on:
- what, if any, online education services your school offers to students, e.g., virtual campus, distance education;
- whether you would consider offering these services to students who are enrolled on a full-time basis or a part-time basis;
- should the Registered Schools Board consider the registration of online providers?
- would it be preferable that online providers were already operating a registered school?
- A short list of other indicators for discussion follows. There are sure to be others you would think appropriate to raise.
Issues for Discussion
- What would be the appropriate year levels for enrolment in such a school? Would there be a minimum age for students enrolled for online schooling?
- What would be the appropriate enrolment and attendance procedures?
- What would be our expectations of the staffing profile for such a school?
- What qualifications would we expect the provider and staff to hold?
- What would our expectations be in interaction between teachers and students? Times for face-to-face interaction, videoconferencing, etc?
- What would be our expectations in terms of policy, curriculum - its content and delivery, assessment and reporting to parents?
- What resources would we require to be present? What guarantees would the school, and we, expect from parents that students were participating?
- What monitoring procedures should be in place?
- What resources would we require to be available to students?
- How should such a process be funded?
- Would it be our concern to know the kind of student to be enrolled in the online school?
- Would the school have to maintain a minimum enrolment?
- Would student safety and welfare be an issue for online schools?
- What could be seen as the positive and negative features of online schooling?
- Other issues?
_____________________________________________________________
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mrs Cynthia Merrill (TPTC, Cert. A, M.Ed. Admin) has been the manager to the Registered Schools Board since the beginning of 1998. She has had a wide background in education as a teacher in Victoria, Tasmania and Queensland and as a principal in four eastern suburban primary schools in Melbourne, Victoria.
From 1995 to 1997 she was a District Liaison Principal in the Dandenong Ranges east of Melbourne, working with, and in support of, 33 primary and secondary school principals as they moved into the Schools of the Future program.
Cynthia Merrill is a Fellow of the Australian Principals Centre, a fellow of the Australian Council for Educational Administration (ACEA), Immediate Past President of ACEA (Victoria) and a Fellow of the Australian College of Education.
A focus of her work during her career has been on student-centred learning, curriculum development and teacher professionalism. Current work focuses on the registration and monitoring of schools in the non-government sector within an environment of continuous self-evaluation and school improvement.
Cynthia Merrill can be contacted by email at:
merrill.cynthia.e@edumail.vic.gov.au
_____________________________________________________________
REFERENCES
Osborne, Jo., Roberts, David & Walker, Judi (Eds.). The Association of Distance Education Schools 13th Biennial Forum of Open and Distance Learning Association of Australia (in association with the Australian Association of Distance Education Schools) University of Tasmania, Launceston 29 September-3 October 1997
Crock, M.J. and Andrews, P.M. (1996). Putting the pieces of the puzzle together: preparing students and staff for changes in education environments. Paper presented at the Processes of Community Change- John Smith Colloquium. Central Queensland University, October 31-November 1, 1996.
Clark, R. (1994). Reconsidering research on learning from media
National Learning Infrastructure Initiative.
Kember, D. (1994). The teacher is more important than the medium: Pre-packaged instructional materials are not axiomatic with surface learning Distance Education, 15(1) pp.153-159.
Lundin,R. (1997). Flexible Delivery of Continuing Professional Education: Models, Issues and Trends http://www.usask.ca/dic/FDLP.htm Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia.
Open Learning Technology Corporation Limited (1997). The Changing Nature of Information and Information Technology
Peak, K. (1998). Review of Distance Education. Summary of Research Report
Department of Education, Victoria.
Scott, R. (1999). '"Distance" - Is it Just Another Word for Flexibility?' in Sydney Morning Herald.
Spender, D. (1999). Professional Educators are Today Under Pressure. Paper presented to the joint ACEA/ACE National Conference in Darwin, July 1999.
|
|
| | |
