Since this module will be encouraging me to reflect on my own development as an e-learning practitioner, the early interactions on H808 have challenged me to consider the rather disappointing progress I have made to date at integrating e-learning into my own personal practice. Do I have any right to consider myself an e-learning practitioner?
My previous two years of MA ODE study were very interesting academically, and encouraged me to experiment with adding modules of online learning to supplement (and hopefully enrich) my face to face teaching practice in the world of business. I feel that understanding more about the disciplines of Distance Learning has helped me to be much more thoughtful about how I plan and structure my face to face work; taking better account of my students' needs, and being more structured in my learning design. But, being honest, the experience and the learning have done little to change the nature of my work - the vast majority of the training I offer is still face to face. If the final year of my studies is to result in a more fundamental change in my practice, I will do well to approach this year with the benefit of the legacy learning from years one and two.
In my previoua MA ODE experiments, I had convinced myself that if I could engage my face to face learners in an online dialogue around their application of the new ideas and skills we would be teaching them in our face to face sessions, we would create greater momentum around them putting these lessons into action. Success would come as a result of; more thoughtful reflection on the part of the students; the sustaining of the learning community beyond the face to face training; and a sense of peer pressure through seeing others being successful with the new ideas. Probably the most telling lesson that I learned was that it is the students' motivation to engage with the subject matter, not the ingenuity of the online interaction that really made the difference. Over the course of three experiments, which became more and more sophisticated in the technology and learning methodologies that I deployed, the engagement of my students became progressively lower. When I step back and ask why, I feel that the excitement of the first group at being part of something very different ignited their interest to participate, and made them feel like pioneers. To be honest, I had some of those same feelings myself. But by the time my more sophisticated third group came together, this 'new' medium was no longer so new or such an adventure and their participation was similarly lacklustre. Online participation became a chore like any other work task!
As I embark on module three, my mental note to myself is to guard against my own enthusiasm for a new approach and to consider what I can do to use distance (and e-) learning in situations where I can generate genuine engagement. The excitement and dialogue that my colleagues on H808 are showing for the intellectual ideas is infectious, but I must guard against getting carried away with best practice and stay focused on what will deliver results that my customers/students are looking for.
The really good news is that I now have a real Distance Learning project that has many motivational factors working in its favour. I have been able to assemble a small group of consultants who really want to learn about and use my company's newest consulting model. Since they are located literally all around the globe (from Costa Rica to New Zealand), the only practical option is to offer Distance Learning. This medium makes the learning process much more cost and time effective for delegates, and I have a strong sense that they will be 'model' learners. Likewise, their participation in the Distance Learning modules will be used to assess whether they will be granted a license to offer our consulting model in their market place. Finally, the participants have all had to pay for the training out of their own pockets, and so will be keen to get value for money, I'm sure.
But I must be very careful not to fall into the same trap of convincing myself I have the perfect solution once again. My personal resolution both for H808 and for my latest work DL project is to have the motivation of others (learners and work colleagues) very much in mind. Enthusiasm on my part may have made me blind to the realities of my situation in the past, and I now have a great opportunity to tune in to the feedback and any reluctance of others and to find other ways of responding to this feedback than simply to press on vigorously.
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