ELearning: A Personal Experience

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E-Learning A Personal Experience

• Colin Rees
• Lecture
• School of Nursing and Midwifery Studies

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Aim of session

• Provide a personal view of the use of discussion
  boards in nurse education
• Illustrate some first hand experiences
• Suggest some recommendations for those interested
  in the potential of discussion boards in the
  learning context

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Background

• Distance learning
• Module
• Opportunity to make
• full use of technology
• Exploring new ways of
• teaching and learning

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Purpose of Website

• Create a community identity
• Form a virtual learning space (classroom
  substitute)
• Speak to many instead of repeating same
  information on individual basis

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New Jargon

• CMC Computer Moderated Conferencing
• Learning Communities in Cyberspace
• Synchronous and asynchronous Communication
• E-Moderating
• Uninhibited Verbal Behaviour
• (Flaming)
• Netiquette
• Lurkers

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Need to fill in your membership form for
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Its tempting to see it all as very scary
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The Website

• Home Page
• News Page
• Discussion Page
• Staff Discussion Page

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To my Research Distance Learning Web Site
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The Experience

• Home Page Difficulty for some students gaining
  access
• News Page Useful signpost for current issues and
  examples in current journals
• Discussion Page Some, but limited use, lack of
  thread development
• Staff Discussion Page Provided reassurance and
  practical ideas

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The Interpretation

• Underestimated
• technical competence
• (Keyboard skills,
• basic computer
• literacy)
• Some technophobes
• Uncomfortable with message board culture

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Limitations

• A large number (11 of 16) of the students in
  the group worked in close proximity
• My lack of experience and skills
• Their lack of experience and skills

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Conclusions

• E-Learning and the use of message boards have
  huge potential
• The technology is there to exploit
• The human element is the weakness at the moment

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Recommendations

• Staff need preparation to take on the role of
  leader
• Students need preparation for their use of the
  technology and the philosophy behind the use of
  notice boards
• There must be a clear infrastructure supporting
  the enterprise. This needs to be costed and built
  in to the educational enterprise.

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For successful computer moderated conferencing
(CMC)

• CMC needs to become as habitual and natural for
  students as reading, watching TV or listening to
  a lecture. Key features for successful
  implementation, therefore, involves enabling
  access and induction into CMC in advance of the
  start of the courses, and the training of online
  moderators (facilitators) before they are
  expected to take responsibility for conferences.
• Salmon and Giles 1998

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Dont bescared of shadows,its a new paradigm