Support Issues for Educators
Konrad Morgan & Madeleine Morgan
University of Bergen, Norway
MASSIVE Seminar 1
Barcelona
7th and 8th November 2005
Purpose of Presentation
• To review the key support
areas which are of
relevance to educators
using E Learning within
Traditional Universities.
Issues for the Educators
• Many educators have little expertise
in the design of digital learning
materials and courses
• We have conducted further
extensive research into the issues
related to providing effective
support for educators using E
Learning in traditional Universities.
Issues for Educators
• Educators need support in several separate
areas including but not limited to:
– Training to cope with the introduction of new
technology
– Training for new ways of designing,
delivering and evaluating courses
– Provision of dedicated technical support
– Raise awareness of how temporal and
geographical independance changes access
and response expectations of students
Training to cope with the
introduction of new technology
•
•
•
•
Many teachers need training in quite basic IT skills before
they can even begin to consider using educational technology
within their classes
Many Teachers fear being seen to be less competent in IT
than their students
This fear holds many back from adopting new technology in
classes
Training sessions need to be provided at times and locations
that does not add to their workload
Training for new ways to design,
deliver and assess courses
•
•
•
Once competence in IT has been achieved
educators need training how to adapt their
traditional class materials into digital formats
Some provision of courseware designers may be
needed or extensive education in instructional
design
Support also needed to help in designing how
materials will be made available to students and
how assessments will be handled
Provision of technical support
• If classes are provided using
digital media or new technology
then support must be provided to
ensure that the systems function
correctly whenever they are
required by staff and students
Raise awareness of how temporal
and geographical independance
effects e-learning based education
• E Learning attracts non traditional
students and educators need support to
cope with
– Flexible deadlines for lifelong learners
– Extra support for non traditional learners who fall
behind
– Alternative credit accumulation schedules, with
delayed examinations and class graduations away
from a fixed academic calendar
The Need for Additional
Learning Support Systems
• Difficulties can arise for students
using e learning systems when
they have a problem
understanding some part of their
studies.
Design of Questions Related
to this Area
• The MASSIVE Team have worked to
develop a detailed set of survey
instruments that allow a peer review
panel to assess an Institution in
terms of its actual provision of
support to Educators.
• These survey instruments have been
embedded into a detailed
methodology that allows a uniform
approach to data gathering in each
Institution.
Summary
• We have reviewed some of the issues involved in
the design and use of digital education systems
• Seen importance of the presence of an adequately
trained and resourced human facilitator
• Developed a detailed set of survey instruments and
a methodology that permits not only an
assessment of the current support for educators
but also permits comparison between institutions.