A workable E-learning Model?
All the research up to date suggests that e-learning needs to be engaging and have adequate interaction and support built in, for students to successfully complete a full course of study. There is a track record of high drop out rates in many courses and it is usually put down to a lack of these factors. So it is common knowledge that simply throwing course material into a Learning Management System is guaranteed to result in a high student non-completion rate.
I have found that one of the most successful models for e-learning is one on one coaching and mentoring using virtual conferencing, combined with self-paced study using materials available within a Learning Management System. The key is the one on one coaching. Without that, even if you have discussion forums set up for peer support, many people fall by the wayside. However this is not a good business model as it is labour intensive and costly. It also seems to encourage students to take extended periods to finish their course. So what information is around about a model for e-learning that works from a business perspective as well as from a learning perspective?
I have researched this over the past week and have found a couple of useful resources to help us think about models for e-learning. It is evident that there are no shortcuts. However, investing a significant amount of work and capital in setting up a good e-learning program should pay off - the initial set up investment will lessen the need for continuous one on one coaching sessions, ensure the students complete learning programs in a reasonable time frame, and free the lecturer up to do more development of learning materials and courses.
I found a free e-book published in 2009, "Delivering E-Learning," written by a well known e-learning specialist, Kenneth Fee, that is written in plain English and is a comprehensive guide to all things e-learning, including different models. I have placed this e-book in my Google Drive for your consideration.
Here is a link to an article about the GEAR instructional design model (Gather, Expand, Apply, Receive feedback) which I believe gives us a few ideas about a blended learning model. This article also has a link to an upcoming course by the E-Learning Guild (an American e-learning association) about "agile instructional design" which I think would be of great value.
Ultimately, KTI teaching and management staff will need to come up with a solution that meets the learning needs of Kimberley communities while at the same time affording us a business model that works financially for us. We can use resources like those above to help us but it will be our unique solution that requires all KTI brains to work together!
Video Streaming
How many of you have grappled with the problem of giving your students or fellow lecturers access to video clips or even full movie-length videos when they are not on campus? Video files are very large and take ages to load or refuse to load at all if you try to share them via email or even if you put them in a cloud-based storage site such as Drop Box, as they still have to be downloaded to the recipient's desktop. Streaming of videos makes them run much more smoothly because they are downloaded in small amounts as they play. But where can we stream videos? Here are some possibilities I have researched and used:YouTube
YouTube is the most well known solution for sharing video clips. Some lecturers may be worried about security of intellectual property and privacy issues - however you can set the privacy of each clip you upload, at the time of upload. The most practical option is "unlisted" - it won't appear on YouTube or come up in searches, but you can share the link with others, or use the embed code to insert the video into a web page or blog. If it is listed "private" you will not be able to do this - you don't get an embed code and the link won't work for anyone else.However YouTube is restricted to uploads of 300 mb at a time, and many clips are bigger than this.
Vimeo
Vimeo is like YouTube without the ads, and it also streams videos at a higher definition which makes for clearer and larger video windows. The limit however is 500 mb per week. Once you reach your limit you have to wait until the following week to share more. Vimeo has the same options for privacy and sharing as YouTubeBrainshark
I discovered Brainshark this week, while searching for a streaming solution for the two hour workshops by Clive Moffat recorded by Access lecturer, David Broun. I really like Brainshark! You can upload 500 mb at a time, with no restrictions on how many, using their free On-Demand service in "My Brainshark." The great thing about Brainshark is they have some great enhancements for teachers and learners. You can add any attachment such as a Word document that could be an assignment, and it has a facility for creating a quiz at the end of the video, or adding slides of information and images to the video at the end. So in other words this could be a complete lesson, created using video, slides and documents on Brainshark and available to students via a link to Brainshark or embedded in Blackboard.
I would encourage all lecturers to try the free "My Brainshark" - if I get enough good feedback I would be advocating that KTI pay a yearly fee to have a portal which would be a platform for all videos and presentation produced within KTI (or legitimately obtained from other sources) - which would make it easy for lecturers to find resources such as videos, powerpoint presentations and even full lessons.
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