If we're going to make our e-learning site as effective as possible, we'll need to understand the strengths and weaknesses of both elements of the blended approach. Let's look at each individually, then in the next post we'll consider how they might work together.
Traditional teaching
We've all experienced traditional classroom based teaching, it is compulsory for every child in the UK between ages 5 and 16 after all (Citizens Advice, 2017). As with most things we're told we must do there's an instinctive urge to dislike it, but what legitimate pros and cons can we come up with?Advantages
- Physical presence. As the web increasingly isolates us from others physically the idea that someone can be there to talk face-to-face about you and what you are doing has become a valuable one. There's something far more personal in the support you get from a tutor in meat-space - even if you're chatting over IP video there's something lacking. Over a video stream, even a good quality one, there's no body language and facial cues are diminished, both highly important in communication. Move the medium to email and the lack of a personal element is even more pronounced. It pushes against the very way in which we've evolved as a social species.
- Group communication. Taking this further, it becomes possible among a group of people to foster communication on a deeper level than if everyone was hiding behind a screen. You can't judge a mood or atmosphere so effectively when everybody is anonymised. This leads to spontaneity as students bounce ideas and talking points around, fostering learning. Sure, you can all go into a forum and chat away, but as mentioned there's that technology barrier sat in-between every word that's said.
- Hands-on approach. This physicality manifests itself obviously in vocational subjects. How hard would it be for us to improve in, say, woodworking, if we had no-one to help guide our hands with tools, or to look up close at our handiwork and offer practical advice?
- Speed of support. There's an inherent advantage in being able to react and respond in real-time. Sure, electronic methods include forms of instant communication, but the value in being able to ask a question, or demonstrate a technique and have someone who is actually there give feedback immediately can't be understated.
- Learner engagement. Sure, I can tell you I've been dutifully following the course from the comfort of my own sofa, but unless we physically meet every week how can you be sure? Having to show up in class regularly may seem like we're being checked up on, but having to be somewhere to study gets me off my backside and involving myself in proceedings. Once I'm up I'm already interacting more deeply than I had been.
- Peer support. Place a group of people together studying the same thing and you can expect learners to start to help each other. I see this regularly where I work and it can be quite wonderful to witness. In particular, it's heartwarming to see learners, without any prompting from us, offer help to disadvantaged students and those who are struggling. It's that personal touch that doesn't come about organically in the digital space.
Disadvantages
- Peer pressure. Put any group of people together for any length of time and a natural order will; emerge, cliques form and learners start to be categorised as 'good' or 'bad' students. There is always a risk that individuals will end up isolated from the rest of the group, though since we're talking post-compulsory education I'd hope that wouldn't be too common.
- Travel. I have to physically get myself up in the morning, get ready, then drag myself to an entirely different location just to be told some stuff? This, at a time you chose rather than one that suits me? How quaint!
- Quality of teaching. When the delivery of a course is being done in person, you'd better hope that person is capable enough to teach effectively. Classic university lectures have gained a stereotypical reputation of an academic standing in front of a hundred people, reciting facts verbatim from a book. Quality teaching requires more effort than that and needs the tutor to be understanding and empathetic.
E-learning
A lot of the pros and cons of e-learning are the opposite of the traditional method - mostly those involving communication and physicality. I won't just say the opposite of what's been said above already, but there are other aspects we can consider.
Advantages
- Round-the-clock access. Unlike us lazy humans, a server can remain active 24/7. I want to sit at home at midnight in my pyjamas and look at some course notes? Sure, no problem. I'm on the train with only my phone? I can do that. The e-learning paradigm is inherently suited to fitting around my lifestyle, rather than the other way around.
- Collaboration. Being online offers a host of advantages when it comes to working with your peers. Asynchronous communication is the big one, being able to work on projects even when team members are missing. There are many team tools available online that give users far more flexibility in organising group efforts than were available before.
- Better communication. While you can't beat a face-to-face chat, being able to ask for and receive support potentially at any time is highly valuable and ultimately leads to stronger communication between tutors and learners.
- Access to resources. Beyond easy access to the tutor's lecture notes, being online also allows us to make limited resources more accessible to our learners. Libraries can put digital copies of rarer books (or excerpts of them at least) online for everybody. Distribution of video and audio becomes elementary. For a small up-front time investment an e-learning site can become a valuable source of all manner of relevant materials.
- Audit trail. Thanks to the wonders of technology, every time a student accesses any resource it can be logged and various forms of statistical analysis can be implemented to track progress and engagement. In the physical word these options are far more limited (think attendance registers).
- Consistency. When you put your materials online you are ensuring that everybody has access to exactly the same content. You ensure that everyone gets the same stuff, regardless of whether the tutor was having a bad day or forgot to tell one group something they told all the others.
- Flexibility. Purely online courses are able to be followed at the pace of the learner. If a student struggles with a particular topic, or something else in their life crops up, the schedule can be adjusted to suit them. Learners also have access to the entirety of human knowledge via the Internet; if they feel they need more content than a course has offered, they can simply go and find it.
- Cost. I don't like the idea of money being such an affecting force when it comes to learning, but sadly that's the world we live in. At the end of the day, if you don't have to pay several staff members regularly and can instead pay for the up-front set-up with fewer ongoing wages then you'll keep management happier.
Disadvantages
- Additional skills. Following an e-learning course requires learners to understand the technology they are using to be effective. I need to be able to make proper use of emails, web browsers, various kinds of productivity applications etc. etc., on top of the core skills I'm trying to learn from the course.
- Impersonal. This has already been covered above, but it's a big one so it's worth restating: Online courses abstract the learning process away from human interaction in favour of screen-based media. I'm not going to get into that whole 'kids today' rubbish, but today it is possible to complete a course without ever meeting a physical being.
- Cost. Hang on, wasn't that in advantages? Yes, but there we were thinking of ongoing costs. The initial costs are likely to be higher though, as technology doesn't come cheap, nor the knowledgeable people you'll need to get it set up.
References
- Citizens Advice. (2017, March 20). Compulsory school age. Retrieved from Citizens Advice: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/wales/family/education/school-education/compulsory-school-age-w/
Bibliography
- Ashton College. (2013, November 21). The Importance of Face-to-Face Communication. Retrieved from Ashton College: http://www.ashtoncollege.ca/the-importance-of-face-to-face-communication/
- Pappas, C. (2015, October 23). Blended Learning Advantages And Disadvantages In CorporateTraining. Retrieved from eLearning Industry: https://elearningindustry.com/blended-learning-advantages-and-disadvantages-in-corporate-training
- Winstead, S. (n.d.). 6 Disadvantages of Blended Learning You Have to Cope With. Retrieved March 19, 2017, from My eLearning World: https://myelearningworld.com/6-disadvantages-of-blended-learning/
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