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Commentary - April 2007

E-learning – a long term investment

A world-class post-16 education sector needs to employ  technology effectively and appropriately. Over the last decade the foundation for this has been laid, but more needs to be done to ensure long-term development, writes ALAN CLARKE

It is now 25 years since I became involved with e-learning,  although then it was called computer-assisted learning. It has had various other titles over the years. I was attempting to design learning materials to exploit the Pet Commodore computer and, slightly later, the BBC B microcomputer. It seemed then that it would only take a year or two before technology would be accepted into education and training. It has actually taken 25 years to reach this point and I realise that we still have a long journey to make.

E-learning has now gained the acceptance of providers across all parts of education and training and they agree that technology can improve participation, retention and achievement. This has not happened by accident but because of the process of national support provided by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), the Department for Education and Skills, the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC), the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (BECTA) and many organisations, including NIACE. The investment has been substantial and over a long period. The LSC adult and community learning e-learning programme has been a major success, not least in bringing together a partnership of many different organisations and groups. This is what is needed. The change required by education and training providers and staff is substantial but the rewards are even greater.

Teachers, trainers and tutors need technical skills and confidence with technology. They also need understanding and skills with e-learning pedagogy. One without the other is not sufficient. This is not easy to achieve since e-learning is not a small subject but covers a wide range of techniques and technologies. It can be the use of a digital camera to capture assessment evidence or the provision of online courses with learners spread across the globe. The tutor needs to apply methods that are right for their learners and subject. To achieve this objective fully requires real expertise and understanding. By contrast, it is straightforward to experiment with small developments after only a few hours training.

E-learning is also about technological infrastructure concerning the provision of access to technology and technical support. It is still difficult to guarantee access to broadband or dial-up connections to the Internet from all education and training locations in England and Wales. If you are studying in a rural location or in an outreach site then your access is going to be very limited. Nevertheless, most e-learning practitioners would regard access to the Internet as a basic requirement to realise its benefits.

A third factor in gaining the benefits of e-learning is high quality learning materials. The LSC’s e-learning programme has produced thousands of hours of content, which is now widely available, but, again, there is no guarantee that every tutor or learner can gain access to it. Tutors and learners are also producing their own content, which is often a highly effective process, and the outcomes need to be shared so that many people can benefit from them.

These are complex and difficult objectives to achieve. The outstanding results of the LSC programme are major steps forward but the need is to go forward and continue to gain the benefits of technology. This requires support from government and providers. Every page of the Leitch report tells me that its objectives could not be achieved without a substantial contribution from e-learning. A post-16 education sector among the best in the world needs to employ technology effectively and appropriately. Over the last decade the foundation for this has been laid but more needs to be done. We have only trained a small proportion of teachers, tutors and trainers. The infrastructure is still limited and compared to the best education providers in other countries it is still quite basic.

E-learning is a dynamic, evolving area where new techniques, ideas and possibilities are continuously becoming available. There is a new generation of developments around Web 2.0 technologies, such as social networking, blogs, wikis, e-portfolios and podcasting. There needs to be a systematic approach to ensuring that post-16 education and training can integrate new ideas quickly and efficiently. E-learning is a long-term development and needs longterm funding. What is often misjudged is that e-learning is closely associated with organisational change. It is not a shortterm objective. E-learning is a very new set of methods and techniques that are still evolving and growing. For these reasons, we need a longer-term vision that goes beyond yearly budgets and short-term goals.

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