In a few best-case scenarios, some courses were already online, some professionals were experienced at using eLearning technologies and pedagogies, and some students were experienced eLearners. But the worst-case scenario quickly unfolded -
- few policies or procedures were in place to manage the sudden shift
- too many teachers and instructors had no eLearning skills or tools
- implementation was fractured, resisted and unmonitored
- too many options were suddenly offered with little guidance on choosing or using
- far too many students had no computers or internet access to meet the demands
- parents were struggling with countless other personal, health and employment challenges
- families were unprepared to turn homes into learning resource centers
- motivation and accountability in learning systems plummeted
- the private, for-profit education sector either shut down and stranded learners, or seized the opportunity to gouge for even more profit
- whole education systems just canceled classes, hoping for a miracle
This worst-case scenario was a result of the consistent marginalization of eLearning across the formal education world - there have been collective voices against it from unions; there have been quality issues in the absence of specialized quality certification; there has been intense competition in the eLearning industry where the focus is naturally on profit; there has been a relentless but disregarded effort by the non-profits agencies to promote value. Many governments in the world still do not recognize qualifications earned through online programs; many others think eLearning is for training only. With so much invested in the status quo, the formal education system, at all levels, simply did not want to change. Hence, this eLearning crisis.
And without a massive effort, eLearning will cause as many problems as the virus. Possibly the worst problem is that created by the digital divide - the elite will thrive online, the majority of learners worldwide will struggle and suffer, the divide will widen. This crisis needs an immediate response. We can fix the quality of eLearning later.
A better and more appropriate form of online learning is mLearning - mobile learning - learning using mobile technologies PRECISELY because so many more learners have mobile devices. But even more important, developing mLearning tools and strategies requires a visionary rethink of what education is all about. eLearning has been used (or misused) consistently to do the "same old things" in a slightly different way - instruction and assessment are typically just the same online and on sight. The teacher teaches and judges the learner. Futurists hypothesized that eLearning would be a way to do different things differently, but that hasn't happened in any systematic way. But mLearning will require new ways of delivering and managing learning, because the power shifts from the provider to the consumer of learning services. Maybe that is going too far....
This is how I see mLearning working.
1. Learning requirements are set by "the system" - intended learning outcomes or learning standards that are measurable, cross-disciplinary, achievable and future-oriented, from basic literacies to advanced content knowledge
2. Learning requirements are presented in two formats: first in an ePortfolio format - an electronic framework that would include recommended or required resources, and means of digitally producing evidence of achievement - "Here's what I was expected to learn (learning standard) and here's evidence of what I know and can do." An app. They already exist. Google has lots.
3. Learning requirements are presented also in a second format: a competence-based, digital assessment rubric that establishes the type of evidence required to achieve levels from adequate to excellence "Here's exactly how you will be assessed and you can even assess yourself!" It is a planning tool upfront and an accurate measure of both formative and summative achievements. Students learn how to learn and take some responsibility for what they learn.
4. With their guides or teachers or community mentors, learners make a learning plan, access resources from myriad sources, create digital evidence of learning and achievement using their mobile phones. They can learn anywhere. They already know how to produce digital evidence or artifacts. They just need a framework to manage and use what they learn, and this process systematically promotes lifelong and life-wide learning.
I am not advocating having learners of all ages wander off with their mobiles and then eventually become productive contributing members of society. There needs to be a support system around this, and that's what teachers will be doing in the "new normal. " For example, part of the ePortfolio development process typically includes reflection - and that takes coaching. Another part is judgment and presentation - what to include and how - and that takes coaching.
Teachers themselves need an ePortfolio framework to structure their developing use of mLearning, and that's where I would start: an mLearning portfolio for all teachers. I would organize training and tools centered on a research project to demonstrate how mLearning works so that they could model it for their students.
Over time, learners will have a massive repository of learning achievements to be used for academic assessment, job and advancement applications, story-telling, career planning and development, and more, much more.
Mobile devices are ubiquitous and cheap, and students already use them enthusiastically, if not so very creatively. Let's use them to deliver and manage learning!
Mobile devices are ubiquitous and cheap, and students already use them enthusiastically, if not so very creatively. Let's use them to deliver and manage learning!
And then we can think about this when time and resources allow.
