Turn and face the strain

Below is an extract from a forthcoming chapter I'm publishing soon in a book edited by Manuela Repetto and Guglielmo Trentin, on Web Enhanced Learning. My chapter is all about change that is brought about by the introduction of new technologies in formal learning settings, and how it affects learning and teaching. It has the optimistic title of: Teacher resistance to new technologies: How barriers to Web Enhanced Learning can be overcome.

Abstract

This chapter will address the question of how a transformation in teachers' use of information and communication technology can be achieved. There is evidence to suggest that the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in higher education can enhance and extend the learning experience. There is also evidence that although many teachers recognise this, many resist using ICT in formal education contexts, resulting in a shortfall in the adoption of technologies. An analysis of the barriers and constraints, and how they might be managed and overcome will feature during the discussion. A particular emphasis on Web Enhanced Learning (WEL) approaches will be made and strategies for university-wide adoption of social software (Web 2.0) tools and services will be presented.

The Nature of Change

Change is often painful, and most people avoid it if they can. This is human nature. People feel more comfortable with routines they have developed, and trust their own methods before they will trust those of another. Notwithstanding, Web Enhanced Learning (WEL) has the potential to revolutionise higher education at a number of levels.

At the pedagogical level – where we are concerned with how learning takes place – there are indicators that WEL and other technology enhanced approaches have the potential to transform the quality of learning. WEL provides a flexibility of pace and space that was previously unattainable. Further, WEL enables students to more directly participate in, and take control and responsibility over, their own learning processes.

Formal and Informal Learning

This emerges through formal and informal learner activities such as online discussion, user generated content, active social tagging and the sharing and exchanging of digital artefacts direct from user to user. We can observe this in the interpersonal dialogue that is common on social networking sites such as Facebook, in the user generated encyclopaedia pages of Wikipedia and on video and photo-sharing sites such as YouTube and Flickr. Not only do students enjoy using these tools informally, they also use them within formal education contexts, and often during lessons or for the purposes of completing their assignments. Engagement with learning at this level is a departure from the didactic, passive, instructional methods often seen in higher education. Students are now using WEL tools to engage more deeply and actively with their learning, and through their quick and easy to set up social networks, can call upon help and support to collaborate while they learn. It seems a shame that there appears to be a gulf growing between the expectations and activities of students within the social web, and the expectations and practices of university staff within the lecture room.

The book will be published soon, and I'm looking forward to reading the chapters by the other authors in the volume.

Image by Banksy: source

Turn and face the strain by Steve Wheeler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.