A free-standing module from Lancaster University's Advanced Learning Technology (ALT) Programme requiring 60 hours of study time. Some of this time will be spent on-line communicating with other course participants and tutors. Most of the time will be spent reading and preparing a course assignment off-line.
The course will run from 1 February to 30 June 1997 for the MECPOL user trials. The last date for starting study on this course is 30 April 1997.
We will need two weeks notice in order to dispatch course material to you.
A good command of English is required. Much of the work on the module requires on-line discussion and the writing of an assignment. The on-line discussion is NOT real-time, and therefore you will have the chance to prepare your contributions before going on-line.
Centre for Studies in Advanced Learning Technology (C SALT), Department of Educational Research, Lancaster University, UK.
INSTITUTION COURSE CODE: ITL07
This module introduces course members to open, distance & flexible approaches to learning. Increasingly, IT is being used to support learning within organisations in ways which are different to those within traditional classroom or laboratory settings. This module looks at the nature of learning when open learning or student-centred approaches are used, and computer-based technologies are employed to facilitate these approaches. The module builds upon the course team’s extensive experience of supporting open learning for remote/distributed learners. It examines the use of computer-based groupware tools to facilitate computer-mediated collaborative learning. The module also introduces course members to using Internet resources for learning.
The readings have been selected to give you both a broad introduction to the issues relating to open, distance and student-centred learning and to look at the potential role(s) of IT in supporting such learning approaches. In particular, in this module we will be focusing on the use of Computer-Mediated Communications (CMC) to support flexible approaches to learning.
The Lancaster University Advanced Learning Technology (ALT) Programme has been designed to support the continuing professional development of people working with computer-based learning technologies.
This module is open to people who are currently involved in the design, development, use or evaluation of ALT systems. It is open to those involved in training and to staff working in higher, further or adult education who want to learn more about ALT. It is not oriented towards the needs of those who are primarily concerned with the use of computers in schools.
ALT is broadly defined, to include such things as the use of electronic communications and groupware, multimedia systems, electronic books, on-line help and performance support systems, simulations and exploratory learning tools, as well as more mainstream elements of technology-based training.
You will need access to a computer and the Internet using a World-Wide Web browser such as Netscape (version 2.x or above) or MS Internet Explorer (version 2.x or above). You will be accessing Lotus Notes discussion databases (conferences) via your Web browser.
A participant pack will be provided on request. This pack includes readings for this module. Alternatively, you may choose to find the readings yourself from a reading list which we will supply.
Other learning resources are provided on the module's Web pages, ALTLinks V1 and ALT Links V2.
The assessment task is meant to act as the motor for your learning on the module. It provides a focus for your studying and reflecting on the readings. It is the vehicle through which you can
The exact nature of the assessment task can be negotiated with the tutors. The following suggestions may give you some ideas:
i) Use the literature provided in this unit, together with your own experience to sketch out a set of requirements or desiderata (a "wish list") for implementing and managing an open learning environment that makes use of IT-based learning and that would fulfil the needs you have identified for a group of learners. You should interpret your role and the facility quite broadly - don’t think of yourself as just a training needs analyst, or instructional designer, or interface designer, or courseware author, for example. Think about how you would develop and manage such an environment. What kinds of resources (both human/material) would help in your job?
ii) Discuss the potential benefits and advantages of open learning approaches and propose a system of development and implementation that employs technological means to support communication between tutor and learners and learners and learners. Discuss, from the readings and your own experiences, how you might ensure effective use of computer-based communications. You will need to take a principled approach to the selection of criteria that you would use to judge effectiveness.
iii) Make an assessment of an "open" programme or course you know reasonably well or have been involved in. Give a brief description of the salient features of the programme/course (eg. course structure, learning/teaching methodologies, design of learning materials, mechanisms for learner support, etc). Using Lewis' tools for analysing open learning experiences (eg the open-closed learning continuum) or your own adaptation of this, consider how: (a) the introduction of IT/CMC might move the programme along the continuum towards a more open approach and (b) what benefits might be offered to learners and tutors in doing so? What problems could you envisage in implementing the changes you have outlined in (a)?
iv) Critically examine what is meant by self-directedness for adult learners. Describe how you might facilitate such an approach for the learners/ a group of learners in your own organisation. What role(s) might technology take in this approach?
v) Make a comparative assessment of two computer-based communications systems used to support open or flexible learning. For example you might make comparisons between: Caucus and Lotus Notes; between email and Caucus; between another system (eg First Class) and Lotus Notes. Make clear at the start the criteria you will use in your analysis and give clear reasons for your choice of criteria. You might find it useul to base your analysis around the needs for a real or hypothetical situation. In which case, do give a brief explanation of the context.
vi) Design your own assessment or tailor one of the above assignments.
Consult the tutors electronically to discuss ideas that you could explore for your own assessment task.
In assessing your work we will be expecting you:
Assignments should be 2500 -3000 words, or an equivalent.
This module has a 6 CATS points credit
rating in the UK.
(A full masters course = 120 CATS points)
You will be assigned to one tutor who will discuss an appropriate assessment task with you and will provide tutorial support for an agreed period. The normal means of communication will be computer-based conferencing, email or fax, with telephone by arrangement. You will be expected to communicate regularly with the tutor.
The period between your official start date on the module and the submission date for your assignment will not normally be less than four weeks or more than twenty weeks.
Tutors are:
Ms Christine Steeples and Prof. Peter Goodyear from Lancaster University, UK.
£100 for the participant pack for MECPOL partner students, otherwise £450.00 (pounds sterling). Please allow up to two weeks to receive your pack from the time of ordering. Packs will be dispatched by surface mail within one week. If you wish to receive your pack by courier there would be an additional charge.
MECPOL partner students may wish to acquire the readings for themselves, in which case no fees will be payable.
If you already have access to the Internet via a Web browser there is no additional cost. If you pay telephone charges related to your use of the Internet, then you will have additional call charges.
If you would like to register for this module, or you have any other queries, please contact:
ALT Programme Organiser- Alice Jesmont
C SALT (Centre for Studies in Advanced Learning Technology)Further details regarding the ALT programme may be found on:
http://www.lancs.ac.uk/users/edres/research/altprog.html