Subject: [IFETS-DISCUSSION:1168] Re: IFETS-DISCUSSION digest 171
From: Errol Thompson (E.L.Thompson@massey.ac.nz)
Date: Mon 19 Feb 2001 - 22:22:24 MET
From: "Errol Thompson" <E.L.Thompson@massey.ac.nz> Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 09:22:24 +1200 Subject: [IFETS-DISCUSSION:1168] Re: IFETS-DISCUSSION digest 171
> I personally believe that universities at undergraduate and higher,
> and institutions at other levels, are going to have to change their
> ways of thinking, though it will take time.
> The push towards autonomous learning - which is seductive, and which
> the business providers would like to follow - will not work. Anyone
> who has been in education for some time knows that.
I would agree with Anita on this issue. My experience in distance
learning and with self-paced resources is that many people do not
have an adequate approach to learning to handle autonomous
learning. As well, there are some subjects which I believe require
interaction in order to generate the required learning.
Discussion forums may add some of this interaction but it is along
way from working with a common classroom white board or in my
subject area performing pair programming where two students or
student and learning facilitator work on the same program code at
a shared terminal.
The assumption behind many autonomous learning systems is that
we just have to codify the knowledge and it will be passed on.
Having read a number of knowledge management texts, I would
argue that codification and making available is only the beginning of
the cycle. Unless there is the active learning element that
encourages personal development of implicit knowledge of the area
then the codified knowledge can become redundant and some of
the implied meanings within the codification are lost.
Arguing from my own field, I would contend that there are lots of
books and materials around that teach or explain the various
software development approaches. However, reading those books,
completing exercises, and attending courses doesn't turn people
into good software developers. Experience in a team of software
developers in a master apprentice role is still required.
It is my belief that we are at risk of destroying a number of highly
important skill sets by rushing to education technology solutions.
We need a balance of resources. Some learning will occur
autonomously, others in a collaborative environment, and some in
the apprentice model. The combination used appropriately should
enhance the learning. This is what I would like to aim for in my
environment.
Errol Thompson
Lecturer in Information Systems
College of Business
Massey University at Wellington
Private Box 756
63 Wallace Street
Wellington
New Zealand
Email: E.L.Thompson@massey.ac.nz
Phone 64 4 801 2794 ext: 6531
or 64 21 210 1662
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