eLearning in Canada: Future Research Directions Griff Richards, Ph. D. Technology Enhanced Learning Research Institute Electronic Kazan Kazan, Russia, 26 April 2009

Canadian Provinces 60 o N 49 o N

Population distribution in Canada (35 Million)

Distance Learning in Canada Distance Education in Canada is growing especially in K-12 public schools 15% of 2008 high school graduates in BC took at least one on-line course DL designed for remote learners but gives access and flexibility to all students

Declining enrolment in British Columbia europe.co.uk/pictures/British_Columbia_4.jpg

British Columbia In BC there are 60 school districts –many students in cities, few in rural areas –One province-wide SD for francophone students

Enrollment trend in BC aging baby-boomers = decline in student #’s

Conseil scolaire francophone de la C-B public school district French Language for all BC 4000 students enrolled of 10,000 « rights-holders » Big centres = big schools K-12 ( students) Small centres = small schools M à 7 ( s.)

French Virtual High School

Enrolment Growth: Headcount

BC DL Course completions (2007/8) LevelCompletionExams? Elementary K-789%no exams Secondary %exams Adult finishers60%exams Source: BC Min Education

Would you take another DE course?

Anderson’s Equivalency Theory Learning through meaningful interactions Course Content Instructor Other learners

Both technology + pedagogy How to use the power of the computer How to be a guide on the side Teacher Professional Development

Shift to Learning Activities Synchronous -> leads to transmissive pedagogy (boring lectures) Asynchronous -> constructive learning activities engage learners Most courses have a blend 1s : 2a Synch -> pacing and presentations Asynch -> assignments and reading Need to build on each other

Shift from content to process No laptop (70-80% time) With laptop (20-30% time)

Collaborative Learning Positive Interdependence -> responsibility Each students does part of the task Small group (3-5 learners) completes task Peer discussion helps learning Individual accountability

Are we developing better learners? Expectations? Self-reliant? Better organized? Pro-active communicators? Social constructive learners? Better meta-cognitive skills?

Promote student meta-cognition

“If you build it, they will come”… But they won’t stay if it’s not good DL improves ACCESS and FLEXIBILITY As quality improves, Acceptance increases –Professional Development for teachers –Course Development to reduce lectures –Collaborative activities to increase engagement –Teach learners to learn

Quality in Distance Learning MDDE604 = Instructional Design The process of instructional design Personal project 1:1 “Study-Buddy” Small group tasks (4-5 people) Peer evaluation of projects Positive interdependence: Group and individual accountability

Technology Enhanced Learning Research Institute Personalization & Adaptive systems Social NetworkingMobile Learning

Technology Enhanced Learning Research Institute Personalization & Adaptive Systems -Kinshuk -Dragan Gasevic Social Networking -Terry Anderson -Jon Dron Mobile Learning -Rory McGreal -Mohamed Ally Opportunities for synergy -Griff Richards

Social Networking Premise of cooperative learning: none of us is smarter than all of us Learning from each other is as important as learning from the “expert” Building confidence through peer discussion, review & validation of ideas Support network reduces social isolation Group activities improve completion rates

Quality in Distance Learning MDDE604 = Instructional Design Group Work (30%) Individual Project (70%) Do’s & Don’ts for QualityNeeds Assessment Learning Object Critique Teleconference Task Analysis Develop Unit of Instruction Peer Evaluation (Formative) Professor Evaluation (Summative)

Would you include collaborative learning activities…? MDE604 Adult learners acceptance of collaborative learning

Personalization Follow the paths of those who have gone before Follow the paths of those who have similar needs or interests to me Optimize my learning path (POLR) “The right materials at the right time”

Personalization & adaptive Sytems Personalization = tuning the system to optimize the individual’s success –“learning styles”, cognitive & reading level –Data-mining for learning patterns Adaptive = right resources at the right time –tracking progress & difficulties –Supplemental resources & strategies Use of ontologies to describe context

Lyrix Inc. on-line homework “Homework” system for most popular texts in math, economics and accounting Textbooks used by many universities 100,000 students per text research project a. Compare my progress with other students b. statistical pattern analysis {learner traits, system usage, common problems}

Mobile Learning 1. From “just in case” to “just in time” 2. From “fixed in time, fixed in space” to what I need where I am, just in time. 3. Device independence - over 300 different devices=>300 different standards 4. Impact on workplace is immediate.

M-learning & Nurses trials with nursing student clinical terms increased use of mobile devices as –job aids, –Pharmaceutical references, –Communications among peers, –Procedure checking & note-taking Job re-engineering – potential impact in clinical practice – training and tracking

3 pedagogies (Cummins, 2008) Transmission –I tell you my knowledge of X Social constructivism –You build your own knowledge of X Transformative –You decide what X is so you can change your world

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eLearning in Canada: Future Research Directions Griff Richards Technology Enhanced Learning Research Institute