Zambia
The University of Zambia was one of the first universities in Africa to introduce distance learning 1966, where the idea was adopted from the University of New England in Australia. Its distance education uses identical courses which are offered to both internal and distance students by the same regular teaching staff. Therefore, the distance teaching activities are integrated into the normal teaching expectations of the lecturers there. This puts a very large work load onto the teachers, so a questionnaire was carried out at the university of Zambia to try and gage the tutor's attitudes towards distance teaching.
Some of the main findings were that lecturers did not have enough time to carry out their correspondence and that "distance teaching was an extra burden which was not sufficiently rewarding". This therefore leads staff to go back to 'campus-bound' teaching as this is less of a burden. In the article it states that "25% of the respondents in Scriven's study indicated that they would avoid distance teaching if they could. Scriven also discovered that 31% of the respondents disliked marking distance students' assignments". This reflects how tutors do not find distance learning enjoyable and that they would avoid the entire method of distance learning if they could. I think teachers would only be more accepting of this extra work load if universities reduced the staff's commitments to distance learning or employed more staff to make the work load more bearable.
I can also see some similarities between the tutor's attitudes to distance learning and my own attitudes towards it. As it says in the article, the staff found this method of teaching "time-consuming and monotonous". I can relate to their feelings towards it as i do find this way of learning very time-consuming and it often interferes with my other work. We are expected to do at least two full days a week of work on our blogs and posting on others, and i believe this is demanding a lot when we have numerous other units we have to concentrate on as well. I find myself not putting in as much effort with the other units as i am always concentrating on my blog. I understand that we are expected to put this much time into the unit as it has to make up for the lack of regular contact with tutors, but it does create a very heavy work load which can become quite stressful at times.
I can also understand how potentially beneficial this multi-media method of learning is, and i appreciate that it will help me in my life after university in my career, etc. However, i do prefer face-to-face learning in a classroom with other students around me. I find this much more enjoyable and beneficial as i think i learn best with people around me to bounce ideas off. I know that is the function of the 'forum', but i don't find it being the same sort of experience in that it's quite isolating doing work sat at a computer by yourself each week. I do ensure that i complete each weekly task on time and i have never fallen behind on my work in the hope that it will become more enjoyable. However, i just don't think you can beat a real life, classroom education.
What do you think? Can you also not wait for this blogging to finish? lol
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6 comments:
hey lauren,
I can completely relate to your thoughts about monotony and time consumption. I find f2f lectures much more exciting and interesting, most importantly I get much less distracted in a class room then my own bed room.
However I do believe that it is getting better, I mean at first I didnt even know what and when to post, however now that i m the "rythm" and managed to separate some time for uni work it is all much less stressful.
But I do believe that a proper university education has a lot to do with social experiences. Such as taking part of discussions in front of a whole group (no matter how shy you are). And learning how to talk coherently and think quickly of good arguments etc.
Maybe it is the mixture of online and f2f lecture that does it.
i agree with sophia about getting into a rhythm, although it still comes in spits and waves with me me, ill go through of fazes of really getting into it and do quite a few posts and comments and then ill leave it for a while, ( sometimes to long) but then ill get back into it.
i think a mixture of online and face to face lectures is good, but also you have to think about what is available to these people, for instance on the austrailian website it was made clear that some people were un able to leave there homes at some points in the year due to extreme weather, i imagine Africa the situations are very similar and so even though for us, it is easy to say that face to face seminars are a bonus etc, it is just not possible for some people!!!
I agree with both klee and sophia that f2f may be more interesting and keep our concentration for a lot longer as I also get very easily distracted when Im sat a computer!
Since Iv started this unit I can see why people in universities do use this type of learning. Orginally I didnt think I would be able to make the most of it as I could never be bothered to log on adn write on my blog. But i think it just takes some getting used to. I wouldnt necessarily disagree with doing another unit like this in the future but I am thankful that the majority of our units are completed using f2f teaching.
Lauren,
I think you raise some of the key points in the article. I think some of your comments about how the staff could be made to enjoy Distance Learning have some validity...but as it's such a different way of teaching, perhaps having teachers who specifically want to teach in this way may be better?
Yes, I agree with your comments on the heavy work-load on the course, and would suggest it feels the same for me, being a tutor!
The useful discussion that has ensued as a result of your original blog post raises some interesting questions too.
I think it perhaps does seem a bit easier with time....it's maybe just adapting to the changing way of working.
All the best
Emma
I think tor eally make the most of a unit like this, time is needed....LOTS of time! And personally I feel with all the rest of the work from all our other units, I haven't had enough time to spend on this unit to complete it sufficiently, maybe just becuase there is a more relaxed view about online learning than if we were physically having to hand work in each week. Anyone agree/disagree?
Yeah i agree i think that blooging can be very time consuming and takes a lot of motivation as you choose when you do it which sometimes can have a bad effect as people never want to do it because they arnt been pushed. Unlike when you have to attend a seminar you no you have to go because it is at a certain time and a tutor is there. I Prefer this way of learning as i think i get more from it and like interacting with other people face to face.
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