Some have reported attrition from eLearning as high as 70 - 80% (Flood 2002, Forrester 2000, in Dagger & Wade, 2004). Parker (1999) argues that “With the growth of distance education has come the problem of exceedingly high attrition rates”. Citing Carter (1996), she suggests that eLearning student attrition in some institutions is exceeds 40%, while others (Frankola, 2001). Diaz (2002), put it at between 20 - 50%, and Carr (2000), estimate it to be 10% - 20% higher than for traditional on-campus education.
Group items tagged
2More
In Defense of the Sage on the Stage: Escaping from the 'Sorcery' of Learnin...: Univers... - 0 views
-
I found this article in the UAlbany library - if the link doesn't work, do a search for "In Defense of the Sage on the Stage" by Marianne Jennings. It's a fascinating article, a long read, but passionate in its insistence that we have gone too far in our efforts to make everything student-centered. Jennings makes the argument that there IS still room for the "brilliant lecturer." -
"In Defense of the Sage on the Stage" - Marianne Jennings ... a fascinating argument!
33More
Early Attrition among First Time eLearners: A Review of Factors that Contribute to Drop... - 1 views
-
-
learners in employment bring a different set of needs, strategies and motivations to the learning process.
-
frequently geographically removed from the learning resources, information sources, learner peers and Tutors compared to their on-campus peers
- ...27 more annotations...
-
Employed adults tend to complete eLearning in their personal time due to workload pressures in the workplace and/or Internet access issues at work
-
Cognitive Load Theory
-
states that learning is initially processed in working memory
-
Learning complex or technically demanding material requires building mental models or cognitive schemas about the subject being studied or the skill being developed over time
-
Learning new material or a skill, for which a schema in long term memory is undeveloped or non-existent, can cause working memory to quickly overload its limited capacity. This overloading can result in a learner becoming highly anxious and losing confidence, which in turn can lead to the learning process, in effect, freezing and the learner being unable to continue.
-
“Digital literacy involves more than the ability to use software or operate a digital device; it includes a large variety of complex cognitive, motor, sociological and emotional skills, which users need in order to function effectively in digital environments.”
-
It is this author’s experience in designing, developing and delivering several eLearning programmes to public sector employees in New Zealand, that a face to face workshop prior the start of the online distance course can make a significant difference to a first time eLearner’s perception and experience of eLearning.
-
This type of pre-course face-to-face induction workshop can also be used to foster the group’s sense of itself, and to identify the individual participants and their backgrounds, along with their expectations and concerns. It is also helpful to have the course design, structure and philosophy explained and to discuss anxieties associated with beginning an online course.
-
The multi
-
al learning tasks of the first time eLearner
-
dimension
-
(1) negotiating the technology; (2) negotiating the course website; (3) negotiating the course content (4) becoming an eLearner (5) negotiating CMC interaction.
-
come to terms with the computing technologies involved.
-
develop a mental model of the content structure and navigation system in order to find his/her way around
-
engage with the learning materials, readings, activities and assessments that make up a programme of study
-
Confronting the actual content and of becoming a learner again.
-
anxiety
-
abandon his/her existing mental model of what it is to be a learner in a formal learning situation
-
embrace a model based on a self-directed and motivated learner
-
undertake the learning tasks involved in interacting with peers via synchronous and asynchronous Computer Mediated Communication
-
Successfully negotiating this early experience depends very much on the relevant skills, circumstances, motivations and personal attributes of the learner. It follows then, that paying particular attention to how an eLearning course is structured and introduced and the manner in which the learner is inducted can make a very important difference in a learner deciding whether or not to engage and persist or to drop out.
-
actually apprising learners of the issues of cognitive overload and how it is commonly experienced would go some way towards inoculating learners against its more pernicious effects.
-
Supporting learners till they are over the initial “eLearning learning-curve hump”, may involve a seemingly high level of resource and effort on the part of the course facilitator and associated programme administration staff, but the payoff is that fewer learners will drop out at the early stage.
-
Actively supporting, encouraging, gently cajoling and following up on learners who seem to be struggling will help to keep wavering learners in the course.
-
In terms of the actual course design and the structure of the materials and learning activities, then it is a useful practice to aim to start slowly and build the course tempo over time.
-
The one area where something may be done to reduce attrition is in the early stages of an online course.
-
Cognitive overload is a likely contributor to high drop out rates, particularly where those withdrawing do so within the first few weeks of the start of a course. Greater levels of persistence and completions may be achieved if learners are supported to anticipate, prepare for, recognise and recover from the cognitive burden they may experience as first time eLearners.
-
Looks at why some students don't make it through online courses- many first time online students are unsure what to expect and are just overwhelmed by the whole experience. -
The experience of the first-time online learner is qualified. Suggestions for decreasing early attrition are suggested. -
Attrition among mature adult online learners is affected by sociological, psychological, technical and cognitive factors, critical features of which are the notions of cognitive load and locus of control.
32More
Online Course Design - 0 views
-
-
Joy! thank you for making your learning visible to me! I am awed and inspired by the depth of your insights!
-
-
So establishing teaching presence is what all the designers, Alex, and even I, am doing when we make decisions about the content of the course, the types of activities we want to include, the tools we would like to use, how we want to assess, how we provide channels for providing and managing feedback, how we want to induct students into the course, how we want to wrap up the course….Basically – everything!
-
From planning, to execution, to assessment, to revision. So this is why developing a course is an “iterative process”.
- ...23 more annotations...
-
-
-
And nothing happens by chance. Everything happens by deliberate design. And I am seeing how this is happening.
-
People are important, so… (make decisions, plan activities, evaluate, discard, adapt, iterate, etc.) Thinking is important, so ….(make decisions, plan activities, evaluate, discard, adapt, iterate, etc.) Learning is important, so….. Content knowledge is important, so… Skills are important, so…
-
From this, I have learnt that it is perfectly fine to change your mind, as long as you have solid justification. This was also a useful reminder abot the importance of accurately matching the number of objectives with activities. A designer needs to avoid creating an objective that has no activity, and an activity with no objective, as can sometimes happen through oversight.
-
“You need to rethink lots of things, to be open to possibilities, opportunities to options, then you’re more likely to be successful,” says Alex. This kind of openness does not happen as a matter of course. It has to begin with an awareness. This attitude of being open to possibilities, opportunities and options has to be actively worked upon. I failed to understand this at first. So I found it perplexing that Alex would pursue what I thought was a trivial line of discussion. What do you think is not possible to teach and learn online? I volunteered several bright contributions. I was still unaware of the purpose of this apparently innocuous discussion. Of course now I know better. That discussion was supposed to challenge a closed mind. Because with a closed mind, we render ourselves unable to be open to possibilities, opportunities to options. A closed mind works against innovation, progress, improvement, expansion. This is a new frontier, and therefore the stance which can reap untold benefits and leanings should be “Let’s explore!” So the question we should be asking isn’t “What cannot be done?” but rather “How do I make this possible?”
-
thank you for this observation, joy! thank you for taking the bait and giving us all the opportunity to question our assumptions and to arrive at creativity, innovation and possibilities!! : )
-
-
I need to be open to possibilities, opportunities, to options. I must put aside my prejudices and temporarily suspend “logical thinking” in favor of creative thinking.
-
But we should never give up on the unwilling ones.
-
The best way to spark change is to let them attend an effective online course.
-
I am beginning to see how “developing a course is a transformative experience”.
-
I don’t think I can return to the classroom and teach anything the same way before.
-
Designing an online course has been, for me, a truly transformative experience. It has allowed me not only to reexamine, reformulate and reassess, but to also move forward to innovate and in some ways, to reinvent myself as a teacher.
-
I was therefore quite relieved Alex confirmed what I had feared. I was packing in too much. Even before even before Alex provided her completely justified feedback that my course was too packed (“for you Joy, less is more!”)
-
An online environment is different from a f2f setting. Being able to state it in a theoretical way is not the same as understanding it and translating it into practice. Of course I knew the theory. But when the time came for application in the design of the online course, my knowledge did not transfer well into practical application. This is one of the main problems when there is a failure of the student to successfully transfer learning, which is basically one of great challenges of teaching. So basically, what I did initially did was to replicate my f2f activities directly into my online classroom.
-
As I feared, and Alex confirmed, this large amount of group work puts a strain on the students and also poses too many logistic difficulties. Perhaps one or two group work activities might work, but not several in each module. It is unrealistic. So I have learnt, in a very concrete and hands-on way, that designing for my online classroom in this instance is different from designing for my face-to face classroom.
-
Once again, I am reminded that theory and practice need mutual reinforcement. Understanding the theory is one thing. Transferring the theoretical knowledge into action requires experience, reflection, and feedback from others.
-
-
Having experienced a wonderful sense of community, and seeing how it is done, I do feel that I have a fair idea of the basic ingredients that go into creating a sense of community. However, Alex has set a high, high standard, and I don’t know I have the energy to sustain the community building effort, even if I knew how to do it!
-
-
this is a process
-
Yes!!! the value to me and to the others in the class is to be able to watch your process. we see how you think and refine and how your ideas change and evolve and that adds to our understanding of you and our own learning.
-
-
My present ideas never look like version 1! The result is that the ideas I handed up in the proposed learning activities resemble very little of what I actually have now
-
Oh Joy, I can relate! By the time Alex reads my submitted writing assignment, my actual course design has already morphed a few times. I've visited your course, it looks great! the activities you set up indicatethat you have high expectations for the participants!
-
-
Confucius
-
-
In short – let the students do the work. This is the best way to learn. This principle, I think, has been demonstrated in this course. And I intend to pursue it in my own course. I see the value of giving the students both structure and space.
-
One of the insights has to do with letting go as a teacher.
-
Reading Sue’s
-
I agree with Sue.