Online learning can work with collaboration

Educators and politicians are big verbal proponents of collaboration. If they’d actually try collaborating with each other, they might be able to move forward from the current impasse that has escalated to a planned province-wide strike day on Feb. 21.

Collaboration among colleagues and within classrooms is encouraged in education. Governments of all stripes are always talking about working together with stakeholders to find solutions.

Why not collaborate to create one really good course that would allow us to explore eLearning’s potential in Ontario?

ELearning has become a line in the sand. A poll commissioned by the Star indicates just over half of those asked opposed mandatory eLearning. But what if a course where eLearning would be an asset and not a liability could be created?

It was a huge mistake for the government to declare that all students would be mandated to complete four eLearning courses (from zero) as a condition of graduation.

The ministry may think backtracking to two courses is a concession, but it is just the same wrong decision on a smaller scale.

I discussed the pitfalls of the plan when I argued the “no” side to The Big Debate question: “Is Ontario introducing online courses in the right way.”

However, zero is not the right number, either.

The reality of life is that being able to navigate the online world is becoming more and more important. Both sides should come together to develop one well-designed online course and try it out.

The half credit every high school student is required to take in Grade 10 — Career Studies — would be an ideal place to start.

The curriculum expectations state, “To prepare students for the future, it is necessary to empower them to take an active role in finding their path in the world of work and the community.

With the rapid pace of technological, social, and cultural change in today’s global economy and with new understandings of what a career looks like in this context, it is more important than ever that students be supported in their transition from secondary school to their initial post-secondary destination, whether in apprenticeship training, college, community living, university, or the workplace.”

These goals could be met with a welldesigned online course. The online format could guide students to use technology in a meaningful way to research their own interests.

In fact, many aspects of the course are already online. Skills inventories, postsecondary school requirements and applications to many jobs are regularly done online.

Fundamentals of financial management, another goal of the course, might be taught using a gamification approach, similar to an online Game of Life. While not a cure-all, research seems to indicate that, done well, gamification can increase student engagement and motivation

According to the ministry document, “Thoughtful and intentional education and career/life planning that involves both parents and educators is essential in ensuring that students make wellinformed decisions as they look ahead.” In this course, the online format could be the vital link.

If the ministry and educators collaborated to create this course, it could be introduced to urban boards with good connectivity first.

It could be beta-tested in classroom settings so teachers and students could provide feedback as they worked through the content.

Both sides could come together to assess its effectiveness.

By the time the course was ready to go completely online, rural connectivity issues should have had enough time to be addressed.

And teachers and politicians would have modelled collaboration and not just talked about it.