Word Press

Yesterday there was an article in the Wall Street Journal, “Managers Learn to Bond With Remote Works; Far-Flung Employees Need Close Contact And Clear Objectives” by Elizabeth Garbone which had many points in it about how to work with remote workers in collaborative teams which can apply to working with learners in an e-Learning program.  Here are some of the points they mentioned and how I think it can apply to online learners….

“Meet individually or hold town halls with large groups.  These meeting are a good way to set the tone for open and frequent communication with remote employees…its about relationships and understanding nuances and building trust….”

Its probably a good idea to hold a meeting or session with your online learners to establish program parameters, go over the syllabus, etc.  Terrific if it can be done in person, if not you can hold a virtual meeting.  The points about open, frequent communication (good to have a plan for this), relationships, nuances, building trust…all good things.

“Communicate each person’s role and business objectives regularly, and establish agreed-upon ways to resolve conflict and solve problems early on…”

Its absolutely important for learners to know what is expected of them and how they will fill the objectives of the course.  And the article suggests that this type of communication should be done regularly..and this applies from an e-learning perspective as well.  So much the better if it is reinforced in various different aspects like  content, or online performance support materials.  I will do one more and stop there. 

“Find out how technically savvy your remote employees are — and get them trained in technologies..”

Many times, it perceived and understood as part of the e-learning experience to just throw a learner online at course, and let them go.  I think its smart to prep your learners how to use the technology you have chosen to deliver your e-learning.

It was a pretty good article and there are many principles that apply here.  I only mentioned a few.

A third of teachers struggle to use the technology schools are equipped with and want more support and training, the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) said today.

NFER’s first Teacher Voice Omnibus Survey (TVOS), which was completed by about 1,000 teachers, including heads and newly qualified classroom teachers, shows widespread use of information technology in schools: 80% said it had made a difference to the way they teach.

But a “sizeable minority” (33%) felt they lacked the necessary skills to exploit the technology available to them and needed more support and information to integrate information and communication technology (ICT) in lessons, NFER found.

A third of the teachers surveyed said lack of resources and poor reliability discouraged them and limited their use of ICT in schools.

But NFER said when compared to research conducted in 2004, the findings suggest that teacher competence in using ICT has improved overall.

Two thirds (67%) said they had the ICT skills to exploit the technology available to them and 62% said ICT helps to raise pupil attainment.

Teachers also said ICT leadership in schools could be improved. Just 27% of respondents felt that the leadership of ICT pedagogy in their school was inspirational and only 44% said that their school is innovative in its use of ICT.

NFER’s Maria Charles said: “The first TVOS survey has given us a valuable insight into the views of teachers. We hope to be able to continue addressing current issues within teaching in further surveys.”