The Traditional Approach to Teaching and Learning Has, for Millennia, Rested on the Central

-Background

The traditional approach to teaching and learning has, for millennia, rested on the central premise that for instruction to take place, the tutor and student co-exist in the same place at the same time. Aristotle’s lectures, preserved in the writings of Plato, are examples of such an approach, where the student is educated on particular topics through the mechanism of illuminating conversations – dialogues – between tutor and student (Taylor 1955). However, few universities have the generous resources required to support one-to-one tuition as the prevailing mode of educational delivery; rather, the common method consists of a combination of lectures, seminars/tutorials and, where appropriate, laboratory work; where each of the aforementioned ways of imparting knowledge involves face-to-face instruction and discussion.

At a simple level, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are used frequently to support the traditional teaching and learning paradigm. Academic staff regularly employ presentational software, such as PowerPoint, to facilitate lectures; during laboratory sessions, university networked computer systems are used by students to access applications software and print to a common printer; and email systems are used by students to send messages to one another and receive advice from tutors. Haywood et al. (2004) believe that most students about to enter university own a PC with Internet access, and that they use ICT regularly, for a variety of activities, ranging from recreational purposes, such as browsing online music stores or emailing friends, to more complex activities, such as media downloads or shopping; and that as a result, their expectations of ICT-usage at university are high.[B1]

Universities not only utilize ICT at a simple level – for emailing, printing documents, student access to common application software – but havemoved rapidly into acquiring advanced software and hardware technologies. In particular, the Internet coupled with dedicated software platforms that enable independent learning, such as Blackboard and WebCT, provide institutions with the opportunity to offer educational programmes free from the shackles of time and place (Farrell 2001). It is estimated that over 80% of the use of WebCT, a course authoring software platform, is to support classroom teaching (Bates 2001). There is also much interest from universities in exploiting ICT in distance learning, with Moe and Blodget (2000: 104) emphasizing that ‘the next big killer application for the Internet is going to be education’.

Online learning, networked learning, distributed learning, flexible learning, virtual learning, are some of the terms used to describe learning that uses technology as a vehicle for educational delivery (Salmon 1998; Jung 2000; Rosenberg 2001; Collis and Moonen 2001; Britain and Liber 1999). Another, more commonly used term is e-Learning (Ryan 2001; Sloman and Rolph 2003). Tearle et al. (1999: 14) caution universities that they need to engage e-Learning, particularly for distance learning, and that ‘it is no longer possible to opt out’. In the UK, the Dearing Report (1997) foresaw benefits of using ICT in higher education:

“. . . we believe that the innovative application of . . . C&IT holds out much promise for improving the quality, flexibility and effectiveness of higher education. The potential benefits will extend to, and affect the practice of, learning and teaching and research.” (13)

The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE 2000) in an online press release, reinforced the promise of e-Learning as outlined in the Dearing Report, when it enthuses that e-Learning will be a ‘dynamic new way of delivering high quality higher education’.[B2]

It is not difficult to find examples of universities responding to the call to develop e-Learning initiatives. The International Virtual Medical School (IVMeDS) is a worldwide partnership of 36 leading edge medical schools and institutions, including Trinity College Dublin (Ireland), James Cook University (Australia) and the University Cattolica del SacroCuore (Italy). IVMeDS uses e-Learning to aid medical education. Partnership institutions have access to the online digital learning resources (Figure A1). The Centre for Instructional Technologies, a unit of the Division of Instructional Innovation and Assessment at The University of Texas at Austin have embraced enthusiastically the concept of e-Learning by creating an online ‘World Lecture Hall’, whereby online course materials are provided free to any interested parties who, in turn, can also contribute new material if they wish.

However, is this push for e-Learning, whether on-campus or off-campus, problem-free, leading to an educational utopia, where university staff and students can seamlessly exploit e-Learning to enhance teaching and learning? Technological advances increasingly present a serious and genuine challengeto the traditional teaching and learning model (Collis and Moonen 2001; Laurillard 2002). Tomei (2004), for example, highlights the impact of online teaching on academic staff ‘load’, warning that the ideal class size for online teaching ought to be 12 students. Jones et al. (2004) highlight that e-Learning students expect staff to respond expediently to their online queries, and no later than 48 hours. And Hodges (2004) argues that e-Learning tutors need to incorporate techniques to motivate students involved in subjects that are delivered through e-Learning. Increased staff workload, response times and online motivational techniques are some of the issues that academic tutors involved in e-Learning ought to be trained to cope with, particularly if they are new to making the transition from teaching and learning in the traditional environment to one where e-Learning technologies are to be used. [B3]

E-Learning environments are changing the role of the university tutor, where tutors need to learn to become guides and facilitators, rather than the main source of knowledge, as in the traditional teaching and learning environment (Collins and Berge 1996), with Salmon (2000) underlining that such a transition requires new skills, including time management skills, ability tomonitor the student learning process, and the skill to change teaching methods to meet the needs of e-Learning students.[B4]

[B1]General discussion of learning and teaching.

[B2]Reference to the driver for e-learning at university environment.

[B3]Changing role of staff as dictated by e-learning.

[B4]Need for teachers to be prepared for this change.