Virtual Classrooms for Community Sector Managers
Case study: Virtual Classrooms for Community Sector Managers
NSW June 2013
Mental Health Coordinating Council
Contents
1. About Us 4
1.1 The team 4
1.2 Knowledge and experience 4
2. The project aim and objective 5
2.1 Aim 5
2.2 Objective 5
3. The journey 6
3.1 Starting the project 6
3.2 Running the project 9
3.3 Wrapping up the project 11
4. The results 14
4.1 Main project outcomes 14
4.2 How the outcomes were measured 14
5. The lessons learnt 16
5.1 Key successes 16
5.2 Suggested improvements 16
6. Passing it forward 17
6.1 Knowledge transfer 17
6.2 Mentorship 17
More information 18
1. About Us
This case study was developed by Mental Health Coordinating Council (MHCC) with funding and support from the national training system’s e-learning strategy, the National VET E-learning Strategy (Strategy).
The Strategy provides the VET system with the essential e-learning infrastructure and expertise needed to respond to the challenges of a modern economy and the training needs of Australian businesses and workers.
1.1 The team
As the peak body for community managed mental health organisations and a Registered Training Organisation (RTO), MHCC leads the way in providing training services to the sector. We offer a range of mental health qualifications, from Certificate IV level to Advanced Diploma, as well as a range of accredited and professional development short-courses. Workforce development and training requirements are identified through stakeholder consultation and inform the strategic direction of MHCC’s training arm.
For the purposes of this project, MHCC partnered with Winangay Resources Inc, an Aboriginal not-for-profit community managed organisation, who provided cultural consultation for the project. Winangay provided the expertise and knowledge around developing culturally appropriate resources and provided insight into how e-learning could best be delivered to meet the needs of Aboriginal participants.
1.2 Knowledge and experience
Before undertaking this project MHCC had some experience with e-learning, but mostly from the perspective of e-learning as self-paced online modules. The impact of high-speed broadband, and the options it provided, had never really been something we considered.
However, as an organisation we had been preparing for a push to further develop our e-learning and had started building an underlying infrastructure. With a dedicated Online Learning Officer, IT and administration support and a wealth of trainers, MHCC was well prepared for this project and as such encountered very few organisational issues. The biggest learning curve was the research, selection, implementation and training of a new software system but through careful planning and strict timelines this process was extremely smooth.
2. The project aim and objective
2.1 Aim
The primary aim of the project was to make the Advanced Diploma of Community Sector Management CHC60312, more accessible for rural and remote workers through a reduction in training costs. This was achieved by providing online components to supplement the existing face-to-face training.
These online components needed to be developed in order to allow customisation to culturally appropriate resources for Aboriginal participants. The online training was strongly supported by technical resources and support with the aim of helping improve the participant’s e-literacy skills.
Through the research, selection and implementation of the virtual classroom technology, we were able to provide a cost effective e-learning option to supplement the face-to-face training and through consultation develop resources and process that were culturally appropriate. The development of support systems and an online induction to the system made the technology accessible and developed participants e-literacy skills.
2.2 Objective
Although webinars and Adobe Connect have been in use for quite a while we aimed to push the technology and use it in a way that is not commonly used. The virtual classroom was designed to replicate a traditional classroom, with participants using audio, video, breakout groups and other interactive methods to communicate. The use of high-speed broadband was key to the success of the project, in that it allowed the use of high-bandwidth activities that would not be possible, or very limited, on low speed connections. This meant we could deliver the Advanced Diploma of Community Sector Management to minority groups and up skill the workforce in a recognised priority field. It was a combination of these aspects which allowed the project to meet the key program objective of using innovative e-learning technologies and high-speed broadband to deliver e-learning projects in priority skills employment areas.
3. The journey
3.1 Starting the project
There were two main tasks that were undertaken simultaneously at the start of this project. There was the task of developing educational content and considering associated technology and then the task of promoting and enrolling participants for the pilot group, meeting their needs and preparation for them to engage in the e-learning.
The main starting point for this project was the educational aspect, which included doing a Needs Analysis to determine what were the key learning and technological needs for the project. Once these had been established a large body of research was undertaken into the technology and what options were available. Adobe Connect was the technology selected and the implementation process was the next step. We chose to use a third party to organise the implementation to ensure the new platform was established soundly from the start as a precaution against issues arising later in the project due to incorrect implementation. This turned out to be a good decision as the implementation was efficient and went extremely well and we had few problems with the technology after. Staff were then trained in the new system, which turned out to be a huge learning curve for the trainers but a great professional development exercise.
With the technology established, a second stage of research occurred into pedagogical principles and theories about how to develop and use the different features of the virtual classroom to create a quality learning experience. This was combined with research into how to design and train in a synchronous online environment. Although time consuming it provided a strong foundation for the development process. This led to a high quality learning environment which was evidenced through the positive feedback we received.
NOTE: The E-learning Guild created a great resource for information on designing virtual classrooms called “The e-learning Guilds Handbook on Synchronous e-learning”. You can access the resource at http://www.elearningguild.com/pdf/4/synchbook.pdf.
With a strong understanding of the technology and theories, the next stage was for the trainers to repurpose the face-to-face content and develop a virtual classroom plan for the session. This was done in collaboration with the IT staff in order to really push the boundaries of what the technology could do and understand what its limitations were.
Draft content was presented to a reference group consisting of content experts and sector representation. The reference group were taken through the virtual classroom content by actually interacting with the technology in a demonstration room. This provide them a better understanding of what participants would be experiencing and allowed them to provide effective feedback and suggestions to improve the design and process. Final changes were made in response to their feedback and the content was ready for the pilot group.
While this was happening, the second part relating to the participant aspect was also occurring. The process of gathering a pilot group was started. We had planned to run the pilot with scheduled courses that were occurring in National Broadband Network areas. Unfortunately due to loss of funding from the government these planned courses did not go ahead. A new strategy was taken and an expression of interest was sent out to previous graduates of the qualification. As part of the application process participants were provided with a list of technical requirements and internet speed tests to ensure they had access to the technology needed for the virtual classroom. This included ensuring access to a broadband connection, web cameras, microphones, minimum upload and download speeds etc. With the minimum requirements established 4 groups were selected, two regional/ remote groups and two aboriginal groups. This meant that graduates who had completed the training face-to-face were able to provide a retrospective viewpoint as to how beneficial the e-learning components would have been when they completed the qualification. The topic areas covered by the virtual classrooms also provided additional content and experience to the original course delivery, and it was therefore felt suitable to include past participants in the pilots.
The last part was to ensure the participants had access to a strong support system to assist them with the technology. Documentation was developed, including an FAQ’s and Troubleshooting Guide, which provided recommendations for preparing for the virtual classroom and access to test connections and open classrooms to enter and test access issues. Participants were then provided a login to Moodle which held this help section along with their resources and links to their virtual classroom so they could explore and join in forums prior to the session.
Figure 1 - Moodle Platform
Figure 2 - Help Section
3.2 Running the project
Pre-Pilot
In preparation for the first pilot session we ran two full practice sessions with multiple test users logged in. This was vital in testing that the interactions would work in the way they were planned and limit problems occurring in the live pilot session. We found that this was one of the most important stages in the success of the project. These practice sessions allowed us to tweak layouts, improve instructions and provide the trainer feedback on their facilitation which greatly improved the flow of the session.
Initial Pilot
With everything prepared as much as possible we ran the first two virtual classroom sessions. The sessions were 90 minutes each and scheduled in a 2 hour block to allow for initial set up issues and running over time. They were scheduled on the same day with a morning session and an afternoon session with a 1 hour break in-between. The first session with the rural group had a few initial technical problems with people not being able to get microphones working but majority of the issues were resolved and did not hinder participation. The actual session went smoothly, although we did find some participants had difficulty working out the new technology i.e. how to type on the whiteboard. What we discovered with the second Aboriginal session was fairly similar, in that there were some technology issues at the start and throughout the session. What was most interesting was how activities that had worked well with the rural group weren’t working so well with the Aboriginal group. For example the rural group loved the white boarding activities; however the Aboriginal group didn’t interact with them as much. Our trainer therefore changed tact and actually kept the microphones on for the whole session and got participants to talk through the activities which worked much better.
These groups provided feedback directly after the session so with that feedback and our own observation from the session there were two key things we learnt.
1. Even though we had developed a strong support system for the technology with both written information and options to test the equipment without external motivation participants were not taking the time to test their equipment properly.
2. Even though the resources we had developed were culturally appropriate the training style and use of technology also needed to be adapted to suit a more Aboriginal style of interaction which was more visual and vocal rather than text based.
Figure 3 - Whiteboard Activity
Second Pilot
From these two points we made some adjustments to the second set of pilot sessions. Two days before attending the session participants were told to attend a 30 minute online induction at a specific time. This induction went through the processes of teaching participants how to turn their microphones and webcams on and off, as well as actually getting the participants to do it so they could test the equipment at the same time. They were taught how to write on the whiteboard, move through PowerPoint slides, use the chat and icons and other basic features. After the induction any participants who had not been able to get the equipment working had time to troubleshoot with the facilitator and if these problems could still not be resolved they had 2 days to get their IT department to fix the problem before the session. The second adjustment made was to the Aboriginal session plan where minor tweaks were made to cater for a different set of learning styles, mostly regarding a more heavy use of the microphone/ webcam system.
The second pilot sessions were again run on the same structure of 90 minutes each with a morning session and an afternoon session. What we found was that there were much fewer technological issues, and those participants who did have issues had either not attended the online induction or were working off a different computer which had not been tested on. The problem we encountered with the Aboriginal group this time was not about the technology or the teaching styles but that over half the expected participants didn’t turn up. The main reason for this was unexpected work issues arising so in the end we ran a smaller group and opened the session up to some internal staff who had been interested in the project.
The feedback from this session again was very positive but this time the comments around the technology and e-learning in general were focussed on the positive aspects and suggestions for improvement were more about what additional content participants would have liked.
Post Pilot Reflection
Overall the project ran extremely smoothly, broadband issues were minor although it did have a slight impact on sound and video delay. One thing we did to compensate for that was to have a second computer running for the trainer with a test participant logged in so trainers could see when things were showing up on participants’ screens. We also kept a running comments section so if participants’ audio or connection dropped out they could read the comments to catch up.
3.3 Wrapping up the project
In wrapping up the project we had a final stakeholder’s meeting to review the feedback and discuss the highlights, possible improvements and future directions for the project.