Are we listening?

Helen Hodges — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 15:00:17 +0000

My Moodle Buzz RSS feed dropped this link (Moodle from a Student’s perspective) into my Outlook inbox yesterday afternoon and I have been mulling over what I read ever since. The student’s comments that really jump out at me are:
‘We sense the resistance from teachers to tackle new technologies and we feel limited by this’
and
Most of our issues are not with Moodle, they are about the fact that the teachers are not able to use the system to its full capability – skill up!
but especially
‘Our teachers don’t know enough about the capability of these systems, which frustrates us, let us help!’

The students who expressed these views are 17-18 year olds from Australia … but I’m sure that they are the views of many young learners around the world … and it’s not just Moodle that this would apply too.

So what do we do? Say … what do they know, they are only young? Or do we do what one Hertfordshire college is doing and admit that the teachers don’t have to know everything and that the young people can help when it comes to technology? Oaklands College started its e-mentors scheme in 2006 and won an award from the Learning and Skills Improvement Service for it in 2008 . I first heard about it (several times) 2 days ago at the JISC Online Conference and I’ve since found more information from the Institute for Learning, an article about them on the BBC website and a video on You Tube.

The whole idea of ‘Learner voice’ and listening to what learners think is, in my opinion, a step in the right direction … but actually showing that you have listened and doing something different as a result has go to be what it should all be about … hasn’t it?

RSC Wales Learning Technology Blog » staff development

Are we listening?