Charles Ungerleider, Professor Emeritus of Education, The University of British Columbia
[permission granted to reproduce if authorship acknowledged]
No longer a novelty, e-learning is almost routine for most us. When contemplating a new recipe, trying to learn a complex photo editing program, and refreshing my memory of the syntax for a spreadsheet formula, my go-to solution is instructional videos found on the internet. I am often successful. My cooking is edible, I removed wrinkles from scanned copies of old family photos and created a spreadsheet of our household expenses.
I’ve had some challenges along the way. I struggled with the photo-editing program and the related videos. When I mentioned my difficulty with the photo-editing program to my grandson, he said, “yeah, getting all of those layers to work is the key, but it is hard.”
The video on electrical wiring did not mention removing or adding (I have forgotten which) a metallic bridge between the upper and lower outlets in the kitchen. My lack of knowledge blew the circuit in our unit and all the other units in our building. On Labour Day weekend. Luckily, that catastrophe was resolved by a call to a helpful electrician who told me what to do over the phone.
What brought e-learning to mind was the announcement by the Government of Ontario that, beginning in the 2020-2021 school year, students will be required to take four of the 30 credits required for graduation through e-learning. The e-learning notice was one of many changes the government will make under the banner of “modernizing education.”
There were few details when the announcement was made in March, making it difficult to know whether e-learning will be blended with classroom instruction, a regularly scheduled event, or something that students should pursue on their own schedule. It mentions that ‘class size’ will be limited to 35, implying that students will learn with guidance from a teacher. But it doesn’t say whether the teacher will convene sessions for groups of students or the whole class. Working out these details and many others will be crucial to student success.
To the extent that I was a successful e-learner, the success depended on a range of factors. I was highly self-motivated to acquire the knowledge I needed for cooking, photo-editing, performing repetitive calculations, and even rewiring the outlets in our kitchen (except for the circuit-blowing episode). I had plenty of time to learn and review because I had no due dates or deadlines. I was determined to complete each of the tasks. And, although some of the video tutorials were part of a larger course or package, I could focus all my attention on the part that I was pursuing.
I am long past being an adolescent, but, when I was, I possessed few of the attributes I applied to my more recent e-learning. I acquired what discipline I possess today with support (and prodding) from my teachers.
My grandson will enter grade 10 in Toronto the year that e-learning will become a mandatory feature of Ontario's secondary education system. I'm concerned that the implementation of e-learning considers the supports students will need to succeed. My grandson is an intelligent young man who is at ease with technology. He taught himself to edit sound and video. When he needs advice, he calls his grandmother who is a film and video editor. They discuss timecode, aspect ratios, 2K vs. 4K, and other things that are unfamiliar to me.
But as intelligent and comfortable with technology as he is, my grandson possesses about as much discipline as I had when I was his age. He procrastinates. He needs encouragement even when confronted with deadlines. He can be extremely focussed and remarkably indifferent at the same time. He is like most of us when we were his age.
There are many excellent online courses for the highly motivated and disciplined learner. I hope that the folks in Ontario remember what they were like in high school and plan e-learning accordingly. My grandson’s education and the education of his peers will depend upon how well they do.