Digital learning, putting the cart before the horse

So it has been three months in lockdown and teaching online both synchronously and asynchronously to my learners. So what have I learned? Well one thing is that I started to hate online digital learning. 

Now, don't get me wrong, digital technology is one of the most significant and consequential disruptions to education that started in the 1980s. It further transformed the educational landscape with the advent of the internet, where it became easier and more available and ubiquitous. The web transformed digital learning.

But as my inbox fills with special offers from Edtech companies with promises to transform my teaching. Digital learning is in danger of becoming a sacred cow, so obvious its promises, that critically examining it seems to be the modern-day equivalent of being a Luddite. Everyone knows that the use of digital technology in learning improves student outcomes right? As a tool digital learning has the.power and potential to improve learning efficiency and effectiveness. However, like all tools, one also consider digital learning's flaws and critically evaluate our own assumptions of what it is, and what it can and cannot do. 

Digital learning has huge potential, but we must temper our expectations on what we can expect from using digital learning so we can use the tools more effectively. So why did I start to hate online digital learning?

Well one thing I noticed is that in order to create online lessons in the lockdown, staff where given resources that could be learned very quickly and easily implemented. The fact that the tool can be learned quickly does not mean it’s going to work in your classroom setting, or even that you should use it. Before using digital tools, we should look more deeply at what we are doing and why we are doing it. So if given the option to use a digital learning tool, I would suggest that you treat it as a professional activity, complete with professional challenges, and make sure you fully understand what you are getting into and whether it meets the learning goals you want to attain.

The teachers in my school come from a range of backgrounds and we can not assume that digital online technology is right for everyone. Handing off digital learning lesson design and development responsibilities to teachers can lead to digital learning that looks just like what their classroom usually looks like, and can make staff and students cynical in its use. Effective training and experience in instructional design are required to provide more effective staff development and this takes time. Quotes like the one below are not helpful.

I am convinced that great online digital learning starts with great instructional design, and not taking the time to focus on this leads to problems. Online digital learning is complex and not always well served by ignoring the basic principles of what makes it all work. Instructional design matters and should be at the forefront of teacher training when incorporating digital learning in schools. 

Online digital technology definitely changed my classroom, but it did not eliminate it. Nothing kills the love for digital learning more than using it in ways it was never intended, so this is where lesson design training comes in to develop effective online digital lessons. Learning still happens, but it will look different. Much less direct instruction and much more problem solving, experiential, and team-focused activities. A lesson design based on this is the 5E instructional model of Caitlan Tucker.

If I listened to the Edtech companies emailing me, I might think digital learning cures the COVID 19! Digital learning is not the answer to every learning challenge. The key I have found is to start small, pick my tools carefully, set realistic expectations, deliver on them, and then share your success stories. Learn from the experience and be ready to scale and share it with your fellow colleagues.

We have often assumed that our learners know how to learn. But as I have continued on in my teaching career, I now know this isn’t always the case and that learners need to learn how to learn. In the online setting, this becomes even more of a challenge. Managing learning time and focus is entirely on the learner. Good instructional design helps, but don’t dismiss basic learning skills when online teaching, I have found this most frustrating with a lot of lesson time taken in getting learners up to speed.

Over the 3 months, I have noticed a drop off in enthusiasm and an increase in frustration with the online digital learning experience. I think in the beginning there was novelty or uniqueness to the experience. However, this novelty has not sustained enthusiasm. Over time, the digital tools that were boring, of little value, or a downright waste of time turned the initial excitement into a complete turn-off. The important message from this was “activity” was not learning and “implementation” was not acceptance from the learners. Online digital lessons and the tools we use need to be relevant, focusing on learning, and not just involving make work.

Good planning is more of a key to the successful implementation of online digital learning than just about anything else. We are not working in a perfect world. Learning is messy. By critically analyzing how we incorporate digital tools in our teaching, we can shift from I hate online digital learning to meh, and ultimately to see it as another important tool in our teaching toolbox.