Listening and contemplating on the array of topics from the virtual symposium sessions, I am intrigued by the notion of digital learning and its\u2019 capability of reaching a wider audience and providing greater impact on learning. Being in the field of digital education, I have always been a believer that online learning is a great avenue for learning to be more accessible regardless of age, ethnicity, cultural background, socioeconomic status and, etc. While I still believe that for the most part, this is true, I am curious to dive deeper on how accessible and effective is online learning?<\/p>\n
Listening to Dr. Tony Bates on his perspectives on the new policy set by the Ontario government mandating high school students to take four online courses and Vivian Forssman\u2019s on the 2018 results of the Canadian National Online Survey, I wonder if institutional leaders are ready and equipped to tackle the complexity of developing policy and structure around digital learning. \u00a0The notion of developing high school students to become independent learners sounds like a great idea; however, the question is how do we teach and support them to become independent learners? According to Dr. Bates, \u201cStudents need help to become independent learners and teacher support is critical\u201d (Bates, 2019, 59:03). It seems that the Ontario government has missed the opportunity to thoroughly assess the implications of this huge undertaking in its focused to save money. As a result of this new policy, will high school students be prepared to self-manage their own learnings? Will they be motivated to learn and complete the program to graduate from high school? What will be the drop-out rate because of the new policy? This leads me to my next point that Vivian Forssman shared in her webinar presentation. In order to have an effective and accessible online and digital learning, there needs to be a clear and well-articulated vision of how online and digital learning should look like, including strategy, tactical plans, expectations and technology capabilities (Forssman, 2019, 58:33).<\/p>\n
As I reflect on this issue, I am moved to do more about this particular subject. I am interested to learn more about my own organization and if we have a policy currently existing to support our online and digital learning across disciplines of academic and technical education and training. The expectations and needs of learners across my organization are shifting quickly to on-demand, real-time, and accessible learning. Is my organization ready to tackle this shift with good policy and structure in place to support effective and accessible online learning?<\/p>\n
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References<\/p>\n
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Bates, T. (2019, April 16). Re-thinking the purpose of online learning. Retrieved from: http:\/\/ow.ly\/gJlx50qwmbq<\/a><\/p>\n