Personal Blogs

Homer said it and so did Depeche Mode, we just can't enough, and so too I, for I have enrolled on an etutor course with my employer.

I had no option, I have been pushing out the elearning carpet for some time so when the opportunity to not only attend but pilot this programme I had too take it. My experience of elearning demonstrates to me that the role of etutor is an extensive one, and extensive prep and forsight are key. Respect to Lesley and Dave of the OU. So I knew there would be a lot involved in this course, not sure my fellow learners realised as the 2nd workshop saw heated debates regarding time demands - try H800 or H808 pal! I'm starting to believe that the skills of a teacher and an etutor are the same, just different weighting. The off-the-cuff repost that is a trademark of an engaging teacher is less required online, but preparation, set-up, resources etc. is essential to the etutor.

Anyhow, weeks21/22 gets us reading my current fav blogger Ms Grainne Conole's paper on the impact of technology on educational institutions. The activity asks us to discuss areas in our life or organisation that have been affected by technology.

In the last decade Networking infrastructure has made a substantial difference to our organisation. As we are public sector our 2000 employees are spread thoughout every town in Ireland. Now instead of paper memo's we e-mail each other everyday, in our centre, across units and all over the country. Any member of staff can be found on the database and contacted. The Intranet allows me to check my mail remotely, check books in our head office library, check my payslip and look up our policy on Paternity leave. I can also search a database of courses, download the training plan, see who and where the course is running, find out the statistics about the course etc. It brings a vastly organisation closer to each other - if of course you want it to be.

Web 2.0 often ignored or suspiciously viewed in parts of my org may provide a solution to a major problem we are facing. We run courses for the unemployed, unemployment has trebled recently but public services are being cut. So we can't run more courses, or increase class sizes or recruit more trainers but if we go online we can access more learners. This is less an impact of technology rather then a solution provided.

actually that is enough...for now

K