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Engaging, motivating and supporting staff
Clearly, within education and training organisations, without at least the co-operation of and at best enthusiastic championing by teaching staff the introduction of any new idea to support teaching and learning is not going to be successful. Several of the MoLeNET projects have provided advice on involving and supporting staff and some key messages are:
Explain and demonstrate the potential benefits to teachers and learners and relevance to the curriculum
MoLeNET projects found that even sceptical, non-IT literate teaching staff will want to engage with new technologies if it can be demonstrated that their use can help to solve problems faced by teachers and learners and that the technology can support learning.
Havering noted that it was “evident that without knowing the capabilities of each device it was difficult to encourage their use in teaching and learning.” but that teachers were eager to embrace the technology once it’s relevance and effectiveness had been demonstrated e.g. “Modern Foreign Language teachers initially showed no interest in the use of Ipods. It was not until there was a requirement for students to be able to listen to a teaching resource which could not be uploaded onto the College VLE … that the device was considered. However once the files had been loaded on to an ipod and distributed to the student group It rapidly became apparent that the device was an effective learning tool with the parent of one student stating that her daughter used the device every night to carry out revision for Italian Listening skills.”
It is necessary to be aware of and to challenge myths and prejudices
“In many cases what was necessary was “overcoming the myths: It’s surprising how often the phrase “this won’t work with my students” comes out when you mention using (any) learning technology.” and it was important to “Ensure that all teachers are aware of the project and that the devices should be welcomed into the classroom (not seen as a toy or distraction).” (Gloucestershire)
Involve teaching staff at an early stage
This advice was offered by a number of projects, either because they did this, and found that it paid dividends, or because they did not, and upon reflection wished they had.
“The need to engage staff quickly in the project is paramount. Where this happens staff recognise the benefits for both themselves and their learners.” Bournville.
“Including the tutors who teach the chosen student cohorts involved in the project, early on in the project stages proved valuable” Stockport.
Involve teaching staff in the planning as well as the implementation stages
“..it would be advisable to involve them to greater extend in the project design and not only in decisions on m-learning materials.” Bournville.
However Boston suggest “A recommendation for other organisations undertaking similar projects would be to have to have systems in place before introducing devices to teaching staff. This would allow an overall view of the use of the devices in context with practical examples to support the aim of the project.”
Start with willing and enthusiastic staff
One project manager noted that starting with teaching staff who are volunteers rather than conscripts can help:
“the curriculum area(s) should be involved by invitation rather than obligation.” Bournville.
“Tutors need to be enthusiastic about getting involved” Stratford “Levels of ‘staff buy in’ varied” and “Individual attitudes to change make a huge difference.” Huddersfield.
Ensure staff understand the aim of the project
Surprisingly one college reported “There were some issues relating to effective participation in the project by some curriculum areas, specifically staff wanted to use the devices themselves but were unwilling to use them with their learners.”
Staff training is vital
“It is no coincidence that the groups recording lower levels of satisfaction are inevitably those in which the Tutor has struggled with the technology” Stratford.
Allow time for staff to experiment and plan
Coulsdon found a strategy of “just giving technology to teachers and allowing them to ‘play’ with it” very effective, for example “We bought a number of the (Asus EEEs) just to experiment with. We gave one to (...) who has a reputation for being the ultimate technophobe and is normally completely unable to see the benefits that technology can bring to the learning experience of students. It is the first time that she has ever been enthused by any type of technology at all. She is insisting that she gets ... one for use with her students next year!”.
“It cannot be stated too strongly how important it is to give teaching staff time and space to think about/discuss and formulate ideas for usage once they have had sufficient time to master the technical aspects of the device. It is equally important that staff are able to identify situations where m-learning may not be appropriate.” Norwich.
“Staff should have allocated some time to test equipment before use” Swindon.
Staff need confidence and both technological and peer to peer support
“Ensure that teachers are confident with using the equipment or have suitable support in the classroom.” Swindon.
“The selection of course groups to participate needs to be made carefully... In areas where motivation and IT skills are high, tutors/assessors have been proactive in the pedagogic use of the devices and experimented with additional resources and applications.. However, where the tutor/assessors were not so IT literate, the amount of staff development time required to upskill them meant that they were less confident to try out some of the more advanced features.” Lewisham.
Many of the projects found that adequate and appropriate support was vital to continued staff involvement beyond initial enthusiasm. Norwich found “One of the surprising outcomes from this project was how enthusiastically the devices were accepted by staff and how quickly they grasped the potential offered by m-learning. However, to implement the perceived possibilities teaching staff need strong technical support so that everything is in place and works when it’s required. They also then require strong support from staff development (and their peers) around how to use the device to enhance their traditional teaching and how to recognise new opportunities to put the device to practical, worthwhile use” and they emphasise “For many institutions, and the staff within them, the advent of m-learning raises serious concerns; will the technology do what I need it to, do I know enough to make it work, do my students know more than me about these devices? Teachers are often being asked to step out of their “comfort zone” and interact in an area where the students are generally perceived to be more knowledgeable.... Giving them the space to experiment, especially with peers, is essential to develop both confidence and product/pedagogical knowledge.”
Lowestoft recommend that when expanding the use of mobile learning institutions should identify tutors “who have been particularly proactive in using mobile technology with their learners” and encourage them “to continue to work and share experiences with others”. Other projects found support from peers or m-Champions was helpful, Matthew Boulton had found that “One of our biggest challenges was to engage sufficient numbers of staff in trying out m-learning” but one of their partners had a different experience “At the Sutton Campuses the picture was different … the Champions on these sites worked extremely hard to get other staff using the mobile devices with considerable success.”
Staff subject expertise is needed when developing mobile learning materials
“It is essential that subject specialists are dedicated to the project in order to provide relevant and up to date resources” Lewisham.