Added value
Introduction
We discover, we learn, we develop our skills that help us to achieve in this world, in our society. We are taught through education and directed to focus on the learning that matters as against what is not relevant within a given context. Education has many forms and methods, but principally you can break them down into two segments, with and without a participating educator. So what is the difference and what ‘added value’ does a participating educator bring?
Disclaimers
Names / logos can be trademarks of their respective owners. Please review their website for details. I am independent from the organisations mentioned and am in no way writing for or endorsed by them, with the one exception in this article where I am a facilitator for some of HRDNZ’s MoodleBites courses – www.moodlebites.com – but my words and thoughts remain my own. The information presented in this article is written according to my own understanding, there could be inaccuracies, so please do undertake your own research. The featured image is my copyright, please don’t use without my permission.
Learning methods
There are lots of methods of learning, such as courses that have been constructed by an educator to provide a learning pathway on a given subject but without then being directly involved in the learners engagement.
There is ‘Autodidacticism’ (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autodidacticism), which is described as “is the practice of education without the guidance of schoolmasters (i.e., teachers, professors, institutions)”. A pure means of educating ourselves. This, within the framework of our two segments, you can consider that even though there is not an educator principally involved in the curation of the presented materials, there was an intent of the creator to educate and describe what they had achieved.
A term that has been on my mind is ‘Directed Learning’, which I understood to involve an educator guiding the student. But in searching for the term, it seems that there are two types, one with and without the ‘Self’ prefix. One of the results I found was infed.org/mobi/self-directed-learning and seems to go into depth, which is as I’ve discovered from past experience the nature of educational theory, always much more and complex than it seems at first glance. Another result that is relevant is moodle.com/us/news/what-is-self-directed-learning – where a distinction is made between having a ‘facilitator’ or not. One whom guides the learning rather than sets strict boundaries and deadlines within a constrained framework of a classroom, as I’ve done in a previous life. Then it could be considered that we are all responsible for our own learning at whatever age, it is after all we whom benefit the most from it.
Learning decisions
In life we generally have a choice, even if sometimes that choice is limited. We can choose to learn or not. When we’re growing up we have lots of capacity to learn but lack experience in what to learn. We gain insights into different subjects, and gain an understanding of if we like a subject then decide how much effort we will put into it. As we get older we have more choice as we’re perceived through time that we’ve gained sufficient experience to make informed decisions for ourselves. To make choices that suit us, our interests and abilities. We are considered to be able to chose the learning we wish to undertake, to direct our learning, to understand when we can learn by ourselves or seek extra assistance from others whom are more knowledgable and experienced. It is perhaps at this point in time that we choose an online course for instance. One that by being online has the flexility to adapt, update content rapidly and adjust to our needs. Moodle, as one of many eLearning Platforms or Virtual Learning Environments, have enabled this beyond the bounds of content on web pages with linked resources. There is a sense of participation, of designed structure, interaction and assessment.
eLearning Platforms are just a tool though, they enable learning but they don’t orchestrated it. Courses are created by educators with knowledge and understanding of not only the content but how to deliver and assess it.
Added value
Regardless or not if an online course using an eLearning Platform has a facilitator, then they will still have been created by the educator. The key question then arises of having the a facilitator around when you are taking the course, especially if they are the educator whom created it. Without one then there is just the material, assessment and feedback mechanisms that the platform provides that are available to guide you and correct mistakes. With one then they are on hand to ask questions beyond the scope of what was predicted. To provide tailored intelligent support that addresses your specific needs. To be in a position to set and assess open ended assignments that allow you to demonstrate your skills in a creative manner, this perhaps being more beneficial in certain areas. To adapt the course dynamically and provide additional examples, thus catering for what couldn’t have been predicted.
Clearly with a facilitator there could be an extra cost involved, above what has already been costed to create and maintain the course in the first place. How much that cost is will depend on any given course. Perhaps the key element for yourself is to decide and judge what ‘added value’ a given facilitator will bring, their experience, reputation and so on. Its something that no general-ism can determine outright.
Conclusion
I don’t think that there is a clear cut conclusion, rather that its down to you to take responsibility for your learning and determine the value of any given course you choose to take.
Added value can actually perhaps apply beyond just the person, but to each individual elements of ‘value’ in any given course.
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Very interesting post Gareth 🙂
I’ve been learning guitar, and signed up to an online programme, which is quite good online learning with movies, and lots of text resources. I’ve learned a lot.
But I also booked in with a local guitar teacher, and had 10 lessons – so that’s a little like an online course with a facilitator – the personal support.
I found both types of learning to be valuable, but there are definitely differences.
I love the non-facilitated online course, accessing it when I can, repeating parts I didn’t understand, and feeling no pressure.
Having a teacher was different, and allowed me to question and go indirections at random, which I enjoyed.
As you say, every different mode of learning provides different limitations, but also different opportunities.
I think ine of the skills of being a learner is understanding which might be morte beneficial for you, at a given time, for a given purpose.