BiteSize Thoughts by Dr Constantine 'Dino' Kiritsis
There will be a need at some point to ‘prove’ the worth of what you have learned online. Gaining credentials and online badges and filling up your resume with a list of online training courses that maybe had no assessment, were not verified for their quality and were not really linked holistically in some sort of programme, may have limited strength. HR departments know that. However, to take advantage of the fantastic benefits online learning has to offer, we need to start thinking in a bit more sophisticated way about the following (among others):
Ø If the programme of study was assessed and by whom;
Ø How the programme was assessed;
Ø What was the type of instructional design;
Ø What was the level of learning (maybe using Blooms’ taxonomy);
Ø Who was it designed by (name of the university, professional body, corporation etc.);
Ø Who facilitated – experience & credentials;
Ø The technology used;
Ø What were the learning outcomes;
Ø Overall satisfaction & evaluation
Research for quality assurance has existed for the past 20 years, but with the continuous development of technology, new parameters and areas required innovative ways to assess the quality of educational programmes and courses. From my independent research on the topic, it seems that there are a significant number of studies that are worth considering; however, none have predicted what is going on with the COVID-19 pandemic which is accelerating change in this area as well. What about schools?
Schools
The issue becomes even more complicated when it comes to schools. The curriculums and programmes delivered at schools have been designed for face to face. During COVID-19, schools and governments tried to move them online (and in some cases they still are). How does one do that? We have never been through something like this before, so I guess there is no expert (or at least not too many!). Moving the school programme online is one thing. Making it effective is another. As we are moving into this new era for school education, it may be a good idea to start thinking of:
Ø Different ways to conduct exams; (maybe it is time for open book assessments?)
Ø Different ways to assess children overall in terms of their behaviour;
Ø The ethical dimensions of online education;
Ø Methods for upskilling educators on understanding child behaviour online;
Ø Methods for upskilling children on how to best use the technology through a different – possibly – type of skill set.
Ø The list goes on…
Some schools have done a great job in moving faster towards answering some of the above areas, but they are few. Whatever the case, to make things organized and recognized in terms of value, there needs to be some sort of validation. I am not talking about the courses or sessions which are done purely for personal learning/mastery. I am talking about those courses or options for education that any student or professional will require some sort of PROOF for the workplace – and this may require an International Standards body, compared to a local or regional authority given the borderless internet. How about ISOL (International Standards for Online Learning?)…