By incorporating an e-learning component, we are building in a reliance on technology. When the technology fails or acts in an unexpected way, learners are blocked from making progress with their learning. So effective technical support is essential, especially if the e-learning component is more than just a minor add-on to the face-to-face component.
Because providers generally don’t have control over the computers that learners have in their homes or workplace, introducing an e-learning component requires effective support on request to deal with unexpected problems that arise.
But relying solely on support on request can lead to frustration for students and too much ‘fire-fighting’ for staff. Here’s what Manu had to say about his previous experience with e-learning:
Manu: In my previous job, when we brought in some online learning I had to spend a lot of time helping students with technical issues. I never expected there’d be so many problems! Sometimes it was a computer problem, other times they just needed a bit of training. We had a computer technician but his job was to support staff, not students.
The next time we ran the course was a lot better – we put together a help sheet for students with answers to common problems and info on how to contact a technician. We allocated extra hours for the technician to help students.
Another thing we did that worked really well was a training session for students at the beginning of the course – we got them to practise logging into the online system and using it.
So if you can predict some of the technical issues that students are likely to experience and put systems in place to deal with them, you’ll save yourself a lot of work and your learners will be better off! You’ll still need to provide some support on request, but it will be a lot more manageable.
Check out the help pages that one faculty at the University of Auckland has developed for its online students.
