·         What does the term Flexible Learning mean to you?

After discussing the term Flexible Learning with associates at work, it seems immediately apparent that each person has a different perspective on the meaning of Flexible Learning and places varying degrees of emphasis on specific aspects of learning that they feel are most important to be flexible about.  For example, a majority of staff members that I questioned think that flexibility in the location where the learning takes place is most important aspect, whether a student can be a distance student, or whether they must come to a specific location. In all likelihood, this emphasis is highlighted in amongst staff in our school because we have a large population of distance students enrolled. The second most common answer expressed was flexibility in relation to time, that students could enroll full time, or part-time, or the possibility of enrolling at any time and completing the course according to their own schedule, rather than in a school year framework. Another type of flexibility discussed was allowing students to enroll in as many or few papers as they liked, of their own choosing, rather than having to be enrolled in a full qualification program. We also talked about allowing more recognition for prior learning, testing for credit programs, open source internet education, short courses and continuing professional development courses. There was some discussion of recognizing and adapting teaching methods to assist the various different learning abilities and learning styles of different students.  I think that the term Flexible Learning should really be changed to Flexible Teaching as it is the teaching staff who must work towards adapting and expanding their teaching tools and methods to reach the greatest number of students.  They must become flexible and open-minded in their approach to teaching in order to meet the goals of high student enrollments and success rates in today’s competitive international education market. The entire realm of how we attain knowledge has changed drastically, even exponentially with the expansion of the internet, newer communication technologies, and social networking.  The roll of teacher, tutor, or lecturer is shifting to that of education facilitator who utilizes these venues as their tools of facilitation to guide the learner towards learning rather than simply imparting knowledge to them directly. Flexible Learning may mean an opportunity to students to acquire education in a wide variety of places, times, or formats but its primary significance is transforming the way we educate, the way we teach, to encompass a much wider variety of methods than ever before.

·         Why is it necessary to use a more flexible approach in your work?

The principle driving forces behind using a more flexible approach in my work are to keep up with information technology today and to utilize the great potential of newer technologies like internet videos (You Tube), video games, and social networking to capture more student interest, and thereby improving the student’s own desire to learn and success at learning. I believe that there is huge potential to improve student learning by gaining the ability to use the technological tools at our disposal.  If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video is worth a thousand sentences (or paragraphs). Traditional approaches, such as printed material, still have some benefits such as being able to provide numerous details which may not be as apparent in a video presentation, or lectures where the face to face contact offers the student more ability to ask direct questions with immediate response. But today’s students are very different than students from even the recent past.  They have grown up in the fast paced interconnected internet and telecommunication world.  They respond differently to the world because they interaction with each other has been extremely technologically enhanced. Their expectations are different because they are familiar with technology, it is wholly a part of their lives and they are used to receiving information almost instantaneously, courtesy of internet access. Students also have the ability to obtain their education from many more sources today than in the past and educational institutions are finding they need to compete to deep their enrollments up. With the student in a more savvy and demanding consumer position, there are new pressures on educators to deliver programs that attract and retain students and educators are more accountable for their student’s success.  Teachers who cling to the past will most likely be left behind in the education of the future.

·         What do you need to explore to help this happen?

In recognition of the vast potential of the internet and its associated social and information networks, I need to explore the current varieties of communication sites and think about how they might either affect a student’s learning, or be used as my tools to offer newer or different types of learning opportunities to students.  Students seldom rely on books directly in today’s world.  When they want information on a topic, what do they do?  They Google it. If they want to see what something looks like, they search images on the net.  If they want to see how something is done, they check out You Tube. I think the student of today has a much shorter attention span and then it is harder to get their attention, and even harder to keep it.  I need to find ways to capture a student’s interest and ways to stimulate their interest to learn more.  Standing in front of the class telling a story is good, but showing them an exciting video clip or the real thing is even better. I need to understand the students’ world of Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, Skype and Adobe Connect better, so that I can understand the student better, what makes them tick and what makes them keen, what makes them want to participate.

·         What goals do you have for using Flexible Learning in your work?

My goals for using Flexible Learning are to be open to try a new communication media (that I would not have even considered before) like blogging, to see if it has an applicable use for engaging students in my courses, and to explore other methods of facilitation which might be types of teaching that I am not familiar with.