This section reports on the findings relating to the impact of
networked learning on staffing and collaboration. Networked learning
has led to a number of changes both in terms of changes to existing
roles of staff and to the creation of new roles and new members
of staff being appointed. For some staff although there has been
no official change in their role, the nature of the work they carry
out has changed.
The introduction of networked learning has had an
impact in terms of how staff (and students) communicate, with email
being widely
used. However, not all respondents mentioned email. There are some
differences between HE in FE in this area in that FE respondents
mentioned resistance to the use of email more frequently than HE
respondents and that some members of staff avoid its use. This
could be linked to the access staff have to computers. Figure 5-2:
Centralisation of services and access to technical resources and
support shows that in a number of FE colleges there are members
of staff who do not have access to their own computer. Interestingly
a small number of respondents also worried about the loss of social
interaction when email is used rather than face-to-face communication.
FE staff more often expressed this worry compared to HE staff.
Improvements of communication through the use of email and other
forms of electronic communication is also mentioned, with two HE
institutions (H6 and H7) suggesting that students will benefit
from more ‘personal/meaningful’ contact. This provides
an interesting contrast with the fear by the other group that there
will be a loss of social interaction. It may be a reflection on
the differences in student numbers in FE and HE. The growth of
the student population has been considerable and the opportunity
for under-graduate students to have much contact with lecturing
staff has decreased; however, electronic communication allows potentially
for such contact to be increased. In FE, class sizes are still
considerably smaller than in HE and therefore the use of electronic
communication could be seen to erode the personal contact that
is currently available. This was a view expressed by some of the
FE respondents.
| CS |
Email |
VLE |
Intranet/ Internet/ shared folders |
Face-to-face |
| H1 |
Considerable increase in the use of email. |
Use of MSN messenger by students noted. |
Some mention of these for communication. |
Limited mention of difficulty of interacting online when
campus based. |
| H2 |
Email cited by several as providing more effective and easier
communication. |
Limited mention of use of VLE for communication. |
Some mention of these for communication. |
|
| H3 |
Mixed message; growth of email noted by some as improved
method of communication. |
Limited mention of use of VLE for communication. |
|
Impact of social isolation and need for face-to-face for
collaboration mentioned. |
| H4 |
Communications appear to have improved because of e-mail. |
Improvement in communication with students through use of
VLE. |
Some mention of these for communication. |
|
| H5 |
Email cited by several as much used channel for communication |
Limited mention of use of VLE for communication. |
Increased use of a range of online communication noted by
several respondents. |
Impact of social isolation and need for face-to-face for
collaboration mentioned. |
| H6 |
Email cited by several as much used channel for communication
with both staff and students. |
|
Expectation that communication will become more meaningful/personal. |
|
| H7 |
Limited mention of email as main means of communication between
staff. |
Limited suggestion that VLE used for student/staff communication
with improved personal contact. |
|
|
| H8 |
Limited mention of email as main means of communication between
staff. |
|
|
Limited mention of face-to-face informal discussion to promote
networked learning, eg in refectory. |
| H9 |
Limited mention of email as main means of communication amongst
staff. |
The VLE email is used to communicate with students. |
|
|
| H10 |
Limited mention of email as main means of communication between
staff. |
Limited mention of use. |
|
Limited reference to face-to-face within institution and
use of Videoconferencing when external |
| F1 |
Limited mention of email being used extensively. |
|
Limited mention of these for communication. |
Limited mention of loss of social interaction. |
| F2 |
Mention of e-mail has having grown tremendously as a method
of communication. |
An increasing use of the VLE was noted. |
An increasing use of a range of electronic forms of communication
noted. |
Importance of maintaining face-to-face contact was noted. |
| F3 |
Significant increase in use of email noted by all for staff
and students. |
|
A considerable increase in use of a range of electronic forms
of communication noted. |
Concern was expressed that email was eroding face-to-face
interaction. |
| F4 |
Use of e-mail noted by several respondents; however, communication
seen as requiring some improvement |
|
|
|
| F5 |
Growth of email noted by most, its potential to make communication
more efficient noted. |
|
Increasing use noted by most, its potential to improve communication
noted. |
Importance of maintaining face-to-face contact was noted. |
| F6 |
Significant increase in use of email noted by some, but not
universally adopted by all staff. |
|
Some mention of its use and anticipation that it will increase. |
|
| F7 |
Significant increase in use of email noted by some, but not
universally adopted by all staff. |
|
|
Limited mention of loss of social interaction. |
| F8 |
Significant increase in use of email noted by some, but not
universally adopted by all staff. |
|
|
Limited mention of loss of social interaction. |
| F9 |
Significant increase in use of email noted by most. |
|
|
Limited mention of loss of social interaction. |
| F10 |
Significant increase in use of email noted by many. |
Increasing used noted by one. |
Some mention of its use with both staff and students. |
|
