In traditional classrooms, the teacher has a monopoly on knowledge and skills. The widely used term ‘delivery’ reflects this-the teacher has the knowledge, and is responsible for ‘delivering’ it to students.

Online learning represents a big cultural shift. It gives much more of the responsibility for learning to students. You, the teacher, are placed into a more facilitative role, with students free to learn from a variety of sources, and to exercise more control over how and when they learn.

Clearly, many classrooms contain a mix of the traditional ‘delivery’ approach and the emerging ‘self-directed, empowered’ approach. Many of the Exemplars describe teachers using online learning to gradually move towards self-direction and empowerment. But in doing so, one can meet considerable resistance:

‘When I moved to [my present organisation], it was quite a culture shock. There is a general tendency [here] to only value classroom learning delivered by experts. There is little encouragement of self-directed learning. The view that ‘if you’re using computers at work, you’re playing’ doesn’t help much either.’

Attitudes like these can come from a variety of sources, including management and other teachers. As reported by Melissa Mills4 (Exemplar 15), the uncertainties associated with online learning take a variety of forms. As expressed by teaching staff:

‘We must make sure that we don’t replace face-to-face teaching with technology.’
‘We can’t make time to learn unless we go to a classroom.
‘Other work commitments interfere with "anyplace, anytime" learning.’

Faced with this kind of resistance, what can teachers do to create a culture that is supportive of online learning? One of the key strategies relates to professional development. Resistance can result from uncertainty which may, in turn, be the result of gaps in skills and knowledge-for example, in:

  • using computers
  • using online software and platforms
  • using the internet and search engines
  • applying classroom principles to teaching online
  • general online facilitation.

One way of reducing resistance is to encourage staff to do a course in online learning that involves learning online themselves. This advice applies to senior and middle-level managers just as much as to teachers. Consistent with the focus of these materials, the best approach may be a blended one:

‘How do you develop good facilitation skills? FAMe is quite good, but I think you need more than that. You need others to think about it with you, to reflect on lessons face-to-face. You can’t just sit at your computer by yourself and learn to facilitate an online course! So you really need a blended approach to learning online facilitation.’

Other strategies used successfully in the Exemplars to get people on board and encourage attitude change include:

  • rather than having a large staff with varying attitudes to online, it is better to run a course with a few staff who are committed to trying out online approaches:

‘I’ve selected teachers who can work effectively online. Not only are they keen, but they’re oriented to computers and technology. You need that human resource.’
  • selling the advantages of blending in some online, such as flexibility for both students and teaching staff, equity, and accessibility
  • coaching tutors, mentors, and part-time staff who are expected to support the blended course, so that they understand the principles and are well-equipped to anticipate the kinds of issues likely to arise.

4Quoted from Mills, M. (2001). Designing a flexible model of learning for a rural health organisation; A case study. Education in Rural Australia, 11 (1), pp. 45-55.