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 Choices in a Recession - Training and Development Day for Union Reps in Cornwall  |
TUC Education Online - the Learner's Perspective
In 2003 TUC Education developed its online learning strategy. It aimed to ensure that the development of online courses provided by the TUC would be of exemplary quality, highly valued by both learners and affiliated trade unions, and focused, like face-to-face course provision, on maintaining and developing trad e union education. Five years on, TUC Education has implemented most of the strategic targets and developed a programme of high quality courses for union reps. TUC Education, now part of unionlearn* , felt the time was right to commission a report into our online learning programme. The intention was to capture trade union representatives' experience of TUC online courses and to explore ways in which the offer could be improved. To capture the learner experience, 1140 union reps that applied for TUC online courses during 2006-2007 were contacted and asked to complete a questionnaire. In addition, a series of interviews was conducted with a small number of online learners in order to explore issues in more depth and to provide students with the opportunity to give additional feedback. Of the initial 1140 learners targeted, 260 responded. The report 'TUC Education Online - the Learner's Perspective' is based on the responses received from the 260 participants. The survey asked four main questions:
The research has shown that for the majority of union reps, online learning has been a positive experience and TUC Education's online programme has established itself as a genuine alternative to classroom-based courses. Demand for online learning is strong and the flexibility and convenience that this form of learning offers is a huge positive for trade union reps. Quote from survey: 'Online learning is ideal for many people who need the skills for participating effectively in their union.' Crucially, students (85%) felt that their development of knowledge and skills was very strong, with 95% stating that the online courses developed their proficiency as union reps and increased their effectiveness in the workplace. The survey showed that attitudes towards the idea of online learning have changed dramatically and in a positive way. Reps value the benefit of an accessible and convenient offer with high quality course materials and effective technical and social support from tutors and fellow learners when needed. Tutors now also see online teaching as complementary to their work in the classroom. 'A good experience and an enjoyable way to learn.' The learner feedback from the research highlighted a number of areas for improvement. As a result over the next two years TUC Education aims to increase the range of online courses available to reps. In light of recent developments in Web 2.0 technology TUC Education will examine ways to make course material more interactive and stimulating in order to enhance the learner experience. Intrinsic to the continued success of the online programme, TUC Education will centralise the application process improving communication with applicants to manage expectations. We will also consult with learners and tutors in order to implement refinements to course methodology, a key aspect of which is to explore the opportunities offered by blended learning (a combination of classroom-based and online delivery). The challenge for TUC Education is to continue to develop its service and ensure that it maintains a high quality, attractive and flexible offer. The research document and the feedback from learners has proved to be invaluable and will help to inform the development of our online programme over the coming years.
For a list of online courses made available by TUC Education visit www.unionlearn.org.uk/online To order a printed copy of the report, contact Anna Kalsi akalsi@tuc.org.uk. Download a copy of TUC Education Online - the Learner's Perspective (pdf 1413kb) Briefing document (700 words) issued 24 Jun 2008  Preparing for the new Fit Note TUC Education European Review - Issue 49 TUC Education in the North West region |
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