Interview
John Brown, Executive Director of Learning and Technology, Ufi
Ltd
Given the chance, Epic loves to hear the
opinions and experiences of influential figures within the learning
industry. Following an interview we ran in the Summer with Martyn
Sloman of CIPD, this month, John Brown, Executive Director of Learning
and Technology of Ufi Ltd, has generously answered our e-learning
questionnaire. The questionnaire aims to get personal views, rather
than general thoughts on the state of the market and the questions
have been designed acccordingly.
Q What's your INTEREST in learning/online learning?
It’s my day job! I’ve been associated with flexible,
resource-based approaches to learning since the 70s when I started
a second career as a teacher (prior to that I’d worked mainly
in market research). At learndirect I oversee developments in both
learning content & delivery technology. It’s a pretty
big operation – with more than a million learners since April
2000.
Q What interactive technology do you use and have at HOME?
Can I count the Observer crossword? I’m an internet addict,
and as far as I’m concerned that’s an extremely interactive
technology. When it comes to other electronic gizmos I’m pretty
boring. My home has been filled with computers of one kind or another
(plus the occasional soldering iron) ever since the advent of the
ZX81, but I get much more pleasure from cutting code and using spreadsheets
that I have ever got from playing computer games & video discs.
My youngest son (now 25) was always a big games fan, though.
Q What stands out as your MOST EFFECTIVE learning experience?
Total immersion language training – usually accompanied by
sunshine & copious quantities of red wine. As a result my conversational
French always feels to me far more impressive than it probably is,
but my wife is very supportive (i.e. supplies the missing words).
And of course French is awash with Franglais and useful words like
‘truc’ and ‘fiche’ that can get you out
of almost any tight corner.
Q What stands out as your LEAST EFFECTIVE learning experience?
Being sent to run round the school field at age eleven because
I swore under my breath during a team game. It taught me the unintended
lesson that team games weren’t a patch on solo long-distance
running, and (friends will agree) failed to teach me to hold my
tongue.
Q Any really NEW AND INNOVATIVE IDEAS out there?
Ah, philosophy! The problem about ‘new & innovative’
in learning is that it rarely means ‘excellent quality’.
It always risks creating the educational equivalent of having sixteen
mixed Roman & Gothic fonts in desktop publishing. However, I
suspect that the attempt to harness CHAT might lead to a useful
change in the balance of teaching/learning for some.
Q What do you want that DOESN'T YET EXIST in learning/online
learning?
In 1982 the ZX Spectrum adventure game ‘The Hobbit’
had a crude input parser (for the ironically named Inglish) that
allowed plain language input so that the words ‘sword’
‘axe’ ‘weapon’ could all be understood as
meaning broadly the same thing. I really can’t understand
why twenty years later I’m still seeing computer screens that
insist I pick ‘a’ ‘b’ ‘c’ or
‘d’ to answer noddy multiple-choice questions. What’s
all that Intel processing power being used for?
Q Any views on the phrase and concept 'BLENDED LEARNING'?
It’s an ugly little phrase, but it’s the only kind
there is. learndirect isn’t especially famous for its content,
but it did get right a model of supported e-learning that makes
it stand out from the crowd. We stress its ‘online’
nature, but I think the USP is that you get human beings on hand
to support you throughout the learning process.
Q Any views on GAMES in learning/online learning?
We’ve tried a few things ourselves here with Maxtrax and
The Runner. The issue seems to be the tension that exists between
attracting and engaging new learners (on the one hand) and giving
them a fulfilling learning experience (on the other). The potential
of simulation to support deep learning models is already being exploited
in Higher Education, their potential for ‘deep’ learning
is yet to be realised for our subject matter. The jury’s still
out.
Q Any views on INTERACTIVE TV in learning/online learning?
We’ve researched this pretty thoroughly and I think the clever
money is on the computer absorbing the television, rather than the
other way round. The limited input devices, processing power and
screen resolution of the domestic TV make it really tough to engineer
rich learning experiences, and with TV you’re fighting what
is essentially a broadcast medium. HDTV will be on stream by 2012
by which time Video on Demand with a dedicated back channel, is
likely to be a commercial service. Such an environment would be
capable of delivering a very rich learning experience.
Q Any views on MOBILE DEVICES in learning/online learning?
I’d see them as important secondary devices to act as an
aide-memoire (see, Franglais!) for those doing e-learning, but like
TV it’s a very constrained medium for first-time learning.
The real value of permanently ‘on’ mobile devices –
like the Blackberry - is the way they let you access the Internet
on the move - as a research tool rather than an online learning
terminal.
Q Any views on OPEN SOURCE in learning/online learning?
I’m watching this space very closely. I think open standards
are the key to sustainability in online learning – preventing
supplier lock-in also means opening up the content market for others
to play in. I’ve had Linux boxes about the place for five
years and we’re certainly making the learndirect system work
better with Mozilla, etc. In line with Government policy, many of
our newer engineering activities are built using open source components.
Q What's your favourite PHRASE/QUOTE/EPIGRAM in learning/online
learning?
Nothing can stop you when you learndirect (I’m such a loyal
employee!)
Q Could you recommend a PIECE OF RESEARCH in learning/online
learning?
I’m grateful to Kevin Carey of HumanITy for pointing out
to me the Disability Rights Commission’s published work on
web accessibility, which comes at the issue from the angle of the
user’s experience. At learndirect we are committed to improving
our systems and courses to make them accessible to a wider range
of learners. We’re a long way from perfect, but as we build
new stuff this is in the forefront of our minds.
Q Could you recommend a BOOK in learning/online learning?
My personal favourite is probably Steve Krug’s ‘Don’t
make me think’ published by Que – not specifically on
e-learning but packed with excellent advice on the user interface
for any software.
An emerging development in the world of adult education and training
is ‘home-made’ e-learning. In my experience, when educators
(myself included) embrace new technologies they are at risk of forgetting
all they ever knew about the way learners really learn. So I’d
recommend Bill Horton’s book ‘Designing Web-Based Training’,
published by Wiley. It’s a major resource (600+ pages) and
not everyone will agree with all he says, but it contains a million
check-lists that will help people navigate away from the largest
rocks and mine-shafts.
Q Could you recommend a WEBSITE in learning/online learning?
You mean apart from learndirect.co.uk? A perennial favourite with
me is: http://www.ies.co.jp/math/java/
a site that shows the power of Java applets in creating concrete
demonstrations of particular mathematical formulae and concepts.
To see the power of it, try playing with the Surfing (Derivatives)
example I’ve often used in my presentations (you’ll
need a Java-enabled browser; turn on Trace in the example):
http://www.ies.co.jp/math/java/calc/doukan/doukan.html
This approach to learning is pure joy, compared with the stuffy
way I was taught calculus for A Level.
Q If you were to pick one CONFERENCE to attend in learning/online
learning, what would it be?
I’ve always enjoyed the TechLearn conferences and not only
because they are usually in America. There’s an energy and
buzz that are a bit different from typical European events.
Q Any words/phrases/ideas you'd like to BAN from learning/online
learning?
Not really. In my career I’ve lived with the changes from
supported-self study/open learning /distance learning /flexible
learning to online learning and e-learning. No doubt there’ll
be another one along in a minute. Words give some people ownership
and disenfranchise others, but it’s the core ideas you have
to grasp.
Q Anything in learning/online learning that you strongly
believed in, on which you have now CHANGED YOUR MIND?
In the days when it was just another three-letter acronym to me,
I know I underestimated how important XML would be for sharing data
regardless of its source. I think RSS and the ‘always-on’
ADSL connection are about the most exciting technological advances
in recent time – and have the potential to move e-learning
into its rightful place as an always available resource. We’ve
heard a lot about ‘just-in-time’ learning. In XML –
about which I have definitely changed my mind now - we have the
technologies that have the potential to make that a very straightforward
thing to achieve.
Q Anything else you'd like to add?
I’d like to thank you for giving me the opportunity to think
aloud with you. I’ve found it enjoyable – I hope your
readers will have some fun with it, too.
Hope you found the questions stimulating. Thanks for your answers.
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