A Critical Appraisal of the Professional Practice of the Information System Provider

I work as a technical officer with the Information Services department in DIT.

My main responsibilities involve general user support, systems management and information dissemination.

Having the opportunity to research and analyse the theories of learning have aided me in gaining a greater insight and understanding as to how I have subconsciously adopted these learning principles in my own professional practice.

Knowledge of this area has subsequently afforded me the opportunity to examine how I, in my role as an I.T support specialist/trainer deal with people and has led me to evaluate my approach and see if I can take on board some of the principles I have learnt to date in this first module. Kurt Lewin who was a leading theorist in education psychology coined the phrase ‘there is nothing as practical as a good theory’ (Smith, 2001, p. 10) and my studies over the past few weeks have led me to recognise the value of that concept.

In this paper I will explore the following learning theories to determine what the best fit is in delivering training programmes for an I.T provider. I’ll conclude by addressing some of the challenges facing I.T personnel in their primary roles as support specialists and their subsequent roles as facilitators and educators in the academic arena. I’ll explore the possibility of how we can address these issues by adopting some of the concepts that form the basis for learning theories.

• Behaviourism
  
  
• Social Constructivism

Behaviourism

Tennant contends that a response (bit of behaviour) is more likely to occur again when it has a rewarding (reinforcing) consequence and is less likely to occur again when it has a non-rewarding consequence. In this way he argues that we acquire a repertoire of behaviour which is shaped by the environment. (Tennant, 1997, p. 95)

During the course of my work I have to demonstrate applications to new and existing members of staff. These applications span a vast range of I.T disciplines but one such application which I demonstrated recently was namely Cobian Backup. (Cobian, 2012)

Fig1.0

Fig 1.0 is a user interface screenshot of the Cobain backup application.

My teaching approach for this very much centred on a linear method. The training was instructor led and what often followed is commonly referred to in behaviourism as the ‘drill and practice’ approach. (Conner, 2012, p. 4)  My main objective while demonstrating this application was for the learners to become adept with its features. A positive consequence of using this application was that in the event that the learner lost all their data on the pc/laptop they could refer to the backup copy. If the learner failed in their task of not implementing some backup strategy or utilising this application then they risked losing months, possible years of data and this could be viewed by what Tennant refers to above as less likely to occur again when it has a non-rewarding consequence.

During the training I provided reinforcement by way of positive feedback and encouragement as the learner completed each successful step of the training. Whilst demonstrating the application I stressed the importance of repetition and practice to the learners. I advised them that they would need to dedicate some time going through the various features of the application in order to become proficient with it. After the training took place I was dealing with queries from some learners asking about certain features and these requests were predominantly from people who didn’t dedicate sufficient time studying the application.

I found this to be a common problem with demonstrating software using this behaviourism style approach and concluded that this form of learning tends to lend itself to one’s short term memory. If one does not allocate sufficient time going through the applications features/ training documentation they’re inclined to forget it.

According to (Bigge & Shermis, 2006, p. 87) teachers decide which specific behaviours they want their students to display and set about stimulating the students in such a way as to invoke the desired behaviours .Success of this approach is determined by how reliably that behaviour can be invoked at some stage in the future and this is usually in the form of some exam. Whilst a written or practical exam wasn’t a requirement for the above training I followed up with a Q&A forum in a subsequent training session which allowed me to evaluate the learners skill set.

Behaviourism has it benefits in that it has clearly defined objectives and as (Carlile & Jordon, 2003, p. 16) contend  it works best in the teaching and assessments of one’s abilities whereby you want to examine and verify that the learner will acquire the requisite skillet. Microsoft and Cisco’s certified training programs and exams and other forms of computer based training rely on such an approach as it is highly dependent on the sequencing of learning materials whilst also identifying the need for repetition and practice. The main issue I have discovered from my own personal experience with this approach is that without repetition and practice the learners forget the content taught to them.

Later in this paper I hope to demonstrate how I might adopt a different methodology to this same scenario but in a more meaningful and engaging way so that it will result in a more favourable outcome from both the learners and the tutor’s perspective.

 

Social Constructivism

Social constructivism emphasises ‘that knowledge is mutually built and constructed’. (Santrock, 2006, p. 314) . Santrock contends that students construct/build up knowledge through social interactions with each other. Involvement with others means that the student can consider a fresh perspective as they are exposed to the thinking of others and that learning doesn’t necessarily happen by one individual but is more of a collaborate effort. Mc Donnell elaborates on this further by asserting that the view of knowledge taken is that it is imperfect and non-absolute and that ‘meaning is arrived at by negotiation’. (Mc Donnell, 2004, p. 9)

Fig 2.0

Last year, I worked on a project which involved upgrading a number of critical servers across DIT campus. Due to the important nature of the project and the fact that its outcomes had site wide implications, there were five of us involved. Our main task is summarised in Fig 2.0. Our task was to upgrade the active directory environment which provides network services and authentication throughout DIT. This project involved mapping a server hardware infrastructure to the DIT network backbone in order to accommodate all sites whilst providing redundancy in the event of a server outage.

During the project we worked on some of the very principles underpinning the social constructivism approach. Collaborative learning and effort played a huge role in the successful outcome of the project. (Carlile & Jordon, 2003, p. 22) make reference to ‘peer tutoring’ where students in the same group tutor one another. This concept was very much at the heart of the project as each member of the team was able to make valuable contributions and share their perspectives as to how we might roll out and implement the upgrade.

With the benefit of hindsight I can instantly identify how I could have adopted a social constructivism approach to the first example I gave in this paper. Rather than adopt a content driven, drill and practice, repetitive approach as outlined under the behaviourism method, I recognise certain aspects of social constructivism which I could have utilised to provide a more positive learning outcome. The next time I‘m tasked with training a group of people on a new software release I will approach it with a fresh perspective and focus the training around a problem based learning, problem based scenario approach. Instead of going through the Cobian back up training in a step by step approach I’ll adopt the following.

 

• Give a brief introduction to the application and its features.

• Present a problem based scenario to the students. E.g. “You are an employee at a law firm working on a confidential document. You need to make sure that this document is backed up to a secure location every evening, encrypted and that at anytime you may be required to revert to an earlier draft of the document”

• Split the learners up into various groups and ask them to consider the above scenario and provide a suitable solution.

I believe that if I was to adopt this approach it would have facilitated a more engaging, creative and stimulating learning environment as it would be more student focused and driven. I believe social constructivism has many benefits. It supports the creative process, stimulates the mind, advocates the concept of group work and engages the learners in a collaborative process.  This can be further illustrated by some of the findings of the Hunt report in which it stated ‘to address the societal needs over the coming years; increased attention must be paid to core skills such as quantitative reasoning, critical thinking, communication skills, team-working skills and the effective use of Information technology’ (Hunt, 2011, p. 35)

 

Conclusion and challenges facing I.T Provider

 

I.T providers and support specialists are continually facing everyday challenges in this digital age. Since the dawn of the digital era the technological landscape has rapidly evolved. The availability and advancements of digital media and interactive technologies has undoubtedly brought a new form of richness and vitality to the modern day classroom. Education has moved and will continue to move with the digital age. We live with what Prensky referred to as the ‘Digital Native’ or the ‘millennial generation’.  (Kennedy, Judd, & Churchward, 2008, pp. 1,2) Each new generation of students enters the education system with more technological know-how than their predecessors. This push button generation have grown accustomed to media rich communication through smart phones, PDA’s, laptops, tablets and other smart devices and expect instant response. Contrary to the digital natives we have the digital immigrants (Prensky, 2001, p. 2) , those people born before the dawn of the digital era, pre 1982 and they also present their challenges. Cultural adaptation and dealing with the digital divide is one of the major issues when designing any form of blended learning system. (Donnelly, 2009, p. 10)

As I.T providers and educators, we must continue to provide training programs, consultancy and solutions for all digital generations to both staff and students in what I believe is increasingly becoming a hybrid learning environment. The current unrelenting pace of technological advances makes it difficult for educators and I.T staff to keep up to speed. The I.T provider must strive to keep one step ahead so that they can in turn educate the academics so that they are best equipped to cater for the modern day student while not losing sight of the training needs for the digital immigrant.

Technology continues to evolve to support some of the concepts providing the foundation for the social constructivism approach such as group work and collaboration. As Jackson contends student based learning continues to move from its brick and mortar campus boundaries to the online environment. Social media sites such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Second Life, Facebook and instant messaging have enabled geographically scattered communities to grow and prosper. (Jackson, 2012, p. 5)  Cloud resources such as Dropbox, Prezi, Planbox, Google docs and Evernote support the collaborate process. These are just a few examples of recent cloud applications that enable people to share data, work on presentations together, manage projects and enable people to share their notes/reflections with one another.

Hunt argues that while tutorials and laboratory sessions will continue to form the basis of learning in higher education it will increasingly be complemented by online discussion groups, podcasts, virtual learning environments, problem based learning and collaborative projects. (Hunt, 2011, p. 52) These are some of the characteristics that form the bedrock of social constructivism methodology and further highlight why its fundamental principles will play a key role in education going forward.

 

 

 

References

 

Bigge, & Shermis. (2006). Learning theories for teachers. Lanham, Md: University Press of America.

Carlile, O., & Jordon, A. (2003). It works in practice but will it work in theory? The theoretical underpinnings of pedagogy. Retrieved 2012, from All Ireland Society for Higher Education (AISHE): http://www.aishe.org/readings/2005-1/carlile-jordan-IT_WORKS_IN_PRACTICE_BUT_WILL_IT_WORK_IN_THEORY.html

Cobian, L. (2012). Cobian's site. Retrieved from CobianSoft - Cobian Backup: http://www.cobiansoft.com/cobianbackup.htm

Conner, M. L. (2012). A Primer on Educational Psychology. Retrieved from Marcia Conner Business Culture, Collaboration, and Learning: http://marciaconner.com/resources/edpsych/

Donnelly, R. C. (2009). Embedding interaction within a blend of learner centric pedagogy. World Journal on Educational Technology , 10.

Hunt, C. (2011). National Strategy for Higher Education 2030. Dept of Education. Dublin: Dept of Education.

Jackson, G. A. (2012). Enterprise IT, E-Learning, and Transformation: Prospects in Higher Education. EDUCAUSE Review , 5.

Kennedy, G. E., Judd, T. S., & Churchward, A. K. (2008). First year students' experiences with technology: Are they really digital natives? Australasian Journal of Educational Technology , 1-2.

Mc Donnell, D. (2004). Implementing computer supported cooperative learning 2nd ed. London: Kogan Page.

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. MCB University Press, Vol. 9.

Santrock, J. (2006). Educational Psychology : Classroom Update : Preparing for practice (2nd ed). Boston: McGraw-Hill.

Smith, M. (2001). kurt lewin: groups, experiential learning and action research. Retrieved from infed- the encyclopaedia of informal education: http://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-lewin.htm

Tennant, M. (1997). Psychology and adult learning (2nd ed). New York ; London: Routledge.