Webinars, FELTAG Confusion

It is no wonder that many in the FE sector are confused over the implications of FELTAG.

In my previous blog post I quoted the SFA response to FELTAG which includes the following comment.

This is activity which replaces face to face lecturing time including webinars, but not time spent on researching information on the web. 

I read this as

These are activities, including webinars, which replaces face to face lecturing.

However it should be read as

This is activity which replaces face to face lecturing time and webinars.

If you read the Provider Support Manual from the SFA which has more detail it states:

333. The following are examples of online learning:

  • Learning materials that the learner accesses on a college virtual learning environment such as Moodle
  • Video demonstrations or Powerpoint presentations accessed outside the classroom
  • Structured learning packages that are not facilitated by a lecturer.

334. The following are examples of activities that do not constitute online learning and should not be included in calculation of the Percentage of online delivery:

  • A video of a practical demonstration that is shown in the classroom with the lecturer present
  • Work undertaken on a computer with a lecturer present
  • An online webinar delivered by a lecturer
  • Homework assessments that are undertaken on-line
  • Email/telephone or online tutorials or feedback discussions.

Webinars would include using tools such as Adobe Connect, Blackboard Collaborate, Big Blue Button and Google Hangouts.

One thought on “Webinars, FELTAG Confusion”

  1. On the face of it this makes a clear statement of what is and isn’t online learning….until you really start to read it. Do they mean any old material the learner has access to online? Does a PowerPoint without any meaningful content count? Most courses have gathered tons of stuff on their Moodle pages. Huge long lists of PowerPoints, scanned pages of textbooks, embedded YouTube videos, random PDFs and worksheets. Completely unstructured and pedagogically worthless. If this is accepted as online learning then a lot of colleges will be able to sit back, tick that box and do no more. This will not improve the use of technology, will not benefit students and will not improve digital skills. The third option in that list is the only one that I would consider to be online learning: Structured learning packages that are not facilitated by a lecturer. It should not be about what content is online, but how much time the student spends doing their learning online. 10% of learning time is much easier to quantify as well.

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