Long hours in front of screens a warning for Qld distance ed lesson planners

The centre's Professor Susan Danby presented the findings of the centre's research, developed in conjunction with the Isolated Children's Parents' Association, at the Queensland ICPA conference in Julia Creek last week.

She told attendees that the hours, plus the passive time spent in front of a screen without engaging, a lack of flexibility in lesson schedules, plus connectivity issues, were concerning outcomes of the survey undertaken in the last few months that will need addressing.

"During COVID, everyone moved to zoom sessions, which were exhausting when they went for hours on end," Prof Danby said.

"The rest of us have moved back to face-to-face interactions but not distance education.

"What we've found is that you can't translate face-to-face teaching and just put it online; it doesn't work.

"It needs a different pedagogy."

She said the materials that survey participants, plus the focus groups she engaged with at the conference, identified as most valuable were hands-on, activity-based, and that were social, or resulted in online interactions with peers.

"These are key messages for distance education lesson designers," she said.

"Another problem was that learning online requires a particular expertise.

"When teachers are talking at students, it's not effective.

"There's lots to be done to support online teachers."

Responses came mostly from parents and home tutors of students ranging from three years old to the lower secondary age bracket.

Prof Danby said the survey had been circulating for only two weeks when it attracted 111 responses.

"That's a huge response. It tells me this is a really important topic for families," she said.

She added that she'd spoken with Department of Education representatives on the conference floor to give them the heads up on the research findings, and had been invited to talk to people in the department.

"This is not the end of it," she said. "I take my hat off to home tutors - to engage in learning this way is challenging."

The work was initiated by ICPA's interest in gaining an understanding of educational experiences using digital technology, Prof Danby said.

As someone who grew up on a property outside Winton, the topic held particular interest for herself, as it did for the others working on the project with her, Professor Lennie Barblett, who taught distance education from Meekatharra in Western Australia, and PhD student Pip Amery, who has teaching experience at the Wallumbilla State School.

She said the research had been funded by the Australian Research Council and was highly reviewed.

"The other important takeaway from our research was that the majority of participants thought technology was important for relationships and interactions," she said.

The project will continue to drill down through the information.