Flexible learning opportunities for teachers in the 21st century

In creating a modern teaching profession it is essential that all teachers have opportunities to enrol and participate in post-graduate degrees during their teaching career, irrespective of where they reside. The MATL in Teaching and Learning (MATL) is designed so that teachers, wherever they are located, can obtain a Master's degree that focuses on the issues they encounter on a daily basis in their classrooms. The programme provides teachers with a flexible modular route to obtaining their degree and extensive use is made of new technologies to allow learners engage with the programme content and with staff and peers. The course enhances the traditional lecture with the use of Web 2.0 tools such as YouTube videos, podcasts, blogs and Wikis. The college faculty has identified a range of relevant multimedia resources that are used to enhance to the core lesson content. For example the College has also used podcasts to bring the views and insights of international experts into our online classroom.This paper will showcase how the college uses technology to enhance our students' learning experiences through the publication of engaging content and by supporting student inquiry through the use of fora and online tutorials. This presentation will unpack the learner’s experience of participating in an online post-graduate programme. We will share the learners’ insights on participating in such an online programme, both the positive and negative elements of such an experience. We will compare and contrast our research findings with the established research findings in the area of online learning. We will outline the skill-set our learners believe is necessary to possess in order to participate meaningfully online. Learning online is different from learning in a face-to-face setting and this presentation will share the experiences of one cohort of 31 adult learners, all teachers, who are enrolled in a new MATL programme.