My most memorable online learning experience was the San’yas Indigenous Cultural Safety Training course. This was an employee training course I completed several months ago, during my co-op at the BC Renal Agency- an agency of the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA). This online employee training course was created in response to the “Transformative Change Accord First Nations Health Plan”, which aimed to create cultural competency health authorities (PHSA, n.d.). The content aimed to increase self awareness and strengthen the skills within health care workers who deal directly or indirectly with First Nations people (PHSA, n.d.).
Here is a video that explains more about the San’yas Indigenous Cultural Training Safety Course:
As mentioned in chapter seven of Creating Online Learning Experiences by Matt Crosslin (2018), it is important to understand “what is best done face-to-face and what online, and in what contexts”. Traditionally, employees are trained synchronously. Either they would attend presentations with a live speaker present in the room, or they would take part in a conference call with the presenter. Although these methods may be beneficial in providing immediate feedback, using them to train thousands of employees would be impractical, as they would deplete financial sources. In the case of PHSA, online training would have been the most practical option. Matt Crosslin also mentions that isolation is a common issue that can occur to learners in online learning (Crosslin, 2018). To overcome the effects of isolation, educators can think of ways to “humanize” online learning (Crosslin, 2018).
One thing I appreciated about the San’yas Indigenous Cultural Training course, was how connected I felt with other learners and the instructors. The course was asynchronous in nature, as participants worked on the modules at their own pace. However, facilitators had created a humanized learning experience, by ensuring that it was interactive and well-moderated.
Each participant was able to choose a time to start the course and assigned a deadline for course completion. This enabled moderators to assign the participants to smaller groups, which made it easier for participants to interact with program facilitators (student-teacher interaction), as well other participants (student-student interaction). Learning activities within each module incorporated multi-media such as videos and games, along with a Q & A forum to encourage discussion. I was especially surprised at how prompt moderators were at providing feedback. I would always receive a reply within 2-3 hours, which I think made the experience personalized, and tailored to my learning needs.
Another aspect of the course I found valuable was that discussions were completely anonymous. The content covered in this course may be sensitive to some participants. Furthermore, people generally have various levels of understanding regarding Indigenous issues. Because names were anonymous in discussion questions, I was more inclined to asking questions and participating in discussions, as I was not afraid of judgment. This is one added benefit of online courses, as they allow anonymity, which is difficult in face-to-face learning.
References:
Crosslin, M. (2018). Creating Online Learning Experiences. Retrieved from https://uta.pressbooks.pub/onlinelearning/
Provincial Health Services Authority. (n.d.). San’yas Indigenous Cultural Safety Training. Retrieved from Provincial Health Services Authority: http://www.sanyas.ca/about-us