SSA Institute - a case study
Allow about 30 minutes to read the case and answer the questions that follow
Anisa Manjate, the Director of SSA Institute in India, is considering how the SSA Institute can adapt and deliver an existing course online in a way that works for both staff and women learners. The opportunities are huge, but so too are the challenges. How should SSA Institute proceed to deliver their existing course online?
The SSA Institute delivers training and learning opportunities to disadvantaged young women. Most of the women have faced barriers to their education of some sort, including cultural barriers, gender-based violence, poverty, early marriage and childhood pregnancy, and conflict and displacement.
Over the past years several training and support activities have been provided by the SSA Institute. An important change is how developments in information and communication technologies (ICT) and digital technologies provide opportunities to provide training to more women.
Paying for goods and services can now be done through mobile phones. Text messaging is increasingly being used by hospitals to communicate with patients. Social media apps are used by women to tell people about their small businesses.
ICT is also used to communicate with work colleagues, external partners and patients. In fact, even those women located in the most remote areas are being reached at a distance through phone calls and social media channels. This new reality makes online learning attractive for training providers.
Adopting online learning does not only require a focus on the learning needs of the women. It also requires training providers to consider how to train their staff to engage with emerging technologies. Collaborative online learning tools, such as discussion forums, Facebook, phone texting and WhatsApp can promote peer-to-peer collaboration, and motivate and empower learners to create and share knowledge. They also enable trainers to better monitor their students’ progress online wherever they are.
In the workplace, organizations are using these tools to encourage knowledge sharing among their staff. Those staff who can post information online at speed can do so, and others can go online and access the informaton without the need to wait for face-to-face meetings.
This type of virtual knowledge sharing, and online interaction can improve awareness and self-confidence. In short, online learning can be great for marginalised women.
Delivering their courses online may enhance the capacity of SSA Institute to train more women, especially those who have access to the internet but are unable to travel long distances to attend face-to-face training. Whatever the approach chosen, Anisa is certain about two things.
First, the SSA Institute stands to benefit from the opportunity to deliver courses online.
Second, delivering courses wholly online will not be all that easy. The SSA Institute’s existing technology and internet infrastructure may have to be upgraded, their existing courses may require adaptation, teaching staff and students will require some IT training and support.
After reflecting on the opportunities and challenges for online learning against its existing face-to-face training, Anisa recommended that SSA Institute should adapt and deliver its existing course online. Table 1 provides a summary of how one of its short courses on ‘Management basics’ was adapted and delivered online.
| Adapt what? | Existing face-to-face Learning | Adapt and deliver online learning |
|---|---|---|
| Curriculum content | Lecture slides (power-point) with course content Preparatory study activities for seminars and workshops and provide these to learners in print | Create an audio or video recording explaining the course content on the PowerPoint slides, without changing the curriculum content. Provide the PowerPoint slides to learners, so that they can review while they listen or what the video Preparatory study activities are uploaded to the online learning portal for participants to access |
| Teaching strategy | 1-hour group lecture 1-hour seminar: participants read text and attend small class seminars where they ask questions and receive answers from the facilitator 2-hour group workshop: participants work in small groups to discuss a case study, present their responses and receive feedback from peers and facilitator | Online Lecture: Listen to audio or video presentation and review the PowerPoint slides. Discussion Forum: Post your answers to seminar questions and join the discussion Each group write up and the group leader upload results on the online portal for the facilitator to review and provide feedback |
| Supporting learners | Facilitator answers queries from learners in class | Respond to questions posted in discussion forum and reply to emails or online posts by learners |
| Peer-interaction | Question and answer sessions and exchange of ideas in class during seminars Group presentations, discussions and feedback during in-class workshop | Online discussion forum Learners use phone calls or WhatsApp groups to complete group task, write-up results in MS Word or Power-Point and upload online or email to facilitator for feedback |
Now answer the following questions
- What online learning opportunities and challenges are evident in the case?
- What is the difference between face-to-face and online learning?
- From your knowledge of the ICTs and digital technology in your country, what challenges do you see in replicating the approach to adapting and delivering an existing course online?
4. Learning from case studies