With the dawn of the year 2000, we are challenged daily by dramatic changes in the field of post-secondary education. Unlike the two-tiered system that has existed for at least the last century throughout North America and Europe where colleges and universities have functioned as distinct and separate institutions with different mandates, the new world of post-secondary education is one with a more level playing field. Students move regularly back and forth between these two types of institutions, thereby necessitating a system where credits and learning outcomes need to be presented, assessed, and possibly recognized. The situation is further complicated by the myriad of options available through multimedia and online learning. Although a student may reside in the Fredericton, New Brunswick or Cochrane, Ontario, through online learning, he or she can easily take courses as they are offered by colleges and universities in British Columbia. While this is tremendously exciting, if the post-secondary learning experience is to be characterized by integrity and fairness, careful consideration must be given to the prior learning of the student.

As a discipline, prior learning assessment is comparatively new in North America. It emerged as a recognized area of study only after World War Two when soldiers sought recognition for the new skills and learning outcomes they had acquired in wartime (Sansregret 21). Since that time, prior learning assessment has taken on different guises including challenge exams, demonstrations, simulations, panel interviews, and so forth. While these practices are, for the most part, good and valid practices and continue to be essential components of the PLA process, the carefully structured and organized portfolio approach is what dominates the prior learning experience in many post-secondary institutions today. When prior learning assessment happens in this way all parties are treated fairly and next steps become clear. For example, if a learner prepares and submits a complete and well organized portfolio, assessors can then discern if further assessment is necessary and ultimately be confident that their decisions and recommendations are as valid as decisions and recommendations made regarding learning achieved in more traditional ways and settings.

Working closely with Dr. Sansregret, the project team recognized that, while the web was an appropriate and promising environment for the new version of the course, a variety of pedagogical and technical issues required resolution so that the adaptation would be smooth and effective. Specifically, the team identified challenges in three main areas:

While we desired to make PLA on the Web an online course, we were aware that many students who would be seeking assessment of their learning outcomes would have low levels of computer literacy.

Three of the major advantages of online learning as identified by instructional designers and other enthusiasts of online learning include writing/publishing opportunities, interactive learning activities, and access to unlimited sources of information. In theory and on paper, the techniques and strategies needed to actualize these opportunities can look straightforward. By contrast, bearing in mind that a learner may or may not have a high level of facility with the computer and accommodating the many ideas that manifest when working in partnership, implementation of these techniques and strategies is challenging work.

The partnership established among the three institutions gave Laurentian University the lead role in the areas of instructional design and project co-ordination. Lakehead and Athabasca, on the other hand, provided ongoing support and evaluation. At the conclusion of the project, however, they too have access to the course to use it in ways that best serve their respective student populations. In the case of Athabasca, the plan is to use only certain modules from the course, possibly blending these modules with other learning materials. This adds to the task of preparing a course that is not only modularized but modularized to the extent that at least some modules can stand alone.

In response to the above criteria, we elected to develop a course that is non-platform specific and easy to manage for learners with rudimentary computer skills. Both individual modules and the course as a whole are constructed such that the student knows exactly where to go and how to get there. At all times, graphics and written instructions are used to orient the learner. The learner has access to the instructor via a drop down email system through a click of a button on every screen. Likewise, consistency of approach was a priority observed in each module.

The online forms, considered together with other online writing activities in the course, represent how the course offers learners writing/publishing opportunities. By comparison, interactive learning is built into every module when students are invited to share with their colleagues through email or threaded bulletin board discussion or chat their thoughts and observations regarding particular concepts and case studies.

As for access to the unlimited information of the web, the course includes a Resource Centre where a student will find carefully evaluated hot links, each with a specific connection to the prior learning experience. This Resource Centre also includes tips on how to conduct successful internet searches if the learner is new to the internet.

PLA on the Web is a learning experience that advocates in significant ways on behalf of students. Respectful of the varying degree of computer competence that adult learners possess, mindful of the exciting opportunities that the internet brings to teaching and learning, and sensitive to the changes and challenges that working in partnership demands, PLA on the Web presents prior learning assessment as a process of integrity and fairness. It reaches learners around the world and supports learners everywhere who wish to continue their personal lifelong learning journeys.

Works Cited

Sansregret, M. Prior Learning Assessment: Principles. Montreal: Hurtubise HMH, 1995