Managing Expectations: A Changing Landscape

Introduction

Managing student expectations in a classroom setting is a well researched area with many pedagogical and administrative processes having been developed by teachers since teaching began! In the late twentieth century information and communications technology (ICT) tools were introduced into the classroom with dramatic effect. Suddenly students and teachers were expected to be computer literate and be willing and able to use these new, innovative tools to support teaching and learning. Hiltz (1994, p. 259) suggested that “what we are going to see in the future are more virtual universities”, that the “meaning of the ‘university’ will change, and the idea of a ‘campus’ as we know it may disappear. It is now possible to run a university from a closet”. This expectation that the bricks and mortar classroom would disappear in favour of technology supported virtual learning centres for example, has proved to be unfounded and, as Burdett (2003, p. 84) suggests, “despite anticipated benefits … ICT is not embraced enthusiastically nor completely by all academics”.

With hindsight we know that these changes in the classroom are an ongoing process. Face-to-face teaching is still the core business of educational institutions at all levels. But the classroom has been enhanced and, in many cases, transformed with the introduction of ICT tools. Interactive white boards, laptop computers and social media for example are used extensively to enhance the learning experience of students throughout the education system (see for example Preston & Mowbray, 2008; Hemmi, Bayne & Land, 2009). Learning management systems (LMS) have also been widely adopted providing opportunities for students to gain access to learning resources and activities without temporal or geographic boundaries. There are opportunities for students and staff to communicate with each other and for students to be supported in ways that are just not possible in a traditional face-to-face setting alone.