“It Needs to be Better than Face-to-Face”: Introducing Elluminate into a Social Sciences Distance Learning Programme

Abstract Online synchronous tuition has the potential to enhance the study experience of students who cannot attend face-to-face tutorials, or where there are no face-to-face tutorials available. This could be particularly beneficial for students of online and distance institutions, such as the Open University, who may otherwise feel disconnected from the study experience. One such synchronous technology, Elluminate, has been introduced in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the Open University over the last few years, with feedback suggesting that the students who take part have a very positive experience. This paper explores the views of students and tutors from the Faculty of Social Sciences, Open University, about Elluminate, concluding that Elluminate tutorials are not better, nor worse, than face-to-face-tutorials – they are simply different. By setting up one method of teaching as a gold standard, all be it a standard with very little evidence supporting it, the debate is reduced to “can online learning do what face-to-face learning does, to the detriment of students and their teachers?” We note that feedback from students and tutors suggests a reluctance to embrace new technology among tutors that is not mirrored by students. While some tutors may not be comfortable with technological innovation, we argue that sensitive and subject-driven training can increase both the confidence and perception of tutors.