1 TABLE OF CONTENTS NO. TOPIC PAGE NO. 1 Ten Lessons in providing MET remotely by Quentin N. Cox 1 2. SAMTRA’s road to e-Learning in the South African Maritime industry by Gregory Moss 15 3. Using multimedia to understand ship design by Ashok Mulloth 29 4. Innovative manoeuvring support by simulation augmented methods – on-board and from the shore methods - on board and from shore by Knud Benedict, Michael Gluch, Sandro Fischer and Michele Schaub 36 5. The 3-D simulation of collision detection and response between ships in navigational simulator by Guan Ke-ping, Ying Shijun, Jia Dongxing and Jiang Jingnan 52 6 Application of marine simulators to bridge the gap between theory and practice in BRM teaching by Chen Jin-biao, Guan Ke-ping, Jia Dong-Xing and Zhuang Xinqing 63 7. Developing maritime theoretical education tools for a lack of seagoing exposure on the part of marine engineering students at CPUT by Derek Lambert 75 8. Looking at human factors in cases of accidents- nurturing inner-motivation and solidarity by Hitosh Sekiya, Takash Shirozu and Katsuya Matsui 82 9. Moving from training to practice- a comparison of the maritime and aviation industry crew resource management education programs by Greg Hanchrow 90 10. The conditional effect of maritime student’s demographic characteristics on career commitment at different levels of career motivation by Shaun Ruggunan and Herbert Kanengoni 99 11. Towards a career capital approach in explaining career development patterns amongst female seafarers in Durban by Slindile Mgaga 109 12. Wellness at sea: a new conceptual framework for seafarer training by Johan Smit 117 13. Pan, Pan, seafarer in distress: coping mechanisms seafarers need to acquire while working on board the international merchant navy by Lydia Dekker 129 14. Pursuing a career at sea: an empirical profile of South Africa cadets and implications for career awareness by Shaun Ruggunan and Herbert Kanengoni 140 15. Some observations regarding course for ships personnel with designated security duties by Valter Suban 156 16. Study on shortage of LNG seafarers by Wang Honggui 165 17. Training of navigation close to offshore windfarms by Pawel Ziegler 170 pg. ii 18. Safe management of ships- avoiding accidents related to automation failures by Ergun Demirel 179 19. Migration from diplomas to degree: CPUT context by Edward Snyders 189 20. Professionalization and diversification: meeting the needs of industry by Fred Anstey 195 21. The long range identification and tracking of students by Leonie Louw- November 203 22. Different measures: standards of education and examination towards STCW competency by Denis Drown, Fred Anstey, Robert Mercer, Gary Jeffery and Stephen Cross 211 23 Text book’s response to the GME and SME Model course 3.17 Maritime English by Chen Zhenyan and Shao Zheping 224 24. On the principle of authenticity and its reflection in compiling textbooks for Maritime English by Yang Jin-qiu and Liu Xiao-pei 233 25. The necessary training for Maritime English teacher by Liu Hong Tao and Yu Guo Dong 242 26. On Maritime English Teacher by Shen Jiang, Li Baopeng and Deng Te 249 27. Preparing students for a diverse working environment by Josephine M. Nthia 257 28. Preparing students for a diverse working environment by Sinethemba Hlengwa 265 29 Let numbers speak: cultural awareness, job opportunity and the international student exchange program between maritime university by Qi Chen 273 30. Tracer study on the employment outcomes of port and shipping administration graduates of the Regional Maritime University by Jonas Aryee 286 31. The development of specialised training program for seafarer in China by Jieying Xie and Yingie Xiao 298 32. MET experience in the East Africa by Robert Kiplimo 304 33. Human resource development in the maritime sector in Asia Pacific by David Wolfaardt and Rod Short 309 34. Research on the application of ship handling simulators in Chinese MET by Wang Hauxin 313 pg. ii TEN LESSONS IN PROVIDING MET REMOTELY Captain Quentin Cox Teekay Shipping 144 Elliot Street Glasgow UK [email protected] 07583 939169 Abstract The environment in which MET is provided is changing as fast as the maritime industry itself. Technology has not left the subject behind but in the same way that the seafarer may over rely on the electronic gadgets around them, the MET tutor must not over rely on available technology either. Speaking from experiences of leading postgraduate MET courses and course units for over eight years, the author relates twelve lessons to bear in mind when developing and delivering on-line or blended learning programmes. The use of on line technology seems appealing for a number of reasons, largely obviating the need for students to travel to attend a residential class. However, problems associated with students accessing learning material are often under estimated. Such problems will be discussed in detail in the paper. Individual approaches from students do vary though in almost all cases, the path of least resistance is chosen. This applies to seasoned upper managers as well as recently qualified graduates. Techniques of encouraging students to take a more yielding path are also discussed. These are just two examples of common but often under estimated issues. The paper which follows considers an additional ten matters which should assist future providers of MET, having learned lessons from past experiences. More specifically the experiences involved the delivery of a blended learning postgraduate certificate (Lloyd’s List 2007), of one year’s duration which incorporated a blend of on line and face to face classroom delivery. This was not a cheap option but one which was financed by a substantial trust fund input. However, the results were equally substantial. On a larger scale, a two year entire MET related MSc is also referenced, where the experienced nature of the students proved to be a major advantage in achieving course objectives, if utilised appropriately. Introduction As any form of technology is introduced into an industry, a teething period has to be anticipated. It is a form of change on a large scale and like any such change, it has to be managed carefully. Just as the introduction of automated engine room machinery and Electronic Chart Display Information System (ECDIS) on the bridge of ships for example, met with resistance from the more seasoned professionals, so it is in the MET domain, with experienced teaching staff viewing progressive on-line teaching and learning techniques with suspicion. Research has shown this to be the case with the elder students as well. A study by Patterson and McFadden (2009) concluded; 1 | Page “Results of the study found that online students were significantly more likely to dropout than campus based students. Age was found to have a significant unique affect on dropout in both programs with older students more likely to dropout”. Yet like it or not, on line provision is here to stay and the view of many MET institutions is that if they want to compete with other institutions in a business sense, they need to adapt and adopt the necessary facilities. This is a sentiment also expressed by Mariasingam & Hanna back in 2006; “The number of online degree programs offered by universities, both within the United States and in other countries around the globe, has expanded remarkably from the year 2000 to 2005. Recent research [Pond (2002), Twigg, (2001), Swail and Kampits (2001), Nielson (1997)] indicates that this rapid expansion has superseded our understanding of how to plan, organize, and evaluate these programs effectively”. The cost of the hard ware in terms of computer and internet friendly equipment is one major issue but another far less well identified matter is the knowledge and expertise necessary to provide on line MET. Teaching staff cannot be expected to be able to produce internet friendly materials without some form of guidance. The link between the capability of the computer software and the presentation of the teaching material in order to facilitate learning, which is the most important factor, is oft forgotten. Therefore the facilitators of the delivery need to consider that link very carefully. It is not simply a case of a lecturer familiarising themselves with, for example, all the bells and whistles of PowerPoint, which was hard enough to achieve 20 years ago. IT interfaces such as moodle (Modular Object Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment. A course management system for on line learning, Brandl (2005)) can be enormously complicated for the novice and it is unreasonable to expect teaching staff to pick up the finer nuances of the software without some form of coaching. In fact it is not unusual for am MET institution to employ staff for the sole function of providing this link between the technology of the software and the teaching staff. In many cases, these individuals develop into pretty good teaching staff themselves, especially in on line form. As Machado &Tao (2007) observe; “Learning management systems are becoming ubiquitous technology adopted at institutions of higher learning. Before these systems can be considered effective the user experience must be studied and analyzed to provide the optimum solution to meet pedagogical needs of both faculty and students”. However, this paper primarily concerns the role of the teaching staff and how they manage the delivery of the material. Not surprisingly, there are differences between delivering a postgraduate programme in a classroom and on line. The author has experience of both and is well placed to assess the difficulties associated with developing the latter from the former. 2 | Page What follows are ten lessons learned from eight years’ experience of developing and delivering a series of postgraduate MET courses. Lesson One – Know your learners This is one of the most important mantras the facilitator (trainer / instructor / teacher / tutor / unit leader) needs to bear in mind.