Dr Bill HarveyDeputy Director, Learning and
Transforming tertiary education through ICT: hype or reality?
Scottish Funding Council(s)
SHEFC created 1992 SFEFC created 1999 Merged Council created October
2005 Total annual funding ~ £1.5
billion
Learning and Teaching policies
Quality enhancement Supporting institutions to
ensure that students have a high quality educational experience
Promoting innovation and the spread of good practice
E-learning is ONE area for development
Joint SFEFC/SHEFC E-learning Group
Created 2002 Reported 2003 Advice to both Councils Actions taken forward 2003-06 2005 review of progress
Why study e-learning?
Widespread interest Lots of hype and speculation Lack of strategic analysis Clarify the roles of institutions
and Councils Identify key action points
Pedagogy
Focus on learning, not teaching Promote blended learning, not
wholly ICT Analyse the learning process;
use ICT in a range of different ways
Strategic review of the curriculum and delivery methods
Economics
E-learning is not cheap Sustainable solutions must be
supportable from core institutional funding
Identify the intended return on investment
Economies of scale require large student cohorts or aggregation
Potential Markets
Wide diversity of student markets
Increase reach Increase flexibility and choice Overseas markets Do students want this model?
Supply-side issues
Technical infrastructure Staff development Content Open source v proprietary
solutions Quality and standards Scope for collaborative
solutions
Key messages
It’s about learning, not technology
Economies of scale requires collaborative solutions
Incremental and transformational change
Strategic change requires re-engineering of institutional processes
Next steps
Maintain IT infrastructure Institutional toolkit Staff development and TNA Promote transformational
change
Actions taken
SuperJANET 5 and RNO procurement
Toolkit produced to assist institutional strategic planning
HE Training needs analysis conducted
£6M Transformation programme launched
Transformational change?
Embedded in mainstream processes
Core business, not peripheral Substitutes for existing
practice, not an ‘optional extra’ Step change in functionality Financially sustainable within
institutions’ own budgets
Localised
Co-ordinated
Impact on core practice
Embedding in core practice
Re-engineering core practice
Evolutionary Phase
Transitional Phase
Revolutionary Phase
Potential Benefits to learners
Ch
an
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arn
in
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teach
in
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Low High
High
Individualised
Low
.
Transformation of practice through e-learning.
Lessons learned so far
Not everyone understands our objectives
Not everyone is ready for transformation
It’s hard to build new collaborations
Initiative focus v institutional change
Sustainability/exit strategy difficult to obtain
Subject communities are not necessarily the answer
Institutional readiness Does the institution want to increase
academic productivity? Are leaders committed to e-learning? Is computing firmly integrated into
the institutional culture? Does the institution have a mature IT
support structure? Does the institution have a real
commitment to learner-centred education?
Pedagogy and Staff culture
Are staff familiar with e-learning concepts and practice?
Is there scope for substitution of capital for labour?
Are staff willing to use learning materials from outside?
Do staff have the requisite skills – or can they be purchased?
Are the students prepared for this?
Challenges and issues (1)
Not invented here Cottage industry models What’s the role of the private
sector? Open source solutions? Is collaboration ‘real’?
Challenges and issues (2)
Diversity of institutions Is this for everyone, or just the
few? How will we measure success? Can the whole sector benefit? Can change be sustained? Can good practice be
transferred? How can ALT help?