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Does “e” Stand for Everything?
Maggie McPherson
University of SheffieldDepartment Information Studies
Outline of Session
• Introduction
• eLearning
- Discussion of Issues
• Workshop Debate
- Focus group activity
• Summary & Conclusions
Introduction
Background
• Personal experience of e-Learning
• Involved in Distance Ed for over ten years
• Currently doing ongoing research in e-Learning
• Collaborative work with Dr Miguel Nunes
Issues to be addressed
• Define Critical Success Factors in Context
• Organisational and Management Issues
• Technological Issues
• Curriculum Development Issues
• Educational Systems Design Issues
• eLearning Delivery Issues
Definitions of CSFs:
• “Critical success factors are those handful of things that within someone’s job must go right for the organisation to flourish. They are factors that the manager wishes to keep a constant eye upon.”
Robson (1997 p.155)
• “Critical success factors are those components of strategy where the organisation must excel to out perform competition.”
Johnson and Scholes (1999 p.192)
Critical Success Factor (CSFs) Analysis
• An established management research method, first proposed by Rockhart in 1979, as a means of identifying the factors that are required for an organisation to thrive.
• In this session, however, this means looking at CSFs for eLearning identified by participants in previous workshops and attempting to reach a concensus on what the key factors might be
HEIs: E-Learning Stakeholders
Organisational Setting
• Organisational Strategists and Policy Makers
• Senior Managers and Administrators
• Dept. Heads and Administrators
TechnologicalInfrastructure
• Computing Services (MLEs, VLEs, CMC)
• Technicians to Support Teaching and Learning
Curriculum Development
• Academic Staff
• Educational Specialists
• Subject Matter Experts
Academic Involvement High Low
Low
H
igh
Inst
itutio
nal I
nvol
vem
ent
Educational Systems Design
• Academic Staff• ICT Specialists• Educational
Specialists • Academic Staff• Researchers• Tutors• Students
Delivery
McPherson & Nunes, 2004
Organisational Issues
eLearning Organisational Challenges
Strategic Issues at Cultural/Managerial Level:
• Decisions for positioning of university
• Need for explicit eLearning strategies
• Lack of expertise in creating strategies
• Human resources - opportunities and constraints
• National funding - competition vs. co-operation• HE competition worldwide (e.g. US, Australia) • Corporate eLearning providers emerging
Implementation Issues:
• Staff motivational issues need to be addressed
• Customs and practice - barriers to change
• HE Reward systems not aligned with teaching
- Overcome academics “wariness” of new methods
• Academic contracts may impede innovation
• HE systems slow to change
- Senior staff may lack “change management skills”
eLearning Organisational Challenges
Technologies for Learning and
Teaching
eLearning Technologies
• Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs)
• Managed Learning Environments (MLEs)
• Computer Medicated Communication (CMC)
• Specific Teaching and Learning Tools
Learning Environments
• Learning Environments are developed to:
- address an identified learning need
- resolve a particular educational problem
• Learning Environments should be :
- linked to the solution of the problem
Learning Environments
• Learning Environments are essentially constructs that promote learning by supporting interactions between:- the tutor
- the learner and her/his peers
- the subject matter, and the
- learning materials
• These interactions may, or may not, be computer mediated
Virtual Learning Environments
VLEs should be conceived, designed and implemented using an appropriate Educational System Design (ESD) framework that ranges from curriculum design to course delivery
Considerations for Development of VLEs, MLEs, and e-Learning Tools
• In designing and developing these environments you need to consider: - Information, Communication Technology (ICT)
vs. Face-to-Face (F2F) components - Technical issues, e.g. security- Educational and subject matter specialisms- Staff and support issues, e.g. IP- Strategic needs of the Institution
Curriculum Development
Curriculum Development• A curriculum can be defined as a
“planned educational experience”• It is likely to involve:
- Academic Staff- Educational Specialists- Subject Matter Experts
• Designing a curriculum involves:- doing a needs analysis- deciding on initial team- analysing all stakeholders- deciding on learning objectives- allocating resources
• Designing an e-Learning curriculum involves:- doing a needs analysis- assessing suitability for eLearning- deciding on initial team- analysing all stakeholders- deciding on learning objectives- allocating resources
Curriculum Design Processes
Select a Suitable Pedagogical Model, e.g.
Nunes & McPherson
(2002)
Explicit Learning MaterialsCourse MaterialsCase-StudiesLinks to relevant Web Sites
Learning ActivitiesIndividual Learning ActivitiesGroup Learning ActivitiesAssessed Activities
The Learner
The Peers
The Tutor
Virtual Learning Environment
Peer
Support,
Socialisatio
n
Self ReflectionIndividual
Construction of Knowledge
Tutoring, Scaffolding and Pastoral Support
Social negotiation. Collaboration, Co-operation
eLearning Curriculum Development
Philosophy
Learning Models
Pedagogical Strategy
Pedagogical Tactics
TasksEnvironment for Course
Learning Activities
Learning Outcomes
McPherson & Nunes, 2004
Pedagogical Model
Curriculum Design
Educational Systems Design
Educational Systems Design
• ESD must focus on:
…… identifying and implementing a learning environment combining pedagogical, subject matter and tutoring issues
(Moore, 1991; Croft, 1993, Nunes, 1999)
Implementing ESD
• Recognize that complex e-learning environments means more than: - designing a few screens- specifying their sequence
• Key to development of successful e-learning environments is:- recognising both technical and pedagogical
components of educational design- integrating them in a coherent framework
Implications for ESD
• The process of design and development is: - one of co-construction and negotiation,
- rather than interpretation of student’s needs
• Rapid prototyping is thought to be an ideal approach, which: - facilitates the integration of different agents in
educational software development, i.e. subject matter experts, designers & students
Educational Systems Design
An An ESDESD Framework:Framework:
• Construction not Construction not InterpretationInterpretation
• Framework not a Framework not a MethodologyMethodology
• Based on a Rapid Based on a Rapid Prototyping ApproachPrototyping Approach
• Recursive Design and Recursive Design and DevelopmentDevelopment
• Required for Both Required for Both Individual Individual and Team-based Projectsand Team-based Projects
Curriculum Design
Development of different components
CM
C f
aci
litie
s
Re
fere
nce
ma
teria
ls
Oth
er
Co
mp
on
en
ts
Stu
den
t an
d T
uto
r Feed
back
Evaluation
Course Delivery
General ESD framework adapted from Croft (1993) and Nunes (1999)
Design and Specification of the Learning Environment
E
xplic
it W
eb
Ma
teria
ls
Delivery of eLearning
The eLearning Delivery Design• Must consider:
- target audience- student background- delivery mode
• Often needs a team approach:- Academic staff- Researchers- Tutors- Support staff
Delivering an eLearning Course
• Implementation model needs careful thought
Module One
Module Two
Module Five
Virtual Social Space Alumni Involvement
Tutor Delivery and Support
Online Tutor Training
Module One
Induction Module
Module Two
Module Five
Induction Module
eLearning Delivery Issues
• Particular consideration to be given to:
- Tutoring and counselling processes
- Prepared self-study learning materials
- Readily available learning resources
- Student group activities
Time for some interaction!
• This workshop forms part of on-going research at the University of Sheffield
• At this point, you are invited to join this co-operative inquiry and to carry out a eLearning Critical Success Factor (CSF) Analysis
Concluding Reflections
• ICT offers great potential for HE, however …challenges must be faced if eLearning implementation is to be effective:
- Policy-makers must decide and support strategy- Managers, technologists and educationalists
must work together- Academics need training to implement changes
to best advantage- Research to incorporate all stakeholder views
Educational Management Action Research
Evaluation
Tasks
Course Environme
nt
Learning Activities
Learning Outcomes
McPherson & Nunes, 2004
Philosophy
Learning Models
Pedagogical StrategyPedagogical Tactics
Closing Discussion
Any Comments or Questions?
Contact Details:Contact Details:““Maggie McPherson”Maggie McPherson” < <
Tel: +44 114 222 2696Tel: +44 114 222 2696
Option 1: Do nothing about it!
(courtesy of Dr Amer Al Rawas,Sultan Qaboos University, Oman)
Option 2: Rush to it !
(courtesy of Dr Amer Al Rawas,Sultan Qaboos University, Oman)
Option 3: Take it seriously!
(courtesy of Dr Amer Al Rawas,Sultan Qaboos University, Oman)
