E-learning in Malaysia's Higher Education

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e-Learning Issues in Malaysian Higher Education. Skudai: Penerbit Universiti TeknologiMalaysia.

ISBN: 978-983-52-0560-6

E-LEARNING IN EDUCATION IN MALAYSIA

Supyan Hussin1 & Mohd Fuad Mohd Salleh2

Emergence of E-Learning

E-LEARNING has been a catchy word to many educators and trainers

especially in the developing countries. To some people, e-learning is a magic

word that may give some positive meanings or great values to them and/or

the organization they work for. Yet, the definition and scope of e-learning is

relative. To some people, e-learning is nothing more than the use of electronic

devices for teaching and learning. Others look at e-learning as a new way

educating and training their staff, customers, which includes students and

trainees, using various electronic gadgets. Supyan (2008) offers an operational

definition and conceptual definition for e-learning. According to him,

conceptually, e-learning means a form of learning whereby learning process

takes place in an environment which employs electronic technology, in

network-based (local area network, LAN and wide area network, WAN) and

non-networked, i.e. independent of network such self-directed learning

materials in a form of CD, DVD, MP3/MP4 players. To reiterate the concept, the

e connotes a tool or an environment; it helps teachers to facilitate thelearning process. However, what more important in e-learning is the learning

itself, not the e that focuses on the technical aspects. In its operational

definition, e-learning simply means the use of various electronic items

including information technology and communication (ICT) in a class or a

training program. The use of such items is always associated with the

technical aspects of the technology. Therefore, most people would claim that

they are already e-learning practitioners since they use World Wide Web

(WWW), e-mail, chat, forum as well as DVD and webcam in their classes or

training programs.

What makes a difference between the two is that e-learning is not about

what people use in e-learning but how and why they use or adopt

certain technologies to meet their specific purposes in e-learning.

Understanding the difference between the two definitions and the scopes is

1 Associate Professor at UKM2 Associate Professor at Unisel

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very crucial because it determines how technology is used in specific contexts.

Thus, we may find some people would spell this magic word as e-Learning,

while others spell E-Learning or E-learning. The former is related to the

conceptual definition of e-learning; whereas the latter is related to the

operational definition. In education, the former definition implies the needs for

pedagogical applications in the use of e-learning. Educators should know how

to apply pedagogical principles appropriately in their teaching when they

employ any form of technology in e-learning.

Development Of E-Learning In Malaysian Education

For the purpose of the discussion in this paper, the terminology e-Learning

will be used. e-Learning in Malaysia is not new in Malaysia but the intensity of

its usage is not very remarkable. If we look at the development of technologyin education in Malaysia, we can divide the e-Learning into two phases

(Supyan, 2006). In phase 1, e-Learning focuses on any form of electronic

gadgets that are used as teaching aids to facilitate the teaching and learning

process. During this phase, the Internet is not part of the e-Learning. Teachers

used electronic items such OHP (overhead projector), direct projector, slide

projector, video, cassette player/recorder, radio and TV broadcasting,

electronic books, and CDROM. These technologies share one thing in common,

i.e., they are unidirectional in the sense the learning materials being projected

or displayed are not interactive. All these items are used to show illustrations,

explain the concepts being taught, to demonstrate certain processes, and to

ease comprehension among the learners. Telephone is also used in this phase

1 for tele-conferences that involve discussion between teachers and students

who gathered at several centers in the country. During this phase, USM

(Universiti Sains Malaysia), who pioneered the off-campus degree program or

also known as distance learning program, in Malaysia, used some of these

technologies in their teaching activities. Following USMs modus operandi,

UiTM (Universiti Teknology MARA, or formerly known as Institut Teknologi

MARA) started to offer off-campus program in all its 13 branch campuses in

the mid-70s.

Later, in the second phase of e-Learning in Malaysia, the Internet was

introduced in early 1990s, in networking forms (LAN, WAN) and now with

wireless connection. If the term e-learning in the phase 1 is associated with

electronic gadgets, e-learning in phase 2 is closely linked to the Internet. It

is during this second phase, the e-learning development in Malaysia education

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moves at a tremendous speed. UNITAR (Universiti Tun Abdul Razak) was set

up with hi-tech facilities to run courses online and to maximize the use of

modern technology in their teaching and learning activities. At MMU

(Multimedia University), courses are also offered online in addition to a very

minimal number of face-to-face meetings in the classrooms. The amount of

communication between educators and students, among students, and among

educators has been increasing exponentially through e-mail, chat, forum, and

now weblog. In early 2000, OUM (Open University Malaysia) was set up by a

consortium, consisting of representatives from seven public universities, to run

academic programs online by exploiting the potential of ICT facilities. These 3

universities are considered as the leading institutions in e-Learning in the

country, but OUM has the largest number of students who are required to

engage in e-learning environment frequently. Other universities in Malaysia,

at this point of time, have employed a mix of e-learning facilities in their

academic programs, and yet face-to-face class meeting is still dominant. Theintegration of e-Learning at these universities is not as rigorous as the one at

UNITAR, MMU and OUM. In particular, OUM has successfully run its academic

institution to cater for the largest working through its open and distant

learning program (ODL). OUM is now extending it ODL program to other

countries especially in the Middle Eastern countries.

This development is illustrated in Figure 1 which shows the parallel

development of technology in education and the development of e-Learning in

Malaysia. Figure 2 shows where does e-Learning in a larger context of

education. Evolutionary, e-Learning is a form of distant learning, which wasconducted using low-level technology (paper-based). Next, the off campus

program or distant learning program moves to electronic-based and digital-

based before it adopts network-based learning. Soon mobile learning will flood

the education setting.

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Figure 2: A continuum of technological integration in education in Malaysia

In spite of this great development of e-Learning, Marlia (2006) found that

there was no national policy of e-Learning in Malaysia that serves as a guide to

Malaysian universities to integrate e-learning into their academic programs. In

fact, local universities also did not have e-learning policy but only a master

plan for ICT. The adoption of e-learning has taken place earlier at Malaysian

universities before the policy on e-learning is drawn up. Universities in

Malaysia are free to move on at their pace with the integration of ICT,

including e-learning. UKM for example has just prepared its e-learning

documents in 2008, although UKM has been integrating ICT in education since

late 1980s. While other foreign universities in the USA, European counties,

Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Korea have started to conduct their e-

learning activities using podcasting, Wikipedia, YouTube, and Second Life

facilities in the Internet, Malaysian educators are still grappling to master e-

learning facilities in their teaching.

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Distance EducationDistance learning

CorrespondenceBased

(non-interactive)

Electronic based Both

Correspondence +Electronic-based

(ODL)

Non-Networked(E-learning)

Network-based(e-learning or

online)(interactive)

Inter, IntranetPackages online(bi-directional)

Isolated/Indep.Packages(Unidirectional)

Both

Printed materials

e-Learning


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Figure 2: The position of e-Learning in education

Generally, the use of computer mediated communication (CMC) such as

synchronous tools (chat, audio- and video-conferencing) and asynchronous

tools (e-mail, forum, weblog) is becoming common among Malaysian

educators. Still, online self-directed learning (SDL) materials, developed by

local university educators, are rarely available for students to learn on theirown (Supyan 2005). Unlike online class notes or class lectures, SDL materials

are structured and unstructured but bi-directional or interactive in nature; they

provide series of challenging materials that offer hints, feedbacks, and

achievement records for each student who uses the materials (Supyan, 2001).

SDL materials promote autonomous learning among students to master

specific concepts or ideas that are learned in the lecture.

Today, we hear about the fast coming of mobile learning that does

not rely on Internet connection. Learning is no bound by the four walls or the

lab or the computer connection. Students can access learning materials viamobile phones that are compatible with multimedia computer interface. Thus,

wherever they are, they can view lectures and class notes in multimedia

format using Podcasting or YouTube facilities; communicate via e-mail, SMS

(short message system) or MMS (multimedia message system) or messenger

(MSN, YM); access materials that are formatted for mobile learning from the

WWW; and exchange files. A logical but crucial question we should ask is Are

Malaysian educators ready for mobile learning?

The Need For Retraining Among Educators

Many present educators who graduated for more five years ago have been

exposed to technology in one way or another. Yet they have rarely been

exposed or introduced to the pedagogical aspects on how-why. Although

many know what technology can be used in their e-Learning program, most

are not equipped with knowledge and skill on how to use the technology

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appropriately and effectively in education and why they use such

technology. Therefore, as technology changes very fast and new technologies

are introduced every year, educators should undergo continuous training and

retraining if they were to use the technology effectively in their courses.

Does this mean that the need of training is technological driven? Yesand No. Since education is dynamic, not static, and new discoveries are

continuously accumulative, educators cannot afford not to acquire new

knowledge and skill in their teaching profession. They need keep up with most

recent developments in teaching and learning, and deliver their tasks in their

courses more effectively. In fact, the present and future generations are

surrounded by push-button technology (computer technology, mobile phone

technology, PDA, PS, MP4 and so forth), and are expecting the learning culture

in education will offer such technologies. Hence, it has become a demand on

educators to equip themselves with the most recent knowledge and skill on

how to use such technologies with appropriate pedagogy. In other words, the

demand from the learners becomes a need for the educators. At the same

time, educators should not use any technology for the sake of using the

technology. Educators should not jump into the bandwagon without knowing

how and why we use such technology. The rule of the thumb here is that

technology should be used in specific contexts, and be used appropriately. The

success of e-Learning in any institution does not only rely on good

infrastructure, good SDL materials, good computer literacy among students,

but also good computer literacy among educators. Since educators are agents

of change, they should show a good model of users. A common expressionthat says, yesterday technology may become obsolete the next day because

technology changes every day, and would the present educators become

obsolete the next if they fail to equip themselves with latest technological

knowledge and skills?

One of the areas that educators should be exposed to is the

instructional design in materials development. In e-Learning, educators need

to be aware of the instructional design principles and know how to apply the

principles in the design process of the learning materials. There are many

models in instructional design systems or models such ADDIE, ASSURE, Dickand Carreys model, Alessi and Trollips 8-steps model. However, all these

models share 4 processes in common, i.e., PDIEU: preparing, designing-

developing, evaluating, and upgrading. Table x shows the tasks that are to be

carried out in each process. However, the evaluation process is not summative

but formative as shown in Figure 2. Evaluation should take place at every

stage and in every process in the instructional design system. In each process,

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educators should always consider the potentials and limitations of the

technology that they want to use.

Table 1: Tasks in the design processes

Process TasksPreparation Analyze the needs (all stakeholders)

Analyze the target audience Collect and prepare the materials (texts,

graphics, animations, audio clips, video clips,photos) for the content

List the general goal of the learning materialsDesign-Develop

Outline learning objective

Indicate the kinds of learning activities

Design storyboard Transform the materials into the digital,

interactive forms

Ensure compatibility of the interfaceImplementing

Pilot the materials in different settings and withdifferent groups of the target groups

Conduct learning activities for different group ofstudents for a period of time

Evaluation Conduct formative and summative evaluation

Provide feedbacks to designer so that thematerials can be improvised and upgraded

Upgrading Revise and modify the content and the systemdesign

Upgrade the interface and design for presentneeds

Equally important, the methodology of delivery in e-Learning requires

educators to know what best practices in specific disciplines or fields. Again,knowing pedagogical principles will help educators to determine how and

why they should use certain techniques in their teaching. Some disciplines

require more visuals than texts such as science, technology, medicine,

engineering, while social sciences, although the best way to learn is when

multi-sensory channels can be provided in the learning process. At the

beginning stage of e-Learning in Malaysia, there have been many trials and

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errors among educators who have adopted a few technologies in their courses,

and these experiences have been reported at seminars-conferences and in

publications. Thus, educators could learn from one another on best practices

in e-Learning.

Figure 2: The 4-processes in Instructional Design System

The above discussion implies that teacher training program for pre-service

educators should ensure, at least, a specific course on ICT and/or e-Learning is

made compulsory one of the academic semesters. For those who are already

in service, attending this type of course should be a must for the next job

promotion at work place or for confirmation in service.

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E-learning in Malaysia's Higher Education