IntersTICES, a Swiss Virtual Campus support mandate to foster a richer eLearning pedagogy in higher

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IntersTICES, a Swiss Virtual Campus support
mandate to foster a richer eLearning pedagogy in
higher education and to set a general evaluation
framework assessing innovative pedagogy

• Jacques VIENS, Ph.D.
• Nathalie DESCHRYVER, assistante
• Daniel PERAYA, Ph.D.
• TECFA, Université de Genève

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PLAN

• Context

• Mandate (goals/tasks)

• Method

• Early results

• Questions

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CONTEXT

• Swiss Virtual Campus (SVC) a national response

- 50 eLearning projects (3 y., 3 uni., prof.) -
28 in 2000, 22 in 2001 - Matched funding, app. 1M
Euro - 4 mandates (2 ped, 1 inst., 1 tech.)
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CONTEXT

• Swiss Virtual Campus (SVC)...

- Consolidation phase 2003-2007
1. Maintenance of projects user community
support 2. 19 professional production teams 3. A
third call for projects (76 with less
) 4. Coordination, mandates and program
management
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CONTEXT

• Emergent information society

- eLearning is new - our culture of education is
old/traditional - eLearning a catalyst for a
renewed pedagogy - pedagogical innovation in 4
points
1. Learnersautonomy 2. Contextualised
activities (real world), projects
3. Collaboration, co-elaboration of
knowledge 4. Deep learning, high level cognitive
skills/activities
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MANDATE

• Goals/Tasks

• To provide pedagogical support to the projects
• To make an inventory of the projects pedagogical
  practices, mainly the exploitation of the
  innovative and interactive potential of ICT
• To set the bases of an evaluation framework
  assessing the innovative nature of eLearning
  pedagogy, in collaboration with the national
  and international community.

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METHOD

• Recherche-action-formation
• Participative and collaborative
• 5 initial steps

• First contact meeting with each projet
• Interview current situation, needs analysis
  and follow up planning
• Specific support to the projects
• Animation of a virtual community of practice
• Collective face to face activities

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METHOD

• Data collection

• Notes from meetings of step 1-3
• Transcription of interviews (step 2)
• Egroup activities and emails
• Literature review

• Data analyses

• Qualitative
• Cycles of readings, linking, sense making
• Validation by triangulation

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EARLY RESULTS

• Global observations

• Stepped in after launching
• Complex challenge 3 uni., 3 lang., 3 cult. of
  ed. (vision/rep., goals, abilities/exp.,
  practice)
• Systematic development (intuitive production)

Analysis Design Production Pilot/evaluation Revisi
on Implementation
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EARLY RESULTS

• Global observations

• Some projects are eager to integrate innovative
  pedagogies and learning strategies
• More deeply involved in IntersTICES activities
• Some wants to go their way

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EARLY RESULTS

• Technological aspects

• Platform or not platform (time/energy cons.)
• Members of teams are not all familiar with tech.
• Hire programming staff
• Links between technology and pedagogy

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EARLY RESULTS

• Pedagogical aspects

• Heterogeneity intra-inter projects
• Mostly mediated and individualized instruction
• Some efforts to integrate activities
  communicative/collaborative/knowledge
  construction
• Emergent stoppers are
• How to ? Big groups ? Novice learners ? How to
  convince partners ?
• Too much is done to change ! SVC wants
  individualized instruction

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EARLY RESULTS

• Institutional/management aspects

• Multiple partners/cultures/problems
• Those who have collaborated before SVCOK
• Some decided to cooperate not collaborate

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QUESTIONS

• What is an innovative pedagogy ? What is to
  change ?
• How can we support transition ?
• How to implement active pedagogy with big groups
  ?
• What for ? When ? How much ? Online vs
  face-to-face activities group vs individual
  activities
• Tutoring issues
• Evaluation issues
• Communicate desire/know how of innovative ped.

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Conclusion

• A high level and complex challenge
• A matter of culture transition ?
• Systemic approach with multiple perspectives
  Teachers, learners, institutional (society)
• Culture in terms of representations,
  attitudes, abilities and practice

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Factors in interrelation
Pedagogy/learning
Technology
Objects
Content Objectives Competencies
Knowledge Competencies
Processes
Products
Representations
Abilities Ressources
Practices
Institution
Attitudes
O-P-P
Learners
Teachers