HE Elearning: Some issues

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HE Elearning Some issues

• John Slater
• UKeU

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Overview

• Background
• What is an E-university?
• What models are there?
• What partners have we chosen and why?
• Disaggregation
• Whereat are we
• The future

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Background

• Large market for eLearning at university
  level-speaking English (or thereabouts)
• UK losing overseas market share
• Home need for more eLearning delivery
• UK Government puts up 100M
• Private Public Partnership preferred
• Announced last millennium (just)

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What is an E-University

• A university
• Distance learning
• - But there are others that are DL e.g. UK OU
• Delivered mainly by electronic means
• - But there are others that deliver
  electronically
• With appropriate support for a plethora of
  learners
• - But there are others that do that
  e.g.universities

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Types of eLearning systems

• U nassessed addodds
• P age turning
• K eep records and assess for real
• C o-operative work system
• U pdate pedagogy
• F inally, completely integrated total system

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What models are there 1?

• Attached to a site/integrated
• - Courses and reputation come from adoption
• Brokers
• - courses come from elsewhere but are badged by
  eU in addition to existing badge
• Commissioners
• - courses are specified and developed or
  modified
• Developers
• - courses are acquired or licensed and modified

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What models are there 2?

• Type of IT support
• - Specialized MLE integrated
• - Left to partners with summary data
• - MIS at eU, Learning support at partner
• - Hybrid some partners have own system, others
  use centralized
• Public vs Private
• - Napsterisation of eLearning (MIT et al)

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Five Value points

• A cceptance by HEI
• D o groupwork with others accepted
• A ward or degree
• P robably taught by HEI?
• T ickets professional or otherwise

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What models are there 3?

• Disaggregation by function e.g.
• - Assessment/Accrediting bodies
• - Tutorial support/culture/access/disability
• - IT/Technical support
• - Library/Admin
• Disaggregation by granularity
• - Award
• - Programme
• - Credit bearing chunk

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Potential Partners Public Sector

• G overnment (UK)
• O ther agencies (Funding Councils etc)
• O verseas Government
• D evolved/Regional bodies e.g Scotland
• G lobal broadcasters e.g BBC
• U niversities
• Y our friendly organisations giving access to
  information and markets e.g British Council
• S upporting Resources e.g British Library

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Universities

• A ccreditors/Branders/QAers
• D evelopers/Deliverers of Learning
• O rganisers/Providers of tutorial support etc
• P roviders of services to eU
• - Admin
• - Rights clearance
• - Partners provision overseas
• - Assessment related services
• T raining/Value added services

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Potential Pardners Private Sector

• V enture capitalists money
• A ccess to financial placements
• M arketing partners
• P ublishers/content providers
• I T partners various
• R egional partners overseas
• E xperts at networking outreach
• S upliers of training systems

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What have we chosen ?

• C ash from Government cash
• H ybrid IT etc, licenses but vary with amount of
  development cash given to university
• A few partners from IT/content provision
• M arketing partner/overseas partners
• P ostgraduate/CPD first then Undergraduate
• S elected disaggregation

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Why ?

• Need to get customer contacts and cash through
  government
• Need brand from high brand universities
• Need to take partners along
• Need to get going but work towards something more
  sensible
• Need to get the student admin data done properly
  and alumnae/i etc as resource

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Disaggregation

• C losely allied accreditor
• L earning content licenses etc reuse clause
• A ssessment organisation
• M aterial QA framework through normal
  mechanisms plus own committee emphasis on
  disability and access
• P eople to support navigation
• S upport 724, help desk,call centre, SLAs

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Next Steps

• Finalise partners nearly there 3 weeks?
• Get courses
• Get learners
• - Corporates/government/individuals
• Get going
• - legal and corporate
• - IT systems own/bought in
• Platform Development group eU SUN

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Standards conformance/product choice

• E fficiency and scalability will matter
• S corm/IMS (Some OK others dodgy)
• C rowded market cave Gates
• A ccess /disability/minorities
• P ublic good funds
• E merging products

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Will it be a killer app ? Pro

• A nytime, anywhere, any format etc
• D ecent bandwidth cheaper
• O verseas infrastructure improving
• P edagogy is getting more atuned
• T echnology is beginning to be owned

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Will it be a Killer App? Con

• A cceptance of awards
• G ood resources not all available
• A ssessment cheating etc
• I nsufficient pedagogic understanding
• N ot invented here sharing hard
• S upport needs to be better than HE norm
• T rainee Adult stuff hard to do electronic

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The future

• S elected customers
• U ndergraduate offerings
• - Strongly standards conformant at end of first
  year for dgrees partially in the UK only
• - Fine granularity and used to lower costs
• R egenerate UK Market share
• V aried corporates
• I nternational mainly targeted countries
• V arious university relations?
• E xpect a bumpy ride