Transcript Slide 1
Collaborative e-learning in Saudi Arabia: Making it happen
Colin Latchem Open learning consultant Australia National Centre for Distance and E-Learning Seminar Riyadh 4-5 December, 2007
CASE STUDY 1: Open Universities Australia (formerly Open Learning Australia)
A private company owned by a consortium of 7 leading public universities
Provides open entry to 700 online first-level units that allow students to gain credit towards the distance or on-campus degree programs of 15 of the country’s leading universities and colleges
Four study periods a year, allowing study to be according to the learners’ circumstances
Initially established in 1992-1993 to meet high unmet demand
Helped to persuade all universities to adopt open and e-learning
Surge in the number of postgraduate programs
CASE STUDY 2 : University of Melbourne Institute of Land and Food Resources online collaborative 205-505 Global Environment and Sustainability
Use of compressed video, web conferencing, videoconferencing, email, etc., plus classroom-based discussion and project work
Australian and overseas students involved in virtual seminars, collaborative examination of case studies, etc.
Group positions posted on the listserv
Students enabled to gain understandings of sustainability at the local, regional and global levels and how perspectives and solutions depend upon socio-cultural, political, technical, environmental and ethical / philosophical considerations at the local level
CASE STUDY 3: Anadolu University Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences + Empire State College of the State University of New York (SUNY) online dual diploma and MBA
Designed to help Turkish leaders and managers operate in the competitive global business environment
Based on existing programs and co-developed online in a few months
Co-delivered online, enabling US and Turkish students to interact and share in their learning
Comprises theoretical and practical work, seminars, case studies, brainstorming, etc.
Orientation days in Istanbul with lecturers from both universities present
CASE STUDY 4: Curtin University of Technology Commerce and Business Studies international videoconferencing
Videoconferencing enabling third-year Curtin students in Australia and Singapore Polytechnic to develop international business negotiation skills
The students negotiate the establishment of hypothetical joint ventures between Australian and Singaporean companies in the Peoples’ Republic of China
Exposes the students to differences in Australian, Singaporean and Chinese values and business practices
Develops cross-cultural understanding, communication skills and trust
Pre-requisites for collaboration
Agreement on: - who are we and what are we trying to achieve?
- what resources and means do we have at our disposal?
how shall we know when we’ve accomplished our aims?
- who is to be accountable for what?
Ability to accommodate different institutional cultures, assumptions and practices
Shared values, trust and institutional champions
Perceptions of mutual benefit
Agreement on accreditation / cross credit
Agreement on how the partnership is to be led, managed and marketed and the roles and status of the various members
Agreement on how costs, savings, profits and other benefits are to be shared
What do we mean by e-learning?:
The all-encompassing definition - television / radio, audio / video, computers, internet, cell phones / PDAs / mobile devices, etc?
The narrower definition - internet / web-based learning?
Synchronous ‘remote classroom’ teaching and learning for groups (videoconferencing, tele-lecturing, etc.)
Asynchronous distance education for individuals
Blended learning (combining face-to-face classroom and distance education methods and uses of technology)
E-learning systems can provide not only content but:
Student information / orientation
Course / assessment information
Online group conferencing
One-on-one tutoring / counseling / advisory services
Chat rooms / virtual coffee shops
Library and information / self-study resources
Hotline
Help desk
etc.
What is the vision?
To ensure that students unable to gain access to higher education can study through e-learning?
To improve on-campus courses by embedding e-learning in the curriculum and teaching and learning?
To build a work-based / lifelong learning system?
To create a new open university or achieve collaboration between the existing universities?
To enable culturally appropriate and world-standard educational resources to be shared between institutions within Saudi Arabia and across the region?
To collaborate across all sectors and move into the challenging but lucrative market of e-training?
To collaborate with overseas providers and / or head off international competition?
Saudi Arabia and ICT
Internet penetration rate of 10.6% (average worldwide = 27.4%)
User growth rate of 1,170% (average worldwide = 222.5%) (Internet World Stats data, © 2007 Miniwatts Marketing Group) E-readiness (the ability to promote and support ICT and the amenability of the market to internet-based opportunities)
46 th out of world’s largest economies in 2006 (48 th in 2004) with 4.67 points out of 10 (Economist Intelligence Unit E-Readiness Survey, 2006) E-learning readiness (appreciation of how ICT can contribute to the learning society / lifelong learning)
47 th out of 60 major nations with 4.50 points out of 10 ( Economic Intelligence Unit E-Learning Readiness Survey, 2003)
(Khafagi, 2004; 2005) suggests that:
The Arab world lags the West in e-learning: it lacks the organization, software, expertise and experience E-learning seems to have a stronger foothold in education than in industry Each country is going its own way Problems of internet and broadband supply, access and costs to private households, business and the public sector
The internet tends to be regarded as an information and entertainment source rather than a learning tool
Educational systems and pedagogies are based on the oral tradition of the Arab culture and thus require different learning patterns
There is a lack of large-scale provision and acceptance of distance education Accreditation and certification standards for e-learning are needed to raise the acceptance of technology-enhanced training in the public and academic sectors
The EIU’s ten tenets of e-learning 1.
Think big. Piecemeal approaches don’t work 2.
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Build infinite structure (broadband, wireless, satellite, cell telephony. etc.) Embrace the ‘e’ – e-learning is not simply posting lectures on the web Make credits transferable Mix it up – ‘blended learning’ is often the best solution 6.
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Support standards to ensure that users can share hardware and software Make it modular, capable of being re-used and updated 8.
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Pick a partner (across sectors, nations and regions) Go native – make courses culturally and linguistically appropriate Train the teacher
Roberto & Levesque (2005)
2/3 of all change initiatives fail
Readiness for change must be embedded in the system long before the change is launched by: - Chartering: defining the purpose and scope of the change and how people will collaborate in this - Learning: developing pilots and refining ideas before full-scale rollout - Mobilizing: engaging hearts and minds and building commitment - Realigning: changing organizational contexts, roles and relationships, and re-appraising accountability, recognition and reward systems
The teaching and learning, not the technology, determines the quality There is need for:
Access, equity, quality, accuracy, currency, educational effectiveness and ease of use
Cultural appropriateness
E-learning to be perceived, not as teaching and learning for the masses but teaching and learning for many individuals of different ages, abilities, etc.
E-learning (even when text-based) to provide: ‘cognitive presence’, enabling the learners to construct meaning through communication ‘teaching presence’, facilitating active learning ‘social presence’, achieving academic, social and institutional integration (Rourke et al., 2001)
There is need for:
Leadership
Professional development
Policies and procedures to assure quality
Ideas and practices informed by practitioner research
Meta-analysis
Robust and strategically significant findings to influence policy makers, funding agencies and other stakeholders
Systemic and system-wide professional development for all managers and staff
Must not simply be ICT skills training but deal with curriculum, pedagogy and change management
Induction and orientation
Basic and advanced knowledge and skills development
Involvement in change / innovation, action research and reflective practice to inform and improve performance
Future-orientation
Provide follow-up support, time release, recognition and reward
Use professional development through e-learning as well as face-to-face and hands-on and make maximum use of existing online resources (from Commonwealth of Learning, UNESCO, Athabasca University, etc.)
Research needs to examine:
Policy-making, planning, leadership, management and administration
The learners, their needs and circumstances
Cultural factors in learning
The quality of the courses, courseware, pedagogy, support, technology, infrastructure and logistics
Resource management and costing
Change management, staff development, evaluation and assessment, accreditation, copyright, intellectual property, etc.
Inter-institutional, inter-sector and international collaboration
Work-based and lifelong learning
The research cycle:
Research means ‘to search and search again’.
Circumstances are continually changing.
There are always new depths and complexities to inquire into.
New knowledge continually throws new light on our assumptions, convictions and actions.
So there is always need for further research to support, extend, challenge or disprove current ideas and practices.
Final observations:
There are signs of e-readiness and e-learning readiness in the Kingdom, there is strong government vision and commitment and this conference helps to advance thinking and planning
Saudi issues need to be addressed in Saudi ways, without over-reliance on western theory and practice
E-learning development should be based upon needs and informed and shaped by pilot studies, experimentation and research - and careful regard to the learners’ needs and circumstances
As much can be learned from failure as success: failure is a stepping stone, not a stumbling block
There is need for an agreed strategic plan and collaborative model
All managers and staff need training for their new roles
All institutions need to become ‘learning organizations’