CUC Conference, Cornwall

1. The impact of e-learning on organisations, individuals and the curriculum Professor Gráinne Conole The Open University [email_address] CUC conference, Falmouth 6 th April 2006

3. The demise of UKeU “ It is clear that virtual learning is an industry which is striding forward all around us” (Blunkett, 2000) Five years later, Sheerman suggested the investment had been “a disgraceful waste of public money” (Sheerman, 2005)

6. Impact of e-learning Organisational level Tutor skills & changing roles Virtual learning environments Interactive & engaging materials Unintended consequences

7. Growth of e-learning tools Communication tools Email, discussion boards, chat Assessment tools TOIA, QuestionMark Integrated learning environments Blackboard, WebCT Online information tools Gateways and portals

8. Increasing impact of ICT ICT as mission critical National initiatives ICT catalysts - VLEs Funding drivers Drivers Organisational structures Roles, skills and practice Teaching and learning Impact

9. Beyond the web… The Grid New methods of online data collection Adaptivity Virtual networks Intelligent tools International collaboration Information explosion

10. Learning by doing In the company of others Through experience Through dialogue Socially situated Through reflection Mercer Vygotsky Laurillard Papart Kolb Dewey Lave Jarvis Paiget Wenger Constructivism Communities of practice Social learning Cognition Theories of learning Key characteristics of learning

12. The holy grail of e-learning New forms of learning Pedagogical re-engineering A global connected society Learning anywhere anytime Rich multimedia representation Smart, adaptable, personalised To what extent is this true? What is the link between the pedagogy and the technology?

13. Negative aspects Patch use of communication tools Stilted collaborations VLEs for admin and as content repositories Information overload Not pedagogically informed -ve

14. Positive aspects Critical mass of mediating tools and resources Shift from individual to socially situated Learning in context or through problem solving New innovative uses of e-learning +ve

18. ICT affordances Access to wealth of resources Information overload , quality issues New forms of dialogue Literacy skills issues New forms of community Learner identity and confusion Speed of access, immediacy Lack of permanency, surface Virtual representations Lack of reality, real is fake Accessibility Speed of change Diversity Communication & collaboration Reflection Multimodality Risk Immediacy Monopolisation Surveillance Conole and Dyke, 2004

24. Mapping external factors to the local context Research Practice Strategy Funders Policy Widening participation L&T HR Catalysts

26. Organisational structures Collegial Bureaucratic Enterprise Corporate McNay 1995 Loose Tight Policy definition Loose Tight Control of implementation

27. Profiling an institution Widening Participation Audit and quality assurance Local and regional agendas Globalisation Partnerships Innovation Consultancy ICT Research Institution with a primary focus on teaching and learning

28. “ No one representation alone provided a complete description of the domain” Holyfield (2002) Machine Structural aspects Organism Living, ecoystem Brain Information processing system Culture Mini-society, different social realities Political Conflicts and power Morgan’s metaphors

33. The curriculum lifecycle 4 Design Assessment Resources Activities Approach Integration Evaluation Quality Assurance

38. Evaluation purposes 5 Selecting Validating Improving Researching Justifying Monitoring

40. Evaluation benefits Reflection and identifying areas for improvement Way of documenting and providing evidence Makes process explicit: part of quality assurance processes Understanding the teaching and learning process 5

41. Embedding Process for project to institutional embedding Integrate with institutional strategies and policy initiatives Pedagogical and organisational issues not just technical one Align e-learning with external funding 6

42. Future gazing…. New forms of media Increasingly mobile and ubiquitous More sophisticated tools and resources Increasingly global and interconnected

44. The impact of e-learning on organisations, individuals and the curriculum Professor Gráinne Conole The Open University [email_address] CUC conference, Falmouth 6 th April 2006