When preparing organisational changes i.e. the implementation of e-learning, most decisions are taken in the beginning of the process, at a stage where management and the organisation do not necessarily have the overview and knowledge to take the right decisions. Moreover, different teaching contexts, cultures and student groups need to be addressed specifically and with differentiated solutions. It is therefore recommended, to conduct e-learning pilot projects aiming at specific courses and groups of teachers to provide the implementing coalition insights in existing barriers and possibilities. Based on the experiences from the OER project, the next step for CHS-UG is to gain e-learning specific
experiences. The primary aim of conducting e-learning pilot courses is to build examples on high quality and sustainable models for e-learning at CHS-UG, which can define and conceptualise the future development of e-learning.
Success is a strong stimulus for motivation. The following criteria for the selection of the pilot courses will most likely increase the chances for success:
• Selecting teachers with a personal drive and own ideas as pioneers and the ones to develop the first pilot courses
• Focus on easy manageable courses with few students
• Focus on developing blended learning instead of fully online courses in order to create a smooth transition from face-to-face to online teaching.
• Focus on projects that have a positive return on investment. The decisions on which courses to redesign or develop should be based on a solid business case30. A business case should include a cost/benefit analysis, goals and strategy for the teaching approach, ideas for design, content, and method used at the courses, thoughts about choice of technology, and a plan for evaluation When the e-learning pilot courses have been selected it is considered valuable for CHS-UG to consider the following points in order to move its e-learning efforts forward:
• Encapsulate and communicate a clear goal for implementing e-learning
• Think pedagogy before technology
• Plan online learning activities that integrate with the face-to-face teaching
• Ensure the requirements related to ICT infrastructure and LMS The points are more comprehensively explained under the headings below:
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Encapsulate and communicate a clear goal for implementing e-learning
With respect to securing ownership of the e-learning intervention the team of teachers who develop a specific course should ideally define clear goals for implementing e-learning, also presented above (see table 4). With well-defined goals every member of the team knows where the process is heading and can clearly communicate the aim to students, management and colleagues.
Think pedagogy before technology
When implementing e-learning one easily gets distracted by the many possibilities that new technologies have to offer. An initial focus on what we actually want the student to learn can be very beneficial. The learning technologies that best match the learning objectives are subsequently determined. Constructive alignment31 is an approach for designing a course based on intended learning outcomes. With constructive alignment the teacher plans the course around relevant learning activities that aim at helping the student learn. The outset is the intended learning outcomes that then align with the teaching methods and the
assessment being used in the course. Through this model one tries to design the course as a coherent whole, a continuum, in which every part aligns and targets the construction of student learning. The process of developing an e-learning course with emphasis on intended learning outcomes can be visualised as in figure 6. Through this process the learning outcomes align with the learning activities and the final assessment with the use of technologies is a tool that supports the students’ learning.
31 Biggs, J., & Tang, C. (2011). Teaching for quality learning at university (Fourth edition.). Berkshire, UK: Open
University Press.
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Plan online learning activities that integrate with the face-to-face teaching
Often e-learning elements are thought of as an add-on to the face-to-face teaching that is not carefully integrated, requires extra time, is optional for students and is secondary to the face-to-face teaching activities. This was also to some extent how the OER currently are being used at CHS-UG. With the constructive alignment approach mentioned above one partly makes sure that the online learning activities are fully integrated components of the course. One way of further ensuring student
involvement is through mandatory participation in online learning activities. Here the activities part is very important. When designing online learning activities one central aspect is to look upon how you activate the students in actual learning activities. E-learning is not just about accessing files and videos online. If you want to harvest the full potential of e-learning, you need to take an integrated approach in which you engage your students in online learning activities. By doing this you can design a diverse array of activities around group work, problem based learning (projects, cases, etc.), self-tests, video lectures, assignments and discussions.
One way of designing online learning activities that has proved very successful, is in the form of e- tivities32. This framework describes how to provide very precise instructions focused on a specific task, which enables students to engage in academic discussion with each other and with the teacher in an asynchronous discussion forum online. In addition to the e-tivity framework a scaffolding model called “the five-stage model” 33 is recommendable. With “the five-stage model” the course is designed with emphasis on providing a learning scaffold, which enables students to build up knowledge about online learning while also progressing in the course curriculum.
One final recommendation with respect to the development of online learning activities and resources is the matter of cost and time effectiveness and quality. As the OER project shows, the production of one OER module can cost many man-hours. In order to more effectively produce interactive learning resources it is recommendable to look into some of the available e-learning production software available. One example is the Adobe Presenter tool, which easily allows the teacher to produce a narrated PowerPoint presentation with built-in, self-tests for the students. Applying a team based project management approach for course development (see the background chapter) is recommended, as this ensures quality and the cost of production. To ensure quality, to capture gained experiences, and to streamline the production it is recommended that the e-learning unit is part of the development team in all pilot courses. Students, a librarian and employees form the IT department are also
recommended to be part of the development work when feasible. By involving the e-learning unit in all development, it becomes a central knowledge hub, and it becomes easier for them to identify good practices across the college, and to gradually develop and adjust the guidelines for e-learning at CHS-UG.
32 Salmon, G. (2011). E-moderating - the key to teaching and learning online (3rd ed.). New York: Routledge. 33 Salmon, G. (2011). E-moderating - the key to teaching and learning online (3rd ed.). New York: Routledge.
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Ensure the requirements related to ICT infrastructure and LMS
Knowledge and the capacity of the ICT infrastructure and the features of the Moodle LMS are sufficient for initiating e-learning pilot courses. Nevertheless it is recommended that special attention is put at:
• Focus on one LMS: Sakai. The planned university-wide Sakai LMS is best in terms of features compared to ULTRA. A centrally supported and maintained LMS as Sakai is simply more sustainable for CHS-UG to count on, while Sakai is also backed up by a large consortium of universities. A need for a unified approach to e-learning initiatives across UG is recommended and the authors see no need for CHS to build and maintain its own ULTRA LMS.
• Stability of power. Stable 24 hours power to the server hosting the LMS is crucial. A budget for financing fuel to the backup generator might be necessary.
• Equip the e-learning teacher group with mobile broadband in order to provide an alternative internet connection when the speed at Korle Bu is low.
• E-learning material should be made downloadable and available for off-line viewing. If these four points on the more technical side of e-learning implementation are taken into consideration, CHS-UG is ready to take-off and continue its journey into the space of e-learning.
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