The NetCampus project aimed at identifying a comprehensive list of all critical factors – positive as well as negative - of networked e- learning. The purpose was to survey the most relevant networks and to determine the key factors that allow them to provide benefits and to solve problems of networked e- learning. First the characterisation scheme was developed and then applied to several e- learning networks.
In addition to identifying critical issues in international networked e-learning, and more importantly, scenarios were developed for enforcing benefits and solving potential problems. Therefore, one research topic in the project deals with characterising existing networks of higher education institutes together with other potential partners, and identifying how and why they are more or less successful with their networked e- learning activities.
The project will result in a better understanding of inter-institutional networking through ODL: its potential for learning and teaching, the critical success factors, the main processes involved. It will provide demonstrations of successful scenarios as well as solutions for a number of well-defined concrete problems.
This project outcome will be used as a direct input to the development of the strategic alliance EUNITE. EUNITE (European University Network for IT in Education) is a consortium of eight universities (KU Leuven, U Twente, HUT, Bologna, Aalborg, Lund, Granada and Fernuniversität Hagen) that have committed themselves to strategic collaboration in the following areas:
- The implementation of ICT in their own regular education
- New ways for open and distance learning
- The use of ICT and ODL for the internationalisation of learning programmes
- Inter-university networking in the production of learning materials as well as in the provision of courses and curricula.
- One of the major objectives of the alliance is the creation of a common European Virtual Campus.
It is important to note that this firm long-term commitment on a policy level is a very strong basis for a sustainable implementation of the project outcome in mainstream university education.
Whereas EUNITE in itself is an institutional network, it will stimulate the development of discipline networks and faculty networks involving partners inside as well as outside the EUNITE membership, and will seek effective cooperation with service networks and other institutional networks. Thus EUNITE will act as an active core for the development of ICT-based networking in Europe.
EuroPACE 2000, a network of more than fifty universities, organisations and companies throughout Europe (with a strong participation of Central and Eastern Europe), will use the project outcome to stimulate and assist its member organisations in setting up amongst them ICT networking initiatives in education and training. Moreover, EuroPACE 2000 will use the project outcome as an input to the range of services it offers its members and external partners.
Via the European Liaison Committee for ODL and other bodies and joint activities, the project partners have excellent contacts with the CRE (the association of European universities), the COIMBRA-group, EADTU, ICDE and EDEN. All these links will be operationalized to disseminate the project outcome on a wider scale.
Last, but not least, all the partner universities are represented in the project by departments and people who have a strong influence upon the education innovation policy in their institutions. This is the best guarantee for a sustainable application of the project outcome within their own universities.
The general goal of this project is to improve the awareness of the potential benefits of networking between universities.
- Obvious audiences to target are the relevant actors at the different levels within the universities. They are finally the ones who have to turn potential into reality. Therefore, the project aims at targeting faculty staff as well as policy makers on the faculty (discipline) level and the institutional level.
- The dissemination action will target existing networks as well, since the project is of immediate relevance to them. Targeting the networks will open simultaneously a second way of reaching our audience of faculty staff and decision makers: the networks will be encouraged to disseminate the information to their member organisations.
- Also decision makers in education at the national and, in particular, the international level (European Commission) are targeted. Convincing them of the potential of networking through ICT as a model for higher education will lead to support measures and incentives facilitating further implementation of that model in the field.
The core problem of NetCampus is the study of the issues involved in implementing networked learning, both attitudinal and practical.
The project starts from the observation that education and learning in the context of a network of universities can offer significant added value to the currently existing courses, but that, nevertheless, there are many obstructions that prevent the successful and large-scale implementation of this type of education. Some of the problem areas are very well defined and related to issues such as copyrights, quality control, credit transfer, etc. (the practical obstacles). But these are often used as excuses to hide other obstacles, such as ignorance of the potential of new ICT-based methods, prejudices against ODL as an alternative to face-to-face education, resistance to the changing role of teachers in the educational process, etc. These other obstacles, which are less tangible, can be called attitudinal obstacles. This project wants to develop solutions for both practical and attitudinal obstacles that are specific for education in a network environment.
The goal of the project is to improve understanding of the potential benefits of networking between universities through ICT and the critical factors for successful implementation. Solutions for the obstructions and obstacles identified will be developed and validated and demonstrated through pilot actions.
The general objectives of the NetCampus project are:
- to promote the understanding of the qualities and characteristics of ODL developed in a network of universities (“networked learning”)
- to clearly demonstrate the potential of networked learning, and
- to remove the barriers that obstruct a successful implementation of this kind of learning in mainstream education.
Research questions posed
- Common interests: what is the reason a network exists?
- Partners: who is involved in the network?
- Organisation models: how is the network set up and what types of links are there between the partners in the network?
- Responsibilties: who is taking up certain responsibilities in the network?
- Activities: what types of networked e-learning activities are going on in the network?
- Boundary conditions: what boundary conditions are to be fulfilled for an optimal functioning of the network?
The review study is conducted as desktop research, in which relevant review articles are collected through a literature search of ERIC database, Psychlit database and additional websearches. Projects are screened starting with the outcomes of the SUSTAIN project and the ISOC database. These outcomes will be confronted with the results of a survey of the EuroPACE members on their expertise and experience with networked learning and the needs they have in this respect. A critical analysis should provide an inventory of obstacles, prejudices and practical problems that obstruct implementation of ICT-based ODL in a networked environment of universities, as well as problem solving strategies, working solutions and good practices in the field.
The design and development of models is based on instructional design theories and methodologies with a constructivist approach (e.g. Merrill, Jonassen), taking into account the matrix of types of learning/teaching activity (subject-domain, level of provided education), type of technology use, and expected problems at both the practical level and the level of user acceptance. The effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed models are evaluated in pilots. The choice of pilot activities is made in such a way that the full model-matrix can be evaluated, both with a quantitative and – most essential – a qualitative descriptive approach. The outcomes should validate or falsify the hypotheses that underlay the models and provide conclusions for successful implementation of a European Virtual Campus and its distributed network of universities.
Dissemination uses a layered approach, involving first the partners within the network (especially the two partners that are networks in themselves), then the institutions and organisations with which the partners have direct links, and finally, through publications, presentations, discussion forums on the Web and participation to EC initiated activities, the broader university and educational world inside and outside Europe.
The project's learning environment is that of ICT supported autonomous learning on campus (through the use of multimedia, electronic communication, CSCW environments, and web-based learning), in a mixed environment of "distance" learning and face-to-face education.
E-learning is not restricted, in this project, to using the Internet for didactical purposes in higher education; more traditional media, such as video, audiocassettes, television, radio, telephone, CD-ROM, and even satellite communication, are envisaged as well.
Learning scenario
The NetCampus project aims at identifying critical issues in international networked e-learning, and more importantly, at elaborating scenarios to enforce its benefits and to solve potential problems.
When different universities work together in a collaborative network, there are at least three general patterns that may occur as they pilot different sorts of strategies for working
together on instructional delivery. These can be described as follows:
Scenario 1: Within an existing course, on-line interaction with learners or resources in a partner institution
Scenario 2: Offering a course via technology, distance participation
Scenario 3: Supporting physical mobility
Main learning issues intended to study
All the issues related to the network learning are identified in a chart where they are organized under the following categories:
- Pedagogical issues
- Technological issues
- Organisational issues
All these issues are bi-dimensional, differentiating between attitudinal and practical issues:
Cultural issues
On the pedagogical/attitudinal level, problems come from the different learning styles among the groups collaborating and from the different teaching styles of instructors working together in one course. Feedback may not be interpreted correctly by students because of differing backgrounds. On the pedagogical/practical level, one should be aware of cultural, social, and/or political differences among a group of learners, educators and trainers, when making a distance-learning course for an international audience. The types of distance learning available, the technologies required of students and educators/trainers, and the way course content is structured and presented all need to be planned with a multicultural, multinational audience in mind.
Language issues
Attitudinal problems that arise on the issue of language involve, on the one hand, the instructors who are not always willing or able to teach in a language different from their own, and, on the other hand, the students, who are not always willing or able to attend courses given in a language other than their own.
Quality issues
Concern over a loss of quality of education through the use of virtual models is a main issue. Can web-based teaching be effective and provide students with the same (or perhaps even better) quality of learning as the traditional face-to-face environment?
Support/reward issues
Support for the teachers, as well as the technical staff and the students, is a very important issue. Lack of support for teachers on a pedagogical level remains an obstacle. Designing and developing a course to be effectively delivered at a distance requires the use of an instructional designer or another professional who understands the medium of delivery as well as adult learning theory and learning styles. Not only pedagogical support is necessary, but faculty who make an effort to engage in technology-based education should get a fair reward for it (monetary support, professional prestige, etc.). On the matter of lack of support for learners, there is also much to be solved.
Pedagogical models issues
Instructors often have negative perceptions of technology-supported learning and open and distance learning. They prefer a face-to-face learning environment and can’t see the educational benefits or the potential of new ICT-based methods. They question whether the Internet can actually be used effectively for educational purposes and resist this new mode of instruction.
Individualisation/tutoring issues
Teaching and learning in a network of universities means that people involved are located at different places accessing the network from behind their computer screen. It is often feared that interpersonal contact and attention is lacking; being in different locations limits community building, individualisation is lost, and instructors have to teach and grade students they don’t personally know.
Loss of control/autonomy issues
Faculty often have fear towards asynchronous learning networks that shift a considerable amount of power, authority, and control from the faculty to the students and other people. More and more courses will be developed jointly and academic staff will increasingly have to work with instructional designers and technical staff, not only from their own institution but also from the partners in the network.
Changing roles issues
Teachers need to adapt their perception of what it means to be a teacher. Faculty who engage in the development and delivery of courses at a distance may find that the roles to which they have become accustomed in a traditional university environment have changed in the online environment. They may find a fundamental shift from a teacher-centred environment in the classroom to a more learner-centred environment online: the role of the teachers changes from one of transmitting knowledge to one of mediating learning, from the role of instructor to the role of mentor and guide.
Pedagogical/teaching skills issues
Teachers and faculty often are reticent to embrace the use of ICT caused by a lack of skills for successful teaching at a distance.
Practical organisational issues
Access to local facilities: In a distributed environment it is a challenge for the university to provide textbooks and materials (especially non-electronic learning materials), but also T-shirts, university trinkets, software and supplies to the student population. In particular, making library resources available for distant learners and giving access to e-libraries is an important issue.
Timing: Co-ordination and planning problems may emerge because of learners and teachers working in different time zones. Finding an appropriate time for teaching is difficult and students/teachers can have problems combining networked learning with their other commitments. This concern can even determine the type of distance learning technology the university chooses to use (e.g. only technologies that can be accessed any time).
Registration: Institutions offering programmes across countries should take care of some administrative problems. Traditional enrolment may be inappropriate for distance learners. Universities may want and need to re-think enrolment periods and investigate how their internal systems can support enrolments or registrations via telephone, voice- mail, fax, the Internet and how to obtain “real” signatures from students.
Payment: Registering for a course usually implies payment. Practicalities of receiving payment in an acceptable form (via credit card, bank note, check, or cash) should therefore be carefully looked at. And what about conversion of currency, exchange rates, and figuring out any additional out-of country or overseas charges for processing or handling materials?
Workload: Concern about the workload of using ICT in education seems to be a main obstacle on all levels (pedagogical, technological and organisational).
Motivation: Motivation is important on both a pedagogical, technological and organisational level. Introduction of information and communication technologies in education requires that students, as well as instructors, be interested and motivated to learn how to work with computers and to learn how technology can be used efficiently in education. Also the institution itself should be motivated: often a clear vision is lacking and is not seen as important. Activities remain ad hoc and limited to the special project.
Common platforms/standards: Instructors and students often do not like to learn how to use a new electronic learning environment.
Security: When all contact and communication between universities, teachers, and students is happening through the web, security becomes an important issue. There have to be rules governing access to information that is available through the web. Security deficiencies have to be solved and the network should be protected against viruses, hackers, etc. Universities should know who is participating to the course and should thereby protect themselves against people who are not registered or do not have the authorization to access and use the available information. Online authentication of users is an important issue.
Infrastructure/access:
On the attitudinal level students can be frustrated by the computer and network facilities
available to them or by features in the electronic tools they are being asked to use.
Technical skills: Lack of technical background, lack of basic computer literacy of the students as well as of the instructors, and lack of technical support are obstacles to introducing ICT in education. Because of this lack of technical skills, ICT is used at a level below potential (e.g. websites that are merely textbooks-on-screen).
Financial aspects: Networked and computer-based learning cause an increase in costs for the organisation--costs to develop and deliver online courses, and the cost for the technical infrastructure (e.g.connectivity, network access, etc).
Accreditation/credit transfer: A first aspect of the accreditation and credit transfer problem is that courses attended at another university or offered by a consortium on line may not be accredited in the student's home university. Courses may not be integrated into the local curriculum and consequently remain simply “experiments” and optional for all involved.
Copyright – intellectual property: When courses are developed jointly in a network of universities and materials are made available electronically or on- line, copyrights and intellectual property rights become a very important issue. The creative effort of the academic staff should be protected from copying, use and sale elsewhere, keeping the different national legislations in mind.
Competition: Universities face a significant and growing competition from other and new types of e-learning providers. In the higher education market, traditional universities not only have to compete more and more with other universities, but also with virtual and commercial organisations and companies, all offering the same types of courses. A possible decrease of institutional or “brand” loyalty must be considered and may redefine the relationship between a campus and its students.
If market conditions are setting the main parameters for educational offerings, education may turn into a commodity that is bought and sold instead of a public good offered for the benefit of society. One model to look at is the virtual university initiative of the Finnish government information society strategy. It is network based and managed and all the Finnish universities are stakeholders. The activities and services are defined, designed and will be run by academic networks assisted by the ministry owned company, CSC, which is responsible for the Finnish university network and scientific computing.
Institution-based networks refer to networking at the level of university management. The aim of these networks is strategic cooperation based on the potential of synergy for policy development (e.g., on the introduction of ICT in education) and the possibility of economic benefits (economies of scale). . A variety of dissemination activities within and outside the consortium of partners in the project are used to achieve a primary objective: spreading and promoting the understanding of the potential benefits of networking between universities through ICT and the critical factors for a successful implementation.
Financial aspects
Implementing networked and computer-based learning causes an increase in costs for the organisation, especially the front-end costs associated with the development of ICT infrastructure and ICTbased instructional materials. It can be difficult for organisations to finance these projects without a substantial reallocation of current resources. It must be taken into account that cross-subsidisation of programmes might become more difficult because economically successful courses are no longer taken when low-cost alternatives exist on the net. The distance education student often buys the cheapest educational product instead of the best product. There is thus a need for substantial start-up funds to cover for the (increased) costs.
Distance and online courses must be priced at a sensible level. Agreements have to be made about the distribution of course fees and how to allocate any profits. Neither course fees nor the cost for accessing the network should be a limiting factor for interested students. There are also concerns regarding financial aid and loans for distance learning students. Research much be done and policy changes made so that students are not caught in a financial bind.
The implementation of ODL in these networked environments offers a great potential. But, in spite of the various efforts that have been invested in these different networks, there is still a great reluctance to embark on large scale activities that are permanently embedded in mainstream education and/or self-sustainable.
The project deals with two aspects of contemporary higher education: the growing importance within regular universities of autonomous learning (often in a format of tutored self-instruction) and the extension of the student group to the mature student in the framework of open learning, continuing education and/or lifelong learning.
International networking can provide a European dimension, sharing international learning experience in education and training by cross-border delivery of courses. A sense of community for the students from different countries working together on an ODL project is emerging. Students come in contact and can work collaboratively with students from other countries and cultures (“virtual Erasmus”). It gives educators, trainers and learners with different worldviews the opportunity to exchange ideas and information and learn from each other, thus expanding each participant’s global view and gaining a broader perspective on a specific subject as well as on the world in general. It helps to develop the habit of intercultural communication for learning and non-learning purposes, so raising tolerance for difference and inter-cultural awareness and broadening or breaching cultural, social, and political boundaries.
Instructors often have negative perceptions of technology-supported learning and open and distance learning. They prefer a face-to- face learning environment and can’t see the educational benefits or the potential of new ICT-based methods. They question whether the Internet can actually be used effectively for educational purposes and resist this new mode of instruction.
The web and the internet are indeed technologies that require a fundamental rethinking of teaching practice. There is certainly a need for new pedagogical models and the optimisation of existing ones. The use of classic didactical models in the new environment is not advisable. Also methods of evaluating and verifying learners’ participation have to be reconsidered.
Teaching techniques, methods, and devices
In designing and/or selecting these models, principles of instructional design theories for ICT based education using constructivist approaches (e.g. Merrill, Jonassen) will be used where relevant. It is our objective to have at least one solution for every problem.
To deal with the attitudinal obstacles (such as ignorance of the potential of new ICT-based methods, prejudices against ODL as an alternative to face-to-face education, resistance to the changing role of teachers in the educational process, etc.), we rely in particular on methods advanced in the literature and previous research to sensitize, motivate, reduce resistance, and overcome prejudices with the general objective of evoking an attitude and mentality change. Clearly, these are models that have to be actually implemented to achieve the desired results.
The practical obstacles considered include the need for new pedagogical models and the optimization of existing ones, the (non)availability of and/or lack of compatibility between technical infrastructure, copyright issues, language problems, quality control and credit transfer. The models on these practical obstacles will consist of, amongst others, concrete sets of rules, guidelines, common standards, bilateral agreements, etc. It is our belief that in case of a positive attitude towards ODL and ICT, these models may be accepted without a demonstration of their suitability.
Quality assurance systems should be put in place to ensure quality of curriculum, environment, teaching and learning, assessment and student support. Traditional methods for assessment of distance students may have to be pursued. Testing/evaluating remote students: constructing a rigorous, fair and comprehensive exam is not an easy process, and standard exams cannot be given to a remote audience unless proctoring is arranged.
The ‘Groupware’ course is based on 6 meetings that were held on-campus in Twenty, a reader, 3 (small) formative assignments, a final project and a course website. As most students attend the course online, at a distance, communication via the website plays an important role. Also assignments are submitted via the website. Four of the six meetings are centered around topics such as design, provision of credits, and whether certifications should meet international standards.
In the framework of the NetCampus project, EuroPACE organised a pilot training module on networked e- learning. The course ran from the 6th of November till the 4th of December 2002.
In the training module, participants were offered the choice between five cases, each
representing a different format of networked learning and/or teaching. The cases were used as a starting point for further discussion (reflection on questions about similarities with own experiences, recognition of potential and obstacles as a consequence of networking, identification of solutions to overcome the obstacles).
Instructional design
Case-based: A case is used to present open-ended networking problems (design, analysis, selection,planning). Teams of students must analyze the problem presented by the case and develop a solution. They present their results to the class, and must be prepared to defend their analysis. A more concrete case is a narrative account of a situation, problem or decision. Cases provide an account of a problem, technical issue or design challenge. Cases present problems to be solved or decisions to be made; they are open-ended with no clear-cut solution. Our goal is to bring the experiences of ‘networked’ teachers to our students in the form of cases, which take advantage of modern networking capabilities and interactive technologies. Cases promote active learning, team-based activities, and the ability to deal with open-ended problems. Thus, cases are a natural way to introduce ‘networked’ learning and teaching.
In this project report we consider e- learning as learning supported with the aid of all
kinds of information and communication technology (ICT). We do not restrict e-learning to only using the Internet for didactical purposes in higher education, as is often the case. Also more traditional media as video, audiocassettes, television, radio, telephone, CD-ROM, or even satellite communication are envisaged as well.
Networked e- learning goes one step further. It assumes that more than the two direct partners (teachers and students) are involved. Different possibilities may arise. It could be that students at different universities in different countries establish a learning community and take the same courses, collaborate on the same projects and communicate in a sophisticated virtual way. It could also mean that teachers across institutional or national borders find each other and jointly develop courses, share learning material and divide the tutoring activities. It could include far-reaching collaboration and policy making amongst institutes of higher education on the educational use of ICT at the highest strategic level. It could be of interest to other parties as well, such as financial institutions, local municipalities, NGO’s, etc., enriching the network partnership by adding different competencies and possibilities.
As a summary: networked e-learning should not only be defined as learning through the Internet, although it is certainly of utmost importance and probably the most obvious and most visible format. In this sense we subscribe to the definition of the European Commission: “The use of new multimedia technologies and the Internet to improve the quality of learning by facilitating access to resources and services as well as remote exchanges and collaboration.”
Bandwidth and rich media
There is a lack of capacity for network access and capacity. There is a lack of technical capacity for logging student results, portfolio, and administration. The amount of bandwidth that can be accessed determines the possible ICT applications.
To launch e-learning with Claroline, an organisation needs to spend money only on hardware and bandwidth. All software required can be downloaded free of charge, both server side--Linux, Apache, PHP, MySQL, Postfix, Claroline--and client side--mainly a browser.
Large scale operations
Networked and computer-based learning cause an increase in costs for the organisation: costs to develop and deliver online courses, the cost for the technical infrastructure (e.g.
connectivity, network access, etc.).
A first aspect of the accreditation and credit transfer problem is that courses attended at
another university or offered by a consortium on line may not be accredited in the student's home university. Courses may not be integrated into the local curriculum and consequently remain simply “experiments” and optional for all involved.
Working together can generate economies of scale, e.g. joint research and development (and even investments) in technology and infrastructure, joint marketing of courses. Where pedagogy of ICT based education and training is still largely missing, well-balanced joint research can lead to faster and better results. Networking can help the ODL institutions in overcoming the problem of professional marketing and sales of their educational and training services, which is precondition of reaching the “critical number” of learners, sufficient to cover the cost of development and delivery of quality courses. It may enlarge the ‘customer base’ of a university and facilitate international promotion as well as acquisition of relevant competencies and know-how from partner universities. Functions such as the development and distribution of learning materials, tuition, assessment, online registration and record-keeping, award-granting, learner support, and general administration can now be shared through a wide variety of organisational arrangements marked by specialisation and “added-value” partnerships involving both the public and private sectors.
Funding can be attracted more easily where several universities come together and pool resources for maximum impact. Distance education programmes can also be not only self-supporting but can generate additional funds to support other departments at a traditional institution.
Working together can generate economies of scale, e.g. joint research and development (and even investments) in technology and infrastructure and joint marketing of courses. Where pedagogy of ICT based education and training is still largely missing, well-balanced joint research can lead to faster and better results. Networking can help the ODL institutions in overcoming the problem of professional marketing and sales of their educational and training services, which is precondition of reaching the “critical number” of learners, sufficient to cover the cost of development and delivery of quality courses. It may enlarge the ‘customer base’ of a university and facilitate international promotion as well as acquisition of relevant competencies and know-how from partner universities. Functions such as the development and distribution of learning materials, tuition, assessment, online registration and record-keeping, award-granting, learner support, and general administration can now be shared through a wide variety of organizational arrangements marked by specialization and “added-value” partnerships involving both the public and private sectors.
Universities and teachers can only create the necessary high quality learning materials and services by joining their efforts and resources. From an institutions and teachers point of view, the use and sharing of international resources is a considerable advantage and result in economies of scale. (e.g. exchange, sharing of learning material and courses, seminars, access to the equipment, laboratories of other institutions,etc.). The creation of a database for reusable learning and teaching materials will get a far greater number of entries, and its maintenance may become more cost-effective by sharing costs and income. It helps capitalization of ‘teaching acts’ as reusable learning resources. A university network should also certify-accredit each other’s websites and collaborate in the development of a directory of reliable learning websites.
Networking gives opportunities to universities to collaborate not only on the design and development of courses but also on the delivery of courses, and on Internet or web based education materials and curricula. New degrees of collaborative work between geographically disparate teams are possible. Staff has the opportunity to work collaboratively and closely with colleagues. The development of joint courses provides an international dimension and richness that supports the globalization of education and life.
Online learning can be at least as cost-effective as face-to-face teaching. Moreover, the development of virtual delivery models will most likely result in a higher degree of cost-effectiveness and a cost reduction. Costs can be reduced through standardization, resource sharing, economies of scale, increased productivity, and by purchasing hardware and software jointly. Additionally, travel costs can be lowered.
Special incentives and guidance for any instructors involved can be provided, (again, this guidance can be partly handled at the network level); for example, incentives for faculty members to spend extra time and energy in developing material, etc. and incentives and support for engaging in technology-mediated learning and developing tools and course materials for the distributed learning environment.
The implementation of Open and Distance Learning (ODL) in a networked environment offers a great potential, such as flexibility, course development, or cost sharing. But, in spite of the various efforts that have been invested in the different e- learning networks, there is still a great reluctance to embark on large-scale activities that are self- sustainable and permanently embedded in mainstream education.
The potential and advantages of e-learning in a network of universities seem quite obvious:
An on-line setting provides a level of flexibility and convenience not provided by traditional classroom courses. Learning via the web means flexibility in the delivery of learning content and courses, and also a quick and easy updating of the content. Learning opportunities are provided in a more flexible and customer-aware manner: choices and options concerning content and learning mode become wider and more easily tailored to
suit individual learning styles and circumstances. Learners obtain flexibility in the learning process not previously known to them; they get access to courses and resources not before within their reach, and they are presented with cross-cultural viewpoints and given possibilities to discuss these viewpoints with fellow learners and tutors from other countries. On the side of the university, technological deployment may contribute to its positioning in the marketplace, e.g. greater flexibility of access for diverse student population.
In a distributed environment it is a challenge for the university to provide textbooks and materials (especially non-electronic learning materials), but also things such as T-shirts, university trinkets, software and supplies to the student population. In particular, it is important to make library resources available for distant learners and give them access to e-libraries. On the attitudinal level, students can be frustrated by the computer and network facilities available to them or by features in the electronic tools they are being asked to use.
Many instructors and students do not like to learn how to use a new electronic learning environment. Lack of technical background, lack of basic computer literacy of the students as well as of the instructors, and lack of technical support are an obstacle in introducing ICT in education. Because of this lack of technical skills, ICT is used at a level below potential (e.g. websites that are merely textbooks-on-screen).
International networking can provide a European dimension, sharing international learning experience in education and training by cross-border delivery of courses, by using collaborative learning of students of different countries.
Content and technical standards need to be adopted that will optimize interoperability with other institutions in areas such as the creation of learning databases, information databases such as libraries, administrative systems and learner support strategies as well as the facilitation of interactions among learners and teachers. Building an educational repository that provides access to learning objects requires standards and structures that can facilitate object storage, retrieval and aggregation to suit the needs off learners or the pedagogical intentions of instructional developers. Campuses should consider whether they are positioned to provide the requisite technological infrastructures, to create alliances (it is inappropriate that everybody develop their own delivery platforms).
Systems integration
Users ask for a service, not a product. In organisations, e- learning services are invited to evolve continually in terms of integration with existing services, addition of new tools, adaptation to specific course scenarios. The Open Sourceness and modularity of Claroline allows any e- learning manager to add and modify tools, change the layout, adapt databases and so on. Experience shows that the use of a platform is strongly context dependent (from one course to the other and from one organisation to the other).
Also issues associated with real integration into practice will not be tested, such as harmonisation of grading procedures for the course with those of the participating institutions, mechanisms for student fees, and stable technical support for students and instructors.
Globalisation and competitiveness
Universities face a significant and growing competition from other and new types of e-learning providers. In the higher education market traditional universities not only have to compete more and more with other universities but also with virtual and commercial
organizations and companies, all offering the same type of courses. A possible decrease ofinstitutional or “brand” loyalty must be considered and may redefine the relationship between a campus and its students. Institutions enter an international and competitive marketplace. Institutions perceive that ICT will enable them to increase their market share and to extend its influence.
Original characterisation of networks for e-learning
Profession-based networks refer to networking of organisational units in universities in charge of education and training for a particular professional profile (e.g. engineering or medicine). The value of such a network is mainly based on the internationalisation of education, bringing together (the best) teachers and students across borders, giving them a flavour of the world where they will exercise their profession.
Funding can be attracted more easily where several universities come together and pool resources for maximum impact. Distance education programmes can also be not only self-supporting but can generate additional funds to support other departments at a traditional institution.