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IRELAND
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Small island
Population 4 million
Large neighbour
With dominant distance learning
provider
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TERTIARY EDUCATION IN
IRELAND
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Universities
Institutes of Technology
Colleges of Education
Specialist
90% State Funded
Significant Growth in numbers
Full-time students do not pay tuition fees
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WIDENING ACCESS FOR
MATURE STUDENTS
• In 1999 < 5% over 23 in Tertiary Ed
• Government/Social partners
committed
• Target - 15% by 2015
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DEMOGRAPHIC TRENDS
• By 2015 drop to 50, 000 qualified
school leavers for 3rd Level
Can be countered by:
• More qualified school leavers
• More attending 3rd Level
• More adults
• More international students
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OECD 2004
• That every effort be made to increase
part-time student numbers as a
proportion of total numbers in
tertiary education and to this end
distinctions between part-time and
full-time students be removed for the
purpose of the obligation to pay fees
and receive maintenance support
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OBSTACLES TO
PARTICIPATION
• Time from employment or
resignation
• Reduced income
• Costs – fees/living/travel
• Disruption to family/social life
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DISTANCE
EDUCATION
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CHARACTERISTICS OF
DISTANCE EDUCATION
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Flexibility in time and location
Addresses attendance issues
Modular with credit accumulation
Students progress at their own pace
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DCU and DISTANCE
EDUCATION
• DCU established in 1975 as NIHED
• Distance Education Unit in 1982
• Designated the National Distance
Education Centre in 1984
• Retitled Oscail
• Faculty DCU
• Separately funded
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Oscail INTERNATIONAL
• EADTU
• European projects
• Taiwan
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Oscail MISSION
• To provide adults with access to third
level education regardless of location,
employment, domestic or personal
circumstances or prior qualifications.
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Oscail DEVELOPMENT
• First Programme Bought-in
– Developed Infrastructure
• In-house Short Course
– Developed Writing/editing
• Full Degree
– Developed Academic Structures
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Oscail’s PROGRAMMES
• Pilot Programmes up to 1986
• BSc in Information Technology 1986
• MSc in IT for Accountants (Now MSc in
Information Systems For Managers) 1990
• BA in Humanities 1993
• BNS in 1997
• MSc Management of Operations 1997
• MSc in Internet Systems 2001
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Oscail’s RESULTS
• Over 2000 students ~20% DCU
population
• 250 Postgraduate
• Over 4000 awards since starting
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Oscail’s OPERATIONS
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Programmes uniquely distance education
All postgrad programmes fully on-line
No In-house Subject Specialists
Draw On Academic Expertise Of DCU And
Other Institutions
• Co-operative System
– Within DCU
– With Other Institutions
• Adjunct faculty of 380
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ADJUNCT FACULTY
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Subject Leaders
Course Writers
Course Editors
Tutors
Tutor Monitors
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KEY OPERATIONAL AREAS
• Course Materials Production
– All Design In-house
– Printing/despatch Outsourced
• Student Records – Assignments And
Examinations
• Tutorial Support
• Assessment
• Student Support Services
• Online Services
• Financial Management
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THE FUTURE OF DISTANCE
LEARNING IN Oscail
• e-Learning
• DCU’s strategic plan 2005 to 2008
committed to e-university strategy
and to enhance lifelong learning and
access
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USE OF ICT
AND
e-LEARNING
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More flexibility
Remove year-on-year progression
Credit accumulation policy
Greater student choice
Move to greater use of e-learning
university-wide
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IMPLEMENTING ACCESS
AND LIFELONG LEARNING
STRATEGIES THROUGH eLEARNING
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USE OF ICT IN DCU
• An integrated student portal system
• E-mail conferencing on a programme
and module basis
• Fee payment on line
• Use of VLEs - WebCT to 2004
• Moodle – open source - from 2005
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Oscail USE OF ICT
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Programme Regulations
Registration Information
Tutor Information
Coursework Marks
Examination Results
Timetables
Changes
Past Examination Papers
Assignments
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USING e-LEARNING
• Need to Consider Specific Adult
Learner Issues
• Age Of Entrant
• Time Since Obtaining Earlier
Qualifications
• Student Technology
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AGE OF ENTRANT
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Students In ODL Are Older
IT Average 31 - 80% <40
BA Average 44 - 50% <40
MSc - AVERAGE 42
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TIME SINCE EARLIER
QUALIFICATION
• Appropriate Qualification
• Some Time Ago
• Bridging The Knowledge Gap
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STUDENT TECHNOLOGY
• Students Supply All Their Own
Technology
• Collaborative Learning
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PROCESS OF ADULT
LEARNING
• Relevance
• Application
• Self-directed Learning
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E-LEARNING COURSE
MATERIALS
• Adult Learner Issues
• Directional Rather Than Fully
Instructional
• Traditional Text/pdf
• Html
• Textbooks
• Web Bases Resources
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COURSE DELIVERY
• Topicality
• Robustness
• Continuity Of Service
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TOPICALITY
• Information Up-to-date
• WWW Links Up To Date
• Responsibility Of Course Writer And
Editor
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ROBUSTNESS
• Learning Platform Must Be Well
Maintained
• Not Prone To Crashing
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CONTINUITY OF SERVICE
• Technical Problems Must Be Fixed
Asap
• No Down Time
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VIRTUAL LEARNING
ENVIRONMENTS
• No in-house Development of VLE’s
• Web Ct/Blackboard
• Moodle
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CRITERIA FOR VLEs
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Ease Of Use For Students/tutors
Ease Of Maintenance
Robustness
Conferencing
Self Assessment
Cost
Future of VLE
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PRESENTATION WITHIN
VLEs
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Simplicity
Basic Materials
Focus On Discussion Areas
No Private Communication Between
Student And Tutor
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CURRENT Oscail
DEVELOPMENTS
• More Support
–Task-based Learning
• Self Assessment
–Maths Tests With Automated
Feedback
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STRATEGIC
ISSUES
IN
e-LEARNING
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OPPORTUNITIES OF
e-LEARNING
• Easier access to information
resources facilitated by technology
• New teaching paradigms
• Wider learner base
• Facilitates independent and selfdirected learning skills
• May address quasi full-time student
issues
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CHALLENGES OF eLEARNING
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Cost
Access
Quality
Change Management
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COST OF e-LEARNING
• Not cheaper than traditional methods
• May be some cost efficiencies in
management and administration
• Teaching cost – preparation of
materials, tutorial support
• Technology cost – technology
support, training, upgrading
• Student cost
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WIDENING ACCESS
• Need to widen access to technology
• Need to develop student skills
• Need to address the ‘digital divide’
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INPROVING THE QUALITY
OF LEARNING
• Pedagogy not technology
• Off campus access to campus-based
resources
• Developing higher order cognitive
skills
• Collaborative learning
• Peer tutoring
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CHANGE MANAGEMENT
• “e-learning will force a change in the way
we teach”
• ‘ Only higher education’s bureaucratic
processes have proved more immutable to
fundamental change. Even when they use
e-learning products and devices, most
faculty still teach as they were taught –
that is they stand in front of a classroom,
providing lectures intended to supply the
basic knowledge the students need’
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IS e-LEARNING THE
SOLUTION TO ACCESS?
• Addresses the issue of cost and
employment
• Digital divide
• Not just access to technology
• Attitudinal barriers and differential
competence
• Needs substantive user training
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BEST LAID PLANS…..
• ‘...had launched extensive programmes of
distributive instruction that used webbased e-Learning modules as the principal
means of instruction. By intention and
design they were to be outreach
programmes capable of enrolling part-time
adult learners who were distant from
campus. What each of these universities
discovered, however, was that better than
80% of those enrolling in the e-Learning
courses were full-time students living on
campus.’
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BUT!
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‘Real’ University
‘Real’ Lectures/Tutorials
‘Real’ Library/Books
‘Real’ People – social interaction
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ANY QUESTIONS?
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