Kurt Larsen, Principal Analyst Learning regions and e-learning in post-secondary education: opportunities and Challenges Kurt Larsen, Principal Analyst OECD/CERI SEEL, EIfEL Conference La Rochelle, 17-18 May 2004

Outline What is a learning region? Learning and eLearning regions E-learning: empirical evidence OECD survey on e-learning in post-secondary education The future of eLearning regions: opportunities and challenges

What is a learning region? Approach: Regional systems of innovation Empirical analysis Statistical: 180 EU regions 5 case studies, including Vienne, France Policy principles to foster learning cities and regions

What is a learning region? A model towards which regions need to progress in order to respond more effectively to the knowledge economy. The learning region is characterised by regional institutions, which facilitate individual and organisational learning through the co-ordination of flexible networks of economic and political agents

What is a learning region? Economic Competitiveness Individual Learning Social Capital Organisational Social Inclusion

What is a learning region What is a learning region? Some policy principles Inputs to the learning process Ensure that high-quality and well-resourced educational provision is in place, on which effective individual learning throughout people’s lives can be developed. Co-ordinate carefully the supply of skilled and knowledgeable individuals through education and training, and the demand for them within the regional economy, so that the full benefits of individual learning may be reaped through its effects on organisational learning. Establish appropriate framework conditions for the improvement of organisational learning, both within firms and between firms and other organisations in networks of interaction, and demonstrate to firms the benefits of these forms of learning.

What is a learning region What is a learning region? Some policy principles Mechanisms of the learning process Pay close attention to mechanisms for co-ordinating policies across what have generally been separate departmental responsibilities (for industrial development, R&D, science and technology, education and training and so forth) and between different levels of governance (regional, national and supra-national). Develop strategies to foster appropriate forms of social capital as a key mechanism in promoting more effective organisational learning and innovation Ensure that the regional strategy for learning and innovation is accorded legitimacy by the population of the region to be transformed

Learning and eLearning regions If regional economic performance is to be supported by e-learning, co-ordination at individual school, firm and regional levels is crucial. Implies a strong ICT infrastructure (access, support, etc.). ICT skills in the population (acquired in local schools, firms, adult education). E-learning might help co-ordinate the supply of skilled and knowledgeable individuals and the demand for them within the regional economy for it allows enrolment beyond regional borders. Widen possible regional access while possibly limiting the regional cost of the strategy. Supplemented by face-to-face tutorial infrastructure.

Learning and eLearning regions E-learning regional policies should follow the mechanisms principles: develop strategies to foster social capital promoting more effective e-learning; ensure that the regional strategy for e-learning is accorded legitimacy by the population of the region. Regions have generally limited capacity (primary and secondary education).

Help meet the huge demand for flexible lifelong learning Learning and eLearning regions The potential gains of e-learning are high… Help meet the huge demand for flexible lifelong learning Widen access and equity to learning Enhance the cost-effectiveness of learning Improve learning outcomes Improve innovation in learning

E-learning: empirical evidence in upper secondary education OECD survey of upper secondary schools: 20% of students attend schools where there are enough workstations for every teacher to have one. Educational use of computers is sporadic, with information gathering from the Internet being the most common way in which computers are used. Reasons for under-use are: difficulties in integrating ICT into classroom instruction; problems in scheduling enough computer time for classes; and teachers’ lack of ICT skills and knowledge.

E-learning: empirical evidence in adult training U.S. Sloan Foundation survey Over 1.6 million students took at least one on-line course Fall 2002 (11% of all students). One-third of these students (578 000) took all of their courses on-line (4% of all students). Expected growth in on-line students 2002-03: 20%. Europe Use of e-learning in higher education is are most likely relatively lower in most European countries than in the U.S., Canada and Australia.

E-learning: empirical evidence in adult training Most promising development of e-learning is taking place in private companies as adult education and training. Increasingly, companies are developing their own targeted e-learning material. Adult education providers are targeting markets (working adults, business administration, IT). Sometimes in collaboration with universities for “brand name”, accreditation, local knowledge, regulatory context.

OECD Survey on e-learning case studies in post-secondary education The following issues are analysed: E-learning strategies and rationales Impact on teaching and learning Organisational change and barriers for the use of e-learning Perceptions of cost in e-learning investments Learning management system issues and use Student access to e-learning E-learning partnerships and networking E-learning activities for foreign students and across borders Possible lessons for government for promoting e-learning

OECD Survey on e-learning case studies in post-secondary education Name of the institution 　Types Aoyama Gakuin University Campus Asian Institute of Technology Carnegie Mellon University Kyoto University Monash University Multimedia Kontor Hamburg University of British Columbia University of California, Irvine University of Paris Nanterre University of Sao Paolo Zurich University FernUniversität in Hagen Distance Open Polytechnic New Zealand Open University (UK) Open University Catalunya Tec de Monterrey (VUTM) UCLA Extension University of South Australia Mixed University of Maryland UC

OECD Survey on e-learning case studies in post-secondary education Impact on teaching and learning: Are there “positive” impacts of greater use of e-learning on teaching and learning? No “magic bullet” study has shown that e-learning is ipso facto beneficial. It depends on the context and on how one defines the “beneficial” outcomes.

OECD Survey on e-learning case studies in post-secondary education Impact on teaching and learning: The use of Learning Objects (LOs) Concern, with respect to the quality of teaching, relates to the unbundling of the teaching process Access external resources to enhance the quality of teaching and learning on campus Co-operation with other institutions on developing and providing e-learning

OECD Survey on e-learning case studies in post-secondary education Costing and pricing: Cost-effectiveness of e-learning investments has often been secondary to the challenge of developing and delivering innovative programmes. The goal of “reducing universities’ per-student costs” is ranked low in different surveys. An expectation that technology-based teaching would reduce the cost is not new. Whether e-learning is cost-effective depends on the perspective: Where account is taken of the cost of students’ time, online learning is more likely to provide a cost-effective alternative. The use of technology in an appropriate way (often low tech) is more likely to prove cost-effective (e.g. Phoenix University).

OECD Survey on e-learning case studies in post-secondary education Costing and pricing: The use of e-learning in teaching large undergraduate classes (sciences). Pooling course resources through regional or national co-operative networks enables virtual student-mobility and a widening of the range of options available to students. In many cases, university investment in e-learning courses have not been cost-efficient. This is not sustainable! The question is whether a traditional university is the right model for integrating e-learning with faculty-centred teaching and the dissemination of (more or less) traditional learning content via the web.

OECD Survey on e-learning case studies in post-secondary education Costing and pricing: Some observers argue that a new paradigm is needed – and that sustainable models have yet to emerge. Others argue for more efficient application of existing modalities, the development of sharable pools of independent learning objects. New models are emerging: the University of Catalonia operates almost exclusively in virtual mode. The most striking features of the e-learning strategies that universities adopt is their diversity. Innovation is very important.

The future of eLearning regions: opportunities and challenges Conclusions: E-learning is most developed and used in the private sector (adult education and training). In primary, secondary and higher education e-learning is mainly used to improve learning and innovation. E-learning has so far not fundamentally changed conventional pedagogical teaching at schools and higher education institutions. E-learning innovation is likely to influence teaching in higher education in the longer term. It is likely to involve an evolutionary rather than revolutionary change.

The future of eLearning regions: opportunities and challenges Conclusions: Costs - benefits analysis of e-learning. More analysis needed. Pedagogical issues. Is mixed-mode delivery the way forward? Quality assurance and recognition issues. Intellectual Property Rights issues. There are therefore many opportunities, but also challenges, for an (e)learning region.

Thank you Kurt.Larsen@oecd.org