1 Successful use of web 2.0 in professional development Paul Bacsich Matic Media Ltd, Sero Consulting Ltd and Re.ViCa (funded under EU LLL Programme)

2 Web 2.0 – is it new? Some history (mainly from UK, EADTU and Frameworks 3 and 4)

3 The 1990s UK paradigm for “e-CPD” from universities “Conservative constructivism” (JANUS, Café Mondial, UKOU, EPSRC IGDS, SHU, Middlesex) Content delivered by web/VLE Interaction with tutor AND communication between students carried out in a social space And later, group working also Computer conferencing = CMC Systems like FirstClass – later the group tools within WebCT and Blackboard

4 FirstClass features Personal pages Synchronous (Real-time chat, but also quasi- synchronous (“Who’s online”) Non-academic interactions – e.g. café (students only) Remind you of any modern systems?

5 Web 2.0 systems for “business” Blogs Wikis E-Portfolios = CVs (administration) Social networking? – Yes, in the sense of CMC – so not new Podcasting??? – Evidence against, including from students

6 Blogs for business A one-many publishing format, with limited ability to comment Useful for project management in an “open” tradition See for example the UK Higher Education Academy blog systems to manage the Pathfinder Programme - thfinder/ thfinder/

7 Wikis for business Gets one back to how the web used to be – anyone remember Microsoft’s IIS? Very useful for multiple authors collaborating when each has a defined focus and overlap is limited Examples – Re.ViCa (and there are others) - ain_Page ain_Page

8 Axiom (after Ehrmann) CPD should use worldware – tools for learning which are also tools for business Supplementary: and ideally tools whose underlying intellectual processes are not new

9 But what is “successful”? A canter through Re.ViCa

10 Re.ViCa = “Reviewing (Traces of) European Virtual Campuses” Project supported by the European Union: Lifelong Learning Programme Erasmus/Virtual Campus 1 October 2007 – 30 September 2009 Project Description

11Partnership EuroPACE ivzw (BE) EuroPACE ivzw (BE) Katholieke Universiteit Leuven – AVNet (BE) Katholieke Universiteit Leuven – AVNet (BE) ATiT (BE) ATiT (BE) FernUniversität in Hagen (DE) FernUniversität in Hagen (DE) Helsinki University of Technology - TKK Dipoli (FI) Helsinki University of Technology - TKK Dipoli (FI) Université Louis Pasteur (FR) Université Louis Pasteur (FR) University of West Hungary - College of Geoinformatics (HU) University of West Hungary - College of Geoinformatics (HU) International Telematic University UNINETTUNO (IT) International Telematic University UNINETTUNO (IT) Matic Media Ltd (UK) Matic Media Ltd (UK)

12 What is a Virtual Campus Nowadays?

13 Mobility VIRTUAL Campus University Seminar Course Class

14 Target group Institutional Budget Goals Technology Our Definition Virtual Campus = Large-Scale (managed) e-Learning Initiative

15 Re.ViCa makes a review of Virtual Campuses all over Europe. By comparing European and non- European initiatives, we create lessons learned and critical success factors to enable institutions to set up a Virtual Campus to maximise their performance “ “ Reviewing Virtual Campuses

16 Main Outputs wiki – the heart of the project – including 29 in- depth country reports and 30 mini-reports – 9 detailed case studies including Universidad Politécnica de Madrid – Inventory of “interesting” Programmes – Taxonomy – Resources Three key meetings with International Advisory Committee Virtual Campus Manual with guidelines, best- practice, recommendations – and Critical Success Factors

17 Step 1 Create Country reports, based on Country template : sources OECD, other European Projects, wikipedia, literature, desktop research Step 2 Indicate Virtual Campus Initiatives Step 3 Internal Evaluation by project partners External Evaluation by experts Results 21 European Country report and 8 non- European Country reports 30 mini Country reports Lessons Learnt: What are the trends we ‘noticed’ in the 29 Country reports Comparison EU – non EU Country Reports

18 Lessons Learned Review of 29 country reports, 21 European and 8 Non-European: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom

19 Key Lessons Learned Language is a key issue in development of Virtual Campus initiatives HE institutions operating on multi‐campus basis often more likely to adopt VC strategies No common understanding about the term “Virtual Campus” or even “Virtual University” Line between “Virtual Campus” and more traditional campus activities is blurred

20 Key Lessons Learned Long‐term impact and sustainability of national programmes and initiatives now questionable In Europe, HE sector focus more on inclusion, lifelong learning and adult learning contributes to increase virtual learning opportunities  What lessons can be learned for CPD providers?

21 Key Lessons Learned Not enough to be advanced and experienced – need to check beyond borders for strategic adaptation Europe HEIs focus on content and service more then on technological facilities and platforms International competition a driving force for change and innovation Quality Assurance focus on traditional learning - lack of a QA system focused on virtual initiatives For-Profit Virtual Campus initiatives opt for areas where there is a ready market for online courses

22 Step 1 Search for interesting eLearning initiatives. Sources Gazetteer, UNESCO, European projects, Country reports, expert evaluations, IAC Meetings Step 2 wiki categorisation approach Results 158 European Programmes of Interest all categorised 269 Non-European Programmes of Interest all categorised Comparison EU-NonEU Programmes of Interest

23 Re.ViCa Success Factors for Virtual Campuses A critical success factor is a factor whose presence is necessary for an organisation to fulfill its mission - in other words, if it is not present then its absence will cause organisational and/or mission failure. “ “

24 Outputs: CSFs Iterative – involvement of IAC and other feedback 4 schemes analysed or re‐analysed. MEGATRENDS Study on Large‐scale Virtual Campuses PBP‐VC Study on Consortia‐based Virtual Campuses UNIQUe eLearning Quality/ Accreditation Scheme E‐xcellence Benchmarking/ Quality Scheme for eLearning

25Results 17 Critical Success Factors relevant to success of eLearning in all types of Virtual Campus 14 Key Success Factors relevant to success of eLearning in one or more subsets (categories) of Virtual Campus ‐ such as private for‐profit providers, consortia, etc.

26 Some Critical and Key Success Factors for CPD Critical – applies to all types of providers Leadership: Leaders can make effective decisions with e-learning implications Management: Style is appropriate to the mix of business and educational activities Relationships: Effective methods of achieving credibility with government and public agencies Key – applies particularly to CPD providers? Pricing: Prices are competitive yet sustainable Context: Each proposed offering is analysed in context of existing providers and stakeholders Learning: Provider can rapidly learn lessons from offerings, learners, the market, stakeholders etc

27 Immediate future: Wiki... Re.ViCa wiki: ICDE conference: opening up wiki to public Include feedback from IAC in our research Expand wiki, with the input of IAC members and e-Learning community in general Promotion of wiki through newsletter, publications and events

28 and the Handbook. Re.ViCa Handbook with best-practices, guidelines and recommendations Definition of Virtual Campus Historical Overview Categorisation World Tour Thematic view Critical success factors Further reading

29 Future: beyond September Continuation of wiki Agreement between partners to maintain, update and edit the wiki for at least one year Look for additional funding & projects Further partnerships (networks & individual contributors) Expand scope: commercial providers, colleges, schools...?

30 Thank you for listening That was “ Successful use of web 2.0 in professional development ” By Paul Bacsich Web - Wiki - No Re.ViCa blog – yet? In memory of Professor Robin Mason, UK OU Among her many contributions to e-learning was her work at UK OU on virtual campuses and e-CPD Died 15 June