A HOLISTIC APPROACH IN IMPLEMENTING VIRTUAL LEARNING ICEE October, 2001 Mines Beach Spa Resort Kuala Lumpur Alicia Tang Y. C. (UNITEN) - PRESENTER Norlaila Hussain (UNITEN) & Pathiah Abdul Samat (UPM)

ICEE AGENDA (1) INTRODUCTION PURPOSE VIRTUAL LEARNING – Holistic Approach – Motivation PROPOSED FRAMEWORK

ICEE AGENDA (2) ISSUES AND CHALLENGES SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION FACTORS CONCLUSION

ICEE INTRODUCTION Internet and related technologies, is fundamentally a faster, better way to learn The challenge which technology presents to education is – knowledge should be well presented and effectively learnt The scope and nature of the underlying issues required a holistic perspective of discussion

ICEE PURPOSE OF STUDY University students are demanding – a greater say in their tertiary education – a greater flexibility in the way they receive instructions Our focus will be in establishing a framework to accommodate – activity – technology To propose five dimensions for discussion To recommend attributes and indicators for successful implementation of virtual learning

ICEE VIRTUAL LEARNING: DEFINITION “Online domains that permit synchronous, collaborative interaction among teachers and students, while also providing asynchronous learning resources for individual use by students at any time”

ICEE VIRTUAL LEARNING: DEFINITION Offering of access to various learning materials and subsequent development of communications capabilities turned the traditional learning environment to a Virtual Learning Environment. The 21 st century version of distance learning is called “virtual learning”.

ICEE HOLISTIC APPROACH WHY? WHAT? There exists too much information that is beyond the basics for diagnosis A holistic view is required: many determining components as fundamentals & would require the identification of the impact of virtual learning from a range of views

ICEE MOTIVATION In line with Vision 2020, Malaysia’s educational system is to be transformed – urgent need for continuing education and training of the workforce – lifelong learning – in significant in fields such as science and technology that are changing very rapidly

ICEE MOTIVATION Other Reasons: – staff-student ratios have risen – technology is beginning to offer stability to meet user-expectation – there is a parents/students expectation that an institution need to be involved in information technology and computer- assisted learning materials

ICEE PROPOSED FRAMEWORKS A framework of five dimensions will be presented and discussed Our framework will capture and address the four “Ws” and one “H” variables. – each addressing a question mark of ‘what?’, ‘why?’,’when’, ‘who’, and ‘how?’ with the aim to turn ‘what’ to become ‘know-what’; ‘how’ to become ‘know-how’ and so fourth.

ICEE Figure 1: Holistic view of a framework for implementing virtual learning

ICEE FRAMEWORKS (2) The framework is a conceptual model that identifies the network of relationships among the variables it helps to theorise the relationships among the several factors that have been identified as important to the problem to improve understanding of the dynamics of such learning environments

ICEE

ICEE DIM - 1 (What): Infrastructures and Technologies “how do we connect the tools selected with the pedagogical model” Online connection is required - downloading, content updates, contacting lecturers and/or peers A wide diversity of different types of technologies can be used - video conferencing, s, Intranet systems and the WWW

ICEE DIM - 2 (How): Instructional And Pedagogical Design Some Parameters: learning goalsteaching interaction mode of delivery, and course materials preparation A checklist that used “learning” as indicator: How do instructors lecture in VLEs? What are the best assessment methods in VLEs? In what conditions can learners construct new learning materials and knowledge?

ICEE DIM - 3 (Who): Organisational Culture and Human Factors Some Parameters: learning goalsteaching interaction mode of delivery, and course materials preparation Organisational culture includes: policies attitude organisational climate staff rewards

ICEE DIM - 3 (2) Institutional Perspective Is Used As Indicator: - Availability of funding for virtual learning projects? - Any potential staff readiness? - Are the staff members enthusiastic about the project? - Does changing nature of the student population encourage this? - Government policies that encourage the development of VLE? - Availability of funding for virtual learning projects? - Any potential staff readiness? - Are the staff members enthusiastic about the project? - Does changing nature of the student population encourage this? - Government policies that encourage the development of VLE?

ICEE DIM - 4 (When): Project Launching and Timing The key issues in this dimension will be:  How soon will it be introduced, and over what period of time?  Was it implemented as a pilot project or direct changeover?  What is the best rate and pace of transformation?  How fast will it grow?

ICEE DIM - 5 (Why): Requirement Analysis In this respect the issues explored are:  Did the institutions have the capacity in this field?  If not, are there any actions being taken to increase this capacity?  Why did academic staff want VLE?  Why did students want VLE?  Will in long term the innovation generate new sources of income? In this respect the issues explored are:  Did the institutions have the capacity in this field?  If not, are there any actions being taken to increase this capacity?  Why did academic staff want VLE?  Why did students want VLE?  Will in long term the innovation generate new sources of income? Institution itself plays a major role in the transition process towards the new environments

ICEE ISSUES AND CHALLENGES Surviving information overload Proper deployment of “human computing” Inadequacy of the national IT infrastructure to deliver rich multimedia contents What are the new theories, strategies and methods applied for teaching in VLE? What are the best assessment methods in Virtual Learning? How do we cope with the rapid changes of technology?

ICEE SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION Culture Training and development Recognition and acknowledgement Infrastructures Required Good Combination of:

ICEE Figure 6: Conceptual model during project initiation

ICEE CONCLUSION Primary Goal: Effectiveness of all (IT Infra, Courseware) Not to just looking at the pedagogical but also the ‘product’ that the new system will create (for the knowledge economy) A framework that addresses five dimensions pertaining to virtual learning has been presented.

ICEE THE END s Thank You. Questions?