1. Digital Learning Environments At Universities Virtual Mobility Between Universities & Leen Van Rentergem, Herman Buelens, Piet Henderikx, & Wim Van Petegem

2. K.U.Leuven General Information 27.734 students 6.500 employees 14 faculties Geographical distribution over Leuven, Heverlee & Kortrijk About 500 buildings 3.777 international students (16/1/2004), coming from more than 120 different countries, 75% enrolled in postgraduate or doctoral study programs 572 outgoing Erasmus students, 591 incoming (in 2001-2002) 56 study programmes in English, and >10 joint programmes

3. Internet Connectivity Belnet Gigabit network K.U.Leuven ICT Facilities

4. Internet Connectivity

5. PC Classrooms Public accessible 24 hours / day, 6 days a week 17 classrooms, 500 PCs internet connectivity via KULeuvenNet Reservations for class activities or individual use Printer facilities by using print cards K.U.Leuven ICT Facilities

6. PC renting price range: 30 - 50 / month (= cost of a pint of beer per day) buy off option with recovery of paid money Success PC-shop (Sale) hardware software: campus licenses K.U.Leuven ICT Facilities

7. KOTNET (about 20.000 users) Strategic vision Added value Optional For every student Without financial thresholds low cost preferably fixed amount target 0 K.U.Leuven dormitories connected to K.U.Leuvennet free Private rooms: connected via Television cable 5,5 per month per student Dial in telephone cost K.U.Leuven ICT Facilities

8. Educational concept: Guided Independent Learning Students learn best when they can act as independent critical researchers within their discipline Students become responsible for their own learning Teachers on the other hand are responsible to adequately coach their students K.U.Leuven Education

9. Let a thousand flowers bloom Isolated projects Carried by enthusiastic individuals or small teams Ad hoc, micro-level Funding University (OOI) Regional (STIHO) European (EC) K.U.Leuven anno 2000 ICT in education

10. Let a thousand flowers bloom Some impressive results Awareness raising Enthusiasm and goodwill Lot of reinventing the wheel Results disappear as projects finish & individuals leave (Doesnt scale up) Hard to support centrally (educationally & technically) No consolidation, no share and reuse Too fragmented, no integration for students K.U.Leuven anno 2000 ICT in education

11. Let a thousand flowers bloom Only small-scale impact However, this phase of experience and adaptation was critical for the introduction of.... K.U.Leuven anno 2000 ICT in education

12. Logo Alcatara-bridge in Toledo (Spain) Bridge between students and faculty Acronym Toetsen en Leren Doeltreffend Ondersteunen Effectively supporting Testing and Learning Project Aim is to implement and support (technically and pedagogically) a digital learning environment for all students and faculty at the K.U.Leuven K.U.Leuven anno 2001 Toledo

13. Task force on learning platforms Criteria: Basic functionality (in line with GIL) Easy to use, minimal training Should fit within university ICT infrastructure Connectivity with administrative systems Reliable support Access to and reuse of learning material Process: Pre-selection, pilot projects Study visits Installing a team of 7 FTE K.U.Leuven anno 2001 Toledo: the selection of a DLE WHICH DLE ?

14. July 2001 purchase of software and hardware Augustus 2001 installation Load all courses Load all teacher-course combinations Enrol all students in mandatory courses September 2001 Roll-out The use of Toledo is on voluntary basis Information sessions in all departments were organized For more experienced users: workshops were organized K.U.Leuven anno 2001 Toledo: GO!

15. December 2003 More than 19000 active students Over 1250 active teachers More than 1500 active courses 240 000 hits/day ( max 80000 last year) K.U.Leuven anno 2003 Toledo in use

16. At the micro level (=K.U.Leuven courses) makes teachers think about their education 20% of all courses combine functionalities of the DLE with more traditional forms of education (blended learning) Toledo was used mainly to deliver information to students 25% of the courses use Toledos communication, assessment and assignments functionalities substantially The use of these functionalities had positive effect upon educational practices (i.e. in line with the concept of guided independent learning). K.U.Leuven anno 2004 The impact of Toledo

17. At the meso level (=K.U.Leuven institute) Positive effects upon both education and research: a common basis for conversation and future collaboration Every day more that 6000 students use Toledo, this affects ICT services (KOTnet) Role of central services Educational support services Toledo is used as an administrative tool within faculties Due to the new use of administrative data, Toledo contributes to the design of a new campus management system K.U.Leuven anno 2004 The impact of Toledo

18. Reasons for the impact on micro & meso level ? The software Easy to use minimal training user friendly Reliable Offers basic functionalities... Embedded in the universitys technical infrastructure administrative systems organisation of education (i.e. Toledo is course oriented) K.U.Leuven anno 2003 The impact of Toledo

19. So far about The Digital Learning Environment At K.U.Leuven. What about Virtual Mobility Between Universities ?

20. Let a thousand flowers bloom ? Isolated projects Carried by enthusiastic individuals or small teams Ad hoc, micro-level By means of video-conferencing computer-conferencing... Used as an subsitute for fysical mobility ? Virtual Mobility anno 2004

21. Let a thousand flowers bloom ? Some impressive results Enthusiasm and goodwill (e.g. 2 case-studies presented hereafter) Awareness raising Lot of reinventing the wheel ? Results disappear as projects finish & individuals leave ? Hard to support centrally (educationally & technically) ? No consolidation, no share and reuse ? Too fragmented, no integration for students ? Virtual Mobility anno 2004

22. Let a thousand flowers bloom Bologna context: Flexibilisation Internationalisation Only small-scale impact ? We are now where we were with Toledo 3 years ago, i.e. at the crossroads for a broader and more structured implementation and approach Virtual Mobility anno 2004

23. Let a thousand flowers bloom Is this phase of experience and adaptation critical for the introduction of.... Virtual Mobility anno 2004 DLEs within universities to promote Virtual Mobility in the future ?

24. Opportunities DLEs might help to redefine virtual mobility no longer as a substitute for physical mobility, but as a totally different opportunity DLEs can be used for more specialised courses (complementarity – Erasmus-like) joint courses and programmes (sharing electronic learning content with other universities) creating international learning communities (by / for students / faculty), e.g. international discussion groups, seminars, etc preparation for physical mobility sharing experiences with other universities (staff mobility) … DLEs might help to overcome the cons associated with a let a thousand flowers bloom- approach. DLEs & Virtual Mobility ?

25. Obstacles DLEs are embedded in the universitys technical infrastructure administrative systems organisation of education (i.e. DLEs are course oriented) The software and hardware Licence agreements Need for new tools (interfacing) Need for standards The same factors that facilitate positive effects of DLEs at micro & meso level might hamper positive effects at a macro level (i.e. virtual mobility between universities).

26. DLEs & Virtual Mobility ? Solutions? Further promote blended (hybrid) learning within universities ? Look for low budget technology ? (web cams...) Linking DLEs between universities?

27. DLEs & Virtual Mobility ? A mission for Coimbra? Show and promote best practices? Launch experiments and pilot projects? Lobby, negociate with vendors of DLEs? Share ideas And not to forget: Your creativity during this workshop

28. Thank you for your attention !