1. Effective support for e- learning within institutions Martin Oliver, Institute of Education (m.oliver@ioe.ac.uk)m.oliver@ioe.ac.uk

2. Overview To build upon the themes identified in Rhonas report To describe the form and role of institutional support To explore how and why such support can be effective in changing practice To raise questions and set and agenda for the empirical work

3. Starting point From Rhonas report: Changing practice requires practitioners to learn Advantages to working with existing communities Relevance Raises a possible route forward: training staff developers as e-learning specialists

4. Several forms of support Various kinds of support practice Formally accredited courses Institutional workshops Staff secondments Access to services Informal learning No magic bullet Importance of a repertoire of support

5. Initial conclusions Support not taken up for its own sake Need to be aware of current issues so that support can be tailored (relevance) One-to-one support effective but costly Support most effective when a relationship can develop (implies learning) Has implications for location in institutions - Small enough principle Tension between short-term efficiency and long-term learning