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Institution H10

6 Impact of networked learning on infrastructure and support services

The infrastructure in relation to networked learning requires examination of both the technological aspects of networked learning and also the support that is required by staff and students.

Technology

A small number of issues were explored in relation to technological issues.

Robustness and security

There was little mention of problems with the technical aspects of the system; however, one of the participants noted that early piloting of materials had been beneficial.

It was a pilot programme initially, now it is a live delivery programme. What it has done is to leave us with a reasonably robust platform and understanding of the management issues… (H10I4)

It is perhaps worth noting that the lack of comment on the system suggests that there are no major problems with reliability. A problem of slightly different nature in relation to the technology and the working of the system was noted though. In the early stages of one of the projects the aim was to provide learners with laptops and connections in their homes.

I think the first set of problems were technological problems and some of those were out of our control, because we had the funding and we wanted to make sure everybody had the same amount of access to online learning, so we leased computers to the students, so that they all had laptops and so on. And in the first phase we decided that they were all going to get free ISDN lines as well. Well we had assurances that this would happen, and yet when it came to it… [we] couldn’t deal with the amount… so that was horrendous. (H10I3)

Terrible technical problems… some that were out of our control like problems with ISP providers and… not being able to install 180 ISDN connections in the timescale that we were looking at. (H10I5)

Interoperability of the MLE

The links between the VLE and student record systems was commented on by one of the interviewees and it was noted that changes were taking place; however, these were not just due to the development of networked learning.

… we are replacing the system by the new system [student record system]… the new system needs to be compatible and will be compatible with the VLE but the fact of buying a new system is not because of e-learning it is [because] the old system is finished. (H10I1/6)

No further mention was made by other respondents in relation to interoperability of systems.

Access to the network, computers and support

There was little discussion about access to computers, the network or technical support. The main point raised was in relation to resources for e-moderators and technical support.

Yeah, we’ve given all our e-moderators access to the same equipment as our e-students so… they have got the ISDN and laptops available for use (H10I5)

The same respondent also outlined the support available.

… and technical support… if you are providing a technical package to a learner then you have to provide the technical support that goes along with it… we work to standards really so we say if we receive your email today we will get back to you with a response by the end of tomorrow… we are some way off having 24/7, 365 support for this. (H10I5).

Support

The technology itself is an important aspect of the development of networked learning but along with that goes a need to support people to enable them to use the technology effectively and to develop the new skills they need.

Staff training

Networked learning developments have been supported by a range of different forms of staff training.

… staff development has been an important part of the project, we realised that you cannot just take a good classroom teacher and expect them to be a good online teacher or e-moderator as we call them… so we have developed a staff development initiative in e-moderating so now if any tutor is going to move into the learning environment they have to go through the e-moderating staff development programme before we let them do that… (H10I5)

It was further stated by the same respondent that this was an accredited programme.
It’s an online course and it runs over a ten week period… it is accredited, it’s a 10 credit Masters level module… it’s not a brief introduction… it’s a proper e-moderating staff development programme. (H10I5)

This e-moderating course was also commented on by another interviewee who elaborated with further examples of staff development in relation to e-learning.

… we have had to develop rights management systems… a group of… staff went to […] University who have got a large rights management unit, so they went there, one of the outcomes of that visit was we paid for a day long course delivered by […] for a wide range of people… (H10I2)

Another type of training has been undertaken by a specific member of staff.

… she has gone on courses on knowledge management elsewhere to get some perspectives on how knowledge management is dealt with in other institutions. (H10I2)

Finally, a third respondent noted that the push for staff training had come both from the top and the bottom and that there were both formal and informal opportunities for such development.

… so it comes initially from the management but then it is also a bottom up thing where the staff themselves were saying “we need help and indeed we have got ideas to contribute to help each other”… Well we had a programme of staff development which was led by someone… from […] University, so that was the formal end of staff development. Then the people like […] in e-college also were developing staff through e-moderating courses but then at the same time as the various individuals got into it they became more enthusiastic and were meeting both formally and informally, a series of network groups, discussion groups and just meeting and saying “have you tried this”… (H10I1/6)

Staff development has thus been made available in a range of different forms.

Support for staff

Support for staff has been considered in relation to staff training. It is also worth noting that the teams mentioned in relation to new management structures provide a support network for those developing materials for e-learning.

Library and learning resources

The role of the library and learning resources team in terms of supporting staff and students in accessing a range of online resources was explored with some of the respondents. It was also argued that the importance of this section had not been recognised in the early stages of development.

… the university… seriously underestimated the resource required for what we now, what we here call resource identification and right clearance type of thing. Both in terms of learners access to learning resources either online or sometimes materials that could be posted to them or books and so forth but also clearing rights in the content that is being delivered in the module. (H10I2)

Other changes to library provision were also commented on.

What we have done over last few years for instance, is that prior to major e-resources developments, we had subscriptions to 2000 print journals… With e-learning in mind and the fact that we have always been a distributed university… we have tried to make sure we maximise the electronic resources that we have got as well so we have currently over 6000 electronic journals… (H10I2)

In addition to online resources there were also other changes to assist students accessing online materials.

… students can borrow laptops, this building and the learning resource centre have got wireless networking so they can sit anywhere within the building and use a laptop in conjunction with other learning resources… (H10I2)

The impact on the library and learning resource centre is strongly in evidence.

Support for students

Support for students, especially those students who have little previous experience in using technology, was noted as being of importance by a number of respondents.

… we’ve got an 86% retention rate.… And we’ve done that by just paying more attention to the way in which we provide induction to our learners, the way we structure programmes for the learners, the way we monitor the learners, that we provide better counselling for the learners. (H10I4)

There is clearly a range of support for online learners. The need for IT skills in online learning was also commented upon and it was stated this area had also been problematic in the early stages due to some learners’ tendency to overestimate their IT skills.

The second problem was that we underestimated the IT capabilities of our students… when we gave them this questionnaire to ask them about their IT skills, they ticked the questionnaire, and yet in reality, we needed to explore that much more, so we changed our induction to do a skills test, an actual test. So we learned from that, but that was an initial problem as well, they needed a lot more support because they weren’t IT literate… (H10I3)

… the second problem then was getting a reasonable assessment of students’ competence with technology, you tend to say to students “can you use IT?” and they will [say] yes. That is not quite the same as being able to use the particular systems that we have got… (H10I1/6)

Support for students is in evidence and, especially there is a recognition of the need for good induction which includes thorough exploration of students’ current level of IT skills.

Questionnaire data

Two respondents were asked by questionnaire to comment on changes in aspects of the technical services. The first respondent noted major changes leading to reduction of risk of system breakdown, the standardisation of technology and software and in ratio of computer to students and off-campus access. In addition, procedures to deal with computer misuse had undergone minor changes. The second respondent agreed with most of this though suggested that the changes to technology and software were minor rather than major.

Two of the respondents were also asked about changes to infrastructure and support services. Major changes were noted by both in terms of student support, library and information services and support for staff.

These interview responses are broadly in line with the interview data.

Summary

Infrastructure and support for networked learning has undergone considerable expansion. There was little mention of system failures by the interviewees but problems in the early stages were noted. Access to resources was considered adequate and student support, especially in relation to identification of IT skills and student induction had increased. It was also stated that the new student record system would link up to the VLE to create an MLE. However, the new record system was not bought as part of the implementation of networked learning. Staff training had increased considerably with a range of provision for all aspects of e-learning development and delivery. The library and learning resource centre has undergone substantial changes and now provides access to a wide range of online resources, including online journals. Student induction in the use of the library is offered on a regular basis.

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