e-Learning stakeholders


e-Learning Stakeholders

 


 

Who organisations are involved in e-learning?

What considerations do these organisations add?

The organisations that are currently delivering e-learning programmes, and that will be beneficiaries of this research, are basically:

 

Universities and Higher Education Centres: most recent higher-education distributed-learning surveys indicate that e-learning has made rapid technological advances, but still faces obstacles that will challenge many distributed-learning initiatives. The technology revolution at higher-education institutions has moved at an amazing speed, but hasn't broken as radically from traditional higher-education practices as most Internet experts had predicted( In the 1990s, many predicted the demise of the traditional campus. However, higher education has quickly and quietly brought e-learning into the mainstream and incorporated it into the physical campus). Universities are using e-learning solutions as a source of added value for their students, improving off-campus, flexible, virtual learning through web-based resources, including continuous education. But significant work still needs to be done (such as containing content development costs and improving integration.) Several Universities are also contributing in the development of new technologies for e-learning.

 

The collaborative European Virtual University Project, which was run from 1 November 2001 - 30 November 2003, aimed to develop validated e-learning models and ideas for a European virtual university. It was a proposed collaboration between five existing international university networks, which are already actively pursuing academic and organisational cohesion in the areas of distance and online learning: EuroPACE, EUNITE, ECIU, Coimbra Group and EUA . The project positioned itself in the ongoing evolution in Europe, implementing ICT in education as a strategic issue for future university development. The cEVU project was carried out with the support of the European Commission, Directorate-General for Education and Culture, Training and Youth - eLearning initiative.

 

Trade Unions: European Trade Unions are using ICT to support formal and informal learning in diverse ways. A recent survey reveals the range of approaches used and the main challenges to be faced. This survey has identified three distinct types of training using ICT: a focus on trade union-related education with a target audience of trade union officers and representatives; training related to organisational change, again with an internal audience; and vocational and skills training which primarily targets individual members. Generally, there appears to be a shift away from content-driven to communication-driven learning. New technologies must bear in mind these different ways of training in order to be accepted for Trade Unions’ use.

 

Primary and secondary schools, and colleges: They will be one of the most beneficed parties. At the moment there is not a big e-learning infrastructure in European schools, but the new technologies in education are being increasing their acceptability in the last few years. The main objectives for a next future is to enable all schools and colleges, teachers and students to have an easy access to the internet and multimedia resources (providing schools and colleges with basic computer equipment, network connection and electronic courses), as well as training teachers and pupils so that they could be confident and competitive users of ICT. The e-learning platform will be developed using technologies like Blackboard, LearnWise, etc.

It will be important to encourage the use of this technology as a communication tool between teacher and pupil, for example by the use of e-mail.

 

Training Providers: Training providers consider e-learning to be a very useful and productive technology for their services, since it helps them to retain and attract clients(e.g. those persons who prefers receive the training at distance than in an academy), and it is really economic (it is for less expensive than a traditional instructor).

 

Voluntary and Community Organisations: e-Learning can make a major impact for social inclusion. It provides access to education and training opportunities for all, in particular for those who have access problems for social, economic, geographic or other reasons. ICT offers possibilities of transforming the learning paradigm and bringing knowledge to those who have not earlier been able to participate in education. Disadvantaged people must not be left behind. Frequently standard ICT courses will not attract them as they are offered in an environment that they would not enter, because they are too costly. For people less familiar with technical adaptation, it is also essential to be trained in a practical way targeted to their specific needs, rather than receiving a systematic and technical introduction.

In these ways the governments and other organisations must make an effort to finance social e-learning programmes.

 

On the other hand, we have the organisations that have to contribute so that these projects were possible:

 

Research centres: Developing new methods, for both authentication and other technologies related to e-learning.

 

Awarding Bodies or Ministries: The legal responsibility for the accreditation of qualifications presents a very complex situation with several layers of provision in each country. In most of the EC countries the Ministries of Education have final legal responsibility for all awards made within the initial education system, whether the awards are for general education or vocational education and training.

Other government ministries may or may not have responsibility for accreditation but this will always be limited to certain types of award.

 

In addition, an initial distinction must be made between two groups of countries. In the first are those in which responsibility for accreditation has traditionally been centralised under the authority of the Ministry of Education. Other government departments have and do hold legal responsibility for awarding but it is limited. In the second group of countries a system of awarding bodies operates. The awarding bodies are organisations which are either set up and mandated by government but autonomous in their action, or they may be independent organisations (created by Royal Charter in the British case).

In most countries within initial education and training provision, it is the Ministry of Education which decides on the diplomas to be offered, as well as the level and specialism. This means that all qualifications obtained through full-time or part-time schooling before the young person is deemed to have left the educational system remain the responsibility of the Ministry of Education. There are few exceptions: For example, in Belgium, decisions are made by the individual Ministeres de l'Enseignement for each of the linguistic Communities. In Germany also exclusive autonomy is given to each of the Lander with co-ordination at federal level.

 

Do the needs in other European countries differ from the UK?

What are the similarities?

 

The overall plan for e-learning in British schools is piloted by the National Grid for Learning (NGfL). Among the recent initiatives, the Computer for Teachers plan is of interest for all decision-makers in the educational field. It develop the e-learning aims for UK.

 

Between these aims, almost all of them agree with the rest of European Union principal aims for the next few years:

 

- Regarding ICT in learning as a new “lifelong learning” process.

- Developing an infrastructure in schools, libraries, colleges, universities, workplaces and homes to support access to the internet

- To provide a programme of training to develop ICT good practice.

- Connecting all schools, colleges, libraries, universities and as many community centres as possible to the Grid.

- Ensuring that practising teachers are confident and competent users of ICT

- Ensuring that school leavers have a good understanding of ICT, with measures in place for assessing their competence in it

- Promotion of scientific research in the field of IT.

- Big development of e-learning in higher education.

 

But the United Kingdom (as well as the rest of European countries) have also some individual aims, that are not explicitly indicated in European Union proposals:

 

- Providing ICT training for librarians

- Making Britain a centre for excellence in the development of networked software content, and a world leader in the export of learning services.

- To provide a gateway to educationally-valuable content on the internet (the NGfL portal)

- Ensuring that administrative communications between education bodies and the Government and its agencies cease to be paper-based

- Domain Names for schools: to provide a coherent naming system for schools under the “.sch.uk” domain

 

Besides, there are also other European countries main objectives that will improve the world of e-learning:

 

- Training of IT specialists

- Adults training

- Encouragement of self training

- Developing of databanks and networks to boost access to cultural and scientist resources

- Curricular integration of ICT

- Measures for disadvantaged pupils

 

In the European Countries that have joined the European Economic Union recently, socio-economic initiatives are considered, in order to improve the effectiveness and competitiveness on the world market.

 

Are there any rules or legislation that we should be aware of?

 

In this kind of systems, the personal data obtaining is possible, so these systems must obey the laws about protection of personal data.

 

Personal data must be protected against:

 

- Non authorised access

- In biometrics, it must be avoided to know other kinds of data through biometrics.

 

The European Parliament has adopted the general rules that govern the protection of citizens as opposed to the personal data processing, as well as the circulation of those data. These rules are gathered in 6 directives:

 

Directive 95/46/CE: With this Directive it is tried to put in harmony the different national legislations (in some cases, nonexistent) concerning the automated personal data processing, as well as the data contained in a file or that is going to appear in it, protecting the people’s liberties and right to the privacy, and the nonprohibition nor restriction of the freely circulation of this information between the State Members

 

Directive 97/66/CE: It establishes the necessary harmonization in the dispositions of the States Members, to guarantee an equivalent level of liberties and fundamental rights protection and, specially, of the right of privacy, in which concerns to the treatment of personal data in the telecommunications sector, as well as the free circulation of such data and the equipment and services of telecommunication in the Community, being this directive applied to personal data processing, in relation to the telecommunication public network and, specially, through the ISDN and the digital public network.

 

Directive 98/34/CE: It sets up a procedure which obliges the Member States of the European Union to notify at the Commission and the other Member States any draft technical regulation relating to the products and services of the Information Society before those were adopted in their national laws.

This procedure allows the control and the transparency of these national rules. Since such rules are susceptible of creating unjustified trade barriers between Member States, the notification with and the evaluation of their contents makes it possible to decrease this risk.

 

Directive 98/48/CE: It establishes some changes and improvements in the directive 98/34/CE.

 

Directive 2000/31/CE: This legislation is related to certain aspects of the “Information Society” services, particularly, the electronic commerce.

 

Directive 2002/58/CE: It establishes some changes and improvements in the directive 97/66/CE.

 

Apart from it, each Member State have their own rules, but all these rules must be in accordance with the European directives detailed above.

 

Illustrations

which can help us to understand the importance and benefits of developing a platform for e-learning.