Thoughts about e-learning projects (Bernd Thaller)

Right now I'm attending a conference about e-learning and there it was said frequently that we have entered a period where the funding of e-learning content is declining or even slowly coming to an end. Projects mainly focused on creating content are getting less and less attention.

What is required now is that e-learning projects have potential for a larger impact. In particular, one thinks about an impact for the development and change of the organisational structure of the institution offering e-learning (schools, universities,..). Perhaps on even thinks of projects devoted solely to organisation and strategy without any content! The second aspect is the implementation and exploration of new pedagogical ideas (for example, collaborative learning, constructivist model). A successful project should be innovative in as many areas as possible.

As the aspects involving organisational matters are not really in the list of topics for discussion at EuroMath, here are some typical points, or rather questions, and incoherent remarks that are perhaps worth discussing:

What can our institutions do to support e-learning better? For example: Making e-learning part of the curriculum. Accepting online-lectures as a possible form teaching (on an equal footing with frontal lectures, seminars, tutorials, excursions,..). Can we get our instition (or, at least, our institute) to declare support for our efforts and use our results? Does our content need some centrally managed software components to be used by teachers? Do we need support of media centers or computer centers at our University? (At least we need web space!) Will the support continue once the funding is over?

Does our project fit into existing organisational structures at our institution that organize and foster e-learning? Do we work together with local "competence centers" (if any) or are they rather a nuisance?

The character of a lecture will certainly change, if it has an online component. What changes do we want? Can we put a course online and offer to take examinations without ever actually holding a lecture? Do students get ETCS points for this? Can they get more points if they agree to learn more? ("Individualisation"). Will this be supported by the curricula?

What can we do to motivate colleages to make contributions to our project? For example, can we make contributions appear like regular publications that can be cited (and are therefore good for one's career)? Can a web course have an ISBN number? Can it be adopted as a schoolbook? Should we put up an editorial board, organize a peer-review system for contributions?

How can we motivate colleages to use our material? Ok, perhaps the answer here is simple. The product must be so easy to use and increadibly good so that nobody can live without it ;-) Do we want to propose organisatorial changes that urge colleages towards e-Learning?

What sort of advertisments will be needed? Will it be necessary to organize conferences that introduce teachers and fellow mathematicians to the new possibilities offered by our system? By what methods do we introduce colleages to the benefits of our system? How do we introduce students to use our material?

Do our efforts contribute to the individualisation of teaching and learning and to the diversity problem (the problem that people are different, have different background, and follow different strategies)? - well, perhaps this point belongs more to didactics.

What methods of evaluation and quality management do we use? (Peer-review, evaluation by students, evaluation of students). What about formative evaluation (evaluation at an early stage that influences the development of the product)? Should the development be accompanied by some sort of controlling procedure?

What about juridical questions? Copyright? Should everything be freely available, or do we protect content against commercial reuse etc? Can we reuse material from others? Will our institutions try to sell our material? What amount of individualization for teaching learning is allowed by law (or by curricula)?

These are but some issues vaguely related to infrastructure, organization, personell, support by our institution, etc. Certainly, there are others. Ideas and comments welcome.

Comment from Mike Pearson