The Development of Virtual : A global perspective ii The Development of Virtual Education: A global perspective

A study of current trends in the virtual delivery of education, conducted with funding provided by the Department for International Development, London, U.K.

DR. GLEN M. FARRELL, STUDY TEAM LEADER AND EDITOR

The Commonwealth of Learning Vancouver, Canada THE COMMONWEALTH of LEARNING

The Commonwealth of Learning is an International Organisation established by Commonwealth Governments in September 1988, following the Heads of Government Meeting held in Vancouver in 1987. It is headquartered in Vancouver and is the only Commonwealth intergovernmental organisation located outside of Britain.

The purpose of The Commonwealth of Learning, as reflected in the Memorandum of Understanding, is to create and widen access to education and to improve its quality, utilising techniques and associated communications technologies to meet the particular requirements of member countries. The agency’s programmes and activities aim to strengthen member countries’ capacities to develop the human resources required for their economic and social advancement and are carried out in collaboration with Governments, relevant agencies, universities, colleges and other educational and training establishments among whom it also seeks to promote co-operative endeavours.

The Chairman of the Board of Governors is Dr. H. Ian Macdonald and COL’s President and Chief Executive Officer is Dato’ Professor Gajaraj Dhanarajan.

© The Commonwealth of Learning, 1999

The Development of Virtual Education: A global perspective. Dr. Glen M. Farrell, editor

ISBN: 1-895369-74-6

Published by: The Commonwealth of Learning Telephone: 604 775 8200 1285 West Broadway, Suite 600 Fax: 604 775 8210 Vancouver, British Columbia E-mail: [email protected] Canada V6H 3X8 Web: http://www.col.org

iv Contents

Foreword — Prof. Gajaraj Dhanarajan ix

Acknowledgements xi

1. Introduction — Dr. Glen M. Farrell 1 Process and Methodology...... 2 General Observations...... 2 The Global Context of Virtual Institution Development ...... 5 Emerging Models of Virtual Education ...... 7 Change Strategies ...... 9 Summary ...... 10 Appendix 1.1: Framework for Regional Reports ...... 11

2. The Development of Virtual Institutions in Canada — Dr. Glen M. Farrell 13 The Context ...... 13 Current Canadian Examples of Virtual Education ...... 15 The Emergence of Virtual Organisations ...... 18 Summary ...... 19 References ...... 22

3. Distance and Virtual Learning in the United States — Dr. Peter J. Dirr 23 Introduction ...... 23 The Context ...... 24 Virtual University Degree Programmes ...... 29 Virtual School Programmes (K–12) ...... 35 Virtual Professional Development Programmes ...... 39 Virtual Training Programmes ...... 40 Double Glass Ceiling ...... 42 Conclusion ...... 42 References ...... 44 Appendix 3.1: The Dirr Grid of Tertiary Distance Education ...... 48

4. Distance and Virtual Learning in the Caribbean — Dr. Peter J. Dirr 49 Introduction ...... 49 The University of the West Indies ...... 50 Other Institutions and Programmes ...... 56 Conclusion ...... 57 References ...... 58

Contents v 5. Open and Distance Education Programmes in Latin America — Dr. Victor Guerra Ortiz 59 Introduction ...... 59 Background ...... 59 Present Educational Conditions in Mexico ...... 59 Perspectives on Distance ...... 63 Computer Technology and Telecommunications in Mexico ...... 66 Distance ...... 70 Distance ...... 73 Distance ...... 74 Distance ...... 74 Distance ...... 75 Distance ...... 75 Appendix 5.1: Literacy in Mexico by Age Group ...... 76

6. European Trends in the Virtual Delivery of Education — Dr. Robin Mason 77 Issues and Perspectives ...... 77 Current Examples of Virtual Education in Europe ...... 79 Other Initiatives ...... 84 Summary ...... 85

7. Virtual Institutions on the African Continent — Mr. Vis Naidoo & Prof. Casper Schutte 89 Introduction ...... 89 The Central Concept of Networks within ICT ...... 90 ICT in Africa ...... 91 Internet Connectivity in Africa ...... 92 Satellite Footprints over Africa for TV...... 96 Satellite Footprint over Africa for Radio ...... 97 South Africa: A Representative Example ...... 98 Primary and Institutions and ’ Training Colleges ...... 110 Commercial Organisations ...... 113 Industrial Organisations ...... 114 Broadcasting Organisations ...... 115 The African Virtual University (AVU): A Representative Example ...... 116 Some Other Representative African Examples ...... 119 General Conclusions ...... 122

8. Virtual Institutions in the Indian Subcontinent — Dr. Sugata Mitra 125 Introduction ...... 125 Computing Infrastructure ...... 125 Internet Accessibility ...... 127 Media ...... 130 Virtual Institutions ...... 131 Online Activity ...... 133 Future Requirements ...... 134 Conclusion ...... 134

vi Contents 9. Virtual Institutions in East and Southeast Asia — Dr. Michael Robertshaw 135 Introduction ...... 135 Cyber-populations ...... 135 Cyber-languages ...... 136 Competition ...... 136 Regional Efforts ...... 136 Progress by Country ...... 137 Virtual Libraries ...... 139 Appendix 9.1: The Development of Virtual Institutions in Korea — Insung Jung...... 140 The Context ...... 140 Virtual Education in Primary and Secondary Schools...... 140 Virtual Education in Colleges and Universities ...... 142 Virtual Training ...... 144 Virtual Training in Enterprises ...... 145 Conclusion ...... 145

10. Virtual Education Institutions in Australia — Mrs. Suellen Tapsall & Dr. Yoni Ryan 147 Introduction ...... 147 Defining the Beast ...... 148 The Emergence of the Beast ...... 149 Towards “Virtuality” ...... 150 Facing the Issues ...... 156 The Australian Perspective ...... 158 In the Making ...... 161 Last Words ...... 164 References ...... 164 11. Trends in the Virtual Delivery of and the Pacific Islands — Dr. Lalita Rajasingham 165 Introduction ...... 165 New Zealand ...... 166 Pacific Islands ...... 169 Conclusion ...... 170 References ...... 170

Contents vii

Foreword

This study, The Development of Virtual Education: A the need greater to apply these new technologies global perspective, is but a snapshot of the state of than in many parts of the Commonwealth where virtual education at a given point in time. The the gap between the supply and demand for rapid rate at which the new technologies are education is so great. changing in character, cost, and capacities makes For The Commonwealth of Learning, the it difficult for any study to remain valid in perpe- study clarifies where we could be most helpful tuity. When The Commonwealth of Learning, in our interventions around the Commonwealth. with financial assistance from the Department for Such interventions need not be limited only to International Development, U.K., commissioned helping build Commonwealth capacity in virtual this study, we were aware of the time sensitivity education; they could also include using current of the data that would be collected. Still, we were experience, available technologies, and knowl- convinced that there was merit in proceeding, edgeable people to deliver training and educa- for two reasons: tion in selected areas which, for various reasons, · Despite the ever-changing nature of the tech- could not be achieved in one or another nation nological environment, some valuable les- of the Commonwealth. sons can be learned from those pioneers The Commonwealth of Learning is greatly currently practising virtual education. indebted to Dr. Glen Farrell, Study Team Leader · On the basis of those lessons learned, The and Editor, and the expert group that came to- Commonwealth of Learning can take steps gether to undertake this study for us. Together to further benefit Commonwealth education. they brought a wealth of experience and great commitment to this assignment. We are also grate- This study clearly responds well to both these ful to Ms. Myra Harrison and Mr. Jim Butler of reasons. As the 10 reports in the study reveal, the Department for International Development, even though current participation in virtual edu- U.K., as well as the Department itself, for their cation is modest, the potential for spectacular generous funding to undertake the study. growth in, and application of, this new way of teaching and learning certainly exist. Nowhere is Dato’ Professor Gajaraj Dhanarajan President and Chief Executive Officer The Commonwealth of Learning June 1999

Foreword ix

Acknowledgements

The Commonwealth of Learning wishes to ex- · Dr. Robin Mason, Head, Centre for In- press its appreciation to the Government of the formation and Technology in Education, United Kingdom, through its Department for Open University, Milton Keynes, United International Development, for providing the Kingdom: European Trends in the Virtual De- funding which allowed this study to be under- livery of Education. taken. For the implementation of the study, The · Dr. Sugata Mitra, Research and Develop- Commonwealth of Learning is particularly in- ment Centre, NIIT Limited, New Delhi, debted to those people who agreed to be mem- India: Virtual Institutions in the Indian Subconti- bers of the study team and provide reports on nent (Including Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, the status of the development of virtual educa- Pakistan, and Sri Lanka). tion institutions in their region. Each of them is · Mr. Vis Naidoo, Director, Centre for Edu- currently involved in some aspect of virtual in- cational Technology and Distance Education, stitution development, whether as a teacher, Ministry of Education, Government of scholar, entrepreneur, or in administration and South Africa, Pretoria: Virtual Institutions on policy development. Collectively they represent the African Continent. a wealth of knowledge and experience and, more importantly, they are all active students of the · Dr. Victor Guerra Ortiz, SchoolNet Co- application of information and communication ordinator, Latin American Institute of Edu- technologies to the process of education and cational Communication, Mexico: Open and learning. They are: Distance Education Programmes in Latin America. · Dr. Peter Dirr, President, Public Service Tel- · Dr. Lalita Rajasingham, Director of Pro- ecommunications Corporation, U.S.A.: Distance grammes, School of Communications and and Virtual Learning in the United States, and Information Management, University of Distance and Virtual Learning in the Caribbean. Victoria, Wellington, New Zealand: Trends in · Dr. Glen M. Farrell, Consultant, Develop- the Virtual Delivery of Education in New Zea- ment of Education and Training Systems, land and the Pacific Islands. Glen Farrell & Associates, Vancouver, · Dr. Mike Robertshaw, Programme Leader, Canada: Introduction and The Development of School of Science and Technology, Open Virtual Institutions in Canada. University of Hong Kong: Virtual Institutions in East and Southeast Asia.

Acknowledgements xi · Dr. Yoni Ryan, Senior Policy Advisor (Flex- · Mrs. Suellen Tapsall, Senior Lecturer in ible Delivery), Teaching and Learning Sup- Journalism, School of Media Communica- port Services, Queensland University of tion and Culture, Murdoch University, Aus- Technology, Australia: Virtual Education In- tralia: Virtual Education Institutions in Australia: stitutions in Australia: Between the Idea and the Between the Idea and the Reality. Reality. Dr. Glen M. Farrell also served as leader of · Prof. CJH Schutte, Independent Educa- the study group and was responsible for the tion Consultant, Pretoria, South Africa: Vir- preparation of the final report. tual Institutions on the African Continent.

xii Acknowledgements Introduction

1 DR. GLEN M. FARRELL

Provision for education will be the biggest With that rationale, the Commonwealth of challenge for most governments as they at- Learning proposed to the United Kingdom tempt to attain the ideals of peace, freedom, Department for International Development that and social justice, while striving at the same a comprehensive study be made of the global time to position themselves to generate more state of practice globally of virtual education in wealth and compete in the free global mar- schools and on campuses in order to achieve the ket. Bold steps have to be considered by states following: to provide their people with affordable access · Get a snapshot picture of what is being done to education; using methods of mass educa- by whom and where. tion will be inevitable. Even by using these · Study the potential impact of such initiatives methods, not all aspirations will be met. In- on a range of current practices. tervention by outside agencies is one solu- · Provide Commonwealth Governments with tion, but it will come at a higher cost than information relating to technology and tel- most individuals in the developing parts of ecommunication infrastructure as well as fi- the world can afford. One solution available nancial and human resource needs for set- for Governments of the Commonwealth is ting up virtual learning facilities. to use the newer technologies as vehicles to bring a variety of educational opportunities · Enable existing distance education provid- to individuals in their respective countries. ers of the Commonwealth to re-engineer The knowledge, skills and a significant part themselves to benefit from this emerging of the infrastructure to create a virtual campus option. seems to be there in many jurisdictions but · Review protocols and other administrative little is known of the what, why, and how of arrangements for awarding credits and cre- such operations. dentials under special circumstances through Commonwealth co-operation in virtuality. (From A Proposal to Study Trends in the Virtual Delivery of Education, presented to the U.K. The Department for International Develop- Department of International Development) ment agreed to fund the study and work began in September 1998.

Introduction 1 Process and Methodology At this stage, however, there are very few exam- ples where that is the case. The study is intended to provide a global snap- Within the Framework (Appendix 1.1) team shot of the state and practice of virtual educa- members were encouraged to develop their re- tion. It is not meant to be an exhaustive analysis ports to reflect the context of virtual education of all virtual education initiatives. It should be development in their regions. Some of the re- seen as illustrative, based on the knowledge and ports focus on the state of information and com- perceptions of the individual members of the munication technology infrastructure develop- study team. We also see this as a work in progress ment in the region, while others (those where the because the interest and activity in the concept infrastructure is readily available), provide exam- we have called virtual education is extremely dy- ples of practice and discuss the related issues. namic. Some team members, because of the size and The Commonwealth of Learning identified complexity of their assigned regions and the lack 10 global regions and commissioned an indi- of access to electronic data-gathering capacity, vidual in each region to write a paper describing, were compromised in their ability to make their from his or her perspective, the state of practice reports as comprehensive as they would have of virtual education in that region. Study team wished. members were selected on the basis of their (Note: Throughout this publication, univer- known interest, expertise, and experience in the sal resource locators (URLs) are included to per- development of virtual education strategies and mit readers to pursue additional information on models. The regional reports were completed in sites and topics referenced. These URLs are valid February 1999, and the study group convened Internet addresses as of March 1999. Due to the during the first week of March in Brunei nature of the World Wide Web and the re-struc- Darrusalam during the Pan-Commonwealth Fo- turing of home pages by Web masters, the ad- rum on Open Learning to review regional de- dresses might change by the time readers try to velopments and synthesise a global perspective. access the referenced sites. If you get an “Error The first task of the study team was to define 404” or “Invalid Location” message when you the study parameters and agree on a working try to access a site, try removing the last part of definition of virtual education (see Framework the address to at least get to the home page of for Regional Reports in Appendix 1.1). This was the host organisation.) a difficult task, and the definition initially agreed upon is admittedly broad. Making it more pre- cise would have meant excluding a great deal of General Observations current practice that involves some exciting and The 10 regional reports reflect, not surprisingly, creative use of information and communication a great deal of variation in the stage of develop- technologies. Having now gone through the ex- ment of virtual models of education. Taken to- ercise of applying the definition, we have con- gether, however, they do provide a world view cluded that it remains a useful way to conceptual- from which the study team has distilled the fol- ise the notion of virtual education. As develop- lowing observations: ment takes place, the definition may become more • The label virtual is widely and indiscriminately focused on those teaching and learning interac- used around the world. Indeed, it is frequently tions mediated entirely through the application used interchangeably with other labels such of information and communication technologies. as open and distance learning, distributed learning,

2 Introduction networked learning, Web-based learning, and com- applications of information and communi- puter learning. Furthermore, it is used in some cation technologies tend to be unsophisti- regions to refer to systems that combine cated. Commonly, for example, the World broadcast and interactive teleconferencing Wide Web is used by institutions simply as a technologies that operate in real time. With publishing medium without addressing the such broad use of the term, you need to interactive potential of the technology. This know what the information and communi- may be because little attention seems to be cation technology applications are in order paid to the importance of staff retraining to know what virtual education means in any and development. given context. • There are some remarkable examples of the • In spite of the increased use of the term transformation that can take place when a virtual, there are very few examples of insti- vision for an educational system is developed tutions using information and communica- and its implementation championed by de- tion technologies to carry out all the func- cision-makers. Perhaps the clearest examples tions included in our definition. The most are the initiatives that have been taken in common applications of information and Korea (see Appendix 9.1 in Virtual Institu- communication technologies are found in tions in East and Southeast Asia). administration, materials development and • The emergence of virtual institutions is di- distribution, and where possible, student tui- rectly linked to the development of, and ac- tion in the form of student-student and stu- cess to, information and communication tech- dent-tutor interaction. nology infrastructure. However, major • While there are still few examples of virtual socio-economic and geographical disparities institutions in the purest sense, the amount exist in such access. This disparity is perhaps of development activity in all types and lev- the most critical issue of virtual education els of educational organisations, both public because those without access are likely to be and private, is considerable in all parts of increasingly disadvantaged in acquiring skills the world. No one seems to doubt that the and knowledge. In spite of this obvious link- development and deployment of informa- age, it seems that strategic planning for the tion and communication technologies will development of information and commu- have a profound impact on access, institu- nication technology infrastructure typically tional functioning, and the teaching and learn- proceeds with little, if any, consideration for ing process. However, teachers and admin- educational applications. istrators have many questions and concerns • The application of information and com- (see the section below, The Global Context munication technologies to the provision of of Virtual Institution Development). education is having a two-pronged effect on • The development of virtual institutions is the marketing of education by institutions. still experimental, rather unfocused, and not First, there is now an emphasis on strategies necessarily matched to clientele learning that respond to niche learning needs rather needs. While there are some exceptions (e.g., than on a broad array of programmes to a the programmes offered in Communica- common market group. In other words, the tions Studies at the University of Victoria market is being fragmented. Second, there is in Wellington, New Zealand), generally the an unprecedented degree of competition,

Introduction 3 nationally and internationally, which is creat- is typically occurring on a programme- ing problems for those institutions that have specific basis that, in many instances, is historically used revenue from high-demand creating a virtual institution inside a tra- programmes to subsidise the low-demand ditional institution. programmes. Some jurisdictions are attempt- 3. The corporate sector. Many large or- ing to limit this growing competition through ganisations have developed internal legislation, regulation, and accreditation re- training programmes based on infor- quirements. However, the consensus seems mation and communication technology to be that these measures will, at best, be delivery and, increasingly, they, are mar- effective only in the short term since the tech- keting them using the virtual label. nologies being used do not honour political boundaries. 4. Individuals who, for reasons ranging • It’s generally believed that we will see the from altruism to profit, are motivated emergence of a relatively small number of to use the technology to create learning international providers who will dominate opportunities for anyone who is inter- the educational market through vast distri- ested. This study did not set out to ei- bution networks and strategic partnerships. ther document or describe the emer- However, at this stage in the evolution of gence of this form of virtual educa- virtual institutions, this observation appears tion; however, it is becoming common- to be more rhetorical than real. While there place on the World Wide Web and de- is evidence of global providers and of their serves to be identified. continuing emergence, there is, as yet, no in- • Cost reduction is frequently cited as an ob- dication that they will dominate the market- jective to be served through the introduc- place. tion of information and communication • The emergence of virtual institutions appears technologies within educational institutions. to be coming from four separate sources: However, there is a paucity of valid and re- 1. Institutions that have historically been liable data on the question of costs. involved in open and distance educa- • There is rapid emergence, particularly in North tion on a single mode or dual-mode America, of new forms of virtual organisa- basis. tions that do not act as direct providers of educational programmes. This observation 2. Traditional institutions, from schools reflects the shift to institutions “unbundling” to universities, that have never been in- many functions, such as the development and volved in distance education. These in- distribution of learning materials, tuition, as- stitutions are now beginning to apply sessment, registration and record-keeping, information and communication tech- award-granting, learner support, and general nologies to support their campus- administration. These functions can now be based teaching in order to add quality shared through a wide variety of organisa- and increase productivity and flexibil- tional arrangements marked by specialisation ity, with the belief that doing so may and “added-value” partnerships involving reduce costs and increase revenue by both the public and private sectors. attracting new students. This transition

4 Introduction The Global Context of Virtual information, which enriches the learning ex- perience. Further, in the conventional distance Institution Development education environment, we find the technolo- The evolution of virtual institutions is occurring gies being adopted to improve the learning in the context of a wide range of forces that, on process through interactive and collabora- one hand, are driving the need for change, and tive learning to reduce the learners’ sense of on the other, serve to constrain change or at least isolation. slow the pace. These changes range from those · The demand from isolated learners for more that are regionally specific to those that are glo- equitable access and service. This, of course, bally pervasive. The importance of any one of is not new, and was the reason for the devel- them is determined by the specific socio-eco- opment of correspondence courses. How- nomic context of a given state or nation. ever, the context is broader now as the ca- pacity of the technologies enables a remote, FORCES DRIVING THE DEVELOPMENT single-room school to access many of the OF VIRTUAL INSTITUTIONS instructional resources available to schools in Factors that influence the development of vir- an urban setting. tual learning models are as follows: · The perception of many institutions, particu- · The increasing capacity, flexibility, and suit- larly in Europe and North America, that the ability of information and communication application of information and communi- technologies to educational applications, to- cation technologies will enable them to in- gether with the continuing decrease in the cost crease their market share in an environment of hardware. that is increasingly competitive. · The enabling capacity of the technologies to · The need to be seen to be “keeping up with “unbundle” functions (as described above) the competition.” Administrators worry that that have traditionally been provided by one student recruitment, donations, and grants institution. may decline if this expectation is not met. · The growth of knowledge, with its attend- · The expectation by policy makers and ad- ant consequence of the obsolescence of ministrators that the development of virtual much of what was previously learned, plac- delivery models will reduce costs, increase ing an ever-increasing pressure on conven- productivity, and enable expansion without tional models of education. People are seek- cost increases. ing opportunities for lifelong learning, and with diverse personal circumstances, they FORCES OPPOSING THE DEVELOPMENT require flexible access-to-learning opportu- nities and venues such as the home, the work OF VIRTUAL INSTITUTIONS place, the community learning centre, as well Opposing those forces that are driving the emer- as the traditional campus-based institution. gence of virtual learning models is another set of values, beliefs, perceptions, and realities that · The realisation that the quality of the learn- serve to constrain the rate of change. The fol- ing experience can be enhanced by apply- lowing are examples: ing information and communication tech- · In many parts of the world there is simply nologies. In the conventional classroom we no access to networks and in many others find increasing use of the Internet to access

Introduction 5 the cost of access is prohibitive. A related faculty to embrace the use of information factor is the amount of bandwidth that can and communication technologies. Lack of be accessed, which determines the possible training in the use of the technologies is the information and communication technology most frequently cited reason for the reticence. applications. However, concerns over job security, the · Many learners have no access to the neces- need for greater preparation as a result of sary information and communication tech- operating in a public environment like the nology appliances such as computers, tel- World Wide Web, plus the need to manage ephones, and televisions. Even within devel- an increased amount of communications oped economies, the disparity of access is with students are also contributing factors. so great that many policy makers fear that · The educational philosophy of many teach- adopting these technologies will result in a ers and faculty contributes to their reticence widening of the gap between the “haves” of communication technology applications. and the “have nots.” If they believe that learning should be struc- · Copyright restrictions on the use of instruc- tured and directed by teachers, then they are tional products and materials do not pro- not likely to be attracted to using informa- mote sharing through collaborative inter-in- tion and communication technologies, which stitutional arrangements or through broad enables a more constructivist or learner-cen- international delivery models. tred approach to education. · The front-end cost of implementing high- · The transfer of course credits among institu- quality virtual models constitutes a major tions is a problem for those students who constraint, even if it is believed that ultimate would like to undertake a programme that savings are possible through standardisation, might be available through virtual methods resource sharing, economies of scale, and but would require taking courses from sev- increased productivity. The cost of initial eral different institutions. From the students’ hardware, operating software, and instruc- perspective, this is a serious constraint on their tional material development typically require ability to function as true virtual learners. capitalisation funds that far exceed the re- · Many people, particularly those who are sources of most institutions. In some cases younger and with less experience as independ- the problem is dealt with through internal ent learners, when given a choice prefer a tra- reallocation of funds (e.g., from library ac- ditional face-to-face learning environment. quisitions to technology support). There is These learners tend to be more organised and also a widespread practice of passing these vocal than older, part-time learners and, there- costs on to the student through tuition fee fore, can be a significant political force against increases or special levies. information and communication technology · Current systems of learner support are not applications in education. designed to function effectively in a virtual edu- While the above list is not exhaustive, it should cation environment, creating problems for all remind educational policy makers and managers but the most capable of independent learners. that, in many respects, it is not the technologies · Perhaps the most commonly reported con- themselves that are at issue, but the purpose and straint is the reticence of most teachers and manner of their use that are likely to influence opinion of virtual education.

6 Introduction Emerging Models of Virtual · There has been rapid growth of virtual edu- cation within many so-called traditional in- Education stitutions. Virtual programmes are offered As stated earlier, the emergence of virtual edu- by institutions that offer most other pro- cation models is directly linked with the emer- grammes in the traditional manner. More gence of information and communication tech- mature examples exist in the United States, nology infrastructure. For example, the emer- Australia, and Canada; however, it is an gence of postal systems enabled by the develop- emerging phenomenon in all regions. ment of transportation technology led to the · Single-mode distance teaching organisations, development of correspondence models of using primarily print-based delivery and cre- education delivery. As the broadcast media ated originally with relatively clear and exclu- evolved, first radio and more recently television, sive mandates, are now confronted with hav- those technologies were applied to mass educa- ing to reinvent themselves. On one hand, their tional programming, typically those of a general once-exclusive mandates are evaporating, and and community education nature. Indeed many on the other, they are constrained in the use educators feel the potential for using these tech- of information and communication technolo- nologies has been, and remains, woefully under gies because their students typically have diffi- utilised. With the more recent development of culty accessing the necessary appliances. real-time interactive media such as audio- and · Broker-type organisations, designed to ac- video-conferencing, there has been broad use of quire or broker programmes from a variety these technologies in formal education to reach of institutional providers and add value under-served students. Applications have been through flexible entry and credit transfer particularly noticeable in North America and policies, are emerging rapidly. Two exam- Australia. Now the phenomenon of the Internet ples are the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) and the World Wide Web is driving the broadest Going the Distance project in the United scope of interest and involvement in technology States and the University of the Highlands applications ever witnessed across all levels of and the Islands project in Scotland. educational institutions. With each of these developments of infor- · Information and facility provider-type or- mation and communication technology, the once- ganisations have emerged in response to the separate models of open and distance learning and support needs of learners as well as those the so-called conventional, campus-based educa- of institutions. Examples include the Queens- tion has increasingly converged. Tapsall and Ryan land Open Learning Network in Australia, have elaborated on this phenomenon in their re- the University for Industry in the U.K., the port on Australia, Virtual Education Institutions in Maine Network for Education Technology Australia: Between the Idea and the Reality, suggesting Service in the U.S., the Confederation of an interesting model for looking at its evolution. Open Learning Institutions of South Africa, One result of the convergence of teaching mod- European Study Centres, and the Sylvan els has been the emergence of new forms of edu- Calibre Learning Network in the U.S. cational organisations. These models are not mu- · Institutions that are authorised to award cre- tually exclusive and undoubtedly others will de- dentials and to provide a variety of other serv- velop quickly. Here are a few current examples: ices such as learning assessment, educational

Introduction 7 planning, and learning records, but do not 3. Specialised service organisations that are fo- provide instruction directly to students, are cused on providing consultation, project becoming part of educational systems, es- management, technical support, and private pecially in North America. Examples are tuition have evolved on a fee-for-service Regents College in New York State and the basis. Examples are the IBM Global Cam- newly created Western Governors Univer- pus and the McGraw-Hill Learning Infra- sity in the United States. (Note, however, that structure, as cited in Distance and Virtual the latter is still moving through the accredi- Learning in the United States, Virtual Univer- tation process.) sity Enterprises as cited in European Trends It is noteworthy that while the United States in the Virtual Delivery of Education, and Real never developed a single-mode distance teach- Education, as cited in Virtual Education In- ing institution such as the U.K. Open University stitutions in Australia. (Note: Real Education or the National Open School in India at either no longer operates in Australia but remains the state or national level, it is there that we are active in the U.S.) seeing the most prolific development of these The phenomenon of the “tele-centre” or newer institutional forms. “tele-learning centre” is emerging as a hallmark It is also noteworthy that these newer types of the virtual education environment. In concept of organisations, which are not focused on di- it is not new; the idea of a community learning rect instruction, potentially transcend political, centre has long been a part of various models geographic, and legislative boundaries much more of and was pioneered many years easily than the more traditional models. ago with the Scandinavian concept of “learning The rapid growth of private sector provid- circles.” However, in its current form the con- ers is another dimension of the emerging model cept involves the creation of community-based scene. These are three types: access points where connectivity to networks is 1. Direct providers of instruction, usually with provided and access to information and com- a focus on a particular niche market, have munication technology appliances is made avail- become prevalent and profitable. Examples able. While applications may not be exclusive to are The University of Phoenix and Jones education, the idea of the technology-based com- International University as described in Dis- munity learning centre provides an essential com- tance and Virtual Learning in the United States, ponent of any virtual education system that as- and National Institute of Information Tech- pires to be broadly accessible. Countries like In- nology (NIIT) as described in Virtual Insti- dia, which recently announced it will create in- tutions in the Indian Subcontinent. formation kiosks throughout the country, and 2. Corporate training networks, developed ini- South Africa, with its commitment to develop- tially to meet internal training needs, are now ing tele-centres, are examples of nations which exploiting external market opportunities and have recognised the importance of ensuring ac- are increasingly seeking formal recognition cess to citizens as a matter of public policy. for the training they provide. Examples in- Although virtual education models have not clude Quantas Airlines, as cited in Virtual yet influenced education at the primary and sec- Education Institutions in Australia and South ondary levels in a pervasive sense, there is evi- Africa Telecom, as cited in Virtual Institutions dence that this will start to occur rapidly. Initia- on the African Continent. tives such as SchoolNet in Canada, SchoolNet

8 Introduction India, SchoolNet South Africa, and the Open 2. Use policy, legislative, and regulatory incen- School in British Columbia, Canada, are exam- tives to ensure that some portion of telecom- ples. The evolving model is likely to remain fo- munication capacity (e.g., X% of cable chan- cused on classrooms, but with more flexibility in nels or Y% of bandwidth) is reserved for the role of the teacher. This role can be por- educational use at costs that are affordable trayed as a continuum, at one end of which tech- by institutions. If such incentives are avail- nologies are used to support teachers and, at the able free of charge to accredited institutions, other, teachers support learning where informa- they will help ensure that educational appli- tion is primarily accessed via information and cations become part of telecommunication communication technologies. infrastructure development. 3. Ensure that all facets of the concept of ap- Change Strategies propriateness are considered. In other words, Two visions of change in educational systems the technology needs to be appropriate to emerge from the regional reports in this publica- the skills and characteristics of the target learn- tion. One portrays technology as an overwhelm- ers, the nature of the programme content, ing driving force with the emergence of a few the current competency of the instructional global providers dominating the educational staff, and available funding. market through vast distribution networks and 4. Show how the application of information strategic partnerships. The second involves a more and communication technology in education explicit, policy-based approach at national and can enhance existing practice. If teachers state levels which is concerned with issues such perceive that a given application will help them as equity of access, curriculum relevance to la- accomplish their goals more efficiently and bour market needs, accreditation, consumer pro- effectively, they will more likely change their tection, and cultural sensitivity. These visions are, behaviour and be motivated to acquire the of course, not mutually exclusive as they can, and necessary skills and knowledge. are likely to, co-exist. However, if they are to co- 5. Ensure that appropriate staff training and exist in a positive way, then it behooves educa- development programmes are available as tional policy makers to ensure that the educa- an essential part of any change strategy. tional leaders in their jurisdictions are making 6. If the purpose of increased utilisation of decisions in a careful manner and are managing information and communication technolo- the process of change as constructively as possi- gies is to achieve cost savings, ensure that there ble. Following are some strategies that the study is a clear plan in place indicating precisely how team considers important: such savings will be effected and whether 1. Ensure that information and communication they will be real savings rather than simply a technology development planning is linked transfer of costs to students. with educational planning so that the applica- tion is both appropriate and sustainable in 7. Encourage differentiated mandates among terms of access to the infrastructure. Wher- institutions. There is an obvious cost benefit ever possible, virtual delivery should be linked if complementary rather than competitive to the development of tele-centres to enhance development can be achieved within educa- access and add value to overall information tional systems. and communication technology development.

Introduction 9 8. Encourage and support initiatives of fac- 11. Effective incorporation of the technologies ulty members. Change, particularly within requires a commitment by all parts of an conventional institutions, often occurs at the institution. For example, the offering of initiative of the individual teachers rather courses on-line will be diminished if the reg- than by strategic decisions taken by the in- istry insists on “hard copy” processes. stitutions. 9. Consider how or whether institutional func- Summary tions can be “unbundled,” particularly be- As stated at the outset, this study was designed as tween those functions related directly to the a “snapshot” of current practice and the state of provision of instruction, and those that re- development of virtual education. Given the late to materials development and learner dynamic nature of information and communi- support. The goal is to enable the partners cation technology, the examples cited date very to focus on what they each do best—their quickly. However, what will endure is the phe- “core business.” nomenon of change that educational institutions 10. Recognise that the development of virtual at all levels, and in all parts of the world, are education models will create change forces experiencing. The decisions that face educational in a variety of other ways: leaders and practitioners are no longer simply • Advising and counselling may need to intra-institutional; increasingly they are systemic be managed differently. and international in scope and involve some as- pect of technological application. The world of • Concerns over the quality assurance of education has become a smaller place and, like it providers using information and com- or not, more interdependent. munication technologies will develop as However, just as the emerging information new players become involved. and communication technologies have made the • Issues of credit recognition and trans- educational decision-making environment more fer will arise between institutions. complex, so have they led to a great deal of con- ventional wisdom regarding their application. We • Demands from learners for assessment cannot over-stress the importance of the con- of existing skills and knowledge will cept of appropriateness when making decisions become commonplace. about information and communications technol- • Decisions related to the allocation of ogy applications. This study has revealed nothing funds will increasingly be between the if not that the use of information and commu- costs of “bricks and mortar” on one nication technology should be in the context of hand, and the cost of “bandwidth” on clearly stated educational outcomes accompanied the other. by practical strategies for achieving them.

10 Introduction Appendix 1.1: Framework for 2. The scope of the study should not be lim- ited to universities. Examples of virtual in- Regional Reports stitutions may include both the public and 1. A Virtual Education Institution may be de- private sector and may focus on elementary, fined as: secondary, or tertiary levels as well as non- formal learning and continuing professional (a) An institution which is involved as a di- education such as teacher upgrading. rect provider of learning opportunities to students and is using information and 3. In addition to describing the nature of the communication technologies to deliver virtual institutional examples and the nature its programmes and courses and pro- and context of information and communi- vide tuition support. Such institutions cation technology applications, reports are also likely to be using information should also consider comments on issues and communication technologies for such as: such other core activities as: • Technology infrastructure limitations • Administration (e.g., marketing, reg- that have been experienced istration, student records, fee pay- • Financial impacts ments, etc.) • Human resource requirements • Materials development, production, and distribution • Learner acceptance • Delivery and tuition • Teacher acceptance • Career counselling/advising, prior • Reactions of conventional institutions learning assessment, and examinations • General demographic characteristics (b) An organisation that has been created of learners being served through alliances/partnerships to facili- tate teaching and learning to occur with- 4. Some institutions or states may have plans out itself being involved as a direct pro- for developing virtual institutions which are vider of instruction. Example of such not yet operational. These should be included organisations would be the Open Learn- in regional reports if doing so would pro- ing Agency of Australia, the emerging vide a more complete picture of develop- Western Governors University in the mental trends in the region. United States, and the National Techno- logical University.

Introduction 11 12 Introduction The Development of Virtual Institutions in Canada

2 DR. GLEN M. FARRELL

The Context in hard copy with the Internet being used for conferencing purposes, access to supplementary Educational institutions at all levels in Canada face databases, assignments, and administrative sup- a common set of challenges: decreased financial port. Full multimedia and, therefore, pure virtual resources, increased diversity of their students’ learning, will evolve as bandwidth becomes more learning needs and preferred learning styles, in- technically and financially accessible. creasing demand for more accessible pro- Education theory is also affecting the evolu- grammes with more relevant content, and in- tion of virtual institutions in Canada. The debate creasing competition from other providers. between those who believe learning should be In response to these pressures, Canadian in- structured and directed by teachers and those who stitutions are increasing their use of information believe that students should take more responsi- and communications technologies (ICT). For bility for their own learning is not new. Until re- some the goal is to improve the quality of their cently, the state of development of ICT has not current distance education delivery models. For facilitated the latter as much as it has the former, others, particularly the more traditional universi- with the result that the technologies have been ties, it is to enrich the quality of the on-campus used predominantly to extend the teacher-directed learning experience, to improve access, or to meet model (e.g., online video-conferencing). How- perceived competitive forces. Further, many ad- ever, with increasing demand for competencies ministrators and policy makers believe that by such as critical thinking, knowledge creation, making use of these technologies, they can re- teamwork, and collaborative learning, together duce costs or increase enrolments without increas- with the ability of technologies to enable much ing costs. more learner initiative and control, the debate is However, the current state of ICT develop- occurring in a different context. For those teach- ment is an extremely important variable influ- ers who have viewed themselves as the centre- encing the development of virtual education. For piece of their students’ learning experience, com- example, limited access to bandwidth at afford- bining the two approaches requires a major shift able rates has meant that text remains the pri- in both behaviour and self-concept. mary format for materials. Given that extensive Of all the terms used to describe the increas- reading of print on screen is difficult for many ing use of ICT in Canada, virtual is perhaps the people, content material is most often provided least common. Other terms being used, besides

The Development of Virtual Institutions in Canada 13 distance and open learning, include on-line learn- in the number of private schools and colleges ing, distributed learning, network learning, independent focusing on training in the ICT industry. They learning, cyberschooling, and tele-learning. Some newly use technology to deliver their programmes and created institutions, such as the Technical Univer- frequently describe themselves as virtual organi- sity of British Columbia and Collège de L’Acadie sations. Furthermore, the corporate world is in Nova Scotia, are defining themselves as virtual making extensive use of ICT for internal train- 21st century organisations. Established distance ing, recognising that keeping the skills and knowl- teaching institutions, such as Télé-Université in edge of their workforce current is an essential Quebec, Athabasca University in Alberta, and the part of their business strategy. In fact, this has Open Learning Agency in British Columbia, become such an important component that many which were originally entirely print-based with larger organisations have established their own telephone tutoring, are moving rapidly to Web- Intranet because of the proprietary nature of the based delivery. However, they are still more likely content of their training programmes. Some de- to refer to themselves as distance teaching or open scribe these systems, and the programming they institutions. offer on it, as their “virtual university.” All of the so-called traditional institutions are A recent report from the Office of Learning now using these technologies, or are planning to Technologies describes critical success factors in in the near future, for instructional purposes. For the use of “learnware” in the private sector, par- some the focus is on a particular programme ticularly by medium and small enterprises. Based (e.g., the M.B.A. programme from Queen’s Uni- on eight case studies, the report describes these versity delivered across Canada using a combi- factors as follows: nation of video-conferencing and e-mail). For · Partnerships involving both private and pub- others, it may involve using the technologies to lic organisations in the development and de- enrich learning that is essentially classroom-based livery of learning products. by enabling more access to remote databases, · A thorough analysis of learner needs prior access to instructor notes, or more collaboration to development. among learners. Most of these institutions do not · Content of the learnware is realistic and refer to these activities as virtual; on the other credible to the target audience. hand, there are those that have developed a few courses for Web delivery and very proudly call · Creation of a sufficient market in terms of themselves virtual institutions. partnerships, right pricing, and broad busi- Perhaps surprisingly, the most frequent use of ness-based approaches to marketing of the “virtual” to describe the burgeoning use of these learnware. technologies is found in the schools sector (K-12). · A delivery format that is appropriate for the Several provinces have created an infrastructure target market. to provide services to individual schools as well as · Links to accreditation in the form of certifi- directly to students. Examples are the Alberta Dis- cates or degrees is important from a moti- tance Learning Centre and Ednet in Alberta and vational standpoint and in the development the Open School/ Regional Distance Education of industry standards. Schools Partnership in British Columbia. The private sector is also emerging as a sig- Under the Canadian constitution, the federal nificant player in virtual models of training and government has a very limited role in education. education. Canada has seen tremendous growth Therefore, most initiatives are at the provincial

14 The Development of Virtual Institutions in Canada level and are driven by several factors such as the interdisciplinary team of over 130 research- need to increase accessibility and control capital ers at 30 universities working with approxi- expenditures and the pressures from parents and mately 160 private and public organisations students who are dissatisfied with the public edu- across Canada. Its mission is to research, cation system and who are demanding more flex- develop and demonstrate effective knowl- ibility in delivery options. edge-building pedagogies that can be imple- However, no comment about the context in mented through tele-learning to support the which the concept of virtual education is evolv- development of a knowledge economy. A ing within Canada would be complete without list of the projects underway is available mentioning some of the national programmes. from Simon Fraser University. The following is not an exhaustive list, but it il- · The Canadian Association for Distance Education, lustrates the types of initiatives that are having a an organisation for professionals working in major impact on the evolution of virtual educa- distance education, has its membership from tion and training. all sectors of public education, industry train- · The Office of Learning Technologies, established ing, hardware and software distributors, and within the Department of Human Resources network providers. It is very active in organ- Development Canada, works with provin- ising conferences and workshops, promot- cial governments, institutions, private sector ing research, and using its listserv to facilitate organisations, and non-governmental groups collaboration and information sharing. to promote the effective use of learning tech- These types of national organisations are per- nologies, support assessment, and research haps more important in the Canadian context related to the educational use of technolo- because of the exclusive provincial jurisdiction gies, and to help in the sharing of knowl- over education. They enable networking and edge and experience. partnerships both regionally and nationally that · SchoolNet led by Industry Canada, is an initia- would otherwise be difficult. tive of the federal and provincial governments, Canadian businesses, and the Canadian learn- ing community. The objective is to enhance Current Canadian Examples educational opportunities through the use of of Virtual Education the Internet. SchoolNet services include There are a great many exciting initiatives teacher-designed networking projects, virtual underway in Canada under the rubric of virtual environments for situation-based learning, education—far too many to attempt to list them online career materials, special pricing for hard- all. The examples that follow, therefore, are in- ware and software, and access to university tended to illustrate the range of virtual education and college course materials. developments that are occurring. · The Telelearning Network of Centres of Excel- lence, headquartered at Simon Fraser Uni- SCHOOLS SECTOR (K-12) versity in British Columbia, is the only na- · Alberta Distance Learning Centre (ADLC), a tional research programme in the world that branch of the Ministry of Education, pro- is examining networked learning across all vides distance learning programmes to stu- educational sectors, from to dents throughout the province and offers adult . It involves an online learning opportunities through its

The Development of Virtual Institutions in Canada 15 Online School. Students registered in the whiteboard. Content is provided in a school study from print-based materials and, sequenced manner with files that can be ex- for science courses, science lab kits. They work ecuted and downloaded and which include independently with frequent interaction with hyperlinks to the Web for research. Self-as- teachers. Students are supplied with a com- sessment is built into the process with teach- puter, which has CD-ROM, modem, ers having the capability to monitor and in- Internet browser, conferencing, fax, and tervene. printing software. Virtual “chat rooms” are · New Directions in Distance Learning (NDDL) available for students to work collaboratively is a programme offered by the Open School and for parents to discuss educational issues. (a division of the Open Learning Agency in Counselling services, technical training, and British Columbia), which offers high school ongoing support are provided for both stu- graduation programmes to students in small dents and parents. Future plans call for the schools, learning centres, and at-home learn- use of new technologies that will allow post- ers in the province. The programme oper- ing of course materials while providing syn- ates on a triad model with the student, an chronous audio, whiteboard, and application on-site facilitator, and a teacher (at a distance) sharing between “virtual classes” of students working together to ensure the student is and an ADLC online teacher. supported and remains motivated. Students · The EDEN Project (Electronic Distributive Edu- can work independently towards secondary cation Network) has been developed by a school completion using computer consortium of six major district school conferencing, e-mail, audio-conferencing, boards in Ontario. The project provides a audiographics, television broadcasts, and full service educational Web site offering print material with study guides and resource online high school credit courseware and materials available online. Tutorials with in- delivery for use by teachers and schools any- dividual students or small groups are con- where in the province. It is particularly use- ducted using interactive broadcast and desk- ful for adults and teenagers who cannot ac- top conferencing tools. cess the traditional classroom, for small schools that cannot maintain a full pro- COLLEGE SECTOR gramme of traditionally taught courses, and · Mount Royal College in Calgary, Alberta is a for school-based students who could ben- leader among Canadian community colleges efit from a more flexible, individually based in developing virtual models of programme learning environment. A pre-service electronic delivery. Its Centre for Health Studies, for access course is provided so students can example, has been offering distance educa- develop the necessary telecommunication tion opportunities for more than a decade. and tele-learning skills needed to succeed in It now delivers four certificate programmes this environment. A programme of teacher using a combination of print materials, in- training is also part of the implementation structor/student telephone conferences, e- strategy. Students must have access to a com- mail, computer conferencing, and selected puter that meets project specifications. Cli- audio and visual materials. It is currently de- ent software is provided to enable veloping its programme in critical care nurs- conferencing, e-mail, discussion groups, and ing for Web delivery. real-time teleconferencing with a shared

16 The Development of Virtual Institutions in Canada · George Brown College in Ontario, like almost video-conferencing system. Programmes in all of Canada’s colleges, offers many Native Studies, adult upgrading, computer courses using synchronous audio/video training, and teacher assistant training are of- conferencing, correspondence, CD-ROM, fered with remarkable results in terms of and Internet conferencing . However, the attendance and student success rates. college has also developed a complete Elec- trician Technician Certificate Program for UNIVERSITY SECTOR delivery via CD-ROM. This includes 23 · Athabasca University, in Alberta, Télé-Université courses complete with text, video animation, in Quebec, and British Columbia’s Open Uni- computer-based testing, and lab software versity, are Canada’s three universities that de- animation packages. It can be purchased for liver all their programmes through various individual use and is the equivalent of the distance teaching systems and methods. While standard two-year programme. none of these institutions describes them- · The Collège de l’Acadie was created in Nova selves as virtual, preferring instead the labels Scotia to serve the learning needs of both of “open” and “distance,” they are rapidly Acadian and Francophone communities in evolving as virtual institutions according to the province. The College has established a the definitions used in this study. Each began network of learning centres which now in- 20 to 30 years ago using print course pack- cludes the Province of Prince Edward Is- ages combined with telephone, mail, or site- land. These centres are linked through dedi- based tutoring. As broadcast television and cated audiographic and video-conferencing audio- and video-conferencing technologies systems, as well as the Internet, which allows became available, they were incorporated point-to-multipoint teaching, student into delivery models on a practical basis con- conferencing, and e-mail. All students have sidering costs, student access to equipment, Internet access and their own e-mail address. and acceptance by the instructional staff and A special partnership with Collège de learners. Indeed, the Open University and Rosemount in Montreal enables Collège de Télé-Université were Canadian pioneers in l’Acadie to offer technology -supported sen- the use of broadcast television. ior high school courses. The example of That practical approach to the adoption Collège de l’Acadie, while not unique among of ICT continues. Currently all three institu- Canada’s colleges, illustrates the emergence tions use a mix of technologies: conferencing of virtual institution networks that enable a software, the Internet, the World Wide Web, single institution to serve a wide geographic audio- and video-conferencing, radio, televi- area. sion, and print (the last still being a major com- · Kayas College is a creation of the Little Red ponent of their delivery systems). Neverthe- River Board of Education in Alberta. Chal- less, it is these three institutions that are at the lenged with a mandate to serve the educa- forefront of large-scale application of virtual tional needs of the many Cree Nation com- delivery systems. Athabasca, for example, has munities spread across Western Canada, the the largest M.B.A. programme enrolment of Board conceived the idea of a virtual col- any university in the country. The programme lege with learning centres in many commu- is offered entirely online using Lotus Notes nities linked together through a common via the Internet to students from across

The Development of Virtual Institutions in Canada 17 Canada as well as internationally. Through Finally, individual faculty members at many the Open University it is now possible to universities, the University of British Columbia take a full programme of first- and sec- among them, are making extensive use of ond-year degree courses through a combi- Intranets as well as the Internet to accomplish nation of print packages and online tutor two objectives: First, they are making lecture notes conferencing. By the spring of 1999, there available asynchronously to students to enable will be 29 courses ready for full Web-based filing assignments and to provide feedback. Sec- delivery, including a certificate programme ond, they provide “hot links” via the Internet to in Workplace Training. Similarly, Télé- other databases for research and course content Université is converting to Web-based de- enrichment. livery. · Queen’s University in Ontario, one of Canada’s The Emergence of Virtual most respected “traditional” institutions, pro- vides an interesting example of the applica- Organisations tion of information and communication The challenges identified at the beginning of this technology to a specific programme. Sev- report are not only causing institutions to increase eral years ago, Queen’s decided to offer its the use of ICT, but also to seek partnerships that M.B.A. programme to students across the offer the opportunity to reduce costs, increase country using multi-point interactive video- market share, or add value in other ways such as conferencing. Sites were established in sev- enhancement of programme quality. This task eral larger cities where students meet for “real becomes easier as the technologies enable an time” lectures and discussions. This model “unbundling” of functions that have historically has been supplemented by providing students been handled within a single institution. Functions with desk-top computers pre-loaded with such as advising and counselling, assessment of the necessary software to allow students to current skills and knowledge, learning plan de- work in teams, download and upload as- velopment, provision of instruction, maintenance signments, interact with faculty, and network of learning records, and the issuance of creden- with the video-conferencing system regard- tials can now be managed through virtual arrange- less of where they may be. This feature was ments among a group of institutions with com- an important development given that most plementary services. These arrangements may be students in the programme are employed in permanent or short term, depending on needs. management positions and require more These types of arrangements are developing flexibility in their learning environment. most rapidly at the level of trade and technical programmes. For example, the Canadian Asso- · University College of Cape Breton in Nova Scotia ciation of Technologists has defined various lev- is a good example of a dual-mode institu- els of professional certification and associated tion with a history of community outreach, competency standards. They are developing ar- increasingly through the use of information rangements with a variety of private and public and communication technology. It is now organisations to provide services such as skill as- offering a graduate-level certificate pro- sessment, training opportunities, and credit trans- gramme in entirely fer opportunities. By defining standards, award- on the World Wide Web. ing certifications, and brokering partnerships with

18 The Development of Virtual Institutions in Canada other organisations for assessment and delivery institution’s perspective, it reduces costs through purposes, the association is, in effect, functioning less duplication of materials development costs as a virtual institution. and by maximising enrolments in any given The Open Learning Agency (OLA) in British course. Columbia has developed the Canadian Learning Another example is Newfoundland’s Bank to serve lifelong learners who need advice Telemedicine and Educational Technology Re- on career paths, training and educational oppor- sources Agency (TETRA). Begun years ago as tunities, assessment of current skills and knowl- an audiographic network for use by physicians edge, assessment of credentials earned outside in remote communities, it is now a multi-channel of Canada, and consolidation of their learning network used by both health and educational record. This last service, a “record of learning,” providers. It includes a Virtual Design Centre, is turning out to be the most critical start-up serv- jointly supported by the Royal Bank and Memo- ice. OLA does not intend to provide all such rial University, through which experienced instruc- services itself. Rather, it is entering into a variety tional designers and media specialists in the uni- of arrangements with other organisations that versity work with peers from the College of the offer complementary services. An example is a North Atlantic and with colleagues from private recent agreement with the University of Cam- media and design firms to create media-based bridge Local Examinations Syndicate to provide learning materials. -level competency testing. Contact North is Canada’s largest distance Summary education network. It facilitates access to educa- As a reason for creating its Institute for Learning tion at all levels in 100 communities across north- Technologies, Mount Royal College in Calgary ern Ontario by enabling other institutions to of- states that: fer the needed programmes through the techni- cal networks it operates and manages. Part of its Teaching and learning will become profoundly management role involves the co-ordination of rich, complex, and diverse. Educational insti- information to prospective learners, central fa- tutions will share an educational role with cor- cilitation of registration, and training for the ap- porations and a host of newly emerging edu- propriate use of ICT. cational providers not bound by classrooms, A long-standing example of this type of vir- institutional settings or borders—nor even by tual organisation at the university level is the col- time itself—in a global, knowledge-based laboration between three of British Columbia’s economy that is already shaping our lives. This vision is widely shared among educa- “traditional” universities (University of British Columbia, University of Victoria, and Simon tional leaders and policy makers in Canada. It is the vision they have in mind when they use the Fraser University) and the Open University. Through this arrangement, a student may take term “virtual learning.” It doesn’t mean, how- ever, that they believe that the traditional learning distance education courses from any of the in- stitutions and have the credit applied to an un- formats we have now will all give way to virtual learning. Rather, it is seen as expanding options dergraduate Arts degree awarded through the Open University. This collaboration has the for learning, options that will continue to include campus and school-based face-to-face instruc- obvious advantage of providing the student with a great deal of flexibility and, from the tion along with the electronic classroom that can

The Development of Virtual Institutions in Canada 19 be accessed through a computer from home, the TECHNOLOGY work place, or a community learning centre. The use of ICT across the Canadian educational The implementation of this vision presents a map is increasing rapidly. At the institutional level variety of both opportunities and challenges. S.D. it tends to begin with applications that allow the Wynne, in “An Overview of Virtual Schooling in institution to replicate the classroom to the greatest North America and Europe” (a report to the extent possible. In other words, the acceptability Open School Division of the Open Learning of “doing things virtually” is greater when the Agency, November 1997), summarised these use of the technologies reinforces the existing way opportunities and challenges for elementary and of doing things—at least at the outset. Further, secondary schools. They can be generalised to and perhaps more appropriately, the use of the the Canadian experience at all levels. technologies is limited by the lack of access to The opportunities include: bandwidth at affordable rates and by inequity · Increasing the focus on interactivity of access on the part of learners to the necessary · More individualised instruction for students appliances such as computers.

· Enhanced time and place flexibility FINANCIAL IMPACT · Greater potential for students to reach glo- The implementation of virtual learning is prov- bal audiences ing to have significant cost implications. Two fac- · Potential for greater cost effectiveness tors that serve to increase costs are the develop- · Better provision of computer and technol- ment of instructional materials for media-based ogy skills delivery and the costs of training or retraining the teachers and staff. There are both front-end The challenges raised are: capitalisation costs as well as operating costs such · Concern over adequate socialisation for as network access and equipment maintenance. some students These increases are predictable in any application · Lack of technology standards/requirements of ITC where the development of virtual learn- in teacher training ing is treated as an “add-on” to existing educa- tional practice, and where the opportunities for · High costs of technology economies of scale are not achieved within the · Problems of equity of access for those who institution or through external partnerships. How- are not computer literate or don’t have ac- ever, the analysis changes considerably if the full cess to computers costs of operating a traditional institutional struc- · Resistance by some teachers and administra- ture (e.g., space, staff, operations, transportation, tors etc.) are considered, particularly when these types · Inability for some students to function in a of costs are increasing while the cost of the tech- less structured environment nologies is declining. The cost-effectiveness debate changes when While these observations sum up the experi- it shifts from a cost/student analysis to a focus ence of “virtual education” development in on the costs of increasing the completion rates Canada to date, realising the opportunities and among distance education learners. The evidence meeting the challenges will require attention to is mounting from evaluation studies in Canada specific issues rather than generalities. and elsewhere that the increased flexibility and

20 The Development of Virtual Institutions in Canada interactivity offered through virtual delivery mod- perspective. On one hand, much of the innova- els results in increased satisfaction and comple- tion in virtual learning in Canada, across all edu- tion rates. cational sectors, is the result of the vision and determination of individuals who have had the HUMAN RESOURCE IMPACT support of administrators. As with the adoption The major impact is on the role of the teacher. of any innovation, they are the ones who want The evidence is clear that the willingness of teach- to be at the forefront of change and tend to ers and faculty to adopt the use of ITC and to pave the way for those who follow. On the other change their pedagogical strategies is a major hand, teacher and faculty organisations have gen- determinant of the speed of development of erally been extremely cautious about supporting virtual education models. Attention to training the increased use of technology. Generally they needs and the fostering of an organisational cli- see their mandate as ensuring the welfare of their mate that rewards innovation is critical. So also is members in a time of rapid change, and that, the need to ensure that instructional design and they argue, is best done through a “go slow” technical support expertise is not only available approach that will enable the consequences of to support teachers, but also to lead the process change to be more predictable. of change. Indeed, some Canadian educators view the lack of an available pool of instruc- ACCEPTANCE OF CONVENTIONAL tional designers as a significant constraint to the INSTITUTIONS development of virtual models. What a difference a decade makes! Less than 10 years ago the deans of the graduate schools LEARNER AND TEACHER ACCEPTANCE of the universities in Western Canada passed a Feedback from learners tends to be positive, pro- resolution that would deny admission to their vided that there are no major technical problems schools by any applicant who had taken any of and that the content is relevant and credible. They their undergraduate courses through distance cite increased flexibility and equity of participa- education. Although they were quickly brought tion (especially among females) as reasons for to heel by their presidents and the respective preferring a virtual education experience. provincial ministers of education, the anecdote There do not seem to be any generalisations illustrates the attitudes that prevailed not very that can be made concerning the demographics long ago. Fast forward 10 years and we find of the learners. Many of the statements made every one of those institutions not only using about the learner characteristics required for suc- information and communication technologies cess in a distance learning environment are not in both their on-campus and off-campus teach- valid in the context of virtual learning, primarily ing, but often providing leadership in the de- because the isolation factor, that has long been a velopment of virtual learning through research criticism of distance education, has changed. In- and application. In fact, one could argue that deed, as well as the increased flexibility and eq- the leadership for the evolution of virtual learn- uity of participation, students also applaud the ing may well shift in the next decade from the greater opportunity for discussion and collabo- so-called single-mode distance education insti- ration that they have through a virtual model. tutions to some of those institutions that used Teacher and faculty acceptance should be to be called “conventional.” evaluated from both an individual and collective

The Development of Virtual Institutions in Canada 21 MARKET OPPORTUNITIES nor does it always improve the learning experi- The development of virtual learning models is ence. The benefits are available only when there having perhaps its most significant impact on has been a thorough analysis of the results to be education through the creation of new market achieved, the inputs necessary to achieve them, opportunities. The effect of “unbundling” the and the technologies that are most suitable. Only many functions involved in the education proc- then can the question of the appropriateness of ess that historically have been performed by a a given strategy be addressed and the cost effec- single institution means that there are many more tiveness of implementing it assessed. specialty roles that can be performed by associa- tions, non-governmental organisations, govern- References ment departments, entrepreneurs, for profit busi- Farrell, G. M. “Some Canadian Websites Worth a Visit.” nesses, and the educational institutions that have ODIN. Fall, 1998. www.icde.org long enjoyed the monopoly. Here are just a few Green, L. and A. Stahmer. “Partnering for Learnware: Criti- examples of these market opportunities: cal Success Factors in the Use of Learnware and · Developing instructional materials Industry Associations in Canada by Human Re- sources Sector Councils.” Office of Learning · Assessing skills and knowledge Technologies, July, 1996. http://olt-bta.hrdc- · Accreditation, awards, and granting drhc.gc.ca/publicat/green.html credentials Haughey, M. and B. Muirhead. “A Review of Online Learn- ing Practices and Issues.” A Report to the School · Brokering learning opportunities that are Technology Task Group, Alberta Ministry of provided by others Education, 1998. · Providing learner support services such as Industry Canada. “Distance Learning in Canada.” A Report advising/counselling, planning, and offering of the Office of Learning Technologies, March a record of learning 1997. Mount Royal College, “ The Vision Behind MRC’s Institute · Managing a knowledge database for Learning Technologies.” www.mtroyal.ab.ca · Franchising programme delivery Twigg, C. A. and D.G. Oblinger. “The Virtual University.” · Developing partnerships to address specific A Report to the Joint Educom/IBM Roundtable. Washington, D.C., Nov. 5–6, 1996. market opportunities such as continuing pro- Wellburn, E., “Educational Vision, Theory and Technology fessional education for Virtual Learning in K–12.” A Report to the Examples of all of the above initiatives are Open School Division of the Open Learning now part of the Canadian educational scene. Agency. Vancouver, Canada, Nov. 1997 Finally, it must be remembered that the de- Wynne, S.D. “An Overview of Virtual Schooling in North America and Europe.” A Report to the Open velopment of virtual learning is not turning out School Division of the Open Learning Agency. to be the “silver bullet” that many Canadian edu- Vancouver, Canada, Nov. 1997. cators and policy makers expected. The use of technology does not reduce costs automatically,

22 The Development of Virtual Institutions in Canada Distance and Virtual Learning in the United States

3 DR. PETER J. DIRR

Introduction personnel. This was an era of experimentation and searching for ways to use the reach of the There has been an explosion of interest in dis- Internet while still taking advantage of all that tance and virtual education in recent years in the had been learned from the two preceding stages. United States. In one sense, this is a recent phe- As we approach the end of the 20th century, nomenon, coinciding largely with the evolution distance education in the United States is enter- of the World Wide Web as a commercial com- ing its fourth generation with the introduction munications vehicle. In another sense, however, of complete “virtual programmes” of study. this could be said to be the fourth generation of Until institutions of (IHEs), distance education in the U.S. which includes both colleges and universities, The first generation was the introduction of achieved a critical mass of online courses, it was correspondence education in the 1800s, especially difficult to know what impact virtual education its use by the land grant universities starting in the would have in the United States. late part of the century to deliver agricultural This paper examines selected leading-edge education to farmers in rural areas. The second initiatives in distance and virtual education in the generation came with the introduction of televi- United States at the close of the 20th century. It sion to deliver educational opportunities to all does not pretend to be a comprehensive study people in their homes. This stage began with the of all virtual education programmes in the coun- commercial television offering of Sunrise Semes- try. In fact, for every institution included in this ter and Continental Classroom in the 1950s and ex- paper, there are dozens that have not been in- panded with the introduction on public broad- cluded. casting of tele-courses in the 1970s and 1980s, The programmes described in this paper share reaching its apex with the quality courses of the some common characteristics: Annenberg/CPB Project in the 1980s and early · They are complete programmes, that is, they 1990s. offer complete degrees, certificates, or di- The third generation emerged in the late 1980s plomas. when colleges and universities began to sporadi- cally offer online courses when the Internet was · They rely entirely or substantially on infor- still largely funded by the U.S. government and mation and communications technologies was a “club” of university faculty and military (ICT) to deliver and support instruction.

Distance and Virtual Learning in the United States 23 · They are all “leading edge,” that is, they ex- there are 4,009 IHEs in the U.S.: 1,701 public emplify some of the more advanced appli- and 2,308 private. They enrol a total of 14,367,520 cations of the pedagogical approaches and students (86% of which are at the undergradu- technologies being used in distance and vir- ate level), and employ a total of approximately tual education today. one million faculty members. The combined an- The focus is on virtual degree programmes, nual budgets of the IHEs is $183 billion. Aside which reflects the condition of education in the from providing grants and guaranteed loans to U.S. today. For the most part, we do not have needy students, the federal government spends freestanding distance education institutions, but $12.2 billion per year on research and develop- rather distance education programmes embed- ment at universities. State governments provide ded within traditional institutions, or dual-mode a total of $52.5 billion in operating funds and institutions. According to recent studies, approxi- student aid. Together, the IHEs award about 1.7 mately four out of five traditional IHEs now million undergraduate degrees and 518,000 offer distance education courses. graduate degrees each year. This paper also describes a few applications at The age of higher education students in the the elementary/secondary level as well as applica- U.S. has changed dramatically over the years. tions in business and industry, primarily for pro- Whereas the traditional age of 18- to 24-year-olds fessional development and workforce training. used to constitute almost the entire university popu- lation, it is now only slightly more than half. In 1995, the latest year for which statistics are avail- The Context able, 56.5% of the higher education students were Some broad trends in education in the United 18- to 24-year-olds, 39.5% were 25- to 49-year- States provide a context for better understand- olds, and 4.1% were over 50 years old. ing the examples of distance and virtual educa- tion in later sections. A KALEIDOSCOPE WORLD: THE PERVASIVENESS OF CHANGE INTERESTING EDUCATIONAL STATISTICS One of the forces driving the expansion of dis- Contrary to what some might think, higher edu- tance and virtual learning in the United States is cation is still not universal in the U.S. Of the 160 change: change in pedagogical thinking, change million adults in the country, 54.8% have a high in the communications infrastructure throughout school diploma or less, 18.7% have some col- the country, and change in the capacity and func- lege but no degree, 19.3% have an associate or tionality of information and communications bachelor’s degree, and 7.2% have a graduate de- technologies (ICT). The pace of change is so great gree. (These and the following statistics are taken that it is almost impossible to get a stable picture from The Chronicle of Higher Education Almanac, that will be valid for any length of time. August 26, 1998.) In the first place, our understanding of the Higher education in the U.S. is highly diversi- nature of learning and the relationship between fied. There are no “national” universities funded the learner and the is chang- and operated by the federal government (al- ing. At the lower levels (elementary and second- though a few specialised institutions, such as ary schools), the emphasis is on student-centred Gallaudet College for the Deaf, receive a major learning that is project-based and activity-oriented. portion of their funding from the government It is based largely on the pedagogical theory of but are run as independent institutions). In all,

24 Distance and Virtual Learning in the United States the constructivists (i.e., that students must learn This expanded capacity of the technology has to construct new learning from disparate sources encouraged the development of new applica- of information). tions in education. For example, Real Video was At the higher education level, the change is developed to “stream” live television and radio reflected in a more “customer-centred” approach programming, but what potential it holds for that affects not only how students are treated as educational applications! Likewise, video- they interact with the institution, but also the very conferencing networks (such as the 400+ site nature of the courses themselves. The courses Sprint Video Network) were developed to fa- are more practical, with content that the students cilitate business meetings. But what potential they can apply immediately in their jobs. hold for remote site-based distance education! Second, the ICT infrastructure in the U.S. has All of these changes are converging to create expanded greatly, to the point where most house- a time of unprecedented opportunity for new holds have a full range of telecommunications ways of delivering and supporting educational technologies. It is not unusual, for example, for opportunities. Virtual learning is a major benefi- middle-class households to have several televi- ciary of the changes. sion sets, cable television service, a couple of VCRs, one or more computers, two telephone GROWING COMMERCIAL INTEREST IN lines, a cell phone, video games, and more. It is EDUCATION important to note that educational applications In the United States, higher education, and espe- are not driving the increased accessibility of these cially distance education, has become big busi- technologies: commercial interests are. Educators ness, and that has attracted commercial interests. are the beneficiaries of this expanded availability This trend is evident in many places. For exam- of the technologies. ple, New York University (NYU) is setting up a Third, the technologies have much greater for-profit subsidiary to develop and offer dis- capacity and functionality. Cable systems regu- tance education programmes. NYU hopes to larly carry 130 channels of programming and are generate enough revenues from distance educa- expanding to offer telephone and high-speed data tion courses to subsidise some of its higher-cost access as well as television programmes. Com- on-campus courses. They believe that the num- puter storage of 8 to 10 gigabytes and process- bers of potential students worldwide support ing speeds of 400 megahertz are now available this expectation. Through its Virtual College of at reasonable prices. Data travel through telephone the School of Continuing and Professional Edu- lines at up to 53 kilobytes per second. And we in cation, NYU has begun to offer many online the United States are blessed with an affordable courses and degree programmes fixed-price telephone system so that we can use NYU’s perception of the growing market for the Internet for an unlimited amount of time each distance education is shared by The Pennsylvania month for one low monthly charge. State University, which last year announced that Furthermore, the technological differences it would establish World Campus to serve stu- among the media that once separated them from dents worldwide. Perhaps adding fuel to the fire each other are quickly disappearing. The emergence is the success being experienced by the Univer- of a single communications platform that supports sity of Phoenix, a private virtual university that the interoperability of technologies is no longer a has seen its enrolment rise from 31,000 in 1992 dream. We live in the “age of convergence.” to 48,000 in 1998 and a reported 61,000 in 1999.

Distance and Virtual Learning in the United States 25 The trend toward commercialism is further effectively integrate technology in their class- evident in advertisements that appear every week rooms, and to maintain their professional cre- in The Chronicle. Hardly a week passes when Real dentials with relevant and timely content. Education (www.realeducation.com) does not have These companies are just a few of the grow- at least one full-page and several quarter-page ing number of commercial companies that are ads welcoming new institutions that have con- tapping into what they see as a large and grow- tracted with the company to set up complete ing source of revenue: distance higher educa- online degree programmes. The same issues of tion and professional education. Others include The Chronicle often feature ads from the Pangaea IBM, with its e-business Solutions programme network (“the world’s first online service wholly (www.ibm.com/e-business), Lotus (now a subsidi- devoted to education and training”), which will ary of IBM), with its LearningSpace platform develop “a virtual campus devoted to reaching (www.lotus.com/learningspace), International and teaching unserved students locally, nation- Thompson Publishing’s World Class Learning ally, and internationally”(www.pangaeanetwork.com). (www.worldclasslearning.com), and Embanet, a small As well, you are just as likely to see ads by Canadian company that is wooing U.S. institu- Microsoft, Prentice-Hall, and other commercial tions (www.embanet.com). A few are marketing iso- interests. lated computer applications, but most are sell- Earlier in 1998, The Chronicle had an article de- ing complete turnkey solutions in which they re- scribing how the Caliber Learning Network ceive a continuing revenue stream from the tui- (www.caliberlearning.com), a joint venture of Sylvan tion generated. Learning Systems and the telecommunications gi- ant MCI Communications, was positioning itself THE IMPORTANCE OF PARTNERSHIPS to expand its and other profes- AND ALLIANCES sional development courses that are delivered na- When information and communications tech- tionwide by satellite, video-conferencing, and per- nologies were first available to IHEs, and the sonal computer networks to learners located at Internet was a friendly, faculty-led environment, their places of business and in shopping malls. some began to explore ways of transferring some AT&T, the long distance telephone giant, has of their courses to this new medium. At first, it established the AT&T Learning Network, and seemed simple, quick, and inexpensive. However, through it has assembled a “virtual academy” as those institutions gained experience with the (www.tramline.com) “to help address the growing process, they began to realise that if they were to need teachers have to access professional de- serve students well, it was not sufficient to create velopment opportunities in new ways.” AT&T “shovelware” courses (i.e., old class notes just has tapped several institutions with distance edu- shovelled into an electronic format). They began cation programmes to provide in-service pro- to apply instructional design principles to the fessional development opportunities for teach- process, and the cost and timelines began to grow. ers. The participating institutions include West- Soon, the institutions realised that if they were ern Governors University, Penn State’s World to use the power of the new technologies to their Campus, George Washington University, Mon- fullest, they could not do it alone. It made sense tana State University, and T.H.E. Institute. The to partner with other like-minded institutions and “premier courses” that these institutions are pro- commercial companies that had skills that the viding help teachers meet two requirements: to IHEs lacked. Thus, new alliances of institutions

26 Distance and Virtual Learning in the United States and companies began to emerge. Some are di- make appropriate use of communications tech- rect alliances, with universities joining together to nologies to support each of the four dialogues. develop and offer a new degree programme. Others are third-party alliances, such as the 180 FOCUS ON A WHOLE SYSTEMS APPROACH institutions that co-operatively offer degrees In recent years, IHEs have begun to devote as through the Public Broadcasting Service/Adult much attention to student support services as to Learning Service’s Going the Distance programme the course materials—online support services (www.pbs.org/adultlearning). such as course and programme information, reg- istration, access to library resources, ordering from A NEW PARADIGM a bookstore, access to financial aid information, FOR VIRTUAL LEARNING easily accessible counselling service, and other As IHEs became more experienced at offering non-academic services normally available to on- virtual courses, some realised that the new deliv- campus learners. These efforts have been partly ery platforms demanded a new paradigm of fuelled by federal government programmes, es- learning. It was no longer feasible to use the “sage pecially the Fund for the Improvement of on the stage” paradigm of traditional education. Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) (www.ed.gov/ The learners needed to play a much more active offices/OPE/FIPSE). Some private foundations role and they needed wide flexibility in when and have also been supporters. The idea behind these how they accessed faculty members, other stu- efforts is that the distance learners are not sec- dents, and instructional resources. The role of ond-class enrolees; they should have all the serv- the faculty member had to change. The types and ices of the institution made as easily available as quality of instructional resources that support the course materials themselves. learning had to move beyond the traditional text- “UNBUNDLING” book model. Many institutions have tried various new ap- THE EDUCATIONAL PROCESS proaches. One paradigm that holds great prom- Until recently, the university was a self-contained ise is “The Four Conversations,” which places a society. Faculty members developed courses and strong emphasis on the dialogic nature of learn- course materials, offered those courses, and as- ing. It maintains that all learning consists of four sessed student performance. The university pro- types of dialogue: vided pre-enrolment, enrolment, financial aid, 1. The “conversations” a learner has with an record-keeping, and transcription services. It also instructor provided instructional support services such as a library, computer labs, bookstore, and student 2. The “conversations” among groups of union, complete with clubhouses, dining rooms learners and restaurants, and meeting places. Many pro- 3. The “conversations” a learner has with in- vided complete housing services. structional resources More recently, universities have begun to ex- 4. The “conversations” a learner has with him- amine this process and ask which are the “core” self or herself (i.e., reflection) functions that must be performed by the univer- The challenge for communications-based dis- sity and which functions might be more efficiently tance and virtual education programmes is to “outsourced” to other organisations or compa- nies. For example, many, if not most, universities

Distance and Virtual Learning in the United States 27 today contract with food-service companies to (from increased tax revenues and tuition fees) operate the dining rooms and restaurants on to put into programme and course devel- campus. Others are turning their bookstore op- opment. erations over to commercial companies. Some · Learner mobility: It is not uncommon for 20% are contracting out the maintenance of campus of the U.S. population to move every year facilities. for job-related reasons. This has made it dif- All of the outsourcing to date has been in the ficult for learners to complete degrees at a business and administrative area, but now some single institution. It has also led many col- universities are considering unbundling student leges and universities to seek ways to serve support services such as counselling and finan- their learners at a distance. cial aid. A few are even examining the feasibility · Skilled and trained course developers: More col- of unbundling some of the core instructional leges and universities are hiring staff in new services, such as assessment (especially a few uni- positions to support technology-assisted in- versities that are working closely with employers struction. These individuals often bring new to develop tailored degree programmes). skills and perspectives to the institution, es- OTHER DRIVING FORCES BEHIND pecially new ideas on course development, the creation of learning materials, and deliv- VIRTUAL LEARNING ery means. Other forces driving the development of virtual learning in the U.S. include the following: · Improved course development/management software: · Available and affordable hardware: Increasingly, Until recently, when a faculty member Americans are acquiring telecommunications wanted to offer a distance education course, technologies and services to use in all aspects he or she had to develop it completely from of life. scratch, often without much help. The bur- den on the faculty member was great, and · User-friendly software: Most software is now the burnout rate was high. Now, there are much easier to use, making access to the tech- many affordable and easy-to-use software nology much easier. packages that relieve many of the burdens · An evolving vision of the possible: Until recently, it of developing and offering courses online was difficult to imagine how disparate tech- (e.g., First Class, Top Class, WebCT). nologies could be brought together into a · An attitude of customer service: As colleges and single-delivery system and even more diffi- universities have had to compete to attract cult to imagine the changes that had to be students to their programmes, they have be- made in course materials and student sup- gun to adopt some of the business practices port services. Now, as more and more edu- of successful companies. Many colleges and cators exchange their experiences, some universities are now instituting “one-stop shared visions are beginning to emerge. service centres,” where students can have all · Affluence: The strong economy of the past sev- their questions answered and conduct all their eral years has meant that individuals have more transactions with the university. disposable income to spend on education and · “Just-in-time” thinking: This is another cue that the technological infrastructure needed to colleges and universities are taking from the obtain it at a distance. It also means that edu- business world. In the past, many businesses cational institutions have more resources

28 Distance and Virtual Learning in the United States used to build large inventories of their goods Princeton Review and Random House Publishers in order to keep their factories operating at (www.randomhouse.com), the 1999 edition has sev- a high level. Today, businesses tend to pro- eral chapters of advice for the reader on topics duce only what is needed to meet the imme- such as what to look for in distance education diate demand. This practice reduces costs of programmes, how to select among delivery tech- production, warehousing, and distribution. nologies, and how to seek financial aid to pay Colleges and universities are emulating this for the degree. practice by creating and offering only those courses they need to meet the immediate Virtual University Degree demand. And, if they create and produce their own course materials, they are produc- Programmes ing them in just the numbers they need to By law and tradition, education in the United serve the students they anticipate in the im- States has been a local and state responsibility. mediate future. That is one reason why the U.S. has not had a · Entrepreneurial spirit: Perhaps one of the most nationwide institution equivalent to the Open important forces driving the development University in the U.K. Although U.S. universi- of distance education and virtual learning is ties have for years drawn students from all over the spirit of entrepreneurship that is in the the country, their programmes have been per- hearts of many of the leaders of the field. ceived as local, not national. Each institution is In some cases, this is demanded by the insti- licensed in the state in which it operates and is tutions, which often require distance educa- accredited by a regional accreditation associa- tion programmes to be self-supporting. Only tion. It is only in recent years, as institutions have an entrepreneur with a strong sense of busi- begun to introduce distance education pro- ness could know how to assess the needs of grammes that do not honour traditional institu- the marketplace, develop products (courses tional boundaries (or even political boundaries), and programmes) to meet those needs, de- that this system of licensing and accreditation liver them conveniently, support them with has been challenged. solid service, and price them appropriately. A recent study by the Western Cooperative for Educational Communications (WCET), a pro- The growing interest in virtual learning has gramme of the Western Interstate Commission spawned the development of a new monthly for Higher Education (WICHE) (www.wiche.edu) online journal, the Virtual University Gazette documented the extent to which 1,400 of the (www.geteducated.com/vugaz.htm) that tracks new nation’s 3,000 colleges and universities offer dis- programmes not only at universities but also those tance education courses and programmes. The offered by the professions and business and in- study found that 79% of all the institutions offer dustry. The Gazette is published by Vicky Phillips, one or more distance education courses (broadly CEO of Lifelong Learning (Waterbury, VT), a defined to include correspondence courses, tele- distance learning consulting firm. courses, Web-based courses, site-to-site video- Phillips has also co-authored, with Cindy conferencing, and other delivery modes), and Yager, The Best Distance Learning Graduate Schools, one-third offer one or more complete degree a 322-page publication that profiles 195 ac- programmes at a distance. Those data are con- credited graduate schools that offer complete sistent with the findings of other recent studies. degrees at a distance. Published by The

Distance and Virtual Learning in the United States 29 Most of those institutions offering complete dis- military community. Because military personnel tance education programmes do so as an exten- are transferred often, they often find it difficult sion of their campus-based programmes, which to pursue college degrees. Regents overcomes continue to dominate their mission. Only a few that barrier by recognising credit earned at any U.S. IHEs, such as National Technological Uni- U.S. regionally accredited IHE as well as training versity, Western Governors University, and the courses sponsored by the Department of University of Phoenix, can be considered “virtual Defense, other government agencies, and busi- universities” in the sense that other countries have ness and industry. Credit award is based on the such institutions. recommendations of the American Council of Interest in virtual learning at the university level Education (ACE), and the college awards over is so great that many traditional universities are 50,000 college credits annually for military expe- rushing to create Web-based courses just so that rience alone. Since 1971, over 79,000 adult learn- they can say they are offering virtual learning ers have earned Regents College degrees, and opportunities. Some of the virtual degree pro- more than 33,000 of those (42%) are military grammes listed below are offered by “virtual service members. universities,” while others are offered by “dual- Regents College currently enrols approxi- mode” institutions. mately 17,400 students per year. About 11,000 of them are pursuing Nursing degrees (making REGENTS COLLEGE Regents the largest Nursing programme in the Regents College of New York State (www.regents.edu) United States); 4,000 are in Liberal Arts; 1,300 bills itself as “America’s First Virtual University.” are in Business, and 1,100 are in Technology. It is an unusual institution in that it does not itself Regents offers a wide range of support serv- offer courses of study, but rather certifies what ices for its students. Its Electronic Peer Network the student has learned from other sources. They supports discussion groups, chat rooms, and a put it this way: student directory. In development are a book We believe that what a person knows is more exchange, message board, and a distance learn- important than how or where that knowl- ing centre (which will contain student ratings of edge was gained. Since 1971, we have been distance courses and examinations taken from providing adult learners the means to dem- U.S. colleges and universities). onstrate and validate the learning they have In recent years, Regents College has greatly achieved, whether by traditional college class- expanded the availability of its course examina- room study, college-level proficiency exami- tions by partnering with Sylvan Technology nations, or evaluated military and industry Centers. Through those Centers, Regents College training. exams are available six days per week through- Regents grants its credits and degrees by evalu- out the United States and in Canada, American ating the student’s prior learning, offering exams Samoa, , Puerto Rico, Saipan (Northern for various courses, and “banking” credit earned Mariana Island), and the Virgin Islands. The col- through various other pathways. They currently lege has also partnered with Specialty Books, one offer 30 associate and bachelor’s degrees in Busi- of the nation’s leading collegiate bookstore op- ness, Liberal Arts, Nursing, and Technology. A erators, to provide its students with access to al- master’s in Liberal Studies has just been added. most 600,000 course books and computer soft- A large portion of the Regents College stu- ware that can be ordered by phone toll free, with dent body is comprised of members of the U.S. shipment promised within 24 hours.

30 Distance and Virtual Learning in the United States Regents College is sensitive to the fact that which does not include the tuition and registra- most of its students are working people with tion fees for courses taken at the site. limited resources. Accordingly, they try to keep In 1996–97, professional workers were able their costs low. The current fee for evaluating a to choose from more than 500 academic courses potential student’s prior learning portfolio is $150, providing 22,000 hours of instruction, plus an- half of which can be credited towards enrol- other 500 days or 3,000 hours of continuing ment fees. education. In that same year, 1,300 working pro- fessionals and managers were admitted to NTU NATIONAL degree programmes. Continuing education en- TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY rolment exceeded 110,000. National Technological University (NTU) NTU offers 14 master’s degree programmes (www.ntu.edu) is a freestanding virtual university designed specifically for technical professionals. that evolved over a decade from projects de- It does not award bachelor’s or doctoral degrees. signed to provide continuing education for en- UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX gineers. Engineering schools that were members of the American Association for Multimedia The University of Phoenix (www.uophx.edu) is a Continuing Education for Engineers private virtual university that has been accredited (AAMCEE) would videotape on-campus since 1978. It was one of the first universities to courses taught by their faculty members and recognise the need for targeted degree and con- make those courses available to engineers at their tinuing education programmes for adults. work place. They would contract with employ- Today, with over 61,000 students, the Uni- ers who would pay their engineers’ tuition plus versity of Phoenix promotes itself as the largest a premium so that the engineers did not have private accredited university for working adults. to leave work to take the courses. Over time, It has provided degree and certificate pro- some of the participating institutions developed grammes to more than 371,000 people in the microwave systems to deliver their courses to United States, Puerto Rico, and elsewhere. engineering companies in their regions. Eventu- The cornerstone of the University of Phoe- ally, NTU was formed to deliver those courses nix’s educational philosophy is the recognition of nationwide by satellite. Since its formation, NTU the distinction between the younger student (still expanded its horizons beyond the engineering deciding on a career) and the adult student (who profession and now offers courses in engineer- has already established personal and professional ing, business, and nursing. goals). They have developed academic pro- Today, National Technological University is a grammes that allow mature students to benefit co-operative effort of 50 major universities pro- from the integration of work and school. Most viding graduate and continuing education for of the university’s faculty members are working today’s busy professionals and managers. The practitioners, experts in their field. member universities are linked by satellite telecom- The University of Phoenix offers graduate munication and compressed digital video tech- and undergraduate degree programmes and cer- nology to more than 1,000 work locations inter- tificate programmes, many of them online. It has nationally, and by interconnections to other re- structured its courses so that students take one gional networks to another 350 sites in North course each five to eight weeks because research America. There is no resident campus. There is a shows that adults learn best in an atmosphere of one-time fee for access to the NTU Network, concentrated immersion. The programme runs

Distance and Virtual Learning in the United States 31 throughout the calendar year, allowing students The academic programme of Western Gov- to start anytime at their convenience. Courses are ernors University is young and expanding. Cur- offered on-site at University of Phoenix learning rently it consists of an Associate of Applied Sci- centres situated in 14 states, several foreign coun- ence in Electronic Manufacturing Technology and tries, as well as through the World Wide Web. an Associate of Arts degree, as well as many in- dividual courses taught by faculty members and WESTERN GOVERNORS UNIVERSITY professionals at institutions and corporations that The Western Governors University (WGU) are participants in WGU. (www.wgu.edu) is a new, student-centred university In the first two weeks after the WGU opened (it accepted its first students in the fall of 1998) its Web site, 75 people applied for admission, founded on the principles of distance and vir- despite the university’s projection that up to 5,000 tual learning. It brokers and offers courses from students would enrol in its first year. University dozens of colleges, universities, and corporations officials said computer glitches were partly to from all over the world. It delivers the courses blame and they also noted that they had already using both high-tech and low-tech approaches, filled thousands of requests for information by from Internet to satellite to “snail mail.” The uni- mail prior to the initiation of the Web site. It versity uses a competency-based approach to should be noted that the university did not have education that allows the learner to build a port- a very effective campaign promoting the open- folio of skills already learned and take only those ing of its Web site for enrolment. It might take courses needed to complete a degree. The stu- some time before the university’s name is firmly dent chooses courses from the university’s embedded in the various search engines that learn- SmartCatalog, a directory of programmes, ad- ers use to find such opportunities. vising services, and resources available. An online library containing more than 60 full-text databases CALIFORNIA VIRTUAL UNIVERSITY is included. California is the only western state that chose not The initiative to create Western Governors to participate in the Western Governors Univer- University came from the governors of 13 states sity. California policy makers believed that they who recognised that they could not individually had enough of a critical mass in that state alone afford to provide sufficient continuing educa- to warrant the establishment of different ar- tion opportunities to adults in their states. So they rangements for distance and virtual education. pooled their resources to create a single, region- They chose, instead, to establish the California wide institution. The administration chose not to Virtual University (CVU). Like the Western develop and operate all the subsystems of the Governors University, it was planned to be university within the university itself. One of the largely a broker of instruction and student sup- first steps they took in creating the university was port services. The university’s literature stated to solicit proposals for the development of the plainly that “the California Virtual University SmartCatalog, the library, and the university book- does not grant degrees or certificates, or an- store. They were among the forerunners in im- swer individual questions about courses.” Rather, plementing the idea of “unbundling” and the university intended to help learners further outsourcing selected university functions. WGU their educational goals by linking them to online even outsources its instructional programme, with courses and other services offered by the state’s courses being provided by about two dozen colleges and universities. Through the universi- “education providers.” ty’s Web site (www.california.edu), you can find out

32 Distance and Virtual Learning in the United States about courses and certificate or degree pro- only eight months after being spun off from the grammes offered at a distance by California’s state government. CVU will, however, retain a IHEs and be linked to a campus to enrol or find presence on the Internet. The California Board more information. of Regents agreed to maintain CVU’s Web site, The institutional response to the California which lists available courses from more than 100 Virtual University idea by the IHEs in the state participating institutions. The ultimate fate of was swift and strong. When it was launched in CVU remains to be seen. the beginning of 1998, 65 public and private ac- credited colleges and universities were listed in CONCORD UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW the university catalogue, offering about 800 dis- Concord University School of Law (www.concord. tance education courses. Six months later, the kaplan.edu) is a new institution established by Kaplan participation had grown to 95 institutions offer- Educational Centers in October 1998 to offer a ing about 1,600 courses. Ultimately, 240 colleges juris doctorate degree wholly online via state-of- and universities were expected to participate in the-art technology. The target learners are work- CVU within three years. ing students, professionals, family caretakers, learn- Like the WGU, the California Virtual Uni- ers in rural communities, and others whose cir- versity had strong support from the state’s gov- cumstances prevent them from pursuing a legal ernor (since voted out of office). Also like the education at traditional institutions. The degree is a WGU, CVU planned to “unbundle” the tradi- four-year graduate programme. tional functions of the university. Not only would Students view lectures on the Internet at their it rely entirely on its participating institutions for own convenience 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. the instructional component, it also turned the The lectures are presented using streaming tech- operation of its Web catalogue of online courses nology. Students have online access to a law li- to a non-profit foundation that was formed by brary to complete their assignments and fulfil educators. In effect, the California Virtual Uni- curriculum requirements, including case studies, versity Foundation, which includes the state’s main legal arguments, and statutory codes. They also university systems (University of California, Cali- take interactive exams online. fornia State University, and California Commu- In establishing Concord University, Kaplan, a nity College organisation) and several corpora- subsidiary of The Washington Post, is building on tions, such as Sun, Cisco Systems, Pacific Bell, its years of expertise in offering LSAT prepara- Oracle, and International Thomson Publishing, tion classes that help students succeed in law would operate CVU as an independent institu- school. The university will complement Kaplan’s tion. Each of the corporate partners contributed 1,200 study centres in the U.S. and abroad, where $75,000 to CVU’s start-up costs. The university it offers test preparation, training, and career fairs. also received a $250,000 grant for its launch from the Sloan Foundation. COLORADO: A HOTBED OF DISTANCE In spite of the early enthusiasm for CVU, it AND VIRTUAL LEARNING encountered an unexpected hurdle. The three For some reason, the state of Colorado seems participating university systems balked at fund- to have nurtured more distance and virtual learn- ing CVU at a rate of $1 million each for three ing programmes than almost any other part of years. The funding shortfall resulted in CVU ceas- the United States. It is the birthplace of the West- ing operations as an independent organisation ern Governors University. It also is home to

Distance and Virtual Learning in the United States 33 Colorado State University, where the National colleges in Colorado. In addition, there are Technological University was born. It has seen transfer agreements with colleges both in- the creation of Mind Extension University (now state and out-of-state that offer bachelor’s Knowledge Online), the College Connection, and completion programmes also using distance/ the International University by Jones Intercable electronic technology. Among these are Regis Company. It boasts the Colorado Community University, Governor’s State University, and College Online, and a host of other distance and International University. virtual learning programmes such as the Colo- · Jones International University (JIU) (www. rado State University Master’s in Business Ad- jonesinternational.edu), a for-profit institution ministration. with an emphasis on educating the workforce, · The Colorado State University MBA (www.biz. has made quiet but meteoric progress in be- colstate.edu/mba) can be earned in two or four coming recognised as a legitimate provider years. Students are sent a videotape of each of distance and virtual education. It became class once a week, which can be viewed at the first virtual university in the United States home, according to each student’s schedule. to be fully accredited by a regional accredi- Professors assign projects, which must be tation agency. completed within a specified time. Much of JIU began offering courses in 1995. Its the coursework is completed using the offerings include two degree programmes Internet. in business communications (a master’s and Interaction with the faculty and other a bachelor’s) plus a number of certificate classmates can occur via Internet, fax, or tel- programmes. Courses are aimed at working ephone. Each student in the programme is adults who have attended college but have required to have access to a computer and not completed a degree. to the Internet. The reaction to JIU’s accreditation was · Colorado Community College Online (www. swift, with the American Association of ccconline.org) is composed of the 13 colleges in University Professors (AAUP) lodging a pro- the Colorado Community College and Oc- test with the North Central Association of cupational Education System (CCCOES). Colleges and Schools. In the AAUP’s view, Through CCC Online, students can earn fully JIU must be providing inferior education accredited Associate of Applied Science de- since most of its faculty are adjunct, the uni- grees and certificates in various disciplines versity’s courses are not offered on traditional (Business, Occupational Safety, Emergency academic schedules, the university lacks tra- Management and Planning). CCC Online ditional resources such as a library (it oper- enhances instructional services to students by ates an electronic library with an on-call li- offering online communication with faculty brarian) and research laboratories, and many and fellow students who may be anywhere of its students (about 90%) do not seek com- in the world. plete degrees. The accrediting association Students may take courses “anytime any- stood behind its decision, noting that JIU where” at their convenience. CCCOES col- meets the association’s standard requirements leges have standing transfer agreements with in non-traditional ways. most of the four-year public and private

34 Distance and Virtual Learning in the United States UNIVERSITY OF MAINE SYSTEM: UNET · Athena University (www.athena.edu) is adminis- The University of Maine formed its Network tered by VOU Services International. Vir- for Education and Technology Services (UNET) tual Online University (VOU) was established (www.unet.maine.edu) in 1997 by merging what had in 1994 and has been offering online teach- been the Education Network of Maine with the ing since the World Wide Web was priva- system’s computing and data processing services. tised. In 1997 it was reorganised and rein- UNET provides distance learning and student corporated into VOU Services International support services to learners throughout the state. to reflect its consultations and collaborations The system has built a statewide network of learn- with colleges and universities worldwide. ing sites, most located on university campuses or With offices located in Columbia, Missouri, in high school buildings. VOUSI has established collaborations with Through UNET, students can pursue a va- institutions in China, Europe, Africa, and the riety of associate, bachelor’s, and master’s de- Middle East. gree programmes, as well as certificate pro- Athena University is a non-profit institu- grammes. Most of the courses are site-based, tion founded to provide high-quality educa- although some have been converted to Web- tional opportunities on the Internet as inex- based courses that are offered through the pensively as possible. (Tuition is currently only WebCT software application. $100 per credit hour.) Its focus is on pro- viding an integrated, interdisciplinary curricu- PRIVATE VIRTUAL DEGREE PROGRAMMES lum in the liberal arts. It provides bachelor’s ON THE DRAWING BOARD degrees in History, Languages, Math, Science The rapid growth of interest in distance educa- and Computers, and a master’s in Business tion and its apparent acceptance by a growing Administration. It is not clear from the lit- segment of the higher education community has erature whether Athena University is an ac- led to the emergence of several new, private, for- credited institution. profit virtual universities that are in various stages of becoming accredited universities. Virtual School Programmes · Magellan University (www.magellan.edu) was es- tablished a couple of years ago and now (K–12) claims to offer 70 courses. Their online cata- For the past century and a half, the United States logue lists 14 short courses in advanced math- has built a system of elementary and secondary ematics, 6 courses leading to Microsoft Cer- education (K–12) based on the principle of lo- tified Systems Engineer (MCSE) certification, cal and state control of schools. The federal role and over 50 “flexible-length” courses in desk- in education is minimal, and the federal contri- top software training (e.g., Microsoft Word, bution to elementary and secondary education is PowerPoint, Excel). College credit is currently less than 10% of the total cost. Consequently, the available only for the MCSE courses through United States does not have a tradition of na- a partnership with Pima Community Col- tional schools, but that might change because of lege, in Tucson, Arizona. The university has the availability of information and communica- been in the process of developing its own tions technologies and the impact they are hav- degree programmes for some time. ing on education.

Distance and Virtual Learning in the United States 35 Nevertheless, there is a need for some instruc- all 50 states. In recent years, Star Schools projects tional services that might be shared by local have included instructional modules, video field schools, services that are too expensive for trips, enrichment activities and semester-long and schools to afford individually. There is also a need year-long courses. Through Star Schools, stu- for teacher training that cuts across traditional dents can question astronauts about the princi- school district boundaries. The latter need has ples of physics. Japanese- and German-language been magnified by the recent adoption of new students can talk with native speakers and visit academic standards in most subject areas, neces- Japan and Germany through live and interactive sitating in-service education for all current school teleconferences. For most students served, distance teachers and new formation programmes for learning is their only access to science, math, for- pre-service teachers. eign language, and advanced placement courses. Home schooling, a fast-growing phenom- enon in the U.S., has created an additional mar- THE UNIVERSAL SERVICE FUND ket for companies that are providing or contem- In passing the Telecommunications Act of 1996, plating the development of K–12 instructional the U.S. Congress mandated that a portion of all programmes that take advantage of informa- telephone bills should be set aside to fund the tion and communications technologies. development of telecommunications infrastruc- The virtual learning programmes chosen as ture and services in the nation’s elementary and examples in this section are considered to be lead- secondary schools and public libraries. While the ing edge because of the infrastructure they are regulations have taken some time to approve putting in place or the potential impact they will to implement this Act, the principles of the have on the way elementary and secondary edu- Universal Service Fund (www.ed.gov/Technology/ cation is offered in the 21st century. eratefacts.html ) are worth noting for their poten- tial impact on virtual learning throughout the THE STAR SCHOOLS PROJECT country (and, perhaps, the world). Two of the main roles the U.S. federal govern- The fund was created to make telecommuni- ment plays in education are to encourage equity cations services affordable for every school and in educational opportunity and to stimulate ad- library. A school or library will receive discounts vances in educational practices. The Star Schools of 20% to 90% (the exact amount depends on Project (www.ed.gov/prog_info/StarSchools) was in- the number of disadvantaged students in a school stituted to contribute to both areas. It was noted or community) on telecommunications services, that many rural and poor schools could not af- internal connections, and Internet access. Dis- ford to hire and retain qualified teachers in math- counts are applied to the full price, and the school ematics, the physical sciences, and foreign lan- or library will pay for the remainaing portion. guages at the high school level, so the U.S. De- The portion paid from the programme fund will partment of Education instituted the Star go directly to the service provider. Schools Project in 1988. It funds multi-year Universal Service Fund discounts can be ap- projects that use ICT to bring outstanding teach- plied to a school’s or library’s internal connections, ers of those subjects to schools that had previ- telecommunications services, and Internet access. ously been unable to offer such courses to their Although the fund will not pay for desktop com- students. puters, learning software, or teacher/librarian It is estimated that in one year, the Star Schools training, schools and libraries can use the funds Project serves more than 1.5 million students in they save on telecommunications infrastructure

36 Distance and Virtual Learning in the United States to support these elements of a comprehensive CALIFORNIA technology plan. DISTANT LEARNING PROGRAM One benefit of the fund that is already being The California Distant Learning Program (CDLP) realised is that it has forced schools and school (www.rscs.rssd.k12.ca.us) probably comes the clos- districts to develop long-term technology plans. est to virtual learning programmes of other coun- FLORIDA HIGH SCHOOL AND THE tries at the elementary and secondary level. This is the first K–8 online distance learning pro- FLORIDA DISTANT LEARNING NETWORK gramme to appear in California, and it is per- In 1996, the Orange County (Florida) Public haps the only complete programme in the U.S. Schools introduced an experimental WebSchool at this point. The Ready Springs Charter School that offered online courses, SAT preparation, and in Penn Valley, California is offering this innova- computer programming, to Orange County stu- tive learning option for elementary-age students. dents. Just as Orange County was venturing into Students and parents who choose this pro- cyberspace, Alachua County (also Florida) was gramme will find three curricula online, allowing also proposing an online school to span the state. for choice in education. Thus, from collaboration between the two coun- CDLP seeks to recognise the unique interests ties, The Florida High School (www.fhs.net) offi- and learning styles of each student, offering op- cially began in August 1997 as a joint project, tions to design a specific plan for each child that with 15 educators serving in administrative, in- is age-, interest-, and academically appropriate. structional, and developmental jobs. The curricula include Natural Learning Rhythms, The project’s mission is to place a complete a holistic curriculum offering age-appropriate high school online by the year 2001, which will teaching techniques; a multi-sensory curriculum include those courses and services to enable stu- based on hands-on learning activities; and a tra- dents to make a successful transition to post-sec- ditional academic curriculum suggesting skills a ondary educational institutions and to the work student should address or master at each grade place. To maintain high quality, course content level. Parents, students, and a CDLP resource will meet the requirements of the Florida Sun- teacher co-ordinate and co-create a course of shine State Standards as well as important crite- study based on each student’s interests and skills ria such as the SCANS competencies that are level. supported by both the education and business CDLP is part of the public school system. communities. Any parent who is a resident of California may Florida High School’s first students enrolled enrol their child with the CDLP if they are not for courses that began in January 1999. enrolled in another public school. The state of Florida has also created the Florida Distant Learning Network (FDLN) CABLE IN THE CLASSROOM (www.firn.edu/fdln) to assure its citizens access to In 1989, the cable industry established Cable in advanced telecommunications services that will the Classroom (CIC) as a public service to schools complement the provision of educational and throughout the United States. The idea behind health care services. The idea behind the legisla- the programme (www.ciconline.org/home.htm) is to tion establishing FDLN was to establish a co- place in the hands of teachers instructional re- ordinated system for cost-efficient advanced tel- sources that take advantage of the power of the ecommunication services and distance education. technologies to enhance teaching and learning.

Distance and Virtual Learning in the United States 37 Two types of cable entities join forces to sup- programme to create the CIC Professional De- port Cable in the Classroom: cable system op- velopment Institute which will, starting in 1999, erators (such as TCI, Time Warner, MediaOne, train between 50,000 and 75,000 teachers each and Cablevision), and cable programme net- year to integrate not only video technologies but works (such as Arts & Entertainment, CNN, also the Internet and World Wide Web effectively Discovery, and ESPN). The cable system opera- into their classes. tors have committed to provide every school passed by their systems with a free cable connec- UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA HIGH tion and free basic cable service each month. SCHOOL TO COLLEGE PROGRAM Consequently, more than 80,000 of the nation’s The University of Pennsylvania has teamed up 90,000 elementary and secondary schools have a with the Sylvan Learning Corporation to offer cable connection. The cable programme net- high school students a distance education oppor- works have committed to provide more than tunity to experience a university-level course while 500 hours of programming each month, pro- at the same time earning university credit. Through gramming that is educational, free of charge, the PennAdvance Program of its College of commercial-free, and cleared for recording and General Studies, the University of Pennsylvania retention by teachers for at least one year. Through (www.advance.upenn.edu) invites high school students CIC, the cable industry has also trained more than “to discover what it’s like to take a real Penn 7,500 teachers each year for the past 10 to use course and earn a Penn transcript.” Courses are these technologies effectively in their classes. offered in Calculus for the Natural Sciences, In- While not a virtual learning institution in itself, troduction to Psychology, and Introductory CIC provides teachers throughout the U.S. with Micro Economics. vast multimedia resources that can be used in PennAdvance courses are delivered in collabo- distance and virtual learning. The resources cover ration with the Sylvan Academy (and its Caliber most subjects and all grade levels. For example, Learning Network) (www.sylvanlearning.com) and are Nickelodeon offers programming and support taught with a combination of advanced technolo- materials for young children, and the Arts & gies that create powerful learning experiences for Entertainment channel (A&E) offers, among every student. The courses use a combination of other things, biographies that are appropriate for broadcast delivery and Web-based support al- use in high school courses. Some of the pro- lowing students to receive an Ivy League learn- gramme networks, such as Discovery, have gone ing experience in various cities across the coun- to great lengths to correlate their broadcast pro- try—without requiring the students to travel to grammes to the new academic standards and the university in Philadelphia. have placed those correlations and extensive cur- A live broadcast is delivered to students riculum materials on their Web sites. The CIC weekly at a Caliber Learning Center in their neigh- Web site is a “gateway” to the sites of all the bourhood. Instructors and students interact live cable programme networks. through Caliber’s combination of satellite broad- As cable companies gear up to offer Internet casting, two-way video-conferencing, and com- service through high-speed cable modems, they puter networking. In between the weekly broad- have extended their commitment to education casts, the course Web site extends the learning to include one free cable modem to each school experience. Using live chat, e-mail, and threaded that is passed by the new service. They also discussions, the Web site functions as a commu- have funded the expansion of CIC’s training nications center. Each student can get the help he

38 Distance and Virtual Learning in the United States or she needs from the instructors and from fel- World Wide Web. Degree programmes are of- low students. Homework and quizzes are sub- fered in Computer Science, Electrical Engineer- mitted online for instant grading, and the entire ing, Mechanical Engineering, Engineering Man- course syllabus, lecture notes, practice problems, agement Systems, and Materials Science. and reference materials are available to the stu- dent through the Web site. TEACHER EDUCATION Columbia University, through its Teachers Col- Virtual Professional lege, offers a virtual certificate programme in teacher education (www.tc.columbia.edu/~academic/ Development Programmes ceoi/distlearn.htm) in instructional design and com- Often, virtual learning programmes are offered puter mediated instruction. The online courses outside the framework of the traditional educa- are rich in human interaction and include collabo- tion system, both at the elementary/secondary rative projects. Students may take them at the time and the higher education levels. Some of the pro- and place of their choosing within broad time grammes listed below are offered by profes- parameters set by the university. They are not re- sional associations, others by traditional universi- quired to travel to the Teachers College campus ties. Some are tied in with professional licensing but Web access is required. The courses may be certification, others are not. taken for three credits or for non-credit. Course fees are $610 per credit or $495 for the entire non-credit course. In addition to the National Technological Uni- The courses are delivered through software versity described above, several traditional U.S. that enables group collaboration, allowing stu- universities use information and communications dents to contribute at home, at work or while technologies to extend their traditional engineer- travelling, at any time or place of their choosing. ing degree programmes to engineers located any- Discussions are text-based and unfold over the where in the U.S. or beyond. Columbia Univer- course of hours or days. Students have the op- sity, for example, has established the Columbia portunity to converse and work with classmates Video Network (CVN) for precisely that pur- whose geographical locations may span regional pose (www.cvn.columbia.edu). and possibly national borders. Established in 1986 to meet a growing need In California, there is a major effort under for flexible graduate engineering education de- way to provide basic credential classes to the livered to the working professional, CVN prom- many elementary school teachers who are being ises its virtual students the same benefits and privi- hired without credentials. The California State leges of a Columbia Education enjoyed by on- University System has developed the Distributed campus students. Virtual learners (Columbia calls Learning Network in conjunction with Simon them “off-campus students”) enrol in Columbia Schuster Publishing, KCET public television sta- courses taught by Columbia University profes- tion, and Los Angeles County classroom teach- sors, have full access to Columbia University fac- ers to create video course modules in reading ulty, and the same Columbia University degree methods, mainstreaming of as on-campus students. CVN delivers course lec- students, classroom management, educational tures to off-campus students by videotape or technology, and cross-cultural language and aca- through video-conferencing, while course mate- demic development strategies. Those courses are rials and syllabi can be easily accessed on the aired statewide and are supplemented with e-mail,

Distance and Virtual Learning in the United States 39 telephone conferences, and dedicated Web pages methods to train today’s workforce. All busi- for each course. nesses are feeling the need to provide more train- ing than ever before. Shorter product cycles and HEALTH SERVICES EDUCATION a rapidly expanding knowledge base has put tre- A young and still-developing service for health care mendous pressure on businesses to upgrade the providers is Continuing Education for Health-Care skills of their workers in a timely, effective, and Providers (CEHP) Online. Currently limited largely economical manner. The American Society of to the dental profession, CEHP Online contracts Training and Development (ASTD) estimates that with prominent authors to create online courses on in the next 10 years, 74% of today’s workers will professional topics in dentistry. CEHP Online al- need retraining. Those numbers, plus the fact that lows professionals to attend courses in the privacy many workers cannot afford to interrupt their of their offices or homes, 24 hours a day from careers for full-time study in traditional settings, anywhere with just a computer and a telephone line. have forced corporations to explore new forms It encourages them to become part of a global of workforce training. In some cases, the scope professional community. of the challenge is enormous. Many companies have begun to use the in- Virtual Training Programmes formation and communications technologies to deliver training in those same technologies at a In the past, most businesses would have turned to distance. It is now possible, for example, to take universities and community colleges to train their complete certificate training programmes online employees. Today, however, many businesses are and to become certified as a Microsoft Engineer setting up their own training programmes and even or a Novel Network Administrator. complete institutions. The focus of these efforts is · The Ford Motor Company recently received an often the development of training that is more fo- award from One Touch Systems for train- cused and immediately practical than the courses ing a total of 405,980 worker-students in IHEs are interested in providing. 1997. The U.S. Social Security Administration, Not all business training programmes pro- which operates the largest and busiest inter- vide virtual learning opportunities. However, since active video training network in the federal many businesses in this day of global commerce government, received an award for the most have operations scattered throughout the world, participants in one class—1,408 students. JC many are turning to distance and virtual learning Penney Company was cited for having the most to continually upgrade the skills of their scattered student interactions in one class. These are workforce and to educate their customers about three large organisations that are regularly the benefits of new products as they are intro- using information and communications duced. Consequently, corporate training pro- technologies to train vast numbers of their grammes range from internal staff development workforce. to wide-scale customer education. A few exem- plary programmes provide some sense of the · DigitalThink (www.digitalthink.com) is a new, vast range of training applications. privately financed company (founded in San Francisco, California in March 1996) that WORKFORCE TRAINING promotes itself as a Web-based trainer. Its It is difficult to grasp the extent to which busi- courses create an online community of stu- nesses are using distance and virtual education dents, tutors, and instructors in classes that

40 Distance and Virtual Learning in the United States are “more interactive than textbooks and Many other companies are making similar uses much more convenient than brick-and-mor- of information and communications technolo- tar, fixed-time classroom instruction.” gies to train their workforce and to introduce DigitalThink contracts with best-selling their products to customers. authors and topic experts to create origi- THE PUBLIC BROADCASTING SERVICE nal content for Web-based courses. In ad- dition to the role played by the instruc- Since 1981, the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) tors, tutors answer e-mail messages and has worked with colleges and universities through- engage in threaded discussions and chat out the United States to deliver video-based col- sessions with the students. DigitalThink sells lege-level courses. For many years, the courses Web-based courses directly from its Web were offered on an ad hoc basis and lacked the site to corporate training departments. cohesiveness of a complete degree curriculum. Course prices currently range from $125 (There were not enough high-quality, broadcast- to $450 per student. ready courses to provide a complete degree pro- gramme. Upper division courses were especially DigitalThink’s training courses are offered lacking.) To address that limitation, in 1994 PBS for continuing education units (CEUs), which instituted the Going The Distance project are convertible to college credit under an (www.pbs.org/adultlearning/als/gtd). The purpose of arrangement with the University of Phoenix the project is to assist colleges and universities in (see the Virtual University Degree Pro- developing complete degree programmes using grammes section above). tele-courses and other media-based courses · Dowling Institute (www.dowling.edu), located in (many of which are distributed by PBS). The ul- New York, offers a suite of Microsoft Of- timate goal is to offer a virtual campus to every fice training programmes via e-mail and college in the U.S. So far, 180 IHEs in 38 states online. It has served students from all over are participating in the project, and 70 public tel- the world. Each course consists of 15 or 16 evision stations air many of the video-based lessons and costs $60. courses. · QuickStart Technologies (www.quickstart.com/ In 1996, PBS, seeing another need and an etraining) provides online access to the tools opportunity, established The Business Channel and study materials necessary to prepare for (www.pbstbc.com). It offers a wide variety of work- Microsoft certification exams. Those resources shops and short courses that it markets to busi- can also be used to just brush up on product nesses throughout the U.S. The Business Channel knowledge. The courses are highly affordable evolved from PBS’s Adult Learning Satellite Serv- at a cost of $199 per student for unlimited ice, which had been offering such programmes 90-day access to the virtual campus. to businesses by satellite delivery on a subscrip- · Wang Global Virtual University now provides tion basis since the late 1980s. The Business Chan- Internet training and mentoring programmes nel is now an interesting mix of satellite delivery to its workforce of over 2,500 Microsoft and Web-based instruction. Certified Professionals through Scholars.com One stream of instruction delivered by The (www.scholars.com) and will be providing tech- Business Channel is an executive education pro- nical training to its 15,000 technical consult- gramme that has been developed at the Massa- ants worldwide through the same platform. chusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The in- creasing complexity of modern organisations has

Distance and Virtual Learning in the United States 41 created a demand for continuous education for presented in graphic form in Appendix 3.1 at executives, and PBS and MIT have joined forces the end of this report. to fill that demand. Typically, one course is of- fered each month. Conclusion In total, the PBS Business Channel offers ap- The report has attempted to provide a glimpse proximately 800 training programmes in areas of some of the leading edge distance and virtual such as executive education, leadership, change, education programmes in the United States at the sales and service, computers, human resources, beginning of 1999. It is not a comprehensive pic- and team building. The video component is de- ture, but it should provide a base for monitoring livered via a direct broadcast satellite (DBS) dish changes in the evolution of distance and virtual that is installed at the work place. Rich resources learning in the early part of the 21st century. on The Business Channel Web site enhance the In conclusion, we can observe some issues video lessons. and concerns that might be shared between IHEs in the United States and elsewhere as they attempt Double Glass Ceiling to introduce or refine their distance and virtual Most distance and virtual education programmes learning programmes. in the United States have run up against a double- · Technology infrastructure: In the United States, pane glass ceiling—two barriers that are often not the communications and information tech- apparent but present real barriers to further de- nology infrastructure needed to support and velopment. The first barrier is that the programmes use distance education is quickly becoming are technology-driven. The programmes them- available to all IHEs and to more than half selves are often initiated because a new technol- of all learners. Almost all IHEs already have ogy becomes available (e.g., a video-conferencing Web pages, four out of five are offering one facility or a new television production studio). Even or more distance education courses, and one those that have pedagogical starting points often out of three already offers at least one com- become “tracked” into a process that uses one or plete degree programme on the Web. Most two technologies that invariably introduce limita- institutions have high-speed access to the tions to the programme. Web. As for individual learners, almost all The second barrier is that the distance and have telephones and VCRs in the home and virtual education programmes adopt a traditional almost half have a computer with access to pedagogical paradigm. They create a learning the Internet. While there is some chasm be- environment that closely resembles the roles, tween the “haves” and the “have nots” in processes, and resources found in face-to-face terms of the quality of the equipment, the learning programmes. rapid drop in cost of even the most sophis- In succumbing to these two barriers, distance ticated technologies is closing that gap. and virtual education programmes fail to take full · Financial considerations: Most distance and vir- advantage of a range of resources available to the tual learning programmes must be “self-sup- instructor and learner alike. Furthermore, they fail porting” as far as the IHEs are concerned. to employ the full power of some of the new Because many evolved from continuing edu- information and communications technologies to cation departments, which traditionally do support improved pedagogical approaches. not receive tuition reimbursement from state The concept of the double glass ceiling is or federal agencies, they have had to survive

42 Distance and Virtual Learning in the United States on the tuition they charge to students. Some is often: employer à learner à administra- students must pay for the courses from their tor à teacher. own pockets, while others are reimbursed · Reactions of conventional institutions: As recently by their employers. Still others qualify for as the 1970s, many institutions used to note loans and scholarships from the federal gov- on transcripts which courses were taken at a ernment and other sources. For example, the distance, reflecting the faculty bias that those Regents College Web site lists three sources courses were inferior. That situation has of funding available from New York State, changed in the past five or so years, to the nine sources of private loans, three college point where there are very few institutions scholarship programmes, and six other that make any distinction between distance sources of potential funding that students can education and traditional courses, even pursue to help them pay for their education. though a sizeable number of faculty mem- And recently the federal government has in- bers might continue to harbour their bias. troduced a federal tax credit for lifelong Institutional acceptance of distance educa- learning that lets certain taxpayers reduce their tion is also evident by the large percentage annual tax bills by 20% of the amount they of institutions that offer distance education pay for qualified education during the year. courses and the growing number that are · Learner and teacher acceptance of distance and vir- offering complete degree programmes at a tual learning: Many faculty members have tra- distance. Many institutions view distance and ditionally viewed distance and virtual learn- virtual education programmes as their ing programmes as second-class education. “growth” area for the foreseeable future. On the other hand, students and employers · Characteristics of the learners being served: Perhaps do not share that view. For students, access one of the forces driving the changed atti- and convenience are primary concerns, and tude of institutions towards distance and vir- distance and virtual learning programmes tual education is the changing nature of the have both of those characteristics. Employ- student body at most institutions. Whereas ers look for quality educational programmes up into the 1970s the majority of college and that can be pursued conveniently by their university undergraduates were in the 18- to employees. Since recent research has shown 24-year-old range, the median age now is in that distance education programmes are the early 30s. Almost all undergraduates hold equivalent to traditional ones, students and at least a part-time job as they pursue their employers have taken that as evidence that they studies. As sophisticated consumers with sig- are being well served. That confidence of the nificant disposable funds, they know what it students and their employers has led to an in- is to expect and receive customer service. crease in enrolments in distance education They want to be involved in planning their courses, which in turn has begun to attract the own education and they want that education attention of administrators who are constantly delivered conveniently so that they can study seeking ways to increase enrolments in their when and where they are able. They are par- institutions. In some cases, the faculty are the ticularly interested in courses that are practi- last to embrace the idea of distance educa- cal and that they can begin to use immedi- tion. Consequently, the pattern of acceptance ately in their jobs.

Distance and Virtual Learning in the United States 43 References Revolution. The Public Broadcasting Service. Al- exandria, Virginia. 1998. “A Philanthropy Puts Millions Into Asynchronous Learn- PRINT RESOURCES ing: Sloan Foundation Grants Emphasize On- Arenson, Karen W. “N.Y.U. Sees Profits in Virtual Classes.” line Programs That Create A Sense Of Commu- The New York Times. 1998. nity.” The Chronicle of Higher Education. Novem- ber 13, 1998. Biemiller, Lawrence. “U. of Utah President Issues a Pointed Warning About Virtual Universities.” The Chroni- Phillips, Vicky, and Cindy Yager. The Best Distance Learning cle of Higher Education. October 9, 1998. Graduate Schools: Earning Your Degree Without Leav- ing Home. New York: Random House, 1999. Bludnicki, Mary. “Supporting Virtual Learning for Adult Students.” T.H.E. Journal. June 1998. “Report on University of Phoenix Sends Stock Price Down.” The Chronicle of Higher Education. October 2, Blumenstyk, Goldie. “California Virtual University Will End 1998. Most of Its Operations.” The Chronicle of Higher Education. April 2, 1999. Rossett, Allison. “No Cheers For Corporate U.” Training. August 1998. Blumenstyk, Goldie. “In a First, the North Central Associa- tion Accredits an On-Line University.” The Chroni- Scott, Janny. “Advanced Degrees Earned Off Campus and cle of Higher Education. March 19, 1999. On-Line.” The LA Times. February 6, 1994. Building An Internet Campus: A Do-It-Yourself Guide. Weber Shive, Glenn. Distance Learning and Structural Change in State University Online Campus. Ogden, Utah. American Higher Education. Governors State Uni- 1998. versity. Illinois. October 31, 1998. “College Librarians Plan for Floods of Digital Users.” The “Siemens Learns From Net.” PC Week. February 16, 1998. Chronicle of Higher Education. November 13, 1998. Stamps, David. “The For-Profit Future of Higher Educa- “Consortium Unveils System to Ease Finding Educational tion.” Training. August 1998. Material on the Web.” The Chronicle of Higher “Stanford Students Can Earn Degree With Clicks Of Education. September 19, 1997. Mouse.” Washington Times. September 16, 1998. “Even at Western Governors University, Where enrollments Strong, Robert W. and E. Glynn Harmon. “Online Gradu- got off to a lackluster start earlier this fall, offi- ate Degrees: A Review of Three Internet-based cials are optimistic.” The Chronicle of Higher Edu- Master’s Degree Offerings.” The American Journal cation. November 27, 1998. of Distance Education. Vol. 11, No. 3, 1997. “Few Students Enroll at Western Governors U.” The Chroni- Take A Shortcut To Putting Your College Or University Online. cle of Higher Education. September 25, 1998. Real Education. 1998. “For Profit Group Moves Into Teacher Education.” The Taking the Distance Out of Education. The University of Texas Chronicle of Higher Education. March 13, 1998. System. Austin, Texas. 1998. Holland, Robert. “Distance Learning.” Washington Times. “Trading a Classroom for a Keyboard and Eye Contact for August 23, 1998. E-Mail.” The Chronicle of Higher Education. Feb- “If distance-education courses make money at Pennsylva- ruary 27, 1998. nia State University, some of the spoils will go to University of Phoenix Online Degree Programs in Business and the departments that helped create them.” The Management. The University of Phoenix. 1998. Chronicle of Higher Education. November 20, 1998. “Virtual University Growing By Leaps And Bounds.” Wash- Lee, Chris. “Virtual U.” Training. August 1998. ington Times. September 21, 1998. McCollum, Kelly. “Accreditation of On-Line University “What’s it Like Taking Classes From A Virtual University?” Draws Fire.” The Chronicle Of Higher Education. The Chronicle of Higher Education. January 30, April 2, 1999. 1998. “Online Librarians Help Guide Students Around Net’s Wynne, Sheryl D. An Overview Of Virtual Schooling In North Stacks.” The Wall Street Journal. October 1, 1998. America And Europe. Vancouver: Open Learning PBS Adult Learning Service: Expanding the Distance Learning Agency, November 1997.

44 Distance and Virtual Learning in the United States WEB RESOURCES www.caliberlearning.com : Home Page for the Caliber Learning Network, which offers technology-delivered in- dlis.dos.state.fl.us/dlli : Home Page for the Florida Distance struction through a network of learning centres Learning Library Initiative, a co-operative effort linked together and enhanced by satellite broad- of Florida’s public state universities and com- casting, video-conferencing, PC networking and munity colleges, as well as public libraries through the Internet. the State Library of Florida. www.california.edu : Home Page for the California Virtual home.talkcity.com/UniversityWay : Home Page for Talk City’s University that links students with distance edu- UniversityWay, an online continuing education cation courses and support services provided by service that matches continuing education in- more than 100 colleges and universities in Cali- structors with institutions that offer continuing fornia. education courses online. www.ccconline.org : Home Page for Colorado Community Col- http://wsuonline.weber.edu : Home Page for the Online Cam- lege Online, a co-operative programme of 13 pus of Weber State University, which offers a community colleges through which students can wide range of courses and student support serv- earn associate degrees and certificates online. ices each semester. www.cecc.cccoes.edu : Home Page for the Colorado Electronic www.acenet.edu/calec/home.html : Home Page for the Center Community College. for Adult Learning and Educational Credentials www.ciconline.org/home.htm : Home Page of Cable in the Class- of the American Council on Education, which room, gateway to vast educational resources and provides a College Credit Recommendation Serv- teacher training provided free of charge by the ice that is used by more than 200 corporations, cable industry. associations, labour unions, government agencies, and training providers that offer courses. www.concord.kaplan.edu : Home Page for the Concord Uni- versity School of Law, a new (October 6, 1998) www.advance.upenn.edu : Home Page of PennAdvance, the venture of Kaplan Educational Centers, which school-to-college transition programme offered offers a juris doctorate degree entirely online. by the University of Pennsylvania in conjunc- tion with the Sylvan Academy/Caliber Learning www.cvn.columbia.edu : Home Page of the Columbia Video Network study centres. Network, established by Columbia University to provide graduate engineering courses to learners www.archipelago.com : Home Page for the Archipelago Com- throughout the United States. pany, a division of Harcourt Brace & Company publishers, which is developing multimedia and www.databeam.com : Home Page for DataBeam, a Lotus com- online college courses. pany that has developed and markets Learning Server, a software package that supports live, www.arthurdlittle.com/som/som.html : Home Page for the interactive training (data, audio, and video) on Arthur D. Little School of Management, which the Web. offers a one-year master’s of Science in Manage- ment programme, as well as a series of executive www.digitalthink.com : Home Page for DigitalThink, a pri- education and custom programmes. vately financed company that offers computer training courses online for Continuing Educa- www.athena.edu : Home Page for Athena University, a non- tion Units (CEUs) which are convertible to col- profit institution administered by Virtual Online lege credit through an arrangement that University Services International, which provides DigitalThink has with the University of Phoe- degrees in Liberal Arts, Business, History, Lan- nix. guages, Math, Science, and Computers. www.dowling.edu : Home Page for the Dowling Institute, of- www.biz.colostate.edu/mba : Home Page for the distance edu- fering a suite of online training programmes on cation MBA programme at the Colorado State the use of Microsoft Office. University. www.ed.gov/offices/OPE/FIPSE : Home Page for the U.S. www.bsu.edu/teachers/academy/outreach.html : Home Page for Department of Education’s Fund for the Im- the Indiana Academy, which offers interactive provement of Post Secondary Education audio/visual satellite-delivery to K-12 students (FIPSE), which provides grants for projects de- in subjects that are not available in some schools signed to improve the availability and quality of (e.g., AP Chemistry, Genetics, and Russian). higher education.

Distance and Virtual Learning in the United States 45 www.ed.gov/prog_info/StarSchools : Home Page for the U.S. www.microsoft.com/education/hed/online : Microsoft’s Web Page Department of Education’s Star Schools Project, devoted to online learning (articles, white pa- which provides funding for innovative projects pers, products, and solutions). that use satellite technology to beam courses of www.ntu.edu : Home Page for National Technological Uni- study in mathematics, science, and foreign lan- versity, one of the first virtual universities in the guages to K-12 schools that otherwise would U.S., with strong programmes of advanced study not be able to offer those courses. in Engineering and Business. www.ed.gov/Technology/eratefacts.html : Home Page for infor- www.pangaeanetwork.com : Home Page for The Pangaea Net- mation about the U.S. government’s Universal work, a company that helps colleges and univer- Service Fund, which provides grants to schools sities create their own virtual campus to reach to help them install and maintain connections to unserved students. the World Wide Web. www.paulallen.com/foundations : Home Page for the Paul G. www.e-education.com : Home Page for software developed by Allen Virtual Education Foundation, which rec- the Jones Knowledge Group to allow instructors ognises the “best” online course designs and pro- to put their courses online. vides the developers with cash awards to design www.embanet.com : Home Page for the Embanet Corpora- additional courses. tion, which provides a turn-key solution for build- www.pbs.org/adultlearning : Home Page for the Public Broad- ing, hosting, and maintaining a virtual campus. casting Service’s Adult Learning Service (PBS/ www.fhs.net : Home Page for Florida High School, a state- ALS), which broadcasts college-level tele- wide project that aims to place an entire high courses, provides satellite-delivered training school online by 2001, including courses and stu- courses and seminars, and maintains an extensive dent support services needed to obtain a high Web site of ancillary materials and student sup- school diploma. port services. www.firn.edu/fdln : Home Page for the Florida Distant Learn- www.pbs.org/adultlearning/als/gtd : Public Broadcasting Serv- ing Network, a state-wide service to ensure that ice Web site for its “Going the Distance” project, citizens have access to advanced telecommuni- to help IHEs develop complete degree pro- cations services to complement the provision of grammes using tele-courses and other media-based educational and health care services. courses, with a goal of “offering a virtual cam- www.geteducated.com : Home Page of an “adult education and pus” to every college in the U.S. distance learner’s resource centre,” including ac- www.pbstbc.com : Public Broadcasting Service Web site for cess to the Virtual University Gazette, a Director The Business Channel, which offers a wide vari- of Online Colleges and Universities, and infor- ety of workshops and short courses that it mar- mation on the publication, Best Distance Learning kets to businesses throughout the U.S. Graduate Schools. www.quickstart.com/etraining : Home Page for QuickStart www.ivu.com : Home Page for the Internet Virtual Univer- Technologies, a company that provides online sity, an online campus that colleges and universi- access to study tools to prepare for Microsoft ties can customise and use. certification exams. www.lotus.com/learningspace : Lotus Page for information about www.randomhouse.com : Home Page for Random House pub- LearningSpace, its software suite that supports lishers, source of the publication “The Best Dis- Web-enabled distributed learning. tance Learning Graduate Schools.” www.magellan.edu : Home Page for Magellan University, a www.realeducation.com : Home Page for Real Education, a private online institution that offers courses in company that helps colleges and universities put advanced mathematics and MCSE certification. their courses and campuses online. www.mhhe.com/solutions : Home Page for McGraw-Hill’s (Pub- www.regents.edu : Home Page for Regents College, the first lisher) Higher Education offerings which pro- Virtual University in the United States, offering vide online supplements to many of the compa- degrees in Nursing, Business, Liberal Arts, and ny’s textbooks as well as software and templates Technology. that allow universities and faculty members to develop their own Web sites.

46 Distance and Virtual Learning in the United States www.rscs.rssd.k12.ca.us : Home Page of the California Dis- www.uol.com/website : Home Page for UOL (University On tant Learning Program (CDLP), the first K-8 Line) Publishing, a McLean, Virginia for-profit online distance learning programme in California company that provides interactive and on-de- and perhaps the only complete programme in the mand courseware for training and education. U.S. at this point. www.uophx.edu : Home Page for the University of Phoenix, www.scholars.com : Home Page for Wang Global Virtual Uni- a private university and one of the largest dis- versity, which provides online training and tance education institutions in the U.S. mentoring to the company’s 2,500 Microsoft www.vousi.com : Home Page for Virtual Online University Certified Professionals and 15,000 technical con- Services International, a source of professional sultants world-wide. development and lifelong-learning materials. www.sctcorp.com/aspire : Home Page for SCT’s Aspire for www.wiche.edu/telecom/telecom.htm : Home Page for the West- Higher Education, software and services that al- ern Cooperative for Educational Telecommuni- low colleges and universities to develop distrib- cations (WCET), a division of WICHE that fa- uted learning delivery systems. cilitates resource sharing, information sharing, and www.siemenscom.com/Learn.Everywhere : Home Page for the policy advocacy in the use of educational tech- Learn.Everywhere distance education manage- nologies and telecommunications. ment software from the Siemens Corporation, www.wiche.edu : Home Page for the Western Interstate Com- supporting an instructor led, real-time, interac- mission for Higher Education (WICHE), a policy tive learning environment capable of reaching organisation representing 15 Western states in students, staff and faculty across a campus, school the U.S. district, or around the globe. www.wisc.edu/depd : Home page for the University of Wis- www.tc.columbia.edu/~academic/ceoi/distlearn.htm : Home Page consin’s Distance Education Professional Devel- for a certificate programme in teacher education opment Center, which offers a distance educa- (Instructional Design and Computer Mediated tion programme leading to a Certificate of Pro- Instruction) offered at a distance by Columbia fessional Development in Distance Education. University. www.worldclasslearning.com : Home Page for International www.tolu.com : Home Page for TechOnLine University, a Thompson Publishing’s World Class Learning suite source of continuing education courses (but no of products that facilitates “anytime, anywhere” complete degree programmes) for engineers. learning. www.unet.maine.edu : Home Page for the University of Maine’s Network for Education and Technology Serv- ices, a state-wide delivery system which also pro- vides faculty and student support services for distance education.

Distance and Virtual Learning in the United States 47 Appendix 3.1: The Dirr Grid of Tertiary Distance Education The examples shown in the grid below clearly show that most of today’s distance and virtual education programmes are technology-driven and based on a traditional academic paradigm. You are encour- aged to plug other distance and virtual education programmes into the grid. I am especially interested in learning about programmes that might appropriately fall into the lower right quadrant of the grid.

Traditional New Motivating academic academic factors: paradigm paradigm Technology (a) (a) (e) (e) (e) driven (a) (a) (b) (b) (b) (b) (b) (c) (c) (c) (c) (c) (c) (d) (d) (d) (d) (d) (d) (d)

(f) (f) (f) (h) (h) (h) (f) (f) (f) (g) (g) (g) (g) (g) (g)

Consumer (j) (j) (k) (k) driven

Notes: (a) Educational television programming of the 1950s, such (g) Approach of the Western Governors University. (The as Sunrise Semester suite of products and services provided by WGU is also (b) Telecourses of the 1970s-80s designed to serve a social need to make educational services available to larger numbers of learners at times (c) Audio- and video-conferencing of the 1980s to 1990s. and places of their choosing, using a variety of appro- (d) One-off Internet courses and “shovelware” of the 1990s. priate technologies.) (These applications tend to be driven primarily by one (h) Approach of innovative corporate universities of the technology and follow the discursive approach of a 1990s. (Some corporate universities are developing traditional classroom. They transfer the traditional new pedagogical paradigms that often mix new instruc- classroom paradigm to a new medium.) tional approaches (such as shorter, more intense (e) Interactive CD-ROM courses of the 1990s. (Some of courses) and new applications of the technologies.) today’s CD-ROM course projects, while still technol- (j) Approach of the University of Phoenix. (This is a highly ogy driven, are reaching to use the technologies in consumer-driven model that uses a mixture of tradi- ways that were not possible before the advent of to- tional and newer instructional approaches and tech- day’s technologies.) nologies.) (f) Video and audio courses of the Annenberg/CPB Project (k) New services such as those offered by the PBS AC- of the 1980s and 1990s. (These courses had three unique CESS Project. (While not a programme of study, this characteristics: first, they were created to serve a social project is developing a suite of services that will help need to provide tertiary-level educational opportunities learners craft an individualised distance education pro- to those who could not take advantage of traditional gramme by taking appropriate advantage of a variety opportunities; second, they took advantage of advanced of instructional packages and support services deliv- educational design to allocate to various media the part ered through a variety of technologies.) of the instructional process they could do best; and, third, they had built-in quality control procedures.)

48 Distance and Virtual Learning in the United States Distance and Virtual Learning in the Caribbean

4 DR. PETER J. DIRR

Introduction and cays scattered over 5,382 square miles). (See Although often linked to the United States, the Table 4.1) Some lack telecommunications infra- Caribbean is a region so different that it is diffi- structure (e.g., Haiti, with only one telephone for cult for an outsider to imagine the context in which every 150 people), while in others, most of the distance and virtual learning exist. The 30 or more population has ready access to telecommunica- countries that comprise the region are composed tions (e.g., the Bahamas, with one telephone for of a series of islands and archipelagos and are every two persons). diverse even among themselves. Some are com- Many of the countries in the Caribbean are pact (e.g., Barbados, with a population of 262,000 considered lesser developed. Their populations persons in 166 square miles of territory), while live at poverty levels well below the world aver- others are dispersed (e.g., the Bahamas, with a age. The education systems in many Caribbean population of 273,000 persons on 700 islands countries lag behind highly developed countries,

Table 4.1

Comparative Statistics for Selected Caribbean Countries Compared to the United States

Area Population Life Adult Per Capita Persons/ Persons/ Country (sq. mi.) (000’s) Expectancy Literacy GDP Telephones TV Sets Bahamas 5,382 273 72 93% 11,115 2.3 4.6 Barbados 166 262 76 99% 7,538 3.0 3.8 Dominican Republic 18,704 7,900 68 83% 1,600 41.6 10.9 Guyana 83,000 735 65 98% 766 22.3 23.0 Haiti 10,714 7,500 55 35% 400 150.0 234.4 Jamaica 4,240 2,600 75 85% 2,171 12.3 7.9

United States 3,700,000 270,000 76 97% 28,600 1.5 1.3

Source: U.S. State Department, March 1998

Distance and Virtual Learning in the Caribbean 49 so that traditional opportunities for tertiary and institutions, and has supported a project to up- secondary education are not available to the ma- grade the skills of technical and vocational in- jority of the population. structors in the Caribbean. The Commonwealth Precisely because of the geographic and eco- of Learning Document Archive lists several nomic conditions that confront the countries of helpful reports, including a Strategic Plan for the Caribbean, distance and virtual education at providing in “non-campus both the secondary and tertiary levels could ben- countries” (NCCs) through distance education, efit individual countries and the region in gen- and other scholarly papers and reports. See eral. Yet few Caribbean tertiary institutions are www.col.org/caribe.htm. (Also, a search of “Car- involved in distance and virtual education. ibbean” or individual country names from A sense of “regionalism” seems to permeate COL’s home page (www.col.org) will provide ac- the Caribbean countries. Sixteen of the countries cess to several relevant reports on COL’s ac- are members or associate members of the Car- tivities and research.) ibbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM). Eastern Caribbean countries that The University of the are members of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean Countries (OECS) share a common West Indies judicial system. (See Kenny D. Anthony, The University of the West Indies (UWI) (www. www.oas.org/en/pinfo/legal.htm) In recent years, they uwichill.edu.bb) has emerged as one of the leading have developed a regional tertiary institutions and the leader in providing Strategy for Eastern Caribbean states to improve distance education to residents of most of the the quality and availability of education. countries in the Caribbean. While other institu- Speaking at a recent meeting of the Organi- tions in the region have initiated distance educa- zation of American States, the Governor Gen- tion courses and programmes (see below), an eral of St. Lucia pointed to three mechanisms examination of the UWI distance education ac- undertaken in the region to improve tertiary edu- tivities provides insight into some of the issues cation capabilities of the countries. The first was and accomplishments in the region. the OECS Education Reform Strategy; the sec- The University of the West Indies is an inde- ond was a regional network of institutions, the pendent institution that serves 15 countries in the Association of Caribbean Tertiary Institutions Caribbean: Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Baha- (ACTI); and the third was the development of mas, Barbados, Belize, British Virgin Islands, centres of education specialisation, which are as- Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, suming regional roles. (See Pearlette Louisy, Montserrat, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vin- www.aos.org/en/pinfo/week/030698ae.htm.) cent & the Grenadines, and the Republic of Trini- The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) has dad & Tobago. The university was established as provided continuing support to educational insti- a traditional university with a single campus at tutions in the Caribbean, including assistance with Mona, Jamaica in 1948. Originally named the planning and developing distance education pro- University College of the West Indies, it was af- grammes. COL has helped train Caribbean fac- filiated to the University of London. UWI ulty members in ways to re-package face-to-face achieved full university status in 1962, one year courses for distance education delivery. It has also after it had opened its second campus at St. Au- facilitated co-operative working relationships gustine, Trinidad. A third campus was opened in between Canadian and Caribbean educational 1963 at Cave Hill, St. Michael, Barbados. As a

50 Distance and Virtual Learning in the Caribbean regional institution, UWI places a strong empha- more sites with funds from the Canadian Inter- sis on Caribbean issues in both its teaching and national Development Agency (CIDA) and the its research. Caribbean Development Bank (CDB). As early as 1990, the university made a de- THE DEVELOPMENT OF DISTANCE termination to expand its “outreach and dis- EDUCATION AT UWI tance education” activities. A July 1992 Appraisal The University’s present distance education pro- Report noted several issues that needed resolv- gramme evolved out of a “challenge pro- ing if such expansion were to be successful. They gramme” that was started in 1973 by the Faculty included: of Social Sciences in response to a need in non- · Enrolment: The report called for increased campus countries (NCCs) for upgrading and representation of students from non-cam- training of mid-level government employees. This pus countries. NCC enrolment had declined programme allowed those employees to study from 13% of the total student population in on their own using print resources from the uni- 1960–61 to 5% in 1989–90. Distance edu- versity and then “challenge” the exams in the sub- cation was seen as one way to increase the jects they were studying. The university provided enrolment of potential students from NCCs. no additional support to the students beyond a · Management of outreach: The report observed copy of the course syllabus and, where neces- a “bewildering array of offices, units, and sary, a list of recommended reading. faculties operating with minimal co-ordina- The university soon learned that most students tion or even knowledge by the University could not pass the exams using this form of study, Centre (which was charged with oversight and so it established study centres in the NCCs, of outreach and distance education at that where local tutors provided tuition for students. time) which were intended to deliver the In the early 1980s, the U.S. government of- university’s outreach.” And none of those fered UWI use of the ATS6 satellite for academic entities was integrated with the university fac- use. The U.S. Agency for International Develop- ulties, which had primary responsibility for ment (USAID) also funded a feasibility study that professional continuing education and ar- explored offering academic programmes ticulation or franchising relations with terti- through satellite uplinks and downlinks. This ary learning institutions. Consequently, dis- led the university to establish a new adminis- tance education was viewed by the faculties trative unit, the University of the West Indies as peripheral to the main mission of the Distance Teaching Experiment (UWIDITE). university. By 1983, UWI was offering courses by audio- · Inadequate information systems: The report found conferencing, print materials, and local face-to- “inadequacies in programme planning, com- face tutorial support. munication, record keeping, gaps in services, The local tutors were bolstered by tele- and duplication of efforts,” and, “inadequa- conferences with campus-based university tutors. cies of data on student registration, especially Where possible, the academic programmes built for non-credit courses.” on existing infrastructures, including local tertiary learning institutions (TLIs). By the 1990s, this proc- · Pedagogy and support: Distance education ess had become the norm for UWI’s distance courses often lacked sufficient back-up ma- education programme. The audio-conferencing terial, and technical problems plagued the system was expanded over the years to include UWIDITE conferencing system.

Distance and Virtual Learning in the Caribbean 51 · Training: A great need was found for “ex- centralised all responsibilities for distance educa- tensive training in all aspects of distance edu- tion and perhaps have permitted greater flexibil- cation.” At the same time, the report noted ity than some campus-based faculties might be that there were no agencies devoted to im- willing to tolerate. But the Renwick Report rec- proving pedagogy anywhere in the univer- ommended against this option on the grounds sity. that it might preclude opportunities for mutual · Computerisation: Although this report predated enrichment of the on-campus and off-campus the explosive use of computers and the programmes, and the possibility that the distance Internet worldwide, it envisioned the use of education programme might be seen as being computers university-wide for various edu- of lesser stature than on-campus programmes. cational purposes, including the support of Dual-mode was intended to assure that neither distance education. modality was superior. The dual-mode route was chosen. Conse- · Needs assessment: The authors of the report quently, distance education at UWI today largely found deficiencies in how the university de- consists of courses that the university faculty pro- termined the need for outreach and distance duces. Distance education has become an inte- education, as well as its own needs for change gral part of the workload of the university de- in order to adapt to a rapidly changing edu- partments—part of the normal duties of the cational environment. faculty. And just as the academic programmes One of the outcomes of the 1992 Appraisal are dual-mode, so are the support areas of the Report was a recommendation to develop a university, offices such as the registrar and infor- Distance Education Unit, reporting directly to mation services. One by-product of the deci- the Board for Distance Education and chaired sion, however, was a parallel decision to keep by the Vice Chancellor of PVC Academic Af- the matriculation requirements the same for both fairs. That recommendation was accepted, and modes, which has made UWI distance educa- since 1996 distance education at UWI is man- tion programmes less “open” to non-traditional aged through the Board for Non-Campus adult students than distance education pro- Countries and Distance Education (BNCCDE). grammes at some other institutions. That Board is an office of the University Centre, Another fundamental issue faced at that time located at the Cave Hill campus in Barbados. It was what role technology would play in the de- oversees three executive arms: the Distance Edu- livery of distance education. On the one hand, cation Centre (DEC), the School of Continuing technology could make rich educational oppor- Studies (SCS), and the Tertiary Level Institutions tunities more widely available. On the other hand, Unit (TLIU). if the access to technologies became an integral Another issue that surfaced in 1992 was part of the delivery system, it could limit partici- whether distance education would be freestand- pation by large numbers of potential students, ing or integrated within the existing university especially in poorer countries. The decision was departmental structure. It was seen as a funda- made that, given the under-representation of stu- mental issue to choose between a dual-mode dents from NCCs, and in order to serve those distance education operation and some form of potential students more completely, print mate- autonomous distance education programme rials would dominate the support materials for (what was referred to as a possible “fourth cam- distance education courses. Teleconferencing (as pus” of the university). The latter would have used by UWIDITE) required regular attendance

52 Distance and Virtual Learning in the Caribbean at university centres. Print-based materials could “sponsorship” in the NCCs. While the cam- be used anywhere, any time the student wished. pus countries sponsor all their undergradu- In recent years, the typical structure of UWI’s ate students and many of their postgradu- distance education courses is a print-based study ates, most NCCs set significant limits on the package with a heavy reliance on tutorial assist- number of students they sponsor. This is ance. Often, the student must attend a prescribed further complicated because the fees for number of sessions in-person with a local tutor, non-sponsored students from NCCs are so plus some at a distance with a campus-based tu- high that most potential students find it tor through audio-conferencing. cheaper to attend North American institu- The 1997–98 academic year saw a large jump tions. (Roughly nine times as many students in distance education enrolments at UWI, which go to North America as go to UWI.) has been attributed to improved marketing of · Management of outreach: Many changes were courses and the notion of distance education in made to the structure and management of general. distance education at UWI following the 1992 A June 1998 paper on a new strategic plan report. BNCCDE now sets the policy for for distance education reviewed the progress of outreach and distance education and directly the previous five years. Here is what it found in supervises three units: Distance Education the key areas that had been identified as concerns Centre (DEC), School of Continuing Stud- in 1992: ies (SCS), and the Tertiary Level Institutions · Enrolment: Looking at figures available at that Unit (TLIU). DEC is responsible for the tel- time, the authors reported that, “Here the ecommunications system and computer net- picture has remained bleak.” Non-campus work used for distance education, embrac- countries (NCCs) are under-represented in ing three campuses, several other sites in the on-campus enrolments. This need has not campus countries, and sites in all of the changed much since the 1992 Appraisal Re- NCCs. In 1993–94, UWIDITE was inte- port. The NCC countries now contain 22% grated into the DEC, linking the university’s of the population of the UWI contributing three campuses with University Centres in countries, but their nationals acquired only Antigua, Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, St. 9% of the undergraduate degrees awarded Kitts, and Dominica through local telecom- by the university in 1993 and only 14% of munications networks. the certificates. The northwest and eastern Since 1993–94, the university budget for Caribbean countries are especially hurt in this distance education has increased from J$23.5 distribution. They each have 11% of the million to J$143 million in 1998–99. SCS is population, but the northwest countries con- responsible for a variety of non-credit tributed only 1% of the on-campus regis- courses and for managing the sites used by trations and the eastern countries contrib- the DEC teleconferencing system. The TLIU uted only 5%. One solution the university facilitates articulation between regional terti- is pursuing is to place greater emphasis on ary-level institutions and the university and involving local TLIs in distance education assists the TLIs in upgrading their resources. programmes, promoting the notion of the This new structure has not given control over university as a hub and the TLIs as the spokes all aspects of outreach and distance educa- in an integrated regional system. However, tion to the BNCCDE. The professional the situation is compounded by inequities in

Distance and Virtual Learning in the Caribbean 53 faculties or schools retain responsibility for Greater attention is paid to the role of professional continuing education, although local tutors and to providing students some of the work involves DEC, SCS, or with local support systems. What has the TLIU. proven particularly difficult to change, · Inadequate information systems: An almost acci- however, is the weaning of staff away dental step towards a solution of the need from proprietary course development for adequate information systems has been towards a team approach. the slow but sure implementation of com- · Training: There has been much achieved in puter connectivity across the campuses, an the actual training of all categories of staff activity stimulated by a loan from the Inter involved in distance education, and in American Development Bank. However, policy recognition for continuing this train- improvements in registration and other stu- ing. The DEC is the main source for such dent data are moving very slowly, apparently training and has produced some self-in- reflecting an unwillingness to recognise that structional manuals for administrators and dual-mode includes administrative as well as local tutors. academic functions. · Computerisation: Five years ago, no one antici- · Pedagogy and support: The university has im- pated the appearance of the Internet or the plemented several measures aimed at im- range of software applications that would proving pedagogy. They include: be available. The university has capitalised on 1. Regularly assessing teaching staff. loans from the Inter American Development Bank and the Caribbean Development Bank 2. Making teaching an explicit considera- to equip the campus. tion in the assessment and promotion system. · Needs assessment: Using funds from the Car- ibbean Development Bank loan, DEC will 3. Providing instructional development create a new post for research and evalua- units at each campus to help faculty tion in order to conduct needs assessments members. on a regular basis in collaboration with the 4. Developing training manuals for fac- BNCCDE Research Office. ulty members. One of the remaining challenges, not high- 5. Developing a Certificate in Adult Edu- lighted in 1992, is the provision of library serv- cation for tertiary level teachers. ices. Limited resources are often spread too thin 6. A new programme for the production among a public library system, the local TLI of high-quality print materials and a library, and the University Centre. This com- range of other media. pounds another challenge: the need to bring the 7. Peer review of such materials, using staff cultural and intellectual atmosphere of a thriv- from other campuses and institutions. ing university to the NCCs through relevant Self-instructional print-based mate- activities that might enhance the quality of pub- rials remain the fundamental resource lic discussion throughout the region. An ex- for distance education courses, but in panded and comprehensive distance education some cases Web pages play a large role. programme was seen as one way to address these needs.

54 Distance and Virtual Learning in the Caribbean UWI continues to respond to known needs university is upgrading its technological infrastruc- on several levels. Working with TLIs and other ture (e.g., computers, connectivity, e-mail facili- local education providers in the NCCs, the uni- ties) as part of a shared effort throughout the versity has expanded access through courses of- eastern Caribbean. As that upgrade is completed, fered at remote locations. It has also identified the university expects to add video-conferencing several areas where distance education courses to its current audio-conferencing facilities. can expand access, including Internet versions of In summation, the University of the West some physics courses, strengthening mathemati- Indies has moved from viewing distance educa- cal and statistical understanding among potential tion as an experiment to be tried with individual students, and increasing English proficiency isolated courses to its current stage of develop- through remedial and preparatory courses. Some ing and offering complete degree programmes. of these efforts cause the university to continue All of the courses offered are print-based. to examine its entry requirements and policies, In expanding its distance education, UWI has which to this point have been rather traditional dealt with many “usual” issues: and rigid and unfriendly towards “mature stu- · Finding ways to articulate distance education dents.” (See the reference above in the context programmes with the academic programmes of the discussion of the nature of a dual-mode of local tertiary institutions. institution.) · Helping faculty see the development and The University of the West Indies’ literature offering of distance education programmes indicates that distance education continues to be as team work rather than purely individual seen as the major source of increased access to efforts. programmes of all kinds. However, given the · Keeping open to the possibility that the dis- circumstances of the Caribbean, for the imme- tance education courses might be a small el- diate future, information and communication ement in an academic programme that al- technologies apparently will not play a major role lows a co-operating TLI to expand its cur- in distance education. Start-up costs for technol- rent academic offerings or introduce ogy-based distance education programmes are specialisations it would not otherwise be able high and some technologies are not readily ac- to offer. cessible to many of the students the university hopes to serve through new distance education · Accepting that mixed mode delivery will be programmes. The university is very conscious of the norm rather than the exception, not only the need to weigh carefully the value of the tech- for distance education programmes but for nologies and not to under-utilise some low-tech on-campus courses as well. approaches that might serve large numbers of Even as it expands its distance education pro- potential students. Consequently, the university has gramme, the University of the West Indies is aware made it a goal to strengthen its print-based of the fine line it must walk. Of all the tertiary courses so that the course materials can bear more institutions in the region, UWI is best equipped to of the burden of tuition. The hope is that by provide educational opportunities to students strengthening the course materials, the university throughout the region. Yet, it must take care will be able to facilitate anytime, anyplace learn- not to step on the toes of other universities and ing while reducing the currently strong reliance established tertiary-level institutions. Rather, it must on local tutorials. At the same time, however, the consider ways that, in each country, the various

Distance and Virtual Learning in the Caribbean 55 players might co-operate and collaborate, given studies diplomas. (See their Web site at that each institution will have its own aims, some www.tcol.co.uk/orgs/sarthur/sarthur.htm.) of which might conflict with UWI’s. The univer- · Antigua State College has been the main part- sity has chosen to do what only a university can ner with the UWI in Antigua. It has franchised do, including the pioneering of new programmes several UWI courses. that others can adapt or adopt, and leaving to · The British Virgin Islands: UWI works closely others to do what they can do perfectly well on with a local TLI to provide a degree in Edu- their own. cation using a variety of resources and ap- proaches. The major competition has come Other Institutions and from the University of the U.S. Virgin Is- Programmes lands (See their Web site at www.uvi.edu.) Other Caribbean institutions also offer some dis- · Cayman: Articulation arrangements between tance education programmes and courses, some UWI and the local community college on in conjunction with the University of the West Cayman, including provision for dial-up ac- Indies. Throughout the region, traditional colleges cess to UWI’s computers, is providing and universities have experimented with distance greater access to higher education to island education and continue to do so. Most, how- residents. However, most advanced tertiary ever, are constrained by the lack of facilities, equip- training is undertaken in the United States. ment, and infrastructure, preventing them from · Grenada: The national TLI, T. A. Marryshow taking advantage of the very technologies that Community College, and an active off-shore are making distance education a reality in other institution, St. Georges University, work with parts of the world. UWI to offer courses. Over the past decade, there have been sev- · Turks and Caicos: The Community College eral region-wide projects sponsored by the Com- on Grand Turk has a UWIDITE facility that monwealth of Learning (COL) that have used is just going into operation. A main concern distance education approaches and technologies is that they might not be able to find suffi- to improve educational opportunity and quality cient local tutors. in the Caribbean. For example, COL helped the · Jamaica: COL assisted the Ministry of Edu- University of Guyana develop a distance educa- cation in launching the Teacher Training tion programme of pre-university courses. De- Project, which upgraded 200 primary grade livery included development of learning materi- teachers from a certificate to a diploma quali- als (using a new desktop publishing approach) fication in the pilot phase alone. Also in Ja- and installation of an audio-teleconferencing net- maica, under a World Bank project, distance work between Georgetown and seven regional education is featured prominently in the study centres. teacher training and upgrading component · Sir Arthur Lewis Community College, through its of a project to reform secondary education. Department of Continuing Education (DOCE), provides lifelong learning oppor- · Haiti: The Haitian Foundation for Private tunities to adults in St. Lucia. During the 1998– Education (FONHEP) has developed a 99 academic year, they are offering seven pilot project to test the feasibility of dis- courses leading to secretarial and business tance education as a vehicle for delivering

56 Distance and Virtual Learning in the Caribbean high-quality instruction to the country’s pri- are nodes of computers that connect several in- mary schools. Emphasis is on interactive ra- stitutions to the server at the University of Puerto dio instruction (IRI) as the primary learning Rico through dial-up technology. Funding is pro- channel, supplemented by printed materials vided through the Organization of American (e.g., posters, teacher guides, student work- States (OAS). books). Technical assistance is being provided by project ABEL (Advancing Basic Literacy Conclusion and Education). The very geography of the Caribbean region · Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. requires that tertiary-level institutions consider Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and distance education in one form or another un- the Grenadines are participating in a distance less they intend to serve a small number of stu- education pilot project being conducted un- dents each year (as many choose to do). So far, der the auspices of the COL Organization most of the distance education programmes have of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). The taken the form of either place-bound classes (e.g., pilot will demonstrate the practicality of of- in community learning centres) that are at a dis- fering print-based courses by distance to a tance from the provider institution, or print-based number of different sites in the region. courses that can be taken anytime, anyplace by · Trinidad and Tobago: As recently as Decem- students who have the study skills and motiva- ber 1998, Trinidad and Tobago launched a tion to pursue correspondence courses. Those nationally co-ordinated system of distance colleges and universities that have tried to de- learning. It holds promise of advancing edu- velop distance education programmes using to- cational opportunities to new cohorts of stu- day’s technologies have run into barriers in the dents. form of high costs, lack of faculty skills needed Training workshops have been held through- to take advantage of the technologies, lack of out the Caribbean region to enhance institutional student access to the technologies, and lack of capacity and distance education. The workshops infrastructure to deliver the instruction. have covered the use of the computer in dis- The University of the West Indies seems to tance education, adaptation of distance learning be the university that is most active in distance course materials, planning and management of education in the region. It has chosen to limit the student support services, and course design for use of information and communication technolo- interactive audio-teleconferencing. gies in the delivery of distance education courses One promising development for the region to avoid precluding any potential students from is the Caribbean University Network (CUNeT), taking those courses (e.g., because they do not a project directed by the University of Puerto have access to the technologies or because the Rico to facilitate access to e-mail to universities communication infrastructure does not exist in and institutions in the Caribbean. Increasingly, there their part of the country).

Distance and Virtual Learning in the Caribbean 57 References

PRINT RESOURCES Howell, Olivia Edgecomb, interview by author, February 1999. Murugan, Krishnapillai. “Distance Education in the Commonwealth Caribbean: Survival of The Fittest.” Paper presented at the PanCommonwealth Forum on Open Learning, Brunei, March 1999. “T&T launches national distance learning system,” Connections, 4, no. 1(1999).

WEB RESOURCES www.oas.org/en/pinfo/legal.htm : Article by Kenny D. Anthony on membership of the Or- ganization of Eastern Caribbean Coun- tries (OECS). www.oas.org/en/pinfo/week/030698ae.htm : Speech by Pearlette Louisy, Governor General of St. Lucia, at a meeting of the Or- ganization of American States (OAS). www.col.org/caribe.htm : Home Page for Com- monwealth of Learning archive of in- formation about its Caribbean activities. www.uwichill.edu.bb/bnccde : Home Page for Uni- versity of the West Indies Board of Non Campus Countries and Distance Edu- cation. www.tcol.co.uk/orgs/sarthur/sarthur.htm : Informa- tion page for Sir Arthur Lewis Com- munity College in St. Lucia. www.uvi.edu : Home Page for the University of the U.S. Virgin Islands.

58 Distance and Virtual Learning in the Caribbean Open and Distance Education Programmes in Latin America

5 DR. VICTOR GUERRA ORTIZ

Introduction offered correspondence and on-site courses. The model continued until 1975, when it was trans- At present, practically all Latin American coun- formed into the General Office of Teacher Train- tries have adopted distance education as a fun- ing and Improvement, offering open courses damental tool to combat educational backlog and towards degrees in and to improve the quality of teaching. Perhaps the education. This institution, in turn, generated the main reason for adopting this particular educa- Universidad Nacional Pedagógica (UPN) Open tional model, based on the implementation of and Distance Educational System. new technologies, is its high viability, since with a Open and distance education in Mexico is relatively small number of economical and quali- legally based on the individual and social princi- fied human resources, large sectors of the ples stipulated in Article 3 of the Mexican Con- populations can be reached. stitution. Therefore, Mexican law regards dis- tance education as one of the official educa- Background tional models upheld by the General Educa- Mexico is one of the countries with the greatest tion Law, the National Development Plan for experience in the field of distance education. 1995–2000, and the numerous programmes Over 31 years ago, Mexico launched the derived from these laws. telesecundaria, a televised basic distance second- ary programme, which currently has a total en- Present Educational rolment of over 800,000 students. Other coun- tries have implemented effective distance pro- Conditions in Mexico grammes as well. · Population: 95,000,000 The earliest ventures into open educational · Illiteracy: 8.42% (men) 12.66% (women) programmes in Mexico go back to 1947, with · Illiterate population by age groups: From 6 the establishment of the Public Education Min- to 14, 13.78% (men) and 48.05% (women); istry’s Federal Teacher Training Institute, aimed Over 15, 10.6% (men) and 51.52% (women) at training teachers without interrupting their regu- lar work schedules. This institute, the first attempt · Children of school age who do not attend at open and distance education in Latin America, school: 12.02% in areas with under 15,000

Open and Distance Education Programmes in Latin America 59 inhabitants; 4.21% in areas with over 15,000 learning process, since the only model fea- inhabitants tures a tutor-teacher. It began operating in · Areas with under 100 inhabitants: 201,138 1968, mainly in communities with a popula- tion under 2,500 inhabitants. After 31 years As is evident from the above statistics, there is a of experience in the telesecundaria, Mexico has significant number of children and young people attained a quality comparable to that of the who do not attend school and who live mostly in on-site systems. scarcely populated areas, which makes traditional education (i.e., building and operating schools) ex- THE NATIONAL DISTANCE EDUCATION tremely costly. (Further statistics are provided in PROGRAMME Appendix 5.1 at the end of this report.) In Mexico there are 51 institutions offering The main purpose of the SEP’s (Ministry of distance education, all having either national, re- Education’s) National Distance Education Pro- gional, state, or local coverage. They include the gramme (PROED) is to raise the level of educa- basic (K–12), high school, and university levels. tional opportunities by incorporating electronic Both public and private institutions participate in and computer technology media into education. these programmes, although the latter has the Its intention is to expand its coverage, combat greatest scope, both in regard to population cov- educational backlog, and promote training pro- erage and quality. grammes for human resources. For the secondary school cycle, that is, the This programme consists of three fundamen- seventh, eighth, and ninth grades, there is the tals: the Educational Satellite Television Network telesecundaria, the televised secondary school pro- (Edusat), the Educational Data Processing Net- gramme enabling students in isolated areas, who work, and the National Educational Video Library. completed their , to continue BASIC EDUCATION their secondary school education with aids such as television, supervisors, and written didactic Primary school and teleprimaria materials. Mexico’s entire basic education system received The term teleducación was first coined in Peru a tremendous boost to distance education with in 1960 to describe the long-distance transmis- the establishment of the telesecundaria in 1968. It sion of educational messages, mainly through was during the 1970s that this educational model television. Subsequently, with the incorporation reached its peak. That same year, a presidential of other communications, media, and pedagogi- decree established the CEMPAE, (Center for cal resources, open and distance education pro- the Study of Advanced Educational Media and grammes were instituted. What differentiates Procedures.) The CEMPAE was an organisa- them from traditional education models is that tion that supported the development of edu- they provide an alternative to the on-site interac- cational technology, and its implementation even- tion between teachers and students. tually led to the creation of the pilot for the In Mexico, the most successful, motivating very first genuine open secondary school pro- force to televised educational programmes has gramme in the country. been the telesecundaria. It consists mainly of spe- As a direct result of this experience, this model cial televised programmes transmitted by the soon extended to the basic level (Intensive Pri- Edusat system, which requires even more mary for Adults and Open Secondary School interactivity in order to improve the teaching- programmes), which served as the basis for the

60 Open and Distance Education Programmes in Latin America establishment in 1976 of the National Adult In 1998, due to the establishment of 973 new Education System, an agency of the SEP. units (77% of the total of new secondary schools), During the past 40 years, Mexico has made a total of 817,200 students received the tremendous efforts to extend its educational serv- telesecundaria service, representing an 8% increase ices to a larger number of people. Consequently, over the previous cycle. Within the past three years, the average schooling on a national level has al- this mode has reached 198,600 additional stu- most tripled. In 1960, Mexicans over the age of dents, representing a 32% increase. 15 had only completed an average of 2.6 grades, but as of 1998 that number was up to 7.7. The Educational Network magnitude of this progress can be more fully The Educational Network is a computerised sys- appreciated when you consider that since 1960, tem of information and communication based the country’s population has increased from 35 on the Internet at the service of Mexico’s stu- million people to almost 100 million. dent community. It provides both teachers and On the basic level, the work carried out by students with a series of pedagogical and in- the National Institute for Adult Education formative resources aimed at improving the learn- (INEA) has played a vital role. It has national ing-teaching process. coverage and offers intensive primary pro- Educational Network launched its operations grammes for adults as well as open secondary in 1997 with a pilot programme. At the same school programmes. Its curriculum is based on a time, a teacher-training programme was held, “didactic package” made up of texts, radio, and with extremely positive results. At present, there television programmes are 4,000 units installed in more than 1,000 edu- INEA’s services also include literacy pro- cational units. grammes and informal job training courses aimed The Educational Networks is, above all, a at people over the age of 15 with either no school- community of teachers, students, and parents ing or whose basic studies are incomplete. They joined together by this effective educational com- are given access to basic education in order to puterised system. improve their personal and employment oppor- Edusat tunities. It is estimated that in 1998, over 2.5 mil- Edusat (Educational Satellite Television Network) lion adults attended the literacy, primary, second- is a closed-circuit system managed by the SEP. The ary school, and informal job training pro- system, based on the most advanced digital tech- grammes. This figure represents 14.4 % increase nology, launched its operations in 1994. Its 6 tel- in one year, equivalent to over 320,000 additional evision and 24 audio channels broadcast all over persons who received this service. Mexico, southern United States, Central America, The teleprimaria is another measure imple- and part of Latin America. It is expected that, mented by the Mexican government to provide with the development of the Mexican satellite sys- relevant, high-quality education with greater cov- tem, like the launching of the Satmex 5 satellite, erage to all Mexicans. Edusat will soon have continental coverage and Telesecundaria double its number of channels. The telesecundaria in Mexico continues to play a To date, Edusat has surpassed its originally supremely important role at present, with more programmed goal, which was to reach over than 12,000 schools totalling approximately 9,000 schools throughout the country to provide 800,000 students and 23,000 teachers. basic education to remote, outlying areas. At

Open and Distance Education Programmes in Latin America 61 present, it reaches over 10,000 schools with a total UNIVERSITY EDUCATION of 20,000 receivers. There are 24 institutions offering distance educa- Edusat’s programmes contain scientific, tech- tion at the university level. Eight of them oper- nological, and cultural information, as well as ate on a national or regional level, while the rest orientation programmes for parents, updating are on the state level. Of these institutions, only courses for teachers, support for preschool chil- two are private. dren, sports, and many other subjects, besides transmitting several programmes offered by the UNAM open circuit cultural channels 11 and 22. In the public sector, the most important is un- doubtedly the Universidad Nacional Autónoma HIGH SCHOOL EDUCATION de México (UNAM). Its national coverage of- On the secondary school level, which covers the fers over a dozen university degrees. It is cur- 10th, 11th and 12th grades, there are 21 institu- rently in the process of developing other pro- tions, most of them state government units of- grammes such as the tele-campus, aimed at sys- fering both open and distance education. tematising and expanding distance educational Ever since the Colegio de Bachilleres was services via receiving centres throughout the founded in 1976, it established its open edu- country. cation system (SEA) and became the pioneer UNAM established its SUA (open university in open secondary school programmes in programme) in 1972. The philosophy behind this Mexico. system is to extend university education to large In 1979, the Open High School System was sectors of the population through “theoretical- established, as part of the activities planned by and practical methods of transmission and evalu- the previous CEMPAE. CEMPAE continued to ation of skills, along with the creation of learn- evolve its open programs, and in 1983, when the ing groups that will work both in and outside organisation was declared extinct, both the INEA the university’s classrooms.” (created in 1981) and the General Office of UNAM’s open programme offers the bach- , also an agency of the elor’s of arts degrees in the following disciplines: SEP, were placed in charge of the entire basic • Accounting and secondary school system, respectively. • Administration The Inter-institutional and Interdisciplinary Communications Commission for Open and Distance Education • was established in 1991 to serve as a mechanism • Economics for standardising criteria and as a liaison among • Education the different institutions. Among its most impor- • Geography tant activities are the creation of a national inven- • Hispanic Languages and Literature tory of institutions dedicated to this mode of education, training programmes for specialised • International Relations human resources, and the organisation of open • Law and distance education congresses on a national • Modern Languages and Literature level. During its recent fifth national congress, one • Nursing (as well as Technician in Nursing) of its principal achievements was the establish- Philosophy ment of quality criteria and standards. • • Political Science

62 Open and Distance Education Programmes in Latin America • Public Administration this combination will produce the best results, • Psychology both in on-site and in distance education. The extremely valuable educational infrastructure • Sociology and models contributed by SEP should serve ITESM Virtual University as the cornerstone to developing distance edu- The ITESM (Technological Institute of Mont- cation in Mexico. Both Edusat and Educational errey’s) Virtual University constitutes a compre- Data Processing Networks are outstanding in hensive postgraduate learning-teaching system and their basic education activities (as already men- operates via the most advanced telecommunica- tioned), but it must be stressed that they are tions technologies and electronic networks. It open to the entire national educational system, supports the ITESM’s own campus and provides as corroborated by the fact that a number of education to different sites in Mexico, Latin universities, mainly UNAM, avail themselves America, the United States, and Canada. of these services. ITESM Virtual University offers a total of High school programmes 12 master’s degrees and doctorate programmes Virtual institutions in the fields of Education, Administration, and • Engineering and Technology. It also aims special • Master’s degree in Educational Technology projects at corporations, such as the AVE (Vir- by ILCE tual Corporate Classroom) and the PEE (Ex- On-line B.A. programmes for the clusive Corporate Programs) as well as several 2000–2001 semester programmes aimed at developing and updating ENEP—Nursing teaching skills. Altogether, the university reaches • 29,887 students through its reception centres • FCA—Accounting distributed throughout the continent. • FCP yS and ENEP-A—International Rela- In addition, ITESM Virtual University also tions offers a development programme for second- • FD and ENEP-A—Law ary school and basic education teachers, both in FE—Economics Mexico and in other Latin American nations. This • programme focuses on teaching abilities and spe- Joint distance postgraduate programmes cial skills required for teaching Mathematics, Sci- • Computer Sciences and Engineering (FI, FC, ence, and Spanish. FES-C, IIMAS, IE and IM) • Oceanography and Limnology (FC, FQ, Perspectives on Distance ENEP-I, ICCyL and IG) Education in Mexico • Biomedical Sciences (FM, FMVZ, IE,IFC, The teaching-learning process substantially im- IIB, IQ, CIFN and CNB) proves with the use of information technolo- • Institutional master’s degrees (IMP, UNAM) gies. In Mexico, the main elements in informa- • Joint master’s degrees: M.A. in Education and tion technologies are computer science, telecom- Data Communications (Telematics) granted by munications, and educational television. the Organización Universitaria Interamericana’s Today, the teaching profession almost always (OUI) Colegio de las Américas resorts to a combination of these media. Ideally,

Open and Distance Education Programmes in Latin America 63 Continuing education EDUSAT • Certificate course: High Management in (Educational Satellite Television Network) Nursing Services (UAM, UNAM, U- • Approximately 30,000 educational units with Veracruzana) EDUSAT, particularly in secondary schools • Certificate course: Data Processing for Medi- • 1,895 hours of transmission during 1997 via cal; Decision-making (UNAM’s School of EDUSAT Medicine) • 750 videos produced during 1997, ranging • Certificate course: Construction Costs from one-minute informative spots to one- (School of Engineering) hour science videos • Certificate course: The computer in teach- • The trace of EDUSAT’s satellites covers a ing activities (DGSCA) major sector of the United States and Latin America Teacher training programmes • Laboratory for Computer Science Teaching Educational Data Processing Network (ENEP Iztacala) • 2,300 educational units and close to one mil- lion participating children Education technologies However, it is also necessary to guarantee • UNAM’s comprehensive network (RedUNAM) easy access to the media by creating fully • Every institution of higher education and a equipped schoolrooms, centres, and laborato- growing number of level K–12 institutions ries near the user’s place of residence. At first, are equipped with Internet services. Installed because investment and access to courses, librar- capacity: approximately 100,000 computers. ies, data banks, evaluation systems, and didactic • Over 30 international links (to the U.S.A.) materials are difficult to obtain, inter-institutional co-operation is absolutely indispensable. Each National Videoconferencing Network institution contributes part of the input, to the The UNAM is the main centre of operations for benefit of all concerned. The basic input must the National Videoconferencing Network, with include the following: 80 units distributed throughout different educa- Courses, educational spots, didactic mate- tional institutions and public sector organisations • rial, curriculum, study programmes, etc. in the country. • UNAM is equipped with 23 units on campus • Evaluation and certification systems and 2 in San Antonio, Texas and Hull, Canada. • Internet 2 (high capacity and low cost for • The UNAM is permanently linked to the educational purposes) University of Texas video-conferencing sys- • Interactive video-conferencing network for tem, equipped with 122 sites courses requiring considerable interactivity • Permanent link with TTVN (Trans-Texas • Educational television system for tele- Videoconferencing Network), the Texas A & conferences and video on demand M University’s Video-conferencing Network • Libraries offering digital service. with more than 90 sites throughout Texas • Information distribution tools (Web, “push • Its permanent Open School in San Antonio, technologies,” CD video servers) Texas, serves as a link to any videoconferencing site in the world equipped with ISDN

64 Open and Distance Education Programmes in Latin America Table 5.1

Distance Education in Mexican Universities

Distance education programmes: Public institutions curriculum and objectives Media and technology used Benemérita Universidad Autónoma Interactive video-conference de Puebla Television via satellite Centro de Investigación y Estudios Avanzados Inter-campus communication Interactive video-conference Conferences Instituto Politécnico Nacional Continuing education Interactive video-conference Television via satellite Instituto Tecnológico de Sonora Continuing education Interactive video-conference Postgraduate studies Television via satellite Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Inter-campus communication Interactive video-conference Television via satellite Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur Continuing education Interactive video-conference Postgraduate studies Television via satellite Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua Continuing education Interactive video-conference Postgraduate studies Television via satellite Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez Continuing education Interactive video-conference Postgraduate studies Television via satellite Universidad Autónoma de Guerrero Interactive video-conference Television via satellite Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León Continuing education Interactive video-conference Postgraduate studies Television via satellite Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa Interactive video-conference Television via satellite Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas Postgraduate studies Interactive video-conference Inter-campus communication Television via satellite Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México B.A. in other fields Materials delivery (written material and videos mainly) Television via satellite Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Inter-campus communication Interactive video-conference Television via satellite Universidad de Colima Continuing education Interactive video-conference Postgraduate studies Television via satellite Universidad de Guadalajara Continuing education Television via satellite B.A. and postgraduate studies Audio-conference Universidad de Occidente Continuing education Interactive video-conference and Postgraduate studies Inter-campus communication Universidad de Quintana Roo B.A. courses imparted Interactive video-conference by other universities Television via satellite Universidad de Sonora Continuing education Interactive video-conference Postgraduate studies Television via satellite Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango Continuing education Interactive video-conference Postgraduate studies Television via satellite Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México B.A., Continuing education, Interactive video-conference Postgraduate studies Television via satellite, Internet Inter-campus communication Universidad Pedagógica Nacional Continuing education Television via satellite Universidad Tecnológica de Nezahualcóyotl B.A. Continuing education Interactive video-conference Universidad Veracruzana Inter-campus communication Interactive video-conference Continuing education Television via satellite

Private institutions Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México Continuing education Television via satellite Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Continuing education Television via satellite Superiores de Monterrey Postgraduate studies Internet Universidad Anáhuac Inter-campus communication Interactive video-conference Television via satellite Universidad La Salle Inter-campus communication Interactive video-conference Universidad Regiomontana Internet video-conference

Open and Distance Education Programmes in Latin America 65 Computer Technology and financial situation, characterised by instability and economic deceleration. Telecommunications in Furthermore, in 1998, the home sector main- Mexico tained a growth of 23% compared to the previ- ous year, since several manufacturers offered at- During the past decade, Mexico has experienced tractive financing packages to stimulate the de- a substantial growth in its computer and telecom- mand from home users and companies alike. munications infrastructure. This increase has never The education sector maintains its 5% par- been under 20% a year. ticipation for the next few years, although it is In the field of telecommunications, Mexico definitely still a market with ample possibilities has 12 telephone sets for every 100 inhabitants for expansion since the industrial sector has and a modern digital telecommunications infra- agreements with private universities to promote structure that includes 1,000 miles of optical fi- the use of technology in education. bre and numerous international links. The Internet services market continues to reg- It has satellites with continental coverage, the ister significant growth in Mexico, with favour- most modern being the Satmex 5. The compu- able prospects for the next few years, especially ter system includes 4.2 million installed comput- in regard to the number of users. It is estimated ers, 600,000 of which will have access to Internet that by the end of 1998, 1.3 million additional as of this year. users were connected to the network either via Several tables describing the existing infrastruc- modem or corporate link systems. ture and projects for the near future appear below. Although the number of Internet users con- CURRENT CAPACITY FOR COMPUTER tinues to grow at a high rate, it is limited by the number of personal computers. In 1997, the EQUIPMENT (INSTALLED AND ESTIMATES) number of PCs installed in Mexico totaled 3.5 To fully understand the Internet services market, million, and by the end of 1998 this figure will it is necessary to update the number of personal have reached 4.2 million, that is, a 19% increase. computers throughout Mexico by economic Furthermore, it is estimated that, in 1998, sectors. We estimate that, in 1998, the number 384,000 computers were connected to Internet of PCs totalled 4,167,518, considerably less than via modem. This figure represents a 123% increase the originally estimated figure. This discrepancy compared to the previous year, which was bol- is mainly due to the prevailing international

Table 5.2

Installed Capacity of PCs in Mexico

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Home 786,068 966, 003 1,158,443 1,365,001 1,614,331 2,013,909 Government 263,331 354,239 460,944 595,671 761,741 947,722 Education 175,554 208,376 242,602 283,653 331,192 394,884 Business 2,286,127 2,638,900 2,990,056 3,428,729 3,916,572 4,541,167 Total 3,511,080 4,167,518 4,852,045 5,673,053 6,623,835 7,897,681

Source: Select-IDC, October, 1998

66 Open and Distance Education Programmes in Latin America stered by the new PCs on the market offering the service as well as in the dedicated line service. possibility of connection to online services. Select-IDC also estimates that within the next In the services market for access via mo- few years, the educational sector will not be rep- dem, the business sector is the most important, resented by universities only, but also by other followed by home users. The segmentation of academic institutions such as preparatory and even access accounts and users by economic sector secondary schools. Internet access devices will is based on two conditions: the place where the gradually replace television sets as interactive teach- access computer is located and the economic ing instruments. Probably, at first, there will be sector that pays for the user’s access. Likewise, from one to three computers per school, con- for the services market for access to Internet nected by dial-up links, but the number of de- via dedicated line, the business sector is once vices and especially of users can significantly in- again in the lead, this time, followed by the edu- crease over the next few years. In order for this cational sector. Prior to the boom in Internet to occur, however, there are two matters that access services in Mexico registered in mid-1995, must be attended to: reducing the cost of PCs the educational sector was the largest participant and increasing the number of telephone lines. in terms of the number of users and personal Private homes have a greater ratio of users computers connected via a dedicated line. As of for each account (2 to 1). Because we are refer- 1996, Mexican companies have been the princi- ring to a segment that includes users from every pal promoters of this service. industry and if someone has an Internet connec- However, according to estimates by the Se- tion, sponsored by his or her company or edu- lect-IDC company, the number of users from cational institution, there will be greater interest the educational sector will soon surpass those in in paying access service to the home, which can the government sector, both in regard to dial-up be used by one or more individuals. Table 5.3

Internet Access Accounts in Mexico

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Home 67,085 130,504 230,866 357,339 516,431 738,929 Government 10,144 23,407 37,673 59,469 106,623 142,239 Education 118,935 274,466 339,289 502,181 584,045 1,005,615 Business 177,030 436,987 781,936 1,169,017 1,665,963 2,405,985 Total 173,194 865,364 1,389,763 2,088,006 2,873,061 4,292,768

Source: Select-IDC, November, 1998

Table 5.4

Internet Users in Mexico

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Home 140,878 272,058 484,818 750,413 1,084,504 1,551,751 Government 13,855 30,555 47, 406 73,040 125,242 168,797 Education 141,814 302,406 369,031 528,185 599,217 1,005,615 Business 299,137 741,901 1,331,990 2,047,991 3,015,381 4,033,529 Total 595,684 1,348,920 2,233,244 3,399,629 4,824,345 7,033,529

Open and Distance Education Programmes in Latin America 67 Table: 5.5

Internet Accounts Paid in Mexico

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Home 55,416 108,318 191,619 296,592 428,637 613,311 Government 9,807 20,221 32,464 51,166 91,476 122,111 Education 31,898 21,600 26,552 39,495 45,927 80,096 Business 167,039 406,023 726,428 1,084,744 1,543,666 2,230,443 Total 264,159 556,162 977,063 1,471,996 2,109,706 3,045,960

Source: Select-IDC, November, 1998

Table 5.6

Percentage Distribution of Installed Capacity of PCs in Mexico

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Home 22 23 24 24 24 26 Government 8 9 10 11 2 12 Education 5 5 5 5 5 5 Business 65 63 62 60 59 58 Total 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

Source: Select-IDC, October, 1998

An examination of the network card for the SERVICES MARKET WITH ACCESS TO first semester of 1998 registered an increase in INTERNET: CURRENT STATUS AND the market, which we had underestimated. This ESTIMATES means that the number of PCs in LAN increased, due to last year’s conservative projection. Although the home represents the highest growth The greater number of LAN networks af- rate for the year 2000, the government and busi- fects the estimate of dedicated lines with access ness sectors register the fastest growth rate for to Internet. The number of computers connected the total number of installed computers, espe- to a rural region is placed at approximately 1.5 cially those with access to Internet. The market million units, and it is expected that by 2003, this average registers a 64% growth rate, while the figure will total 3 million units. government will have a compound rate of 71% One of the niches that will grow most is the and business 68%. installed capacity of standalone PCs at home. It During the next few years, the institutions from is estimated that the compound growth rate will the government sector will attempt to reduce the be around 21%. By the year 2000, home partici- gap of Internet access for private institutions. pation will be similar to the business sector, and However, this scenario does not seem altogether it was estimated that by the end of 1998, 36% feasible because businesses will maintain their high of the installed capacity of PCs would be found growth rate, in view of their greater infrastruc- at home, whereas the business sector’s participa- ture of installed computers. tion would be 53%.

68 Open and Distance Education Programmes in Latin America Table 5.7

Installed Capacity of PCs in LAN

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 Government 73,602 161,040 245,313 342,779 427,122 498,996 Education 49,068 94,729 129,112 163,228 185,705 207,915 Business 638,980 1,199,662 1,591,299 1,973,062 2,196,095 2,391,022 Total 761,650 1,455,431 1,965,724 2,479,068 2,808,923 3,097,933

Source: Select-IDC, October, 1998

Table 5.8

Services Market with Internet Access

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Home 53,668 104,403 184,623 285,871 413,145 591,143 Government 9,366 21,908 35,631 56,622 102,717 136,668 Education 34,484 56,635 71,498 103,969 120,997 194,724 Business 166,938 411,788 736,477 1,096,374 1,554,441 2,248,846 Total 264,456 594,734 1,028,298 1,542,837 2,191,298 3,171,381

Source: Select-IDC, November, 1998

Table 5.9

Distribution of Installed Capacity of PCs with Internet in Mexico, according to type of connection (percentage)

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Dial-Up 65 65 66 69 73 71 Dedicated 35 35 34 31 27 29 Total 100 100 100 100 100 100

Source: Select-IDC, November, 1998

Table 5.10

Distribution of PCs with Internet in Mexico, according to type of service (percentage)

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Home 20 18 18 19 19 19 Government 4 4 3 4 5 4 Education 13 10 7 7 6 6 Business 63 69 72 71 71 71 Total 100 100 100 100 100 100

Source: Select-IDC, November, 1998.

Open and Distance Education Programmes in Latin America 69 Distance Education in the usual infrastructure. The duration and fre- quency of the radio transmissions are tailored to Argentina the specific curricular requirements. The pro- Argentina is one of the Latin American coun- grammes are produced and recorded by the ra- tries most interested in incorporating distance edu- dio co-ordinator and curriculum specialists who cation to meet the growing educational demands use colloquial, non-rhetorical language designed of its population. The institutions and organisa- to awaken the listeners’ interest and hold their tions offering this option within their curricula attention. and study plans are described below. Television and video offer multiple possi- bilities, and ESA incorporates them as a com- ESA OPEN SECONDARY SCHOOL plementary aid to the multimedia learning proc- PROGRAM ess. The province’s open circuit is used for this After conducting an exhaustive evaluation on the purpose and, as of July 1996, a one-hour tele- need for providing continuing education to a sig- course entitled “Teleducación: una mirada nificant sector of the population in the Misiones abierta” is transmitted every evening, from province who had only completed primary Monday to Friday. The materials complement school, and reviewing the professional, technical, the printed subject matter in each area. The video and economic possibilities for offering it via the library includes its own productions along with SIPTED (provincial system for tele-courses and those produced by other educational television development), the ESA Open Education Pro- services, thus meeting the needs of 350 related gram was launched in August 1997. Thus, ESA institutions. was transformed into one more area of the SIPTED, a decentralised agency with the objec- ARGENTINEAN AIR FORCE (FAA) tive of promoting, planning, and developing the In 1972, Argentina’s Air Force, fully aware of implementation of audiovisual methods to im- the need for providing its employees and their prove and facilitate academic and extracurricular immediate families with the opportunity to education for the Misiones community. study different levels of education when sta- The beneficiaries of the Argentinean distance tioned abroad, designed and instituted the Dis- education system are young people and adults tance Education Curriculum, approved via an who were not retained by the formal educational agreement with the Ministry of Culture and system, inhabitants of rural areas, government Education. employees, and convicts. It started as an institutional project to fulfill The programme is characterised by a semi the needs of the Argentinean Air Force’s employ- on-site mode where the only requirement is ees and staff. Today, it provides a fundamental attendance at the evaluation meeting. It imple- social and educational service that responds to ments a multimedia educational approach the cultural requirements of every citizen who, (printed material, audio cassettes, and video) and for any number of reasons, is living abroad. includes 73 units especially designed to fulfil the This plan is available to Argentineans anywhere users’ particular educational requirements. in the world where there is an Argentinean em- SIPTED’s strategic tools in these regions are bassy, consulate, or cultural attaché. The head- radio and television, since the topography, as well quarters are located in Buenos Aires, the as the high costs involved, make it difficult to use Argentinean capital.

70 Open and Distance Education Programmes in Latin America The distance education programme com- an educational proposal that surmounts the ob- prises two levels: primary and secondary school, stacles of time and distance peculiar to a country and grants the approximate equivalent of a B.A. as large as Argentina. and commercial degrees. UBFED is a federalist concept with which the University of Belgrano proposes to meet the UNIVERSIDAD CATÓLICA DEL NORTES educational needs of the different local and re- (CED) gional realities by means of a distance educational The Universidad Católica del Norte’s (CED’s) programme. To this end, television is the most principal mission is to contribute, via its distance appropriate medium for reaching these sites, since education programme, to the development of a it offers their residents the opportunity to im- university curriculum in order to efficiently attain prove and update their skills in different areas. the university’s educational goals on regional, na- UBFED has the following characteristics: tional, and international levels. The strategic ob- · Multimedia material prepared by teams of jectives are the following: Argentinean and foreign specialists, which · To develop distance education mode at the includes printed matter, TV programmes, highest academic level, consolidate its own and comprehensive CDs. identity, and contribute to the development · TV programmes designed and produced in of society as a whole. the UBTV studios in accordance with the · To diagnose both current and prospective academic requirements of each discipline. needs, on a national and international level, · Tutoring service via telephone, fax, and e- for training programmes, specialisation and mail. recycling purposes in different areas. · On site meetings and final exams in differ- · To collaborate with different units in the ent sites throughout the country. university itself for the production of non- · Academic year comprised of three four- resident academic courses and to provide the month courses. corresponding technological and administra- tive macrostructure required for their opera- UNIVERSIDAD DEL SALVADOR tion. In order to reconcile personal and job needs for · To explore new media alternatives and valid educational advancement with the interested par- materials for distance didactic communica- ties’ different and varied schedules, the Universidad tion and to promote exchange of views with del Salvador has implemented a flexible method other similar organisations. of distance education. For the first time in the area · To improve the level of human resources of linguistics, the Vice-Rectorate of Research and and expand the CED’s physical and equip- Development’s Office of Scientific Publications ment infrastructure. has programmed three non-resident workshops in written expression. It is aimed at students in- UNIVERSIDAD DE BELGRANO terested in improving their writing skills without It is expected that by the 21st century, special skills neglecting their corresponding professions, stud- will be the most important instrument in per- ies, or activities. sonal and institutional development. The Univer- The Universidad del Salvador offers work- sity of Belgrano (UB), via the UBFED, submits shops in spelling, punctuation, and composition.

Open and Distance Education Programmes in Latin America 71 Table 5.11

Degrees and Courses Offered by the Argentinean Distance Education System

Academic Level Course Institution

Basic Education Open and Distance Secondary Education (ESA) SIPTED (Provincial System for Tele-courses and Development)

Primary and Secondary School FAA (Argentinean Air Force) (B.A. and Commercial Certificate)

Secondary Two-year Technical School FED (Universidad de Belgrano’s Distance Education Department) Education Technical Education and Vocational Training

Technical Education for the Services Sector (CED) Universidad Católica del Norte’s Distance Education Center

B.A. University Education SEADH (Hernandarias Open and Distance Education System)

Vocational Training in Education (CED) Universidad Católica del Norte’s Distance Education Center Civil Engineering B.A. in Education

Postgraduate Vocational Training in Education (CED) Universidad Católica del Norte’s Distance Education Center M.A. Educational Management Educational Evaluation

Continuing Professional Upgrading FED (Universidad de Belgrano’s Distance Education Department) Education Professional Upgrading in Strategic Management Certificate Courses Distance Education Programme in Dermatology (PREADERM) UB (Universidad de Belgrano)

Diploma in Management of Technical and Educational Units (CED) Universidad Católica del Norte’s Distance Education Center Diploma in Educational Evaluation Diploma in Family Counseling Diploma in Administration of Human Resources Diploma in Total Quality Management Diploma in Environmental Management Diploma in Public Relations Diploma in Conduct Training for Children and Adults

Diploma in Management of Technical and Educational Units FED (Universidad de Belgrano’s Distance Education Department)

Courses Televised course on New Technologies for Distance Education UNA (Universidad Nacional Abierta)

Open Certificate Courses FED (Universidad de Belgrano’s Distance Education Department) Business Training Entrepreneurship and Creation of Small Businesses

Spelling Workshop Universidad del Salvador Punctuation Workshop Composition Workshop

72 Open and Distance Education Programmes in Latin America These workshops can be joined any time during information and feedback. It has especially filled the year and offer personalised attention to the the needs of those living in remote areas where students, despite their absence. Although students it is difficult to offer constant, conventional at- are not present, everyone always has a teacher to tention. The greatest challenges are updating, pre- guide them. paring, and developing these resources. Literature teachers are directly responsible This mode of educational technology, initi- for these workshops and are always available ated by the cursos por encuentro system, has been to the participants to help them with problems applied to secondary as well as to postgraduate that may arise. They may be contacted for con- courses. This is only a variation of the type of sultations via mail, fax, telephone, or e-mail and, programme where many mid-level technicians in certain cases, even personal interviews are have completed their B.A. degrees, with on-site also feasible. The flexibility offered tends to activities taking place every two or three weeks. stimulate creative and reflexive skills in creating Audiovisual media are used and the study group and correcting written texts. has homework to do. The following courses are taught in this SEADH (HERNANDARIAS OPEN AND programme: DISTANCE EDUCATION SYSTEM) · Training in the distance health programme The SEADH is the first of its kind in Argentina, · Organisation and development in the Vir- along the lines of the great institutions dedicated tual University of Medical Sciences to this particular educational model such as the At present, distance education in Cuba is sus- Open University in the U.K., the Universidad tained by incorporating data communications with Nacional de Educación a Distancia in Spain, the the traditional non-resident model. Since no other Universidad Estatal a Distancia in Costa Rica, and interactive and methodological activities with the the Universidad Nacional Abierta in Venezuela. student can be substituted, it increases the possi- SEADH was conceived as an innovative al- bilities for implementing this particular activity. ternative to the traditional educational mode, The structure of this university is comprised attending to the demands for ongoing training of the following: and professional advancement required by · Its main headquarters: CENAPEM (National modern society. Within this framework, the Center for Medical Advancement) SEADH is a valid tool, not only for those con- templating a university education, but also for · INFOMED: the structure that allows for the those whose family or work commitments pre- development of this process vent them from regularly attending the conven- · ENSP: National School of Public Health tional educational centres and adhering to fixed · CECAM: Center of Computer Application schedules and calendars. to Medicine · CENAPET: National Center for Technical Distance Education in Cuba Advancement Distance education as an alternative began in Cuba · Medical Sciences Network in 1994. With the introduction of e-mail, it has · 25 Schools, including Medicine, Stomatol- proved to be, without being a formally super- ogy, and B.A. degrees in Nursing vised process, an extremely valuable source of

Open and Distance Education Programmes in Latin America 73 · 15 provincial centres for Academic and Pro- · Basic principles of distance education fessional Advancement (should be connected · New technologies for distance education to the network by next year) · Design of curriculum for distance education · Reference centre · 4 national centres Table 5.13 • 4 medical schools · 4 national research centres Degrees and Courses Offered by the Every five years, all health care professionals Venezuela Distance Education System

must accumulate a given number of academic Academic Course Institution credits and submit to a re-evaluation process Level which requires an effort on the part of the sys- (Short Courses) Innovators in UNA Distance Education (Universidad tem to provide these professionals with access Nacional Abierta) to these credits. Therefore, the use of distance education constitutes a decisive tool. Distance Education in Table 5.12 Colombia Degrees and Courses Offered by the In some Central and South American countries, Cuban Distance Education System there have been significant breakthroughs in the field of distance education. A case in point is Colombia. Academic Course Institution Level In 1983, Colombia’s legislation decreed the imple- Development of Human CENAPEM mentation of open and distance education. Resources for the (National Center for The principal goals for Colombia’s distance Health Sector Medical Advancement) education programme are to prepare and train Virtual University ENSP people without neglecting the traditional teach- Medical Sciences (National School of Public Health) ing methods. Students have access to personal- ised consultations and so they, too, can form study groups at the university level. Distance Education in The idea is for students to change over from the traditional classroom, where all activities have Venezuela a given value while neglecting the cognitive proc- ess and the mastery of certain skills. In this sense, UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL ABIERTA they modify their concept of master classes by The programme offered by the Universidad seeking greater interaction between the subject and Nacional Abierta forms part of the IESAD the object. The motivating factor is the search for project (Innovation for Distance University Edu- information and the incorporation of reading cation for Latin America and the Caribbean) to materials into the learning process. Furthermore, train multiplying or innovative agents in distance they learn to develop their special skills for re- education. It is aimed at professional teachers search and value judgement purposes. and related fields, interested in obtaining a gen- One of the main challenges confronting dis- eral, updated perspective of open and distance tance education models is the difference between education. It includes three courses: each specialty. The distance education model has

74 Open and Distance Education Programmes in Latin America not sufficiently perfected the axis of skills upon In Peru, only the Universidad de San Ignacio stressing the acquisition of learning itself (cogni- de Loyola has developed a project of this type. tive axis) and the socialisation of the students in They have an agreement with a Mexican univer- regard to autonomous, responsible learning. sity that commercialises courses in Peru. Unfor- The purpose of education is to attain greater tunately, its high cost has transformed it into an competitiveness in the students in every aspect, elitist activity. Furthermore, only a very small per- so that the student-teacher relationship is based centage of the population owns a computer; this on the intelligent, productive command of lan- is a country that consumes special skills instead guage, on theoretical references, and on the ex- of producing them. change of information to present existing prob- What must be done is to create policies for lems and conceive their creative solutions. This computer use in education and encourage their process tends to create a spirit of co-operation implementation, develop educational software through the network system to train academic, materials in accordance with the needs of the scientific, technological, cultural, and other types country, or else, incorporate other applied tech- of organisational structures. It is also conducive nologies to education. Universities must agree to to the development of critical and creative provide free service to certain sectors of the thought in every area of human knowledge. As population as well as provide data for the net- well, it develops reflective skills and ethical rea- work for this model to function properly. soning in community life, democratic participa- tion, emotional life, and the appreciation of what Distance Education in is aesthetic, cultural, and enjoyable. The institutional educational projects and the Costa Rica academic government organisations will be in charge In 1977, the Costa Rican legislative assembly cre- of instilling public awareness toward greater par- ated the Universidad Estatal a Distancia (UNED). ticipation in the new educational culture. At that time, there were 29 university centres throughout the country, offering over 30 uni- Distance Education in Peru versity degrees on a four-month basis. They had over 12,000 active students during each aca- In Peru, distance education presents several con- demic period. trasts. Schools have installed computer laboratories A large number of young, recent secondary and hired professional or university technicians to school graduates, homemakers, educators, work- head them and teach computer courses. Specialised ers, and others are only a few of the students personnel with different pedagogical backgrounds interested in distance education courses. In every have been hired to teach these courses, and their part of the country there are people eager for curriculum is defined according to the guidelines self-improvement and who, for different reasons, established by prestigious computer centres. have not had access to formal education. Many of these centres have become mini-com- UNED also offers courses for foreigners; the puter schools that merely provide instructions only requirement is a secondary school diploma. regarding the use of professional software pack- And these are the countries that, in our judgement, ages instead of adequately preparing teachers to represent present-day distance education in Latin impart regular courses with the aid of data America. As can be observed, the enormous chal- processing techniques. lenges that must be faced demand greater efforts in order to provide greater social benefits.

Open and Distance Education Programmes in Latin America 75 APPENDIX 5.1: Literacy in Mexico by Age Group

Population aged 15 years or more, total and able to read and write, per five-year age groups. 1990, 1992, and 1995 (Mexico)

1990 1992 1995 Able to Able to Able to Age group Total read & write Total read & write Total read & write

15-19 years 9,644,403 9,268,722 10,000,883 9,614,849 10,142,071 9,730,017 20-24 years 7,829,163 7,395,703 7,985,691 7,632,724 9,397,424 8,991,528 25 -29 years 6,404,512 5,929,468 6,562,704 6,152,535 7,613,090 7,192,154 30-34 years 5,387,619 4,921,654 5,773,021 5,298,479 6,564,605 6,105,261 35-39 years 4,579,116 4,019,224 5,118,139 4,528,529 5,820,178 5,290,888 40-44 years 3,497,770 2,955,583 3,878,136 3,331,319 4,434,317 3,919,727 45-49 years 2,971,860 2,376,584 3,311,565 2,674,420 3,612,452 3,051,793 50-54 years 2,393,791 1,854,185 2,689,993 2,075,599 2,896,049 2,336,765 55-59 years 1,894,484 1,407,978 2,375,211 1,655,760 2,231,897 1,725,085 60-64 years 1,611,317 1,119,088 1,991,915 1,337,770 1,941,953 1,415,173 65 years 3,376,841 2,105,878 3,761,990 2,237,256 4,027,690 2,619,770 and over

Total 49,610,876 43,354,067 53,449,248 46,539,240 58,681,726 52,378,161

Source: INEGI. XI Censo General de Población y Vivienda, 1990, Encuesta Nacional de la Dinámica Demográfica, 1992 and Estados Unidos Mexicanos. Conteo de Población y Vivienda 95. Definite results. Basic tabulations.

Enrolled students at the beginning of the course, according to school level 1990/91–96/97 (Mexico)

(Thousands)

School Level 1990/91 1991/92 1992/93 1993/94 1994/95 1995/96 1996/97 Preschool 2,734.1 2,791.5 2,858.9 2,980.0 3,092.8 3,170.0 3,238.3 Primary 14,401.6 14,397.0 14,425.6 14,469.5 14,574.2 14,623.4 14,650.5 Job Training 413.6 407.3 402.6 391.0 428.0 463.4 498.8 Secondary 4,190.2 4,160.7 4,203.1 4,341.9 4,493.2 4,687.3 4,809.3 Technical/a 378.9 410.9 410.2 406.5 407.0 388.0 383.8 High School 1,721.6 1,725.3 1,767.0 1,837.7 1,936.4 2,050.7 2,222.3 Teacher Training/b 109.0 104.8 111.0 120.2 137.3 160.0 188.4 B.A. 1,097.1 1,164.0 1,144.2 1,192.7 1,217.2 1,295.0 1,329.7 Postgraduate 45.9 47.5 51.5 55.1 66.0 77.8 94.3 Total 25,092.0 25,209.0 25,374.1 25,794.6 26,352.1 26,915.6 27,415.4

a: Technical level b: B.A. in Teacher Training

Source: INEGI, based on data provided by SEP.

76 Open and Distance Education Programmes in Latin America European Trends in the Virtual Delivery of Education

6 DR. ROBIN MASON

Issues and Perspectives It is clear that the new growth area in educa- tion is the lifelong learning market. And although The European Union, through its various research the rhetoric about virtual education is that it will and development funding initiatives, has been a extend to the disadvantaged, the remote, the major driver of educational change in Europe housebound, and the unemployed, those who over the last 10 years. First through the DELTA are signing up for virtual education are the ad- telematics programme, and now through a wide vantaged, the upwardly mobile, the “over-em- range of programmes such as Fourth Frame- ployed” (i.e, those who are already incredibly work, Leonardo, Socrates, and Adapt, a large busy), and the well educated. There is evidence number of projects have been initiated across from practitioners that virtual education is more Europe. Some of these investigate the technol- appropriate and more successful for the advan- ogy backbone, some the pedagogical approaches; taged learner: one who is motivated, has good others set up European study centres, yet others learning skills, and has easy access to technology. develop software and courses. All of these are a Before focusing on those issues peculiar to necessary part of the movement towards virtual European attitudes and approaches to virtual teaching and an integrated environment for pan- education, it is necessary to acknowledge the simi- European delivery of courses. larities of the concept of the virtual university in The rush by traditional campus-based institu- Europe compared with attitudes elsewhere. The tions into distance education has been headlong degree of over-excitement about virtual educa- in North America over the last 10 years or so. tion, the overuse of the term “virtual university,” The last five have seen this phenomenon in the and the expectations of its cost-saving proper- U.K. and Scandinavian countries. My survey of ties and messianic solution to problems in edu- other European countries leads me to hypoth- cation are as undiluted here as elsewhere. For esise that, as the power and prestige of the tradi- example, the search term virtual university and Eu- tional old universities are still intact, they may leap- rope, on the Web search engine AltaVista gives frog over the interim step of distance education, well over 100,000 hits, although none of what I and go straight to modest forms of virtual edu- consider the front runners in virtual education cation. At this point, these modest forms usually actually appear in this list. So there is much pos- involve a connection with a university abroad (e.g., turing and unsupported use of terms with little in the United States). substance behind the rhetoric.

European Trends in the Virtual Delivery of Education 77 In turning to the unique aspects of the Euro- more strongly than the other. For example, video- pean scene, by far the most notable is the mix of conferencing replicates the lecture and is appro- languages. Virtual education is “linguistically sen- priate to a teacher-centred approach, whereas sitive,” making even the concept of a pan-Euro- text-based asynchronous messaging supports a pean course fall at the first stumbling block. Eng- student-centred approach. Just as so many tech- lish is the de facto common language for much nologies have converged on the Web, so both cross-country online teaching in Europe, but this pedagogies are supported by it as well: closed- practice inevitably excludes many southern Eu- loop teaching material with multiple guess assess- ropean participants. A number of models have ment on the one hand, and resource-based, in- been tried on EU-funded projects to handle the teractive and collaborative courses on the other. language problem: teaching material in English, The deregulation of the telecommunications but tutoring in the local language; simultaneous infrastructure in Europe has been 10 to 15 years translation of video-conference presentations; behind that of North America, and that has made focus around three central languages. But it is a big difference in the development of virtual evident from the examples given below, that many education models. The high cost of local calls, of the virtual initiatives remain within one coun- much less long distance ones, in Europe has been try, use English only, or partner with same lan- a significant disincentive to online teaching. The guage countries outside Europe. U.K. has led the way in this deregulation, just as it There are also cultural difficulties with pan- has in all forms of online and virtual education. European courses. While many centre on linguis- Other countries are catching up quickly and the tic misunderstandings, others operate at a more new growth area is expected to be in Germany subtle level. They are particularly evident in online with the anticipated lowering of call charges. In text-based discussions where the intricacies of eastern Europe, the telephone infrastructure has human interaction highlight differences in modes been too poor to support home-based access to of address, approaches to collaborative work, the Internet, and in any case, distance education tone of voice, and attitudes to assessment. Of still has the reputation of being second best there. course, these differences can be found in teach- Through the Phare programme www.phare-pcu.bg ing situations whether face-to-face or online any- the EU is now funding several initiatives in vari- where in the world, as all countries become more ous eastern European countries, but most are in multicultural. In Europe, they are the norm rather the “awareness raising” stage. than the exception Finally, the system of credit transfer in North The differences in pedagogical approaches to America has never existed in Europe and is a education are equally as daunting a barrier to vir- significant barrier to some forms of virtual edu- tual education as is language. Student-centred, cation. Students need, on the whole, to com- constructivist notions about learning hold sway plete all of their degree with one institution, al- across mainstream educational providers in the though there are now EU-funded schemes to U.K. and northern European countries (The physically go to other institutions for periods Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Finland). Tra- of up to a year. ditional, teacher-centred transmissive approaches Training is the one sector of learning that cuts still dominate thinking in France, Germany, and across many of these barriers in Europe. Com- the Latin countries. The notion of virtual educa- panies with a global or international presence have tion can and does encompass both approaches initiated training schemes in virtual environments and various technologies support one approach and, with some exceptions, could be said to be

78 European Trends in the Virtual Delivery of Education leading the way in virtual teaching in Europe. The DIRECT PROVIDERS most notable are still in the information and com- · NKI, centred in Oslo and specialising in com- munication technology (ICT) and telecoms field, puter and ICT subjects, has offered online but others are in the planning stages. distance education courses since 1987. NKI Primary and secondary education has also Nettskolen is a new initiative designed for received heavy funding from EU research and distance students to be able to do all their development monies. In the early days, this in- communication online. The philosophy of volved simple link-ups between schools to ex- NKI Nettskolen has always been to offer change e-mails about “life in my country.” Re- programmes independent of time and space cently much more ambitious schemes have through a system that facilitates flexible com- emerged, usually funded by national governments munication for administrative, social, and to provide computers and network access in teaching purposes. schools. Training for teachers has also finally been rec- Thirty courses have now been transferred ognised as a major barrier to the development to the Web with the course contents, which of the technology and every European country used to be in print. Although NKI will gradu- has schemes in various stages of implementation ally move towards a curriculum designed to increase teachers’ ICT skills. Italy, Germany, specifically for the Web, in the meantime these Sweden, and the U.K. are prominent examples. courses reflect the “horseless carriage” ap- One of the most interesting EU-funded initia- proach to virtual teaching: materials pro- tives is Netd@ys which aims to promote Euro- duced for one medium are poured into an- pean school projects on the Internet, encourage other with minimal accommodation to the public and private, partnerships, and support the unique features of the new medium. establishment of a European SchoolNet. NKI is convinced that flexibility is the central feature of the marketability of their Current Examples of Virtual courses. Students need to be able to register for courses when they choose, study when Education in Europe and where they choose and submit for ex- Two major types of examples of virtual educa- amination when they choose. This use of the tion can be examined. The first consists of ex- Web is compatible with such an approach. amples of virtual education in which existing Web site: www.nettskolen.com providers of learning opportunities are moving · U.K. Open University (UKOU) has always fo- to ICT-based provision of courses directly to cused on accepting students without regard students. The second type encompasses organi- to previous qualifications, rather than on sations that have been created through alliances choice of registration and examination. In and partnerships to facilitate teaching and learn- fact, pacing of workload through assess- ing. In some cases they commission courses where ment, face-to-face meetings, and tutor sup- none exist. Although this kind of umbrella or- port have been longstanding principles of ganisation existed before the ICT revolution, there its approach. As the market changes, some is no doubt that many more initiatives have sprung of these “sacred cows” are giving way to up in the last few years. online methods, modularised courses, and reductions in face-to-face tutoring.

European Trends in the Virtual Delivery of Education 79 There are two ways in which the UKOU whole company. While the ultimate aim is to might be said to have entered the virtual secure competitiveness and enhance business market: in the global spread of its course performance, the interim purpose is to move delivery, and the movement towards online towards a culture where individuals are en- tutoring and administrative support for couraged to manage their own learning. courses. It has not, nor does it foresee, putting Online delivery of training and professional the content of courses on the Web. Print is updating will be a significant step towards cheaper, provides better quality, and is more this goal, unlike the current face-to-face, flexible; putting large amounts of material “stand-up” training it replaces. British Aero- on the Web merely transfers costs to students. space is in the process of making partner- The UKOU has various arrangements ships with various education and training with partners and franchised institutions in a providers to deliver part of the required vast number of countries. In some cases, curriculum. ICT training, for example, will course materials are merely sold to other in- be carried out in part by a suite of self-man- stitutions, but mostly UKOU retains a tutor- aged online learning packages (CD-ROMs) ing, marking, administering, or awarding role which staff access from special training fa- in the delivery of courses in the local coun- cilities set aside within British Aerospace. try. In several eastern European countries, Other partners include various universities, materials have been translated, and in some such as the UKOU, which will provide countries, materials have been adapted, short- courses, administrative know-how, and train- ened, or “localised” to fit the needs of the the-trainer materials. purchasing institution. As one of the most visible “corporate The UKOU has over 7,000 students on universities” on the European horizon, this continental western Europe and these, along one is notable for the way in which it puts with 32,000 U.K. students, access the Internet curriculum, organisational transformation, for tutoring and other services. These num- and staff training before technology and hype bers still represent only about one-fifth of the about virtual education. total student population. The main barrier to Web site: www.bae.co.uk further spread of online tutoring is lack of computer and Internet access by the student VIRTUAL SCHOOLING body. Research points to the fact that disad- Most European countries are working towards vantaged students, females, and those in arts a more technologically driven school system in and social sciences are put off from register- which students are provided with more individu- ing by the requirement to have access. The alised learning, better Internet and computer skills, UKOU policy is to increase this requirement and increased interactivity both within their coun- in line with evidence of home ownership. tries and around the world. The extent to which Web site: www.open.ac.uk this is happening across Europe is largely contin- · British Aerospace Virtual University was created gent on the availability of resources and the level in 1997 and launched in 1998 to provide a of commitment of both governments and part- coherent strategy, focus, and alignment to the ners from the private sector. Three examples in- design and delivery of learning, develop- clude Denmark, The Netherlands, and the U.K. ment, and research programmes across the

80 European Trends in the Virtual Delivery of Education · Denmark: The Danish government is funding Connected to this initiative is a British an ambitious programme of training and Lottery-funded project to provide ICT train- skills development in teachers and students ing for all primary and secondary school at all levels. For example, Schools on the teachers in the U.K. Using the National Grid Internet is a project inviting students to com- and the equipment and network it provides, municate both nationally and internationally teachers will be offered a certificated pro- and to access a range of appropriate re- gramme of training geared specifically for sources. The goal is to have all lower sec- their curriculum areas. In addition, head teach- ondary and private schools in Denmark con- ers in England and Wales are currently being nected to the network by the year 2000. offered a programme of leadership train- · The Netherlands: Information technology has ing, which includes a Web-based ICT com- been integrated into the main policy themes ponent to enable them to understand and for primary and secondary education in The manage the spread of ICT in their schools. Netherlands. In primary education, the fo- Two examples of early programmes in- cus is on the computer as an educational tool clude the following: and as a medium for teaching and learning. 1. Students across Europe: Monkseaton Com- At the secondary level, the emphasis is placed munity High School, Whitley Bay, has on giving the student greater responsibility undertaken a project on the develop- while the teacher takes on a supervisory role. ment of modern language skills, with For example, the Scharnier-Project Oost pupils communicating with their French, Brabant project, subsidised by public funds, German, and Spanish counterparts brings together both schools and higher edu- through the use of wideband (ISDN2) cation establishments with the aim of facili- and narrowband technology, including tating pupils’ transitions from secondary to video-conferencing links. The benefits higher education. The network consists of have been considerable and include 27 schools and five institutions of higher improved results at A level, improved learning. The initiative assists pupils to adapt motivation of pupils, improved con- to autonomous learning and the changing versational skills in languages, and de- role of the teacher. velopment of cultural understanding. Web site: www.pth.nl/scharnier/homepage.htm The Web site is www.ncl.ac.uk/Schools/ · The National Grid for Learning is the U.K. gov- zdclou. ernment’s recent initiative to improve access 2. Superhighways Teams Across Rural Schools to ICT by all schools in the primary and sec- (STARS): Eighteen small primary ondary sector. It provides resources for use schools, with four teachers or fewer, by teachers as well as materials for direct use and two secondary schools took part by students. It also caters specifically for home in this project based at Northern Col- schoolers. It offers communication facilities lege of Education in Aberdeen and for teachers to exchange ideas and for stu- Dundee. The project aimed to enhance dents to communicate within and across provision for able pupils and made use schools. It is Web-based, but additional fea- of electronic communications technol- tures include some use of ISDN. The Web ogy, including a conference system. site for the National Grid is www.ngfl.gov.uk. There was a wide range of benefits for

European Trends in the Virtual Delivery of Education 81 able pupils, including increased confi- the delivery of Internet-based multimedia dence and enthusiasm, opportunity to learning materials to students at institutions share ideas with high-ability pupils in connected to the ClydeNet MAN. Led by other schools, new awareness that peers Strathclyde University, CVU is a collabora- from other schools could out-perform tive project involving four additional partici- them, greater attentiveness to the needs pating institutions in the Clyde region. of others, and taking greater responsi- One of the main aims of the CVU is to bility for their own learning. convert existing pieces of courseware includ- ing CAL packages originally developed in EDUCATION BROKERS authoring software such as Toolbook and · EuroPACE 2000 is a trans-European network Authorware, lecture notes, and graphics in of universities, enterprises, and organisations various formats, along with its own assess- with an interest in distance and continuing ment engine, for delivery over the Web. In education and training. EuroPACE 2000 has short, the purpose of the collaboration is to approximately 60 member organisations all use the broadband network put in place over Europe, 45 of which are universities. throughout the area to deliver platform-in- By using various models, EuroPACE 2000 dependent multimedia software via the Web. aims to demonstrate and develop the po- The greater bandwidth of the MAN facili- tential of telematics for the European uni- tates the speedier download of graphics, versities and for the lifelong learning market sound, and video files. generally. In this sense, it promotes itself as A graphic designer was employed to cre- contributing towards a virtual university of ate a futuristic front-end to the Web site, Europe. adding to the professional image of the CVU Using EU funding, EuroPACE contin- and helping to ensure its acceptance among ues to experiment with ISDN-based video- students and staff across the ClydeNet. The conferencing and satellite-based interactive thinking is that a visually appealing site helps television. These are the technologies it uses transform a simple structure of textual menus for its “virtual university campus and class” into a more immersive environment. model. For its networked learning-on-de- Between May 1996 and January 1997, mand model, it promotes the Internet and over 1,000 students and staff had registered particularly the Web. Its third initiative cen- to use CVU. Evaluation studies show a very tres on a European Ph.D. programme. favourable response from users. This is an initiative that is always in need of This initiative falls into the category of funding and seems reliant on EU grants. In “extension of existing campus resources.” short, after more than five years, it has still not However, CVU plans to produce several moved past the “funded experiments” stage. complete courses delivered entirely on the Web site: www.europace.be MANs. In this sense, it contributes to the further convergence of the old division be- · Clyde Virtual University (CVU) is funded by tween traditional campus and distance edu- the Scottish Higher Education Funding cation provision. Council through its use of the Metropolitan Area Network Initiative. It is dedicated to Web site: www.cvu.strath.ac.uk/index.html

82 European Trends in the Virtual Delivery of Education · Virtual University Enterprises (VUE) is a divi- Whether as UfI or under another name, sion of National Computer Systems and the new body will not be a provider of specialises in ICT testing and training infra- courses, an accrediting body, or a funding structure services. It has engaged a global council. It aims to provide information network of electronic testing centres to of- through a help-line (called Learning Direct), fer exams for individuals seeking certifica- to commission ICT-based open learning tion from Microsoft, Novell, and Sybase. It materials where necessary and to facilitate the also provides real-time course registration and development of a national network of learn- training administration services via the Internet. ing centres. VUE is headquartered in Bloomington, Min- The UfI design team is convinced that nesota in the United States, but has its Euro- there would be a high demand for short open pean centre in The Netherlands. learning courses, offered with frequent start VUE’s Web-based training information dates, covering key transferable and work system provides access to a database of ICT place skills. It also believes that new delivery training sources around the globe. The com- technologies and a new style of local learning pany works with large corporations to cus- centre would attract more people to study. tomise its services. In essence, VUE enables However, the team also knows that turn- corporations that need to train a variety of ing latent demand into active demand requires employees in a wide variety of skills, to create long-term persistent action, not just from the their own “virtual university” accessible only government but from a wide range of part- by their own employees, with VUE helping ners. The role of UfI will be to provide lead- to manage the corporation’s training needs. ership, to promote lifelong learning and to This is an example of the subsidiary con- co-ordinate the infrastructure of information, sultancy services, which the advent of vir- guidance, and support. In short, it will be the tual teaching and training has spawned. An- catalyst to draw key partners together. other example is the “bundling” of Web-in- Web site: www.dfee.gov.uk/ufi a-box software and expertise to put a uni- · University of the Highlands and Islands Project versity online. (UHI) is another U.K.-based initiative that Web site: www.vue.com draws together existing educational provid- · University for Industry (UfI): The focus of the ers in the highlands and islands region of newly launched U.K.’s University for Indus- Scotland. Like the UfI, the new structure will try is education and training for the act as broker, information provider, catalyst workforce, especially for those people who and, in some cases, commissioner of new have not had the job-related education and courses from local providers. training that would allow them to achieve Pilot courses are now going ahead after their potential in the work place. Enhancing a long consultation process with existing training opportunities for those in small-and institutions in the region. Extensive telecom- medium-sized enterprises is a special con- munications infrastructure has also been put cern. Degree-level education is not UfI’s main in place, allowing ISDN video-conferencing task and market research has shown that its even to the remote islands, as well as Internet title, apart from being a misnomer, does not access and provision of equipment. resonate with those it plans to target.

European Trends in the Virtual Delivery of Education 83 This initiative bears some resemblance to require substantial resources. Furthermore, the Western Governors University (WGU), the approach requires fundamental organi- although on a smaller scale. WGU is an sational change as well as new thinking and American virtual university initiative designed training of the current university staff. to provide ICT-based courses and degrees Web site: www.fernuni-hagen.de from existing universities. The intention of · Deutsche Telekom (DT) launched its Global the University of the Highlands and Islands Learning range of services in 1997, but little Projects, like WGU, is to increase access to activity has transpired since then. DT realises education, reduce costs and barriers, exploit that today’s telecommunications companies new technologies for delivery, and share re- are no longer simply carriers but intelligent sources across existing providers. purveyors of information. One of their aims Web site: www.uhi.ac.uk is to target “individualised learning.” They note that internal training and development Other Initiatives is moving away from the use of training cen- tres towards individual, network-based Other initiatives call themselves virtual, but in methods that offer the trainee more choice, most cases they are smaller or less developed than flexibility, and personal feedback from the those listed above. The following examples are tutor. Working through partner providers, intended to give a flavour of the quantity and they intend to offer computer-based train- quality of projects currently taking place or in ing and multimedia applications for employ- the planning stages. ees accessible through their Global Learning · Virtual University of Hagen: The Fern system. A tutor will be available for e-mail Universität is a distance teaching institution questions and correcting homework, and in Germany. This virtual university initiative through a testing room, the trainee can take is implemented with the Web as a central exams at any time. They also plan a Global component combined with tools for com- Learning Institute in which professional con- munication and co-operation. It includes sulting will be available for transferring con- speech and low-cost video. The distance ventional basic training and further training teaching history of the organisation has led to new learning systems and for training tu- to an emphasis on users’ needs rather than tors, course developers, and administrators. the lecture room paradigm. Furthermore, the The Institute will have a virtual faculty con- approach emphasises users rather than stu- sisting of experts from around the world, dents, to acknowledge the intertwining of pooling their expertise to provide individual studying and working. While much of the answers to queries, small, tailored courses, thinking for the project has been done, and and introductory seminars. an extensive Web site describes the project, the team recognises the long-term nature of Web site: www.dtag.de/english the project. Not only is the technical plat- · Cafe Mondial is another EU-funded consor- form ambitious, but it integrates a multitude tium of universities, colleges, and private in- of different technologies and software. The stitutions providing professional training via transformation of the current teaching ma- the Web. The courses consist of Web pages, terial into appropriate digital versions will resource packs, and online tutoring. Currently

84 European Trends in the Virtual Delivery of Education they have 20 courses with 900 students study- other multimedia educational technologies. ing subjects like ICT, Web design, Languages, Extended programme offerings in Business Arts, Music, and Health. Administration, Management, and Society Web site: www.cafe-mondial.de Studies will be initiated in early 1999 in co- operation with affiliated universities. · UNED is the distance teaching university of Spain. It has moved to provide virtual re- Web site: www.aer-academy.de sources for students online. For example, it · Helsinki University: Using “easy” technology, has a virtual library, bookstore for ordering, distance learning in Finland has to be acces- and optional online tutoring. sible by modems from homes. Consequently Web site: www.uned.es an open learning environment is being de- veloped where it is possible for anyone to · University College Dublin (UCD) has been in- study, get guidance and office-services, and volved in the EU-funded development of communicate with peer students. Helsinki the Web front-end now called TopClass. University is the largest university in Finland UCD exploits this technology to offer adult and is acting as the central point for the de- education courses in ICT and the liberal arts. velopment of courses. The number of Web site: www.ucd.ie/~delltti courses is increasing all the time, although · Virtual Biotechnology University: Marine scien- most of the courses are on a basic level. All tists at the University of Maryland Biotech- Finnish open university courses have been nology Institute have joined a consortium collected onto one database on the Web with University of Gøteberg in Sweden and where you can also find all the virtual or dis- the University of Bergen in Norway. tance education courses arranged by Finnish Funded by the Swedish Wallenberg Foun- open universities. dation and called VIRTUE, the overarching Web site: http://avoin.helsinki.fi goals for the new university focus on ma- · Marriott Virtual University: The International rine biotechnology, both teaching and col- Management Centre has an arrangement be- laborative research. Using innovative but tween the Marriott hotel chain and Oxford appropriate technology, they intend to en- Brookes University in the U.K. where Oxford able both developed and developing coun- Brookes provides virtual training in hotel man- tries to address environmental issues. Real- agement for Marriott staff internationally. time, full-duplex interactive video is used for collaboration among the three sites, and Web site: http://imc.org.uk/mvu VIRTUE plans to develop Web-based learning materials. Summary Web site: www.mdsg.umd.edu/~jacobs/virtue/ The conclusions to be drawn about the growth about/oversight.html of virtual teaching in Europe can be identified · Cyberversity Academy of European Law provides by specific issues: technology infrastructure limi- all its courses through a special multi-phase tations, financial impact, human resources impact, learning approach, totally Web-based. Self- learner and teacher acceptance, the reaction of structured learning materials using Web re- conventional institutions, and demographic char- sources are supported by tele-teaching and acteristics.

European Trends in the Virtual Delivery of Education 85 TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE education. However, in those countries that are LIMITATIONS in the forefront of virtual teaching (e.g., the U.K.), there is a severe workload issue that needs atten- The southern and eastern European countries in tion. Many academics are under great pressure general lack a telecommunications infrastructure to produce research results at the same time as that allows any kind of virtual teaching other than deliver courses to vastly increased numbers of through study centres. That is, home access is out students. While virtual teaching may have some of the question, both because the network is not answers to this squeeze, the long-term exploita- robust and the ownership of personal comput- tion of teaching staff is not sustainable. Support ers is not in place. Where these limitations do not staff are now in greater demand than teaching apply and particularly where there is deregula- staff in some places, and those with ICT skills tion and, therefore, price reductions, there is much can command a high salary. greater use of virtual teaching and learning from the home environment (e.g., in the U.K., The LEARNER ACCEPTANCE Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, and to a lesser Most evaluation studies of virtual courses show extent, Denmark). that students are enthusiastic about technology- FINANCIAL IMPACT based teaching. Of course, we are in the early adopter phase and these students are usually self- It is well known that funding initiatives by govern- selected in some way. One of the interesting facts ment, whether local or pan-European, may be about technology-based virtual teaching as op- necessary, but are certainly not sufficient to estab- posed to traditional distance teaching is that it is lish technology-based teaching. The rush for fund- less flexible. (Traditional distance education in ing and the nature of the funding limitations (e.g., Europe consists of print-based materials plus necessity of collaborative projects, reporting and tutorials in local study centres). Reading from accounting procedures, project outcomes stated screen, having to study near a computer with in the bid outline, etc.) tend to facilitate stitched- network access, and certainly carrying out col- together projects and funding dependency. They laborative work online—all these factors make a are not the stuff of long-term, sustainable initia- course less flexible than reading specially prepared tives that build allegiance from the grass roots. study texts. Nevertheless, students welcome the The funding requirements of virtual projects opportunity to develop ICT skills, and the bright- span the gamut from small, course-based initia- est and most independent learners (say the top tives to complete universities. The EU has frame- third) enjoy and benefit considerably from the works for supporting this whole range. In some kind of constructivist approaches that virtual sense, money is not the problem: sustainable courses often use. projects that meet real needs are in shorter sup- ply. The number of EU-funded projects that are TEACHER ACCEPTANCE still in operation three years after the money has Just as the early adopter students are technology stopped are certainly in the minority. supporters, so are the teaching staff who pio- HUMAN RESOURCES neer virtual methods. Many of them despair of the Luddite approaches of their colleagues who After some years of technology-led projects, the complain about lack of rewards, overwork, and training of teachers is finally catching up. There disbelief in the value of non-contiguous educa- are major training initiatives across all sectors of tion. Organisations that impose technology-based

86 European Trends in the Virtual Delivery of Education teaching from the top incur greater wrath and Within the last five years, with many of the newer stonewalling. When the context becomes serious universities offering some form of distance edu- (e.g., closures threatened; promotion or rewards cation, competition has become intense. Most offered etc.), Luddites seem to work an amaz- other European countries have some version of ingly quick volte face. an open university, but competition from tradi- tional universities is not yet significant. ACCEPTANCE OF CONVENTIONAL INSTITUTIONS DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS While distance and virtual education has won While most of the excitement and rhetoric about many converts in Europe, the conventional uni- virtual education is that it will serve the disad- versities still take little notice. Perhaps this is ap- vantaged, the remote, the unemployed, and the propriate. Most of the institutions that are “hun- lifelong learner, in reality, the early adopters are gry”—those that are less well-established, less elit- the opposite: employed, urban, well educated, ist, less well-funded—are actively considering their and well off. Some initiatives are specifically tar- options and wondering where and how to enter geting the former category (e.g., the University the market. In the U.K., the Open University used for Industry). It will be interesting to see how to have the distance education market to itself. successful they are.

European Trends in the Virtual Delivery of Education 87 88 European Trends in the Virtual Delivery of Education Virtual Institutions on the African Continent

7MR. VIS NAIDOO & PROF. CASPER SCHUTTE

Introduction Institutions that make use of modern in- formation and communication technologies in The use of modern educational information and their teaching and training can be said to en- communication technologies (ICT) in the con- gage in “virtual teaching activities” and can be struction of new education paradigms has irrevo- classified as “virtual institutions.” Their activi- cably changed the way in which teaching and ties range from the purely “contact” type to learning will be done in the future. This is true purely “distance” type, as well as the various for both the developing and developed worlds— so-called “mixed mode” types. However, all although the rate of deployment of new tech- such virtual activities in Africa are limited to nologies is lower in developing countries. the experimentation level or in the initial stages There are, however, some fundamental differ- of implementation because of infrastructure ences in the way in which educational change to- problems, which, in turn, are caused by lack wards technology is approached and implemented of funds and expertise and, in some cases, between the more advanced countries and the de- political instability. The problem is sometimes veloping countries. For developing countries, the further compounded by a lack of vision, primary emphasis is always upon acquiring infra- knowledge, and appreciation of ICT in top structure, such as telecommunication infrastructure, governmental structures. hardware, software, and networks. Only then can This report focuses on the following aspects attention be given to educational and training needs. of the transformations experienced towards vir- Key to these needs is the training of educators and tual education institutions: users (learners), the development of appropriate · Infrastructure problems in Africa content, and the maintenance of the educational technology infrastructure. · Networking and the Internet This fundamental change mentioned above · Satellites and their footprints is not only important for tertiary educational in- · Some examples in a technologically advanced stitutions, but for all education and training at country, such as South Africa lower levels, ranging from adult basic education · Some examples elsewhere in Africa, notably and literacy, right up to degree levels. It is espe- the African Virtual University, and their suc- cially important to note that it also affects all train- cesses and failures ing in industry and commerce.

Virtual Institutions on the African Continent 89 It does not examine the problems caused by be localised and can indeed be distributed political and other instabilities. While they are very over a particular geographic area. important, they need a separate study. · One or more Wide Area Networks (WAN). This survey of African virtual institutions in- · An electronic network (Internet), spanning cludes the following kinds of contact, distance, the world, linking millions of PCs and other and mixed mode institutions: computers together to form a single mas- · Tertiary institutions such as universities and sive information system. The Internet has technikons (technical universities) various services, such as the World Wide · Teacher training colleges Web; e-mail, file transfer protocol (FTP) ac- · Schools tivities; Gopher activities; Internet search en- · Industrial training institutions gines to ferret out required information from the millions of sites; “see-you-see-me” · Commercial training institutions Internet video-conferencing; and Internet Since the development of the Internet as a telephony. possible teaching tool is fairly recent, it seemed · Audio- and video-conferencing sites linked unfair to exclude some reference to those insti- by ISDN and other data channels, including tutions that are in a process of internal change, satellite data links. or intend to make such a bold move in the near future. The same applies to those institutions that · Interactive or non-interactive teaching sites are running pilot experiments to give them an linked by TV and/or radio transmissions opportunity to make a judgement about costs using either land-based transmission or sat- and effectiveness. Some of these institutions are, ellite transmission types. therefore, also included in this report, but are · Community telecentres and other electroni- clearly identified as being in the process of cally linked entities. “virtualisation.” The term networking is also sometimes used to refer to the linking of expertise and knowl- The Central Concept of edge acquired at different places to improve the level of performance of the whole community Networks within ICT of individuals that networks. Central to the change in educational pattern to- wards virtual education and training all around THE CONFLUENCE OF TECHNOLOGIES the world is the concept of network. The term ON THE INTERNET network is very broad and refers to, among other It is interesting that all the different modern tel- things, the following kinds of networks: ecommunication technologies in the above list · A Local Area Network (LAN) within a com- of networks seem to be at a confluence on the puter or PC laboratory in which a central Internet. This is forming a very strong driving server links all the computers for teaching force, since the bandwidth needed is becoming and other purposes. available. · One or more LANs within an organisation Massive amounts of research and develop- for the purpose of academic administration ment funding are at present channeled into the or for education and training purposes. These Internet, together with all its services. The devel- LANs can be linked together; they need not opments that occur, or are confidently predicted

90 Virtual Institutions on the African Continent to occur very soon, are rather breathtaking and NETWORKS AND OTHER indicate that educational authorities in all coun- INFRASTRUCTURE IN AFRICA tries should take a hard look at their present Unlike many countries of the world, Africa con- methodologies. In fact, what is needed is a sci- tinuously struggles to procure infrastructure. entifically based study of various future com- Once obtained, there is a struggle to hold on to munications and teaching scenarios and strate- it and to service it and its relevant software. Then gies. This is especially true for the developing there is the struggle to provide infrastructure to countries. more than just a small part of the population. THE INTERNET AND EDUCATION Only when this ideal state has been reached can full-scale implementation of educational technol- AND TRAINING ogy and its use begin. The Internet has become such a force in any As noted earlier, this report acknowledges modern information-oriented society that it is not this, and gives some attention to the existence of a question anymore whether the Internet can be infrastructure on the African continent, with spe- used as a teaching tool. The use of the Internet in cial reference to networks and the Internet on education and training is taken for granted. The the one hand, and terrestrial and satellite com- question that needs to be answered is this: How munication technology on the other. Understand- can the potential of the Internet be maximised ing these developments is of primary importance for the benefit of teaching, training, and learn- to any study on virtual educational institutions. ing, especially in a developing country? This point is, unfortunately, still missed by many education authorities and governments that ICT in Africa continuously ask for “proof ” that the Internet Each country has its own telecommunications will benefit education and educators. Mr. Bill company, responsible for the backbones and Gates recently said, “The Internet is like a tidal networks, as well as for linking to other coun- wave, drowning companies that don’t learn to tries. In addition, there is international collabora- swim in its waters.” And it must not be forgot- tion across the continent for undersea cabling. ten that education is also an industry—maybe one Many international companies own telecommu- of the biggest in any country, since some devel- nication satellites, and many of them have foot- oping countries spend up to 20% of their total prints over Africa. annual budget on education! A sophisticated submarine cable project will To summarise, the Internet is becoming cen- provide a telecommunications superhighway via tral to the concept of virtual teaching. The re- Africa. This is the South Africa-Far East (SAFE) search for this report concentrated on locating and Southern Africa-Western Africa (SAT3/ educational, teaching, and training services of- WASC) submarine cable system originated by fered on or via the Internet. These services may Telkom South Africa, Telecom Malaysia, France be either educational or administrative, or both. Telecom, and Mauritius Telecom. This cable sys- However, although the main area of investiga- tem has the intrinsic ability to propel most of tion of this report is Internet related, it also in- Sub-Saharan Africa into the next millenium. The cludes many examples of non-Internet-based project installs a state-of-the art optical fibre ca- networking activities, such as educational video- ble with very large bandwidth that will be fully conferencing. operational by the year 2000. When finished, it

Virtual Institutions on the African Continent 91 will provide an additional route between Europe will be able to advance its strategic objectives and Southeast Asia. Extending the cable to in- in the areas of donor co-ordination, client clude east African nations is a real possibility which consultation, capacity building, decentraliza- the investors are seriously considering. tion of activities and decision making, and This cable will eventually link 11 countries on private sector development. the African west coast via Portugal and Cape The information revolution is being Town with India and Malaysia, and the rest of driven by the convergence of telecommuni- the world. The SAT3/WASC link was initiated cations, computers, satellites, and fibre-op- in May 1997 and now links Telkom SA, Angola tics technologies. It is fuelled by the rapid Telecom, OPT Benin, Cote d’Ivoire Telecom, and sustained fall in the cost of processing, Ghana Telecom, Cameroon Intelcam, OPT Ga- storing, and transmitting information. This bon, Liberia Libtelco, Senegal Sonatel, Niger sharp fall in costs—along with an increase in Sonitel, Togo Telecom, Namibia Telecom, and the technological and human ability to access, Nigeria Nitel. On the east coast, Mauritius and interpret, and use information—promises to Réunion are also connected. make the knowledge base of mankind avail- The entire external infrastructure is, or will able anywhere, anytime, in any language. soon be, in place to give Africa all the Internet In an increasingly knowledge-based connectivity it wants. The main problems to con- economy, information is becoming at least as nect within individual countries, or groups of important as land and physical capital. In the countries, that are landlocked. future, the distinction between developed and non-developed countries will be joined by Internet Connectivity in Africa distinctions between fast countries and slow countries, networked nations and isolated THE CHALLENGE ones. The information revolution offers Af- rica a dramatic opportunity to leapfrog into One of the main communication and informa- the future, breaking out of decades of stag- tion channels of the present is the Internet, and nation and decline. this will be even more important in the future Africa needs to seize this opportunity, when the predicted confluence of the various quickly. If African countries cannot take ad- technologies takes place. It is, therefore, of the vantage of the information revolution and utmost importance that Internet connectivity surf this great wave of technological change, takes place in Africa, especially in the educational they may be crushed by it. In that case, they community. are likely to be even more marginalised and The 1995 World Bank Report, “Increasing economically stagnant in the future than they Internet Connectivity in Sub-Saharan Africa: Is- are today. Catching this wave will require vi- sues, Options, and World Bank Group Role” has sionary leadership in Africa. this to say about the Internet and Africa (www.worldbank.org/aftdr/connect/incrint.htm): The same World Bank document quotes its The development of computer networking Vice President, Finance and Private Sector De- in Africa presents the World Bank with a velopment, Jean Francois Rischard, saying: unique opportunity to make a major contri- Not only do we have to spread information bution to Africa’s current and future devel- technology around, but also we have to com- opment. At the same time, the World Bank pletely change the whole approach to education

92 Virtual Institutions on the African Continent and more generally knowledge. We have to own Internet-like database, which will increase turn countries into what I call learning nations. the efficiency of each school and the keeping of These citations from this World Bank docu- records, as well as the sharing of equipment, such ment highlight all the points about the impor- as printers and fax machines. tance of ICT for education, training, and the Finally, the administrations of all schools can concomitant social and economic uplifting and be interconnected through the Internet. Enhanc- empowering in Africa. This will have to be meas- ing the functionality of any school system. Ap- ured against the harsh realities found on the Afri- plications are, for instance, the distribution of can continent—realities that are often due to gov- notices, policies, educational material (even books ernments not understanding the fundamental can be distributed virtually, eliminating the costly changes that ought to take place to put a country transport, storage and checking facilities; copy- on the road to the information society. Such gov- right can always be negotiated), examination pa- ernments may actually hamper the progress of pers (that can be printed on site), marks of pu- their country by inadvertedly erecting artificial pils at examinations, and fingerprint identifica- barriers, especially in the telecommunications field. tion of examination candidates. The usage is lim- This is underlined by the words of the South ited only by the collective lack of imagination in African Deputy President, Thabo Mbeki (also the educational sector. quoted in the World Bank Report): It’s clear that bringing developing countries EDUCATION AND THE INTERNET onto the information highway constitutes a Internet access can be used for many purposes colossal challenge if we are to promote eco- within an educational system, such as the following: nomic growth the reality is that there are · Connecting (teachers and pupils) to a re- more telephone lines in Manhattan, New source centre database containing educational York, than in Sub-Saharan Africa. materials. Resource centres will become one of the central features of an education sys- EDUCATION ADMINISTRATION AND THE tem in any modern country; they set the edu- INTERNET cational system free from any geographical As far as education administration is concerned, restrictions, and one centre, equipped with it is of vital importance to interconnect the ad- fast servers and databases, can serve a re- ministrative arm of any education department gion, sub-region, or even the world. and all its ramifications over the length and · Connecting school classes to one another in breadth of any country by means of an Intranet widely different social and economic regions combined with an appropriate Internet compo- of the world. This will become one of the nent. This will ensure consistency of administra- major upliftment forces in the world, since tion, especially if the system is built around an it will generate emulative forces—both ways. information database that operates on Internet · Connecting classes, teachers, or pupils to lines. Such a database is open to all staff, but the world-class experts anywhere in the world to level of openness is determined in each case by give and receive information and instruction. the principles of “need-to-know” and “nice-to- know.” · Enabling classes, teachers, or pupils to ac- As a next phase, the administration at each cess information resources situated anywhere. school can be connected to an Intranet with its This challenges the position of the teacher as

Virtual Institutions on the African Continent 93 the sole dispenser of knowledge and ena- of the 54 countries and territories in Africa have bles the classes to really make use of the Internet access in their capital cities. (This sec- opportunities offered by outcomes-based tion of this report draws heavily on the work education. of Jensen (with permission). His work can be · Enabling education departments to develop found at www3.sn.apc.org/africa (Africa Internet online programmes that can be taken by any connectivity), www3.sn.apc.org/africa/partial.html pupil from anywhere (even from home, pro- (continent-wide connectivity indicators), and vided Internet connectivity exists). This will www3.sn.apc.org/africa/projects.htm (international relieve the need of building and outfitting ICT projects in Africa).) an infinite number of new classrooms and The most recent developments in this field training a diverging number of teachers. are summarised by Jensen: While it is costly to develop and produce · Four countries have plans for full Internet such programmes, it is much cheaper in the access in the capital cities: Congo-Brazzaville, long run than the classroom model. Libya, Cap Verde, and Somalia. · Introducing the concept of freedom-of- · One country remains without plans for full choice into any education system, since Internet access: Eritrea. equivalent courses can be mixed and matched · Seven countries have only one full public according to the beliefs and cultures of access ISP after 12 months: Algeria, Burkina mixed local populations. Faso, Central African Republic (CAR), Ethio- pia, Mauritius, Niger, and Seychelles. THE CURRENT SITUATION · Twelve countries have local ISPs or POPs in An International Map of Internet Connectivity some secondary towns: Angola, Benin, Bot- (version 13) of February 15, 1995, can be found swana, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, on the site of the Internet Society, at ftp:// Namibia, Nigeria, Tunisia, South Africa, and ftp.isoc.org/isoc/charts/connectivity/connectivity-map- Tanzania. v13.gif. Its story is clear, namely that at that stage · Eleven countries have local dial-up Internet Africa was virtually unconnected to the Internet— access nationwide: Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, with a few exceptions, such as South Africa. Gabon, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Morocco, However, there was much improvement since Senegal, Tchad, Tunisia, and Zimbabwe. as described below. While noting that most African capital cities Detailed lists of all African countries con- have Internet access with more than one ISP, the nected in 1995 to the Internet are found at the number of users is still very small. The top 10 same site, as well as the status of their connectiv- countries with the most users are South Africa, ity, and their ISO country codes. The World Bank Egypt, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Morocco, Tunisia, operates a Forum to Promote Internet Connec- Ghana, Mozambique, Uganda, Zambia, and tivity in Africa via its Web site: www.worldbank.org/ Ethiopia. However, there are only about five aftdr/connect/connpoor.htm and at the site countries with over 5,000 users, with South Af- www.worldbank.org/aftdr/connect/conmain.htm. rica being approximately 30 times larger than any In his reports, Mike Jensen (an ICT consult- other country in Africa. There are a number of ant with extensive knowledge of telecommuni- multinational ISPs operating in Africa (e.g., cations and networking in Africa) states that 49 AfricaOnline, UUNET, and Swift Global)

94 Virtual Institutions on the African Continent Current usage in Africa is estimated to be telephony, and increasingly to fax, e-mail, and full 800,000 to one million, of which most (approxi- Internet services) is growing. In some African mately 700,000) are in South Africa. This implies a countries, the telecentre concept is being expanded ratio of one Internet user for every 5,000 people. to offer access to learning. As well, while most African countries have Most African universities have e-mail connec- Internet access, there is still the problem of tivity and about 13 countries have universities with providing access to the population that lives in full Internet connectivity. (Often such facilities are rural Africa. Cost is key to this issue. Some coun- restricted to staff and post graduate students.) tries like Burkina Faso, Gabon, Malawi, Mauri- While the quality of telecommunication in- tius, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Senegal, Chad, frastructure is poor and lacks national penetra- Tunisia, and Zimbabwe all enable Internet access tion, many African countries have made telecom- to be cheaper by charging local call tariffs. This munications a priority and are in the process of allows ISP to roll out a network with national installing fibre-optic backbones and the newest coverage, as it can be certain of greater users, cellular and mobile technologies. Among the most thus making the service cost effective. sophisticated national networks in the world are those found in Botswana and Rwanda, where FACTORS PROMOTING INTERNET 100% of the main lines are digital. CONNECTIVITY IN SUPPORT OF The liberalisation of the ICT sector is occur- ring in some countries, which will enable private A number of factors affect Internet connectivity sector companies to build the necessary infra- in Africa. These include connectivity costs, access structure. However, many countries still have to international connections, availability of band- some way to go, as the telecommunication sec- width, and usage by different sectors of society. tor is seen as an important revenue base. A key The need for increased international band- development is the African satellite consortium width for carrying interactive activities over the that is expected to launch its own satellite. Satel- Internet is still a crucial requirement for its effec- lite-based communications systems are being tive use. Most international connections are car- planned and should radically improve access, es- ried via satellite, and will increasingly be done via pecially in rural areas. the marine optical fibre link from South Africa. ONGOING PROBLEMS WITH INTERNET These Internet circuits are mostly connected to the United States, the United Kingdom, or France, CONNECTIVITY implying that the ISP would need to pay the en- A number of very important conclusions about tire costs of connections to either Europe or the problem areas that apply specifically to the Afri- U.S. This has serious implications, the most seri- can situation emerge when the previous sections ous of which is the cost. Due to the high interna- are analysed. These must be fully considered by tional connectivity costs, local access is a major anyone interested in improving the state of edu- barrier. In some cases, local calls cost over US$10 cation on the continent. If the following prob- an hour. lems are not solved, Africa will remain in the ICT However, despite the hurdles, there is increas- rut that it is in today. These problems are: ing usage of the Internet and other telecommuni- · Although Internet connectivity on the Af- cations for education purposes. The development rican continent has increased beyond any- of telecentres (a public site that offers access to one’s wildest dreams in the last two years,

Virtual Institutions on the African Continent 95 the penetration is still too shallow. Although often flows into state coffers and is used for Africa as a whole is beginning to grasp the other projects and experiments, allowing the importance of the Internet, especially for telecommunication infrastructure to age and education and economic empowerment, not deteriorate. This monopoly may hinder the enough priority is given to its development. deployment of satellite-based telecommu- · Internet connectivity is still concentrated in the nication. It will also influence Internet con- capital cities (or major cities) of African coun- nectivity negatively. tries. Central planning must be started to ex- tend the services into the rural areas. This situa- tion may be due to governments not fully un- Satellite Footprints over Africa derstanding the benefits of and infrastructural for TV requirements for the information age. The presence of adequate radio and TV satellite · Internet connectivity is hampered by the pres- transmission capacity over Africa is of the ut- ence of antiquated telecommunication grids most importance for any technology-enhanced in most countries. Countries should plan cen- teaching and learning programme that intends to trally to increase their digital and optical cable reach all levels of the population. The nature of networks. A factor that could come to the the African terrain does not allow land-based TV rescue of the situation is the advent of satel- and radio systems to reach everywhere. The same lite telecommunication and Internet services. is true for normal terrestrial telecommunications. · Internet connectivity costs are far too high However, satellite-based telephony may make a for the average person in Africa. Innovative major contribution in the future, especially with actions are required, and Jensen refers to a data transmission for Internet-related education Zimbabwean example where any call to an and training. ISP (that mostly operates from one of the Intelsat operates several satellites that have larger cities or towns) is charged by the Zim- footprints covering parts of Africa and that are babwean Telecommunications authority as important for teaching and learning. A descrip- though it were a local call, plus a small sur- tion of the Intelsat satellites, as well as an indica- charge. This prevents the installation of ex- tion of their services and their footprints can be pensive POPs by ISPs in areas that are al- found at the Web site www.itelsat.com. Intelsat sat- most certainly “financially non-viable,” and ellites connect different parts of the world it extends the benefits of the Internet to many through voice/telephone services, data transmis- more of its citizens. In fact, it is almost a sion, facsimile delivery, Internet communication, model solution—one that can be emulated news, sports, and entertainment television. by other countries. There are actually 10 more The Intelsat 704 (IS-704 at 66oE) is representa- states on the continent that have the same tive of satellite operation over Africa, and it is used system as that of Zimbabwe. by several South African virtual teaching institu- tions including the University of Stellenbosch’s dis- · In many countries there is no effective tel- tance education programme and the African Vir- ecommunication competition, which may tual University. The footprint covers most of the contribute to the “backwardness” of tel- Southern African Region, as well as most of the ecommunication networks on the continent. African region north of the equator. For instance, telecommunication revenue

96 Virtual Institutions on the African Continent Satellite Footprint over Africa The technology of broadcasting with the sat- ellite system is very simple. A ground radio sta- for Radio tion relays its signal through a small satellite dish Most of the satellite radio coverage can be found to the geosynchronous WorldSpace satellite that in the kind of satellites described above, in the then, in turn, broadcasts it digitally. This satellite section on TV. However, there is a special radio signal can then be picked up all around the world. project, the WorldSpace radio satellite system, The company offers to both radio stations and which may be advantageous for education and to users a “one-stop deal.” In other words, eve- training, since it will reach billions of people in rything is provided. all regions of the earth. Their Web site is at The company will also provide small radio www.worldspace.com and contains much relevant in- receivers for ground use by listeners. The draw- formation. back seems to be the cost of these receivers. The WorldSpace radio satellite system also According to an article in the South African Sun- forms part of a research project in Africa sup- day Times Business Times (October 25 1998, p.13), ported by the WorldSpace Foundation of Wash- they cost around R1,500 (about US$260). This ington and the Commonwealth of Learning. The might place it out of the buying range of many Web site of the WorldSpace Foundation is (if not most) people in rural Africa, and that is www.worldspace.org/aboutws.html, while that of their precisely the group WorldSpace is trying to reach. three major African projects is part of their In- There are at present 37 committed broadcast- ternational Program Site at www.worldspace.org/ ers, including 11 from Africa, taking up 58% of programs.html the satellite capacity. The Sunday Times article states WorldSpace is poised to bring information and that it will cost a radio station up to R30 million entertainment to about four billion people around (about US$5 million) to sign up with the system. the earth by beaming down “an extraordinarily There are several very important points to variety of digital sound broadcasting” by means consider: of three specially designed tailor-made and dedi- · WorldSpace mentions entertainment and in- cated geosynchronous satellites circling the earth. formation (or teaching) in the same breath. It is estimated that these satellite signals will A system such as this is far too expensive to reach more than 80% of the population of the provide only teaching and training. The en- earth, offering an unprecedented opportunity to tertainment channels will most probably carry provide information and to teach. To put it most of the vast financial burden of the re- bluntly, people in all corners of the world will search, designing, testing, launching, and ini- now have the opportunity to be exposed to in- tiation costs of the project, as well as that of formation. They will be able to learn things they its daily operation. This allows education would never have the opportunity to learn in any programmes to piggyback on the entertain- other way. ment channels. These digital radio satellites are called AfriStar · Sound quality is of the utmost importance. (at 21oE), AmeriStar (at (95oW) and AsiaStar (at Bad reception will ruin any music pro- o 105 E), respectively. The WorldSpace Satellite grammes, as well as any educational pro- System has all the necessary ground, satellite, and grammes. The design of the satellite signals control technology in place to make this an eco- allows the quality of the digital sound to be nomically and technically successful venture. the same as digital stereo CD.

Virtual Institutions on the African Continent 97 · Any local radio station can become an in- only at the end of October 1998. However, the ternational station by merely relaying its sig- project is of sufficient importance to follow nal via a simple antenna dish to any one of closely and to start educational pilot projects un- the three geosynchronous satellites of der carefully controlled conditions. The project WorldSpace. In addition, the signal quality will have to grapple with financing the massive far surpasses that of any land-based anten- amount of training of the educational staff who nae system. It also reaches most, if not all, are going to provide the classes over the air. The of the people in the footprint areas of the same is true for the educational design, produc- satellites (no more blackout areas). tion, and distribution of the (printed) material · The WorldSpace system gives any local ra- that accompanies such a series of classes. dio station the opportunity to continue to transmit in any of the local languages and or South Africa: dialects, while becoming “international,” as well as reaching more of its own local popu- A Representative Example lation by a better signal distribution. The sys- South Africa has the benefit of an extensive com- tem thus does not “kill” local languages in munication infrastructure, consisting of all the favour of the more international languages elements that a modern state might need to pro- like English, Spanish, and Portuguese. It is pel itself into the information age—for a part actually the other way around, as it encour- of its population. This infrastructure, however is ages the transmission in these local languages. of such a nature and size that it would be rela- In this fashion, it provides an excellent me- tively easy (given the funds) to upgrade it to serve dium for education and training using the its whole population. South Africa is, therefore, local vernaculars. taken as a representative example of such a coun- try on the African continent. Some of its efforts · The transmission system of WorldSpace to acquire the benefits of virtual teaching are makes use of a terrestrial antenna beaming described below. the radio signal to the satellite, which then re-broadcasts it. This could lead to legal tel- CURRENT DEVELOPMENTS ecommunication problems in the countries The Jensen site at www3.sn.apc.org/africa/southafr.htm that have restricting regulations. This may outlines current developments in the ICT sector possibly, for instance, hamper its implemen- in South Africa. The following is a summary of tation in South Africa. developments relevant to virtual education. · The cost of ground receivers will have to · In March 1998, the South African cabinet be reduced to pull in the masses, especially approved a proposal to develop a national if the system wants to attract the attention information and communication technol- of education authorities in the developing ogy strategy. Key to this strategy is the con- countries where the lack of adequate funds solidation of all existing government net- for education and training is a perennial works into an Intranet, based on a high- problem. speed fibre-optic backbone. The Depart- The project itself, its impact on listeners, and ment of Communications has been given its use in education cannot yet be evaluated since it the responsibility for driving such infrastruc- is in its initial stages. The first satellite was launched ture developments.

98 Virtual Institutions on the African Continent · One of the key interventions being made is programme (www.unisa.ac.za). Through agree- the establishment of the Universal Service ments with host institutions, UNISA main- Agency (USA). This agency was established tains examination centres in Angola, Bot- by an Act of the South African Parliament swana, Cote d’Ivoire, DRC, Egypt, Gabon, and has the responsibility for ensuring uni- Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Morocco, Mozam- versal access to all telecommunication serv- bique, Namibia, Swaziland, Senegal, Tanza- ices. There are various initiatives focusing on nia, Tunisia, and Zambia. the use of such telecentres to support learn- ICTs are also an important component ing and teaching. of UNISA’s recent partnership with the two · The Foundation for Research and Develop- other major South African distance and con- ment (FRD) is responsible for supporting aca- tinuing education institutions, Vista Univer- demic research projects and operating the Uni- sity (www.vista.ac.za) and Technikon SA versities Network (UniNet) www.frd.ac.za. (www.trsa.ac.za). Called the Confederation of UniNet provides an Internet backbone that Open Learning Institutions in South Africa connects an estimated 500,000 students and (COLISA), it will jointly implement a staff at 21 universities and 15 technikons, as number of ICT applications, many of which well as to universities in Lesotho, Mozambique, have already been developed at UNISA, in- Swaziland, and Tanzania. (Note that UniNet is cluding the following: presently undergoing a restructuring process.) 1. The development of Internet-based · Recently, the Department of Education courseware (a course in Arabic has al- played a leading role in the establishment of ready been developed and one in Chi- SchoolNet SA, the national body, which will nese is planned). co-ordinate the linking of South African 2. A Web-based student-teacher interac- schools to the Internet. The SchoolNet SA tion system providing for the submis- structure consists of an executive council with sion and tracking of assignments and participants from the Department of Edu- marks by the students and teachers, cation; Department of Arts, Culture, Science communicating with their lecturers and and Technology; Department of Commu- fellow students via electronic mail, and nication; the Department of Trade and In- the cataloguing of the library (Students dustry; and regional school networking or- Online: https://sol.unisa.ac.za). ganisations. Provincial SchoolNets will be encouraged and supported while three ad- 3. A series of local Internet access points visory groups focusing on issues of connec- for students, including a print-on-de- tivity and technology, human resource de- mand facility for course notes. The first velopment and training, and content genera- stage of the project has been to set up tion and curriculum will provide direction a pilot programme using 1,500 Sun Java for SchoolNet policy (www.school.za). Stations (with SUN providing soft fi- · University of South Africa (UNISA) pro- nance for the equipment). vides distance education to 130,000 regis- · With a combined studentship of over tered students, many of whom are outside 250,000, and a rapidly maturing virtual learn- of South Africa, and it has an extensive ICT ing environment, COLISA expects to achieve

Virtual Institutions on the African Continent 99 the economies of scale and to attract the and workshop organisers for projects in the expertise necessary to be a world force in region. SangoNet is collaborating with distance education. This is partly the reason USAID in the establishment of a Southern for the development of the Arabic and Chi- African technical help desk for NGOs, and nese courseware. researchers in universities and government · UNISA has developed the first post- institutions in the sub-region. It has also re- graduate course in Southern Africa on tel- cently launched the women’s networking ecommunications policy. Officially sup- project with support from the Commission ported by the African National Congress on Gender Equality (http://womensnet.org.za). (ANC), the course has been developed · The Internet Society South Africa Chapter with assistance from the Flemish (Belgian) was recently formed and is developing a Ministry of Education. regular events programme (www.isoc.org.za). · Gold Fields Library and Information Serv- · University of the Witwatersrand runs the ices at Technikon SA has started a South Programme for ICTs in Development, which African Copyright Forum (SACFO) (http:/ has recently begun a project called Building /pgw.org/sacfo) and the Council for Scientific a Telecentre Network for Africa in collabo- and Industrial Research (CSIR) has a wide ration with CISDA (www.wits.ac.za). range of ICT related activities (www.csir.co.za). · University of Port Elizabeth Institute for · CSIR’s MikomTek department is the unit Development Planning and Research is as- most involved in ICTs and is in the process sisting with community information access of developing a national and sub-regional (www.upe.ac.za). strategy for supporting the development of · Kara Interactive Solutions has developed a ICT applications. MikomTek has developed public access information kiosk and associ- a public access information kiosk and a wire- ated multimedia applications. It is working less metropolitan data networking system with the Department of Sports to roll out based on the spread spectrum WaveLan sys- telecentres in youth centres. tem (www.cids.org.za). MikomTek also hosts · The National Inquiry Services Centre (NISC) the Satellite Applications Centre (www.sac.co.za) maintains bibliographic data and informa- that supports remote sensing and GIS ap- tion on museum collections online and on plications development. CD-ROM (www.nisc.com). · SANGONet (SN) was the first non-aca- Other institutions with an involvement in ICTs demic full Internet provider in South Af- in the country include the following: rica and is a member of the Association · University of Natal (www.und.ac.za) for Progressive Communications (APC), focusing on supporting the NGO sector · Business Management Training College of both inside the country and in the region South Africa (www.global.co.za/business/bmtc) (www.sn.apc.org). SN currently provides e- · Cape Technikon (http://www.ctech.ac.za) mail gateway services for small store-and- · Technikon Natal (www.ntech.ac.za) forward service providers in Malawi and Zimbabwe and regularly runs training · University of Stellenbosch (www.sun.ac.za) courses and supplies technicians, trainers, · Technikon Orange Free State (www.tofs.ac.za)

100 Virtual Institutions on the African Continent · University of Pretoria (www.up.ac.za) state, 20% by SBC, and 10% by Malaysia Telecom. · University of the North (www.unorth.ac.za) Telkom will retain its monopoly until 2002 (see www.telkom.co.za). · University of the Orange Free State There are two big cellphone companies: (www.uovs.ac.za) Vodacom (50% owned by Telkom) and MTN · Potchefstroom University (www.puk.ac.za) that cover the main areas of the country with a · University of Cape Town (www.uct.ac.za) microwave grid, reaching into areas that were · Technikon Witwatersrand (www.twr.ac.za) previously underserved by digital communica- tion technology. These developments make · Port Elizabeth Technikon (www.petech.ac.za) computing (e.g., data exchange such as e-mail) · Eastern Cape Technikon (www.tktech.ac.za) possible while being “on the road.” They also · Technikon Pretoria (www.techpta.ac.za) open up new educational markets. (See www.vodacom.co.za and www.mtn.co.za). One other GOVERNMENT POLICY AND company will be awarded a licence during 1999. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Furthermore, the Electricity Company, ESKOM, plans to electrify just about every home South Africa has the benefit of a government in South Africa. In addition, it is rolling out solar that realises the advantages of the information electrification for those communities for which and telecommunication age. The government grid supplied electricity will be too expensive. This actively plans, encourages, and supports the de- applies especially to those schools that will never velopment of the necessary infrastructure, in- be connected to the grid. cluding upgrading city and rural networks to The SABC is the public broadcaster, and the fibre optical systems and all exchanges to dig- country is covered by a grid of antennae beam- ital exchanges, and installing microwave com- ing out the signals of three very good TV sta- munication and satellite technology. Millions of tions, as well as some FM, AM, and shortwave new telephones are installed, or are in the proc- radio stations. There is also a satellite broadcast- ess of being installed into homes, especially ing analogue TV signals, although this will be those of the previously disadvantaged part of phased out in the future. the society. In addition, there are two private broadcast- South Africa is well covered with POPs for ers: MNET and ETV. MNET uses terrestrial and Internet connectivity, as can be seen from the digital satellite broadcasts. Since October 1998, it Jensen site at www3.sn.apc.org/africa/southafr.htm. has also broadcast the TV signals of the three There are 22 POPs for SAIX, while the largest SABC stations. This operator’s satellite footprints commercial ISP has 23 POPs. However, the is- cover large areas of Africa. ETV is a commer- sue of local connectivity is still problematic. There cial free-to-air broadcaster that has been awarded are eight “top level” ISPs with their own interna- the licence to broadcast in South Africa. tional leased line links. Dial-in customers, as well There are many small local radio stations dot- as subsidiary ISPs leasing line capacity from them, ted all over the country, rendering an excellent use these links. Currently, there are more than a local service in many of the indigenous languages million Internet users in the country, including far of South Africa. more that 200,000 dial-up subscribers. South Africa’s educational system is well or- The major telecommunication supplier in the ganised, but suffers from overcrowding of country is Telkom, which is 70% owned by the

Virtual Institutions on the African Continent 101 schools and the lack of funds to fully implement contact tertiary institutions are moving towards a new curriculum. The intention is to transform the ideal of the mixed mode, where campus stu- education into a lifelong learning education and dents are treated as though they were distant for training system for all citizens. part of their courses by the addition of telematics In short, although the infrastructure does not and World Wide Web features. benefit all its citizens at present, South Africa has The inverse is happening at the traditional dis- the necessary nucleus to build on. In addition, it tance teaching tertiary institutions. They are add- has or is developing the plans to build the needed ing contact parts to their operations, such as study infrastructure fairly soon for the benefit of all its centres in different parts of the country, popu- citizens. lated with appropriate tutors and officials spe- cially trained in counselling. They are also mov- AND INFORMATION ing towards telematics and Web technology. TECHNOLOGY A convergence in the roles of the traditional The Department of Education of South Africa contact and distance teaching universities is thus realised that it could make a major difference to developing. This trend becomes very clear in the education in the country by enhancing the present examples below. The impact on the traditional education system by means of telematics. It there- distance teaching universities caught them una- fore commissioned the so-called TELI Report wares and may lead to enormous stresses and (Technology-Enhanced Learning in South Africa: A strains in their infrastructures. In fact, trying to Discussion Document, Report for the Minister of determine whether or not they should move to- Education, 1996, Pretoria). This was followed wards the modernisation of their methods of by various policy documents. The department communication with their students wastes much has a very active National Centre for Educational time and leads to unnecessary polarisation within Technology and Distance Education in Pretoria the institution. Some of them still do not have a (www.ncetde.co.za). full transformation policy, and the movement Some of the provinces also have active plans towards modern methodologies is often spear- for telematic learning projects, and all are inter- headed by a small group of individuals with a ested in Internet-related education. But there is “vision.” as yet no coercive groundswell to generate re- Each of the examples below exemplifies cer- sults. However, there are signs that many of the tain important aspects of the transformation. As individual groups asking for such education are a group, they display many of the problems and coming together to form one large pressure successes of the transformation process. Valu- group that may be constituted in such a way able conclusions can be drawn from these ex- that individual needs are not subjected to those amples—conclusions that will be valid for the of others. whole continent of Africa.

UNIVERSITIES AND TECHNIKONS THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA There is a general trend for all tertiary institu- (UNISA) tions to move towards distance education in sup- The University of South Africa (UNISA), with port of the policy of the government as ex- its administrative seat in Pretoria, is the oldest pressed in various white papers, policy docu- distance teaching university in the world. It was ments, and acts. Many, if not most, traditional established in 1875 as one of the examination

102 Virtual Institutions on the African Continent arms of the University of London. In 1946, it However, the state subsidy per full-time equiva- was transformed into a teaching distance univer- lent student is much less than that of other uni- sity and grew to one of the mega-universities of versities, and its student fees are also appreciable the world, using advanced printing technology. lower. UNISA has about 125,000 students, mainly The diverse nature of the student body from within the borders of South Africa. They presents a dilemma for the university: it would range from the poor, rural, and non-electrified like to teach through the modern technologies, areas, to the cities with their first-world infra- but many of its students do not even share in the structures and telecommunications. There is a siz- advantages of electricity and telecommunication able component of students from international infrastructures. It cannot proceed out of a feel- locations; this number is growing and they cla- ing of fairness to all its students, and it cannot mour for telematic enhancements. stagnate or it will experience erosion of its stu- UNISA has a main campus in Pretoria, as dent body to other more nimble institutions with well as subsidiary campuses in Cape Town, Dur- the required vision to use modern telecommuni- ban, Pietersburg, and Mpumalanga, which are cation advantages. connected to the main campus by fast data lines. The university itself has the most modern The university has about 4,000 administrative, computing, telecommunication, and other infra- academic, and research staff. structure at its campus in Pretoria needed to make UNISA is following the recent trend of pro- this transition to technology-enhanced distance viding study centres all over the country, each education. However, it is almost hobbled by in- “stocked” with appropriate tutors and other sup- decision about its role in the world of modern port staff. Telematic enhancement will play an telecommunication and computing, since it feels increasingly important role, since it is very ex- that some of its students are not ready for the pensive to provide buildings and tutors. transition. However, it is paving the way with its UNISA has an extensive modern computing virtual arm, which still does not form a part of system, networks, and other electronic equipment its main operations but does make it ready for to handle all parts of its operations that are ame- its task. At the same time, this virtual arm ben- nable to digitisation. The university developed the efits those students with the required technolo- massive student system of programmes over a gies, such as Internet connectivity. period of more than 30 years, allowing for The university has opted to move towards economies of scale. All staff members who need the building of a virtual university by a series of a PC have one; all are connected to the local steps that are designed to test the use of technol- LANs and WANs and to the Internet. The uni- ogy and to encourage the staff to participate. versity currently has about 4,000 PCs connected There are five areas in which the university is to the network, as well as hundreds of printers making very rapid progress: and scanners. The printing works of UNISA is · A Web-based virtual university, called Stu- the biggest on the African continent, with the dents on Line (SOL) exception of a few newspaper printing presses. · Audio-visual aids It handles millions of postal items yearly through · Tele-and video-conferencing an automated postal system. The budget of the university is just less than · Web-based information services in the library one billion Rand (about US$180,000,000) per year. · Other relevant areas.

Virtual Institutions on the African Continent 103 Students on Line (SOL) the school if their connectivity is used commer- The first area, Students on Line (SOL), allows cially after hours. At present there are over a mil- the university the advantages of modern com- lion users of the Internet and the Web in South munication and education technologies to im- Africa, and their numbers are growing quickly. prove its own administrative, educational, and In addition, the university is involved in an training services for the convenience and advan- imaginative scheme, collaborating with two other tage of its staff and distant students. SOL allows distance teaching tertiary institutions and a com- students to access parts of the massive university mercial firm, that could provide free Internet databases on their own at any time, from any- access to its students. This shows that Internet where without requiring the services of a staff connectivity may no longer be problematic in the member. They can register for courses, pay their near future. The university can then channel more fees, download course materials, post assign- of its resources into the development of fully ments, and browse the library catalogue system— interactive courses for the Web. It may be ad- all through SOL. This service saves staff costs vantageous for the university to lower the fees and allows staff to be used more cost effectively for Internet courses slightly to offset the cost of in areas where they are more needed. connecting for the students. This should be a re- More information about SOL can be found alistic option for the university because it will save on the Web sites www.unisa.ac.za and https:// considerably on the cost of printing, handling, sol.unisa.ac.za. On the latter site there is a virtual and postage. tour of the SOL site and its activities available. Both staff and students who have used the The SOL system of the University of South SOL system seem to be impressed. Members Africa is fast becoming a model virtual univer- of staff are also increasingly using the “twin” of sity and is worth taking note of, since the univer- SOL, Lecturers on Line (LOL), that supports sity is ideally placed to be reached by anybody them and their activities. Very soon LOL will be on the African continent having an Internet con- a powerful force among the academic and ad- nection. The university already has several thou- ministrative staff of UNISA. sand students on the African continent and is set- ting its sights on expanding to institutions north Audio-visual aids of South Africa. There is, in fact, already col- UNISA makes an effort to help blind students laboration with institutions in Zimbabwe, Zam- by providing audio versions of study material, bia, Israel, and Korea. including all study guides. The university annually The main problem that students experience produces over 500,000 audio cassettes for vari- is lack of access to the Internet. However, the ous courses to enhance the printed study material. presence of very many Internet cafés in the coun- In addition, a small but growing number of try is alleviating that. The Department of Com- courses are augmented by video cassettes. These munication is experimenting with telecentres that are produced in fully operational modern studios. will very soon be placed in all post offices and Tele- and video-conferencing other centres in South Africa, which will alleviate UNISA is one of the world leaders in fully inter- the problem even further. More and more schools active video-conferencing and operates four sites are also being connected to the Internet (there (one at each of its campuses). This feature was are already more than 500 of them!), and they added to its distance teaching operation and is are realising that this could generate income for proving to be very popular among both staff

104 Virtual Institutions on the African Continent and students. In fact, the use of the equipment is Another problem experienced was that the fully booked and the university is looking for academic staff was fully committed to the printed funds to increase the number of sites, as well as mode of distance education. There was also no the number of primary studios. time and/or funds available for the intensive and As the advantages of the medium permeates expensive retraining that goes hand in hand with through the university, more and more staff and a transformation to a model that rests upon departments are realising that they can contrib- modern communication and computer technol- ute much to the learning experience of students ogy. The whole educational model will have to by switching to the new medium. And as the change and staff will have to be “rebooted” in a quality and size of the networks in the country new methodology. All this is not so easy, and it increase, the university will switch more and more usually is best to proceed with a small number to Internet video-conferencing. Preliminary steps of ICT champions if the university management have already been taken in this direction. does not enforce the change by committing ad- equate funds, time, and, above all, a driving vi- Problems experienced sion to the transformation. The main problem in implementing distance edu- The communication backbone of South Af- cation is, as has been discussed, the lack of sup- rica is able to support the present level of Internet port from the top management. Fortunately, in technology and it is being upgraded at a breath- the case of UNISA, there was a group of very less pace. Telephones are being installed in the enthusiastic and knowledgeable academics and homes of the previously disadvantaged at a rate administrative staff that created SOL, LOL, and that caught the distance teaching universities un- all the other Web requirements. These services were prepared. UNISA now gets up to about 70,000 introduced into the system as an experiment, us- incoming calls daily, many from people who have ing old, written-off servers. The necessary mod- never had a telephone before. ern hardware and software (around R500,000 or All this means that about 300 people are US$90,000) were bought from a grant of the needed full time to answer the incoming calls. University Council. This experiment was so suc- Once this was realised, it was easy for the univer- cessful that it now forms part of the educational sity to make the step to using Internet technol- model of UNISA. It is still not a required part, ogy to change the nature of the calls from ver- but that may soon be an essential part of it. bal requests to Internet inquiries. This diverts as The second problem is in the area of socio- many as possible incoming inquiries to an economic development. South Africa has just Internet-based system, such as SOL having all come through a period of repression and sepa- the administrative capabilities. Creating a virtual ration into the “haves” and the “have nots.” Tech- university can, therefore, in principle solve the nology, however, has the ability to introduce a problem of telephone access. new kind of diverging separation into society: those who can afford it and become ICT liter- TECHNIKON SA ate, and those who cannot. The Technikon SA (TSA) situated in the East Academic institutions are caught in a di- Rand part of Johannesburg, is a technical dis- lemma. If they introduce courses that are reli- tance education university that has recently made ant on ICT for the mode of delivery, many stu- the formal decision to “go virtual.” It has a very dents with no access to such technology are at a well-defined policy to execute this fundamental distinct disadvantage.

Virtual Institutions on the African Continent 105 transformation from paper-based distance edu- with its administrative systems and academic func- cation in the technical field to virtual, including tions in a very short space of time. The virtual staff training. campus is called TSA Online and has some areas The management of the university made three in the public domain. very profound strategic decisions in 1996–1997 The Web site is at www.trsa.ac.za. The site has that increased the use of information technol- much study material for students, such as tutorial ogy at TSA: letters, study guides, and more. Very soon the · To pursue a course of flexible and open first fully interactive study material will appear learning. on the Web, which will eliminate weeks in postal · To use technology-enhanced teaching and delays. learning as a strategic thrust to ensure its glo- Reactions of staff and students st bal competitiveness in the 21 century. The reactions of students who have Web access · To emphasise inter- and intra-institutional co- are very positive. However, not all staff have operation. “bought in” and the TSA is addressing the prob- lem aggressively by means of awareness sessions. The Integrated Technology Centre Despite the reservation of some staff mem- An Integrated Technology Strategy (INTES) was bers, the example of TSA shows that it is possi- set up to ensure optimal and cost-effective use ble to convert an institution from one technol- of technology. It was soon clear that INTES ogy to a dual-mode technology with careful plan- alone was not enough and that there should be a ning, adequate funding, and, above all, by a man- physical structure (separate from that of the com- agement that actively pushes for it because it be- puter centre) to take care of the administration lieves in the change of direction. In this regard, of the operation. Consequently, the Integrated TSA is a model worth emulating. Technology Centre (ITC) was established in October 1998 after 14 months of careful plan- UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA ning. The vision of the ITC, a multifunctional The University of Pretoria is a residential city and multidisciplinary unit, is to encourage educa- university that draws its students from all over tional innovation through the use of technology. the country. It teaches in the traditional face-to- Its “customers” are the students and the staff face mode in two languages. It has a huge cam- (academic as well as administrative), as well as pus in the centre of Pretoria with many beautiful outside clients. buildings. The ITC is structured into three areas: multi- The University of Pretoria presents an exam- media and online services, audio- and video- ple of a transformation towards a virtual univer- conferencing services, and technology support sity and distance education driven by the manage- and promotion. Under this structure the quali- ment of the institution. The project, which started fied staff is responsible for everything from da- in 1998, is a model of a transformation that must tabase interface programming and Web design unfold according to a carefully researched plan. It to audio and video streaming through the Internet. also illustrates the inordinate amount of effort that The TSA has the necessary infrastructure to goes into the training of the academic, adminis- implement the ITC programme. Its success is trative, and management staff. And finally, it illus- evident in its ability to create a fully functional trates a plan to manage a mindshift on the cam- virtual campus on the Internet, fully integrated pus towards a virtual university.

106 Virtual Institutions on the African Continent The university has consciously taken a strate- successful implementation of a virtual campus. gic decision to aggressively move towards dis- The aim is to shift from a classroom-control- tance education through modern telecommuni- led model to a self-paced learning system op- cation and computing technology. This decision erating free of the constraints of time, space, will also change the face-to-face model, since and opportunity. distance education technology will be used to To realise this project, the university created a enhance the performance of the university in the Department of Telematic Education. This de- contact mode. In fact, it seems that the Univer- partment now spearheads the development of sity of Pretoria is moving inexorably towards this very carefully managed project. The project the dual-mode model. plan unfolded in three main phases: The university has brought in much technol- 1. March to April 1998: Workshops and action ogy to enhance its mode of instruction. There are research. well-equipped computer laboratories, connectiv- 2. April to June 1998: Definition phase; deter- ity to the Internet through UNINET, and a good mination of specifications and standards, ICT tele-conferencing studio connected to various architecture, protocols, etc.; financial projec- schools in the vicinity for training programmes as tions over the next two years; definition of well as to some outlying subsidiary campuses. an integrated courseware and administration This transformation towards modern com- system. munication and computing technology is very much (but not wholly) driven by the manage- 3. June to August 1998: Execution phase; de- ment of the university. The management realises velopment of the platform; comprehensive that the technology is the way of the future, and training programme for academic and ad- it has developed a coherent plan to allow it to ministrative staff; development of a quality use its own resources to drive the planned trans- assurance tool. formation. (This will generate new revenues to The mainstream effort will go into the crea- speed up the transformation.) tion of a virtual university on the Internet. In this Management also realises that it could not work virtual environment students will be able to ac- in isolation, and so it is integrating its administra- cess and make use of all the facilities usually of- tive systems with two sister universities, namely fered by a university, such as online inquiries, reg- the University of Stellenbosch in the Western Cape istration, library facilities, counselling, tuition, as- and Potchefstroom (see below) in the North-West signments, tests, etc. The university is creating this Province. This collaboration allows the sharing of system from a zero base; it is intended to imple- expensive resources, such as satellite. ment this phase very soon. The aim of the university is to create a virtual The other mainstream effort will go into campus that is fully integrated into the present video-conferencing and other interactive mecha- campus, making use of the contact model. This nisms. The university is already well known for integrated learning system will incorporate an its work with TELETUKS, the interactive video- administrative interface, communication with tu- conferencing system linking the main campus tors and lecturers, and courseware. It will also with the distant campuses, as well as to selected function as an Intranet within the university. schools in the Pretoria area. The university makes Another main goal is to manage the re- use of terrestrial antennae, satellite transmission, quired mindshift of its administrative, man- and optical cable links of Multichoice’s Satellite agement and academic staff to facilitate the

Virtual Institutions on the African Continent 107 Decoding Systems together with smart cards to its people with a new learning model based on transmit its signals to download sites. outcomes and student participation.” The fields The list of departments and faculties prepar- of study were chosen after careful consultation ing to deliver coursework through the system be- with a broad range of stakeholders in society, fore the end of the year 2000 is formidable and with special emphasis upon eventual economic exemplifies the careful planning, as well as the suc- empowerment of previously disadvantaged cessful management, of the change on the cam- people. About 75% of the 2,500 diploma stu- pus. Just some examples are the School for Infor- dents and 1,000 degree students of the pro- mation Technology, Faculty of Dentistry, Faculty gramme come from the previously disadvan- of Engineering, School of Management, Faculty taged part of society. That percentage is an early of Education, and Faculty of Science. The change indication of huge success, and the project is in mindset allows the university to offer complete very near to a breakeven point after just three courses for entire fields of study and degrees in- years. stead of the spattering of non-integrated courses Students from all walks of life have enthusi- offered by other transforming institutions calling astically supported the programme, which cur- themselves virtual universities. rently offers the following diplomas, degrees, and university certificates: UNIVERSITY OF POTCHEFSTROOM FOR • Bachelor’s of Business Administration CHRISTIAN HIGHER EDUCATION • Master’s in Business Administration The University of Potchefstroom for Christian • Nursing Diplomas Higher Education, one of the smaller universi- ties in South Africa and situated about 100 kilo- • Bachelor’s in Nursing, as well as diplomas metres to the southwest of Johannesburg, is pur- and certificates suing an aggressive telematics policy. Its teach- • Diploma in Legal Interpreting ing language is mostly Afrikaans, but this does The following degrees and diplomas will be not stand in the way of offering curricula in added to the programme within the next two English, as is the case for the programme dis- years: cussed below. • University Diploma in English for Speakers In 1996, the university started a well-planned, of Other Languages affordable distance teaching programme, called • Honours and Master’s Degree in Public Telematics Learning Systems (TLS) in a few very Management carefully chosen fields for which there were per- ceived demands. This demand is one of the pa- • A Web-based Honours degree in Pharma- rameters that guarantee large enough numbers cology of students per course to make the entire pro- • The first year of the Bachelor’s Degree in gramme economically viable. The first graduates Engineering (together with the University of received their degrees at the end of 1998. The South Africa); Web site of the TLS is www.puk.ac.za/tls/ • A University Diploma in Recreation and tlsprog.html. Tourism The vision of the university is to offer “high- The Faculty of Engineering has also decided quality learning programmes of international stand- to join the project and will offer an exciting pal- ard for the development needs of the country and ette of courses.

108 Virtual Institutions on the African Continent The teaching programme of each course is study centres and their equipment, and to find built around the concepts of distance education, and train the tutors. Enough staff needs to supported in various ways. First, the well-designed be allocated to the TLS, and in such a fash- printed study package is sent by post to students. ion that each student feels individually treated. This package has been developed by about 60 The technologies to be used must be academic staff members, together with about carefully chosen to fall within the budget and 600 people from all walks of life from all over must not intimidate prospective students, lec- the country. turers, and educational designers. As the user Students can make use of more than 20 study base increases and as the technological infra- centres in major areas of the country. At each structure in the country increases, other tech- study centre, a trained tutor or demonstrator is nologies may be added. available for each subject, and regular group meet- Finally, collaboration with other institu- ings are held at the study centres. tions is of vital importance, since costs, fa- Telematic learning systems (TLS) in the form cilities, and know-how are shared, which can of interactive videos and satellite transmissions, advance the break-even point. as well as CD-ROMs, are available for certain courses. Soon, Web-based courses will be added. • The demands of the learners for distance edu- Finally, the programme is supported by col- cation have changed: they like receiving tutorial laboration with other institutions of higher learn- support and group discussion classes, together ing in South Africa and abroad, as well as with with well-designed interactive study material. local institutions. • Study centres are well placed for the expected The development of the programme from a clientele and easily reachable by transport; all zero-base was very expensive, especially as there the necessary equipment must be available was virtually no culture of TLS or any of the re- and must function optimally. There is noth- quired equipment on campus at the initiation of the ing as frustrating as non-operating educational project. The development was done at an average technology. cost of about R200,000 (US$34,000) per semester • Students like the modern approach of inter- course for the about 100 courses developed so far. active technology much more than the usual When analysing the programme, the follow- distance education package; it gives them a ing important points emerge: feeling of being prepared for the technolo- • It is possible to start such a project from a gies they will have to use in the future. (This zero base in a country such as South Africa applies especially to computer skills.) provided it is well planned with realistic cost- ing of the various phases (including planning • The use of multimedia CD-ROMs is one for an early break-even point). Economically of the best ways of attracting students, even viable and socially needed courses must be unwilling ones, to modern communication identified and chosen in conjunction with and educational technologies. relevant stakeholders in all walks of life. There • The success of the initial courses ensures the must also be enough funding initially to pro- start of a process of co-operative change. vide the best training in TLS principles and Interested staff members, and eventually, the practise for the staff involved, to buy the whole institution, will accept the principles correct equipment and studios, to initiate the of TLS as being the best.

Virtual Institutions on the African Continent 109 UNIVERSITY OF STELLENBOSCH to those of the African Virtual University. Another The University of Stellenbosch is one of the old- interesting aspect is that the university is concen- est universities in the country and traditionally trating on the urban areas of the country, thus di- teaches in Afrikaans. It has all the faculties usually rectly competing with other institutions such as the associated with a university and teaches through traditional distance teaching universities like the contact mechanisms. During 1997, however, it University of South Africa and the Technikon decided to pursue a distance education model South Africa. through modern telecommunication technology. What makes it different from other universities Primary and Secondary is that it has teamed up with a commercial com- pany to provide some of the telematic services Education Institutions and needed. This collaboration will, no doubt pro- Teachers’ Training Colleges vide valuable experience in the future. The educators of the country have a vision to The university has accepted that it needs to leapfrog the paper age into the age of modern develop a distance education model that ensures telecommunication and information. This means accessibility. With this in mind, the university has that all schools and all education departments will opted for three modes of delivery in the con- have to be supplied with computers, LANs, and struction of the virtual university: the Internet, the Internet, in addition to nationwide satellite interactive television broadcasts, and paper-driven communication and teaching facilities. This is not distance education. such a far-fetched dream: many schools already As the system has just started up, an evalua- have computing facilities. Unfortunately this is not tion is not yet possible. However, there are al- true for the rural schools and the more disad- ready some important points to take note of: vantaged communities. • The university made the decision to incor- porate distance education into its main mis- INTERNET CONNECTIVITY: sion; it will never be just an add-on. SCHOOLNET SA • Distant and on-campus students will be Internet connectivity of schools is at present treated in the same way through use of the encouraged by the various Education Depart- technology. ments of the provinces, but not really funded • The emphasis is on affordable technologies in any serious way. It is mostly left to the man- for the student. This is achieved by closely agement of schools and the support of the collaborating with a commercial organisa- parents’ community. tion already in possession of all the relevant There are at present over 1,000 (out of about technology, such as studios, downloading 28,000) schools connected to the Internet in South sites, as well as the required staff. There are Africa. While the percentage is still low, the rate of no initial set-up costs. increase is phenomenal, at about 100% per year. The outcomes of this programme will be in- This huge growth indicates the need for formal teresting to watch because the university has cho- planning by central and provincial education au- sen a model of distance education that runs very thorities. One of the areas being investigated is the close to their contact education model. Some as- creation of a huge central educational telecom- pects of it are actually classroom driven—similar munication backbone in the country.

110 Virtual Institutions on the African Continent About half of the schools connected to the Such a plan also calls for the use of solar Internet are linked to the massive University and energy to “wire up schools;” the idea is to Research Institutions Network, called UNINET. do it as soon as possible. A further problem The rest make use of dial-up facilities through that faces schools is the payment of their elec- the nearest ISPs. Schools are required to defray tricity bills. all the costs incurred in the process, such as the · There is a lack of management expertise of Telkom line cost (dial-up, or leased, as the case ICT facilities among school staff, including may be), server, network, modem, and ISP costs. technical and software expertise, technical This is done through levies, parent-teacher or- management of the network, as well as lack ganisations, local sponsorships, or donor fund- of appreciation from the top management ing. More about this can be found on the Web at schools. If these issues are not addressed site www.school.za/research. it will constrain school Internet connectivity Also, there is now an organisation, called for the foreseeable future. SchoolNet South Africa (similar to the SchoolNet · There are massive security problems for ICT Canada), initially funded by the IDRC and sup- equipment in schools. This is very serious in ported by the Department of Education. This a country that is plagued by high criminal organisation has a small staff dedicated to the and unemployment rates. The security of development of Internet connectivity of schools. copper telephone cables (the disappearance More particulars are found at www.school.za. of which has “disconnected” many schools The following issues are facing schools: from the telecommunication system) is also · The present UNINET fees are difficult to at issue. manage, since they depend on the amount of data transported, which can be very high · In 1996, 62% of the schools were without if too much international traffic is used. This telephone access. However Telkom’s licence is especially serious when the school comes requires them to supply links to most schools from a traditionally disadvantaged sector. (if not all) before 2002. · There are generally no ICT budgets in · Teaching staff do not know how to use and schools. Eighty-six percent of the schools integrate the Internet and multimedia PCs connected to the Internet are formerly into their class work. This is a very serious “white” schools. Their Internet costs are de- problem and will have to be centrally ad- frayed from school levies that parents must dressed, especially at the level of teacher train- pay, from donor funds (often local donors, ing and retraining. like businesses) and not from state subsidy. · There is a lack of understanding of the use It currently costs from R30,000 to R60,000 of the Internet as an essential part of any (US$5,000 to $10,000) per year for Diginet school education administrative system, access per school, to R1,500 (US$270) per whether on the national, provincial, or indi- year for telephone costs for ISP dial-up ac- vidual school level. Again, this issue must be cess. This cost will inhibit connectivity addressed by studying all the possibilities and progress. implementing them systematically. · Many schools lack the necessary electricity. There is a very active group of schools in The giant electric company, ESKOM, is cur- the Western Cape Province that sets the exam- rently implementing its electrification plan. ple of Internet connectivity in schools as well as

Virtual Institutions on the African Continent 111 establishing formal relations among themselves Project TECSAS, to support each other. They also assist other Curriculum for South African Schools, was born. schools that want to connect by offering hard- A database was started with educational content, ware and software training and advice, as well as customised for the South African situation, for moral support along this very difficult route. assisting teachers to prepare lessons, students to work in collaboration with the teacher, and stu- ST ALBAN’S COLLEGE dents to work in the absence of any teacher. St Alban’s College is a large private school in the Originally, it was the ideal to set up a massive eastern suburbs of Pretoria. It has a proud aca- database containing all the material needed to demic tradition, now augmented by a proud tra- teach and learn Accounting, Economics, Geog- dition in telematics, multimedia, and web tech- raphy, Design Technology, Life Skills, Entrepre- nology. The school has successfully integrated neurial Skills, Biology, Science, and Mathematics modern educational and telecommunication tech- for the school years Standards 7 to 10 (grades 9 nology into the school system as a result of the to 12). For this purpose, a pilot project was set foresight of the management structures of the up with funds from the InfoDev programme school, driven by the vision of a few individuals. of the World Bank. Since the funds were not The school has a Director of Technology and adequate to cover all the subjects, it was decided is excellently furnished with all kinds of electronic to implement only the Standard 7 (grade 9) da- and telematic equipment. There are well-designed tabase for Biology. It was felt that Biology is a computer laboratories that form an integral part very visual subject that lends itself very well to of the school education system. St. Alban’s also Web design. Moreover, there is a great interest in reaches out to the community around it, espe- the subject from the side of the previously dis- cially to the underprivileged parts. Details of the advantaged part of society. school can be found on their excellent Web site The school Web site provides more details at www.stalban.pta.school.za. of the project and displays the database very well, proving that this kind of interactive data ware- Project TECSAS house can work and can deliver a real service to Some years ago St Alban’s realised that the teachers, pupils, and parents. Internet was going to be one of the major ena- bling factors in South African education. When Student response the problem was analysed, the school realised The pupils like the approach of an interactive that even when any other school managed to data warehouse very much, since it gives them become connected to the Internet (by whatever control over their own progress. Above all, they means) there were no typical South African edu- like to study at a school where the general at- cational materials to support any kind of school mosphere is of modern information and edu- activity. cation technology and where they know they are The school knew also that there are many learning the skills that will ensure them jobs in the poorly qualified teachers in the educational sys- new information and telecommunication age. tem. The logical step was, therefore, to make a contribution that would serve the entire country Problem areas and conclusions and create a database that could be accessed by • One of the problems experienced by the everybody with access to the Internet—both in site developers is the perennial question of South Africa, as well as abroad. copyright. It is easier to make copies of

112 Virtual Institutions on the African Continent drawings from textbooks, and also much less the education authorities take the lead; the expensive than designing the drawings over schools are making their own decisions. They again. This was solved by a formal agree- have a vision to use the equipment to give their ment between school and publishers. pupils a better education, one that is relevant • It is very expensive to develop a data ware- in the modern age. Such schools find the funds house and it is virtually out of the range of not only within their parent associations, but affordability of a single school. What is launch projects to generate the funds, and even needed is a collaborative effort of many in- work out laudable projects and apply for stitutions, including the education authorities grants from NGOs and local and international and industry. What the site proved is that it is donors. possible to build such a data warehouse for St Alban’s is an independent school and not the benefit of the country, that it works very in the “rich parent” bracket. The ways in which it well, and that an effort must be made to obtained the funds are open for any school to expand it. What’s more, a collaborative ef- follow. All that is needed are a handful of knowl- fort strengthens the indigenous nature of the edgeable and visionary enthusiasts and a sympa- material, reaching out to local pupils and thetic school management. teachers. GAUTENG TEACHER TRAINING Many teachers are afraid of the formal • The Gauteng Provincial Education Department HTML requirements to develop Web has about 10 teacher upgrading and resource pages. The Council for Scientific and In- centres. These will be connected to the Internet dustrial Research (CSIR), through its and teachers trained by using the connection. This MICOMTEK Division, has created a soft- is an experiment that can lead to better commu- ware curriculum management tool that nication between teachers in various parts of the enables teachers to prepare their own ma- province. Teachers will be able to exchange in- terial and to deposit it on a Web site for formation and methodology. This exchange of the use and benefit of all (sponsored by information is especially valuable in the case of infoDEV and the IDRC). the upkeep and servicing of hardware and soft- • The interaction with peers is very important ware, where peer-to-peer teaching is extremely in this field. Isolation is deadly! St Alban’s is fast and reliable. at present starting a Connected Learning Community, where people meet. Local and international schools and organisations meet Commercial Organisations on common virtual ground. More informa- Several commercial telematic firms were started tion about this new school activity can be during the last decade with the express purpose found at the Web site www.stalban.pta.school.za/ of providing affordable telematically based tui- beyers/microsoft/clc98.htm. tion to the nation. None of them actually got going well enough to become commercially vi- A new type of school emerging able. Some of them are now renting their serv- St. Alban’s typifies the kind of school (independ- ices, studios, and sites to other educational insti- ent or public) that is emerging in South Africa. tutions, or even to loosely bound conglomerates The acquisition of and expertise in educational of institutions. Some of them provide services and communication technology is not left until to big companies for staff training.

Virtual Institutions on the African Continent 113 All of them used satellite TV programmes Industrial Organisations from a central studio in the Johannesburg area There are not many industrial organisations within and downloaded sites dotted all over the coun- South Africa that have very big telematic and vir- try. Each site had a satellite reception antenna, a tual training programmes. Two main examples signal converter to unscramble the signal for pay- are the South African Transportation Services and ing customers, a touch pad or a telephone pad Telkom, the South African Telecommunications to communicate to the main studio where the Company. Only Telkom is presented here. teacher could see the responses of the individual students, as well as the course statistics. There was TELKOM SKYTRAIN also a telephone for audio communication with Telkom, the only allowed South African tel- the teacher. The system claimed to be fully inter- ecommunications supplier, is a massive organi- active, although in reality the interactivity was very sation with 58,000 employees, many of whom low and at best, disjointed. who need training or re-training. To meet this The lesson that can be learned is that accurate need, over the last two and a half years a mas- market research must be done before such com- sive telematics effort was made, under the mercial ventures are undertaken. The technology name of Skytrain. This programme aug- used is adequate, but society and the educational mented the face-to-face training methodology community were not ready for such a “revolu- of Telkom. tionary” approach. It was a far too expensive Skytrain is managed from the very well venture to draw in the masses, and it is clear that equipped central studio at Midrand near Johan- small-scale ventures with risk capital will not gain nesburg. It involves an uplink in the Betacam enough support to be viable. What is needed, is SP format to the Intelsat 704 satellite positioned the following: at 66oE (see discussion earlier) on the Ku band · To fully fund and launch a massive telematic (S3 footprint), using only about 8 megahertz of project the 27 megahertz bandwidth. The satellite · To train the teachers and the users thoroughly downlinks to about 100 interactive classrooms before the launch dotted all over the country. Telkom tries to lo- · To install equipment that is very easy to cate a downsite not more than 100 kilometres download from a conglomerate of work locations. The · To design the lessons and the accompanying total cost of the system is probably in excess course material (including printed material) of R50 million Rand (US$9 million). well and to set up well-functioning distribu- Each downsite classroom is able to accept tion modes for it data, video, and audio via the satellite while it is in contact with the management console in the · To use a language that is easy for classes at main studio. There are on average about 10 work the distant download sites to comprehend places at each site, equipped with a One-Touch (including vocabulary, pronunciation, and lan- Pad for educational communication with the lec- guage complexity) turer. The type of communication is very learner- · To fully liaise with the formal education com- centred and provides real-time feedback to the munity lecturer through computer software. Each · To mount a massive advertising campaign downsite has facilities for recording videos for to increase the awareness in the country reviewing purposes. Tests can be written, using

114 Virtual Institutions on the African Continent multiple choice questions. There is a fax machine Broadcasting Organisations at each site as well as a number of PCs for com- The three main TV broadcasting companies in puter literacy training; some of them linked to South Africa are the public broadcaster (SABC) Telkom file servers. and a new commercial free-to-air channel (ETV), Telkom’s trainers at their other training sites and the privately owned subscription based com- produce the learning materials for Skytrain. Each pany (MNET). The SABC has an active educa- presentation is videotaped for training the trainers tional TV and radio programme schedule, which and is analysed for effectivieness and standard. is briefly reviewed here. The very many satellite Skytrain is very conscious that presentations channels of MNET carry a great variety of ma- must be very well focused and prepared. This terials that are educationally important. This is means that training of all involved is essential to especially true for its children’s programmes. prevent the “technology or bust” phenomenon. The SABC has the obligation to concern it- Skytrain feels that short courses with very self with formal education in particular and edu- clearly defined goals, agreed upon by managers, cational programmes in general. It is actively col- supervisors, and presenters, are ideally suited for laborating with the national Department of Edu- the technology. If done well, Telkom saves on cation (Centre for Educational Technology and travelling, subsistence, and dislocation costs. The Distance Education). system is ideal for training people who work at There are very many interesting programmes the typical one-person stations in the remote ar- that are broadcast to support the senior school eas of the country. These key people can nor- syllabus. These lessons have huge audiences and mally not be released to attend long training are subsidised by Liberty Life Trust. Talented and courses far away from their stations. knowledgeable teachers are used, and children Supervisors and managers can easily attend are allowed to phone in with problems that are any presentation at any site to anonymously verify dealt with in live sessions. that the training is up to standard and that the Some newspapers, like the Sowetan, independ- learning objectives are satisfied. In fact, Telkom ently carry printed class notes that enhance the is assured in this way that trainees will have the TV programmes. Together the TV and the required level of competency to fulfil their chang- printed notes make an enormous contribution ing job needs. This is hardly possible at ordinary to the training of pupils in science and English. training sites. The main problem with this kind of one- The Skytrain system is ideal for training and channel TV lesson is that of getting the school re-training in areas of technology where the de- timetables of all the provinces and all the schools velopment rate outstrips the company’s ability to synchronised. It is an almost impossible prob- operate “normal” training courses. Students have lem, and the result is that programmes are re- the advantage of being lectured by international corded, thus nullifying the effect of the minimal experts in the fields. Training time is also found interactivity. to be considerably reduced, due to more focused The South African Institute of Distance Edu- activity during transmission. This system seems cation (SAIDE) has just released a report to the to provide solid motivation for the students, who SABC on its educational role and how it may feel that they are receiving state-of-the-art train- enhance its effectivity in this regard. The massive ing in their jobs. In addition, training can be done report can be viewed at the SAIDE site using the “just-in-time” principle. www.saide.org.za.

Virtual Institutions on the African Continent 115 Based on SAIDE’s research, the SABC Edu- subject in several countries at the same time, it cation Department, together with the national would mean that expensive resources could be Department of Education, has developed the shared and the economy of scale of a group of School TV service, which is designed to offer countries participating would offset the inevita- programmes to the Reception and Foundation ble increased costs of presentation. To put it Phase (grades R to 3) in support of learning and bluntly, if a group of countries could be induced teaching. However, this service is going beyond to share the delivery of lectures via satellite by broadcasting the programmes. It is also focusing knowledgeable world-class lecturers, supported on delivering print support materials to schools by good ground staff, all of them would ben- to complement the programmes, together with efit. The African Virtual University (AVU) tries efforts to train teachers on using the media, and to do just that. assisting with the delivery of receiving equipment (TVs and VCRs) to schools. OBJECTIVES OF THE AVU The SABC Education Radio and TV De- The objectives of the AVU are simply this: partments offer programmes that support all · To use modern telecommunication technol- sectors of the education and training system. ogy (especially satellite TV technology) in These include Early Childhood Development, diverse countries in Africa to demonstrate Primary and Secondary School, Teacher Devel- that it can be used effectively as a teaching opment, Science and Mathematics, Agriculture, medium. Youth Development, Culture of Learning, · To prove that such a project can be success- Teaching and Services, and Adult Basic Educa- fully implemented in various African coun- tion and Training. tries, each with its own government, educa- tional system, independent universities (jeal- The African Virtual University ously guarding their academic freedom), tel- ecommunication authorities (jealously guard- (AVU): A Representative ing their airspace), language, and culture. Example · To prove that such a project can generate Africa is a vast continent with a fast-growing the economy of scale to sustain itself after population, having an abundance of natural re- the inevitable discontinuation of donor sources on the one hand and an almost universal funding. set of struggling economies on the other. This · To upgrade the capacity of African coun- vicious interplay between population and tries in teaching mathematics and science, economy tends to push the population growth subjects that are very much needed to kick- upward and the economy down in most coun- start their economies. tries. One of the results of this interplay is the · To prove that diverse communities can eas- education system syndrome of most countries: ily adapt to the modern technology, that is, too little funding to address the basic problem that such communities can leapfrog the pa- that most of its citizens are illiterate in all mod- per age. ern meaning of the word. Too few resources have to stretch too far. · To prove that diverse university curricula and If a system of education could be developed timetables can be subjected to the dictates that allowed widespread tertiary education per of common sense and usefulness.

116 Virtual Institutions on the African Continent THE PILOT PROJECT · University of Dar-Es-Salaam, Dar-Es-Sa- The pilot phase implementation, beginning in July laam, Tanzania 1997 and lasting one year, involved six English- · University of Science & Technology, Kumasi, based undergraduate courses of televised instruc- Ghana (UST) tion taking place from sites in the United States, · University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ireland, and Canada to appropriate sites at Afri- Ghana can universities. Simultaneously, French-based · University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana courses were developed in Belgium, France, and Switzerland. (The next phase will activate Portu- Eleven institutions from six Francophone guese-based courses; the Portuguese Web site is countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, under construction at present.) Formal contracts Niger, Senegal, and Togo), as well as two insti- with U.S. and European universities to provide tutions from two Lusophone (Portuguese the teaching for the courses as well as the back- speaking) countries, participated during the ground material (called “literature”) were nego- equipment installation phase. The institutions from tiated and signed. (All data and information Francophone countries are: quoted below come from the Web site of the · Université de Dakar, Senegal (receive site in- AVU at www.avu.org.) stalled) The pilot project was intended to involve small · Université d’Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire teams in Africa, supported by a small core team · École superieure polytechnique de at the World Bank supported by consultants. Yamoussokro, Cote d’Ivoire Twelve higher education institutions from six · Etablissements Loko, Cote d’Ivoire (biggest Anglophone countries (Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, private educational institution in the country) Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe) participated in the Anglophone part of the project. These in- · Université de Lome, Togo stitutions are: · Université de Cotonou, Benin · Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, · Université d’ Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso Ethiopia (AAU) · Centre universitaire de Bobo Diou Lasso, · Kenyatta University, Nairobi Kenya (KU) Burkina Faso · Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda · Université de Niamey, Niger (MUK) · Université de Nouakchott, Mauritania · Uganda Polytechnic, Kyambogo, Kampala, Uganda (UPK) And the institutions from Lusophone coun- tries are: · Uganda Martyrs University, Nkosi, Uganda · Universite Eduardo Mondlane, Mozambique (UMU) · Cape Verde Higher Education institute: re- · University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimba- quest received from the Ministry bwe (UZ) The courses offered during the pilot phase · National University of Science & Technol- were very limited. They are, however, essential ogy Bulawayo, Zimbabwe science courses that are really needed on the Af- · Open University of Tanzania, Dar-Es-Salaam, rican continent. In the second semester, there were Tanzania three additional courses, with a further seven

Virtual Institutions on the African Continent 117 African universities participating. The registration the AVU, or an average of only one student figures for the first two semesters (available on per site among the projected 260 sites. In the the Web site) show the courses fulfil a need and year 2001, the full transponder cost will be an draw reasonable numbers of students. The re- estimated $3,000,000 per year, and with an markable fact is that so many institutions in vari- estimated 442 credit courses planned, it will ous parts of the world managed to collaborate take 272 students per site paying $25 each to in real time to fulfil a real need. cover the transponder cost. Retaining a site count of only 260 sites, the average number FUNDING OF THE PROJECT of students required to cover the transponder The World Bank was one of the sponsors of cost is still only approximately one student the pilot project. World Bank Africa Region and per site per course. its infoDev activity contributed US$750,000, other bilateral donors contributed US$925,000, and the SOME CONCLUSIONS U.S. Trade Development Agency contributed Probably the most important findings are that it US$365,000. The full pilot project financing was is possible to: about US$3 million for the period July 1997 to · Set up a virtual university in Africa, using very July 1998. The satellite transmission time seems advanced communication technology. to have been donated free of charge for the · Obtain collaboration on state level and on duration of the pilot project. university level between different African It is not easy to estimate the costs of the pilot countries (and also overseas countries). project. The AVU planning document states the · Synchronise the same courses in the timeta- following (see www.avu.org): bles of the different universities in the dif- A conservative estimate of the cost of inter- ferent countries. national satellite transponders is in excess of $2 million per year for four digital channels · Use well-qualified lecturers in more advanced (half transponder capacity on a long-term countries to deliver the courses. lease). · Train local staff in assisting these lecturers at All other costs of operating the AVU on local sites. an annual basis are estimated at a multiplier · Use the most advanced technology without of three times the cost of transponder access losing the students who are not used to the (based on the operating budgets of other technology. satellite-based distance learning networks, but · Use a common language (English) to deliver adjusted by a significant increase for course the lectures without any real communication development and production, student sup- problems. port services, and international operations). It is currently planned that the AVU will · Prove that the operation can be financially broadcast on four digital channels the 1999 viable, even in such esoteric subjects as and 2000 academic year. With 286 credit mathematics because of the economy-of- courses planned for the year 2000 at an esti- scale effect, summed over the various mated transponder cost of $1.92 million per download sites. year, it will take only 269 students paying $25 · Prove that the technology is stable and that tuition per course in the 286 courses to cover its equipment can be used over long periods the most significant cost to be incurred by in non-industrialised areas of Africa.

118 Virtual Institutions on the African Continent · Prove that it is one of the ways in which to Furthermore, there are a quite a few Internet accelerate the production of graduates in service providers operating in Egypt, giving ex- subjects that are difficult to teach at the level cellent usage and enhanced services to their cus- of single states because of the lack of suit- tomers. According to Jensen: ably qualified staff. Internet service provision is divided into three · Prove that this technology and methodol- groups: IDSC is responsible for government ogy can be extended to other subjects and users, EUN is responsible for the academic fields of study, for instance, the medical di- and research network, and RITSEC is respon- rection, since Africa urgently needs more sible for the private sector. RITSEC is estab- qualified doctors, nurses, and health officials. lishing a VSAT network in the country in co- operation with the PTT and VSAT equip- · Prove that Africa can leapfrog the paper age ment suppliers Hughes and NEC. into the information technology age with- out showing any signs of stress and strain. The Egyptian Universities Network These are remarkable findings indeed. The Egyptian Universities Network (EUN) has established the FRCU Computer Centre. The Some Other Representative EUN connects academic and research centres, together with governmental and non-governmen- African Examples tal organisations to the Internet. Jensen (in his Web site) notes the types of services made available EGYPT through the EUN. They are: · Internet and EARN (TERENA) administra- Egypt is situated on the northern part of Africa tion for Egypt. and has a progressive government that is anx- ious to improve the telecommunication capacity · Networking connectivity to different sectors. of the country. The overall connectivity in the · Full Internet services (e-mail, remote log-in, country is not high, but the government has file transfer, Gopher, WWW, Lynx, Mosaic). launched a few telematics and PC projects. Al- · General and specialised training courses and though there are as yet no real virtual institutions documentation on different networking areas. identifiable on the Internet, Egypt has an emerg- · Consultation and assistance for building and ing interest and will most certainly improve dur- enhancing networks. ing the next few years. Egypt is judged to be at the stage where virtual activities can be confidently · Assistance with installing and programming planned and developed from existing multime- scientific or statistical packages. dia projects described below. Virtual institutions Telecommunication infrastructure Although no virtual institutions could be found Much state and donor funding has gone into tel- by searching the Internet, and no Web masters ecommunication upgrading projects, but the tel- in Egypt replied to e-mailed questions about ephone connectivity density is still low, running at such activities, the Egyptian Ministry of Edu- an average of about 5%, while Cairo and Alex- cation has started several projects that have the andria have a connectivity of around 12% (ac- ability to develop eventually into virtual teach- cording to Jensen). The ideal is to develop full ing activities. These are described on the Web connectivity around the year 2010.

Virtual Institutions on the African Continent 119 site of the Ministry of Education under the Up to the present about 150 schools from all project title: positive education. (See www. the governorates (provinces) of the Arab Republic frcu.eun.eg/www/homepage/moe/newsite1.htm.) of Egypt have joined the project. The vision of the ministry is to bridge stu- It is clear that Egypt is moving ahead in try- dents to the 21st century through “positive edu- ing to reap the benefits of the information and cation.” The Web site gives some examples to computer age. It is but a short step from the illustrate what this positive education is. The fol- multimedia set of school syllabus contents to full lowing set of conclusions was drawn from a close Internet-delivery of study material to schools or study of the Web site and the examples given. to individual learners. In any case, the pages ex- The ministry did not respond to e-mail inquiries. hibited on the site are obviously designed to be The trends are, however, clear. suitable for Web downloading. It will be of in- Positive education seems to be multimedia terest to follow the further development of this education, and it is clear that it will first be in- project and its conversion into a virtual teaching troduced at some schools, while others will fol- and learning situation. low as they become technologically equipped. It is not clear whether the scheme is network- MOROCCO server based, runs on isolated multimedia PCs The telephone penetration of Morocco is around using CD-ROMs, or is Web based. Whatever 4%, but it has a relatively good telephone net- the status, it is clear that it is only a small step to work, X.25 service and ISP sector. Morocco is virtual education via the Internet. A series of planning to increase spending on the improve- Web pages about a history course for the first ment of this sector in the next five years, and it is year primary and the first year secondary stu- a member of both INTELSAT and ARABSAT. dents are provided on the site. They provide It may thus be ideally placed to launch extensive some good examples for a geography course ventures into virtual education, using modern tel- and a social studies course. ecommunication and information technologies. The institute called GAEM is starting a mas- Morocco also plans to upgrade the digital lines sive project of producing multimedia pro- from 90% to 99.5% and install fibre-optical net- grammes in social science, physics, chemistry, works in the inter-urban areas connecting most and biology. The project aims to cover all sub- cities. (See the Jensen site at www3.sn.apc.org/africa/ jects in the school curriculum in Egypt. A very morocco.htm for more details.) clear timetable is available for this project and it Morocco has an analog cellular network (with is starting to unfold. Some Web pages from about 9,000 subscribers) and a digital CSM cel- some courses are available on the Web site, and lular network that planned to double its 1994 judging by their quality (design, graphics, and subscribers to 24,000 in 1995; it is probably much text) the courses are of a very high standard more at present. and excellent quality. One of the first things that According to the latest count, there are 150 jumps to the eye is that the Arabic script makes commercial ISPs operating in Morocco using the it very easy to design compact and beautiful telecommunication backbone of the country (see Web pages. The computer-generated calligra- www.pnud.org.ma/fnuap/morocco.htm). There is a fair phy is breathtaking, and the design of the pages number of Moroccan sites on the Web, spanning reminds one of the Old Egyptian design say- government, education, universities and training ing: text, graphics and colours are integrated institutions, and learned societies. However, the aspects of one and the same thing. level of detailed information they dispense is

120 Virtual Institutions on the African Continent rather low. Such a list is found on the above- Last year the PTO, ZPTC, contracted Glo- mentioned site. bal-One to establish a large-scale national In spite of an intensive Web search, there Internet backbone with a 256kbps link to the was no evidence of any teaching activity that may United States and a POP in the four major lead to the establishment of a virtual teaching cities for resale to the private ISPs. Accounts institution—not even on the Web site of the Min- on the system are sold in blocks of 20 to each istry of Education at www.dfc.gov.ma (in French). ISP, which then resells them to the end user. However, there is evidence of the use of PCs Since the start of the service, the link was and computers at contact teaching campuses, for upgraded to 1Mbps and a further upgrade to instance, at the site of the High Tech School at 2Mbps took place in mid ’98 with the addi- www.hightech.edu (in French). This institution allows tion of a 1MB link to Teleglobe in Canada. its students to put some of their projects on their The PTC has established a special tariff Web site, indicating a reasonable level of interest for calls to the Internet backbone, which are and expertise in Web-related matters. charged at the cost of a local call plus 20% for It seems that the infrastructure for virtual teach- calls from anywhere in the country. ing activities are beginning to become available in There are some e-mail services available in Morocco, but that the connectivity is still too low Zimbabwe, sometimes through South African to make any activity economically viable. organisations via the University of Zimbabwe (that has a campus network). ZIMBABWE Zimbabwe is a vast country with a relatively un- Distance education der-developed telecommunication infrastructure, Zimbabwe is very much interested in distance except between the major centres. There are ar- education and has a small initiative. The University eas of severe problems, such as long waiting time of South Africa is also very active in Zimbabwe, for connections and low reliability, especially for especially the Business School and the Faculty of trunk calls. There is an X25 network available in Economics and Management Sciences. However, four major centres. there are no discernible activities that can be classi- There is no formal government policy for fied as being dependent on the local telecommu- developing a national information infrastructure. nication infrastructure. The University of Zimba- The Research Council of Zimbabwe has recently bwe, however, is participating in the African Vir- started supporting an academic and research net- tual University project. The National University of work in the country with funds from UNDP’s Science and Technology (NUST) in Bulawayo is a SNDP programme. focal point for the Regional Information Networks The Jensen site www3.sn.apc.org/africa/ for Africa (RINAF) project. zimbabwe.htm states: Some conclusions Iafrica/Data Control was the first full Internet The following conclusions may be drawn: provider in Zimbabwe, setting up its own · The telecommunication infrastructure in leased line to its South African parent com- the country will have to be greatly up- pany UUNET Internet Africa (www.harare. graded before any enhanced education iafrica.com). Two other ISPs, Samara and can be successfully undertaken, unless it Interdata, started services shortly afterwards, is of the kind represented by the African also establishing leased lines to South African Virtual University; ISPs (www.samara.co.zw and www.id.co.zw).

Virtual Institutions on the African Continent 121 · A central programme of developing a na- viable. However, there are signs that Africa as a tional information technology infrastructure whole has awakened to the demands of tech- is a pre-requisite for any enhanced educa- nology, as the examples of Egypt and Morocco tional activity, even within the boundaries of show. There are other countries, such as Kenya local university campuses. and Zambia, which are developing very fast in this regard. There are several important factors that need General Conclusions to be addressed before any virtual universities The everyday and “customary” operations of the and other education institutions with a significant departments of education and governments of range of activities can be set up: most countries on the African continent mostly cre- · Old networks and backbones still in place ate a budgetary vortex that dominate their spend- all over the continent are inadequate since they ing pattern. There is, inevitably, very little money left were not designed for the modern telecom- over in most national or educational budgets for munication age and its requirements of band- expanding and upgrading telecommunication net- width, stability, and continuous service. works, computers, etc. This means that telecom- · Policies and tariffs of some governments and munication and information benefits will never reach their monopolistic telecommunication au- most of the population of Africa if this traditional thorities may cause telematically enhanced pattern is not changed. If the day-to-day problems educational projects to flounder because of and operations are not addressed through the sys- high transmission costs. tematic and planned use of ICT to empower the population into a new economic reality, the situa- · Linking telecommunication and data lines tion will inevitably become worse. across national borders is problematic for vir- One of the main problems is that people who tual institutions since it has to contend with formulate policy are not adequately informed too many imponderables, such as a about general aspects of the information, com- concatenation of different national policies and puting, and telecommunication ages. This means tariffs. that they can never develop a new vision. To put · Telecommunication networks often reach it bluntly, what is needed is reschooling of most only the cities and larger towns in many coun- of the governments in Africa to make them re- tries. The depth of telephone penetration is ally appreciative of the technological future. far below that expected of a country that wants to join the information age. TELECOMMUNICATION INFRASTRUCTURE · Governments in general do not have a fully LIMITATIONS developed and fully funded telecommuni- In spite of adequate international telecommuni- cation plan to bring the benefits of the in- cation links, especially in those countries linked formation and telecommunication age to to undersea cabling, the national infrastructures their populations. of African countries do not seem to match up with that demanded by the information and tel- COMPUTING INFRASTRUCTURE ecommunications age. The telephone coverage LIMITATIONS is far to low in most countries to make any A good virtual education institution presupposes telematically enhanced education economically the presence of a very good computing centre,

122 Virtual Institutions on the African Continent stocked with adequate computers, servers, net- INTERNAL NETWORK LIMITATIONS works, and personnel. In addition it should have Very good internal networks (LANs and WANs) adequate bandwidth available to communicate are essential for any institution that wants to “go with the outside world. virtual.” It seems that many African institutions However, computers, PCs, and other com- do not have adequate internal networks with putational and networking infrastructure are still 100% staff connectivity. regarded as a luxury in most countries on the Satellite transmission technology will partly continent, and most do not have a policy to sys- offset the lack of such a structure, but eventually tematically expand the computing and network- it will become a necessity. Every university will ing capacities of their universities and other edu- probably need to be managed via an Intranet cation institutions to ensure that they become using modern office technology. competitive in the modern age. SERVICING LIMITATIONS DATABASE LIMITATIONS Good hardware and software service centres are While the database system of the University of usually found only in the main cities in Africa. South Africa made it possible to create a mega- This is a very serious constraint for the develop- university that can use the economies of scale, ment of virtual institutions and needs careful at- very few other African universities have devel- tention. Any system that serves any part of the oped such databases. education stream of a virtual institution that is The size of the database is not important. “offline” for whatever reason, or whatever pe- What is important is its design, its servers, the riod of time, is a serious hurdle for any student consistency of the data captured, and the ways or lecturer to overcome. The more often a sys- in which it lightens the administrative load of staff tem is offline, the more serious, debilitating, and and students. This means that a systematic train- permanent are the results. ing programme of African institutions in the use of, design, and implementation of databases is INTERNET LIMITATIONS of the utmost importance. Most of the bigger and better universities in Africa are now connected to the Internet, or are in the ADMINISTRATIVE LIMITATIONS process of being connected. But the lack of good It seems that most educational institutions on the “pipes,” ISPs, computing and network equipment, continent do not really mine the benefits of the national telecommunication funding, cause many telecommunication and information age to im- other education institutions not to be connected. prove their administration. For instance, e-mail As well, although the use of the Internet is on campuses mostly does not form part of the increasing by leaps and bounds, there are still “way of doing things.” The reasons for this are many difficulties to overcome, especially for off- simple: lack of infrastructure combined with a campus students who need to access their uni- lack of operational know-how and technologi- versities through the Internet. ISPs are often not cal expertise. Education authorities usually have available and telecommunications are not de- not yet had a chance to develop the new vision pendable and are mostly very slow. of the future discussed above.

Virtual Institutions on the African Continent 123 FINANCIAL IMPACTS REACTIONS OF CONVENTIONAL Setting up the required local educational institu- INSTITUTIONS tion infrastructure is mostly impossible within the Most conventional institutions in South Africa and bounds of normal budgets. The usual pattern is elsewhere are making huge efforts to implement to experiment, but often this is where the mod- these technologies into their own teaching. In most ernisation stays because there is no funding to ex- cases, this also includes the enrichment of their tend the experiment to all education institutions contact classes with Web-based technology and What is required is a systematic rethinking of the other telematic technologies. This is one of the funding process of such institutions. Minor cos- most exciting aspects, namely, that contact teach- metic surgery is not going to be of much benefit. ing universities are moving into distance teach- This difficulty is made clear in the descrip- ing, where the “distance” also includes their own tions of the University of South Africa, the Uni- campus-based students. versity of Pretoria, and the Technikon SA given above. These institutions are all in the process of GENERAL DEMOGRAPHIC rediscovering new ways of budgeting to accom- CHARACTERISTICS OF LEARNERS modate their vision of the information and tel- Most of the learners being served by the new ecommunication future. technologies are either urban (where the telecom- munication infrastructure is good) or are cam- HUMAN RESOURCE REQUIREMENTS AND pus-based (where the technology is under the TRAINING control of the institution itself). There are very Human resource training forms one of the piv- few signs that any country has mastered the tran- otal problems that must be addressed. As was sition to the mass model that is so seriously needed emphasised above, a special effort must be made on the African continent. to train the rulers in government, civil service, and education. INVOLVEMENT OF INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE LEARNER AND TEACHER ACCEPTANCE There are few signs of the involvement of com- Where such schemes exist for a long enough pe- merce and industry in the development of virtual riod in Africa, there was no evidence at all that training. It must not be forgotten, however, that learners were not able to master the demands of industry and commerce are not as well developed technology. In fact, the reverse is true: learners on the African continent compared to other re- have no problems working with the most ad- gions of the world. There are also virtually no vanced technology and accepting it as a teaching indigenous ICT firms on the continent, except in and administrative medium. the case of South Africa where they make a Teacher acceptance is generally limited by modest contribution. training available. For example, in the University There is also no common educational support of South Africa, the rate of teacher acceptance plan (as far as known) between the major interna- is low because of the lack of training in the new tional software and hardware companies so that media, as well as the lack of funds to acquire the their efforts can mutually enhance one another. necessary PC configurations. The African Virtual University, on the other hand, has managed to overcome the problem.

124 Virtual Institutions on the African Continent Virtual Institutions in the Indian Subcontinent (Including Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka) 8 DR. SUGATA MITRA

Introduction of virtual institutions in the region and their ex- periences with media-based education. Online The Indian subcontinent consists of several coun- activity in the region is an indicator of the poten- tries with a total population of over one billion, tial of virtual institutional methods, and that topic making up 20% of the population of the world. is also explored. Finally, I have tried to predict Most of the area has been repeatedly invaded in some future needs and trends in this region. the past 3,000 years. These invasions have origi- nated mostly from western and eastern Europe, eastern Asia and, occasionally, from China. This Computing Infrastructure has resulted in a uniquely heterogeneous culture The earliest use of computers in the region dates that combines races, religions, languages, beliefs, back to the early 1950s when the first computer and values. The education system has continu- was installed in the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) ously grappled with this problem of heteroge- in Calcutta. The ISI continues to remain one of neity and has undergone many transformations, the pioneering institutions of this region in the from the early Hindu systems of private educa- area of computer science research. Computer tion to the centralised universities of the Bud- usage remained restricted to universities until the dhist and Mogul periods, to the most recent early sixties when IBM introduced commercial model, the British systems of the early 20th cen- computing in the region. tury. It is in this larger historical context that the In the late seventies, IBM was forced to cease use of educational technology in the subconti- operations in India due to government regula- nent should be viewed. tions regarding the dilution of foreign equity. This This report is concerned with virtual institu- resulted in creation of a local computer industry tions, which is generally understood to mean in- that continues to thrive today. The largest of these stitutions using the Internet to deliver pro- corporations is the HCL Corporation (the erst- grammes. However, this report also includes facts while Hindustan Computers Limited) that has on the use of media in general for the purpose grown to a billion-dollar multinational in the last of education delivery. In this report I discuss the 15 years. It is interesting to note that this phe- current status of the computing and electronic nomenon did not occur in the other countries infrastructure in the region, Internet accessibility, of the region where IBM continued to provide and the available media. I also cover the nature most of the hardware.

Virtual Institutions in the Indian Subcontinent 125 HARDWARE The large companies and the “grey” market At present all international brands are allowed to confirm that the Microsoft’s Windows environment operate all over the region. Bangladesh has re- is the most popular operating system, C++ and cently exempted all hardware from customs duty, Visual Basic are the most commonly used program- while duties ranging from 10% to 50% exist in ming languages, and Microsoft’s Internet Explorer the other countries. IBM PC compatibles are the is the most popular browser in the region. Oracle is most commonly used computers in government the most commonly used Relational Database and private industries as well as in homes. Management System (RDBMS) for new applica- There is a flourishing “grey” market for PCs tions development, while FoxPro continues to be assembled by small local companies, or even in- the most common for existing applications. dividuals, and this benefited the consumer, driv- NETWORKING ing the prices down and improving the quality of PCs. As a result, a resident of the region has The use of networked computing environments access to computers that are equal in power and started from newspaper applications in the early price to those in any other country. eighties. I was fortunate in being associated with the The use of computers in the home is rising first of these applications (1983) at the Patriot news- sharply, driven by the popularity of the Internet. paper, New Delhi. Since then, networking has be- In India, the total number of PCs, which had come both very common and, at the same time, a grown from zero to about one million in the most sought after skill. period from 1980 to 1995, has increased to over Windows NT and UNIX remain the most com- three million in the period from 1996 to 1998. mon operating systems for networking in the re- The most prevalent configuration at the time gion. There is a great shortage of people who can of writing (April 1999) is the Pentium III proc- configure and administer such networks, which has essor with about 32 megabytes of RAM and 6 resulted in most government departments remain- gigabytes of hard disk space. Most popular pe- ing without any significant computer applications. ripheral devices are freely available and include The media, on the other hand are great users of modems, inkjet and laser printers, CD-ROM networked environments and digital composing is drives, DVD, and digital cameras. Service quality popular from Sri Lanka to Bhutan, in all the coun- is poor or absent in the region. However, this is tries of the region. compensated for by the relatively low cost and INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION low failure rate of the hardware. There is a severe shortage of trained persons in SOFTWARE the region. Table 8.1 describes the current meth- India is the dominant software producer in the ods of training and the resultant outcomes. region and is currently considered the world’s The total numbers of graduates produced largest exporter of software. This phenomenon from all sources in the region are estimated at is not very clearly understood, but is probably 25,000 from the formal (government) sector and related to the English language, mathematics, and around 300,000 from the private sector. computer skills provided in the country at the The Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT), a school level. These factors, coupled with the large group of six autonomous universities in India, numbers that are common to India, result in a account for the best products in the region. Of large talent pool that has become crucial to the the 300 or so students produced each year, over world software community today. 90% migrate to other countries.

126 Virtual Institutions in the Indian Subcontinent Table 8.1

Problems with Information Technology Education in the Indian Subcontinent

Institutions Types of courses Curriculum Outcome Major universities Academic and Computer Science and Almost all good students migrate to research oriented Engineering other countries, particularly, the U.S.A. State colleges Technology oriented Tools and applications, Students need retraining by the industry. outdated hardware and Good students proceed to other software countries for further studies. Private schools Application and Tools and applications, Students need retraining or they are development oriented no standardisation, and many unable to find employment. institutions with little or no credentials

The Indira Gandhi National Open University 1996 to 300,000 in 1997 and is currently on a (IGNOU) is the largest distance education provider 44% annual growth rate. There is also a tremen- in the region. IGNOU has offered courses in in- dous expectation in the region for the use of formation technology since 1997; however, the re- personal computers and the Internet in children’s sults are yet to be tested in the employment market. education. This has already resulted in a large NIIT Limited, an Indian multinational education market for CD-ROM–based products. company, is the largest private education provider in Use of computers in schools is relatively less the region, accounting for over 150,000 graduates developed. While most schools in the region have each year through about 1,000 “outlets,” which are computers, few are using them effectively for franchise centres all over the region. Most of the general education. Most are used for computer graduates are employed by the local industry. education alone, mainly because teachers are not In spite of these large numbers, there continues aware of the potential uses. Teacher training in to be a shortage of trained people in the region this area is an imperative for this region. due to rapid growth in the use of computers, both in the government and the private sectors. Internet Accessibility USE OF COMPUTERS The ability to access the Internet is one of the most Use of computers by the private sector is wide- important factors in the development of virtual spread in the region, with the possible exception institutions. In many forums held on the subject in of Pakistan, where the data is not reliable. the Indian subcontinent, I have found people ques- Computer use in the government sector is very tioning the utility of virtual institutional schemes low at this time, but likely to increase rapidly all that rely on the Internet. The argument posed over the region for two reasons. First, there is in- is that there are too few people in the region creasing demand for information from all sectors who have access. In my opinion, this argument and, possibly, an increased awareness of the ben- is not a good one for deciding on whether or efits of having automated information systems. not to start activities in this area. Resources have Home use of computers is relatively low, but seldom affected the spread of a medium in is already on and exponential growth path all over this region. For example, India produces the the region. The single most important reason for largest number of films in the world. While it this is the Internet. In India, the number of per- may be argued that in a country that is known sonal computers has gone up from 90,000 in for extreme poverty, people would rather

Virtual Institutions in the Indian Subcontinent 127 spend money on food than on films, in reality Figure 8.1 this is not the case. Films are watched in every corner of India by millions of people irrespec- Top 10 Cable Subscribers by Country tive of their social or economic status. In fact, (1995) one might argue that the virtual world offered

by films is sometimes the only relief that the poor 60.0 have from a harsh and often unbearable reality. While telephone connections in India grew 50.0 from zero to 4 million in 40 years (1950 to 1990), 40.0 cable TV connections grew from zero to 16 million in just 6 years (1990 to1996). (See Table 30.0 8.2. and Figures 8.1 and 8.2.) I believe the growth 20.0

is due to the value perceived in entertainment over millions of subscriptions other “essential” items. In a study conducted by 10.0 the Department of Electronics, Government of 0.0

India, some years ago, it was found that many U.S. India China Japan Taiwan Canada

rural areas ranked a colour TV set as more es- Belgium Germany Argentina

sential than clean drinking water. Netherlands Most lay users perceive the Internet as a source of information and entertainment. The cost of acquiring a PC and an Internet connection at home Figure 8.2 is about Rs. 70,000 (US$1,600). In addition there is a recurring cost of the phone bill of about Rs. Top 10 TV Owners by Country (1995) 10,000 (US$135) every year. In a country where the average annual income is about Rs. 6,000, these 300

amounts are not small. The fact that the home 250 PC market is growing at 44% seems to indicate again that the economics of entertainment in the 200

region are not clearly related to incomes. 150

100 Table 8.2 millions of TV sets 50 Media Estimated in India (1998) 0.0 U.S. (All figures in millions) Italy U.K. India Brazil China Japan Russia France Year Telephones Cable TV PCs Internet Germany 1950 0.01 0 0 0 1960 0.25 0 0 0 1970 1 0 0 0 SERVICE PROVIDERS 1980 2 0 0.01 0 Internet access is provided in the region by vari- 1990 4 0.01 0.25 0.001 ous government and private agencies. Sri Lanka 1995 6 16 1 0.01 2000 10 30 10 10 has the largest number of agencies with ten, while India had only one until very recently.

128 Virtual Institutions in the Indian Subcontinent Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL), a cities. However, medium and small city users government organisation in India, is the largest continue to face the problem of disconnection Internet service provider (ISP) at this time. Until every few minutes. This could become one of recently, providing Internet access was a govern- the biggest reasons for the Internet not being ment monopoly in India. However, private ISPs widely used in the region. are now allowed and a large number of organi- The second most common complaint is that sations have expressed their intention to provide of low bandwidth availability. Most ISPs attempt Internet access. Among these are several cellular to distribute too little bandwidth to too many us- telephone companies, cellular telephony having ers. However, with the ISP business opening to been privatised by the Indian government. At the competition, this problem is likely to solve itself. moment, two private agencies (Satyam and Bharati Telecom) have started ISP operations as INTERNET IN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS well as MTNL ( Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Most universities and colleges in India and Paki- Limited), the largest government telecom com- stan have access to the Internet. However such pany in the country. access is not regulated well and I have not come Bangladesh has good quality Internet access in across any organisation with a clearly stated policy Dhaka, both from government and private sources. regarding the use of the Internet. In the other coun- The largest is a service launched recently by Beximco, tries of the region, not all higher education bodies the largest business group in Bangladesh. have access to the Internet although all of them, Pakistan and Nepal have both government invariably, express a desire to use it effectively. and private ISPs while in Bhutan the government Most affluent schools in the region have ac- is the only provider at this time. cess to the Internet and children use these con- nections often. Once again, however, there is no BANDWIDTH AND TELEPHONY ISSUES common policy and a great deal of concern is Public Internet usage began to grow in the re- often expressed by teachers and parents regard- gion around 1994; before then its use was re- ing the possible adverse effects of the Internet stricted to research organisations. Most lay users on children. in the region are not satisfied with the service Children in large cities with access to the they receive (based on a short e-mail survey I Internet and with some encouragement from the conducted). The most frequent complaint is that school routinely outperform their teachers and of sudden disconnection of the telephone con- other adults in their knowledge and skills in in- nection to the ISP (due to the poor quality of formation technology. In a recent contest organ- lines in most cities). In most cases the problem ised by Intel Corp. in New Delhi, over 300 chil- could be called the “last 100 metre problem.” dren participated in building Internet-based ap- Connections from the telephone pole to the plications. Their choice of and familiarity with home are usually ad hoc in most cities, resulting cutting edge technology (e.g., Java, Visual Basic, in high noise in the connection, often mistaken ActiveX, ASP, DHTML, 3D studio, digital au- by modems as a line drop and followed by dis- dio, video, etc.) showed clearly that “high tech” connection. is no longer the domain of professionals alone. Increased data traffic due to the Internet has Such children are also expert hackers. Some raised the awareness of this issue in the last few governments in the region have noted this and years and the situation has improved in most large are in the process of setting up their “X-Force,”

Virtual Institutions in the Indian Subcontinent 129 a loose collection of children on the Internet for the local media, describing the event as anything purposes of “information warfare.” from cultural invasion to subversion. However, Several network security violations have also there was tremendous public response to the been reported from the region, which was the “foreign” media and a large, unorganised sector birthplace of the computer virus (Pakistan, late developed to provide the technology (i.e., dish 1970s). antennae, receivers, and amplifiers). The govern- ment TV channels rapidly started to lose Media viewership. This sudden competition forced the government channels to modernise and improve The use of media in the region has always been their content. powerful, popular, and effective. At the same It is interesting to note that cable TV in the time, literacy levels continue to be among the low- region is no longer considered a social evil, par- est in the world at around 50%. As a result, mul- ticularly in India. Instead of a “foreign” culture timedia holds great promise for educational and invading India, the large viewership and substan- information applications in the region. tial advertisement revenues from India changed NEWSPAPERS the content of the cable channels. All satellite broadcasts have Hindi content and Star TV, MTV, Every country in the region has powerful news- and VTV have converted themselves into almost papers that have affected politics and society in exclusively Indian channels. Western channels such significant ways. Newspapers in English and 17 as BBC and CNN have also increased their In- other languages are read by about 400 million dian content substantially. people in the region, according to circulation es- Cable TV is one of the most popular forms timates from the major dailies. All major English of entertainment in the region today. In addition newspapers are now published on the Internet to the entertainment content, they broadcast high- in addition to their paper editions. These news- quality educational programmes on BBC Hori- papers are also great users of technology, from zon, CNN’s Computer Connection, and the Dis- networking and digital graphics, to direct-to- covery Channel. plate, high-speed offset presses. While cable TV is freely available in all other TELEVISION countries of the region, it is banned in Bhutan. It is interesting to note that, at the same time, the There were about 50 million TV sets in use in Internet is available from Bhutan and there is India in 1995. The number is now estimated at considerable interest in its education potential. about 70 million. Broadcasting rights are strictly controlled and the local governments control all RADIO the major broadcasters in the region. Radio has been the strongest rural medium in The largest viewing audience is in India, esti- the region since the 1970s. The technology is en- mated at around 300 million people. tirely internalised, and inexpensive hardware and CABLE TELEVISION maintenance is available in the most remote and underprivileged areas. The Star TV network included this region in its All governments in the region ban private footprint in the late 1980s, giving rise to the ca- broadcast; the medium is used mostly for enter- ble TV industry in the subcontinent. There was tainment and propaganda. However, some educa- an immediate uproar from the government and tional content is available for agriculture and health.

130 Virtual Institutions in the Indian Subcontinent There is great scope for improvement of ra- supplement the instructional process but are dio programming in the region. The introduc- not compulsory for completion of any cycle. tion of FM and digital radio would also help in · Governmental environments are those where future educational endeavour. physical services related to government ac- tivity are either enhanced or replaced by vir- THE INTERNET tual models. As with other new media, there is governmental It is difficult to obtain complete information ignorance about the Internet. This has led to a on these environments in the region. What fol- view that the Internet, too, represents cultural in- lows are examples of each kind of activity and vasion, particularly from the United States. How- any other information I was able to gather. ever, public demand is growing rapidly and, given the population size of the region, it is certain that COMPLETE ENVIRONMENTS electronic commerce will thrive. This will, in turn, The only complete environment I could find in affect the medium. the region is a virtual institution from NIIT, called In India, as in the case of cable TV, it will once the NetVarsity (www.niitnetvarsity.com). I originally again be a question not of what the Internet will do conceived and built NetVarsity in 1996 and it went to India, but of what India will do to the Internet. online on July 15 of that year. The NetVarsity consists of a server in the NIIT office in Atlanta, Virtual Institutions U.S.A. connected to a service provider through Virtual institutions in the region can be viewed in a T1 link. It was decided to locate the server in different ways, and for the purposes of this re- the U.S. because it is less expensive than in India. port I have classified them into four categories Moreover, the reliability of the Internet link is or environments: complete, complementary, sup- much higher. The server has operated with al- plementary, and governmental. most no down time during this period. It is based · Complete environments are those that include a on Windows NT and Microsoft Back Office complete cycle of instruction from registra- technology. The server and its contents are con- tion of students and education delivery, trolled from New Delhi, India by a team of through to evaluation and certification. In seven people who constitute the staff of the vir- effect, the student or user (in the case of a tual organisation. service other than education) never needs to The NetVarsity offers a complete environ- interact with any entity, human or otherwise, ment in the sense in which this is defined above. through any medium other than that of the After its creation, we had decided to use an “at- virtual institution. omised” instructional design consisting of · Complementary environments are those that in- “skillettes” (“Multimedia Design for the Internet,” clude one or more virtual components in a Sugata Mitra, presented at the Parallel Conven- th physical institutional model. The virtual com- tion, 13 Commonwealth Conference of Edu- ponents complement the operation of the cation Ministers, Gaborone, Botswana, 1997). institution and are necessary for a student to The NetVarsity offers short courses or just complete an instructional cycle. stand alone “skillettes” for a price ranging from US$5 to US$25. This resulted in about 10,000 · Supplementary environments are those that in- hits per month during its first year. Total revenue clude one or more virtual components in a to date is about US$7,000 every year. Since this is physical institution. The virtual components

Virtual Institutions in the Indian Subcontinent 131 not sufficient to maintain the environment, sev- Instructional material is mainly the same as eral modifications were made. that used for IGNOU’s traditional correspond- The first modification consisted of a link to ence courses. However, Professor M. M. Pant, the NIIT Intranet, enabling faculty from NIIT who is spearheading the virtual institution move- to interact with each other through a technology ment at the university, has begun to experiment forum. This connectivity between 800 teachers with courses designed for the Web. Some ex- spread throughout India has resulted in tremen- periments with online examination have also been dous synergy and improvement in quality. conducted. The courses were started in mid-1997 The second modification consisted of a pro- and at present there are 2,200 students registered. viding access to NIIT students for supplement- IGNOU is likely to start a large project on vir- ing their classroom education through a site called tual institution building in the near future, which Tech Edge. This site provides information, state- will be funded by the Department of Electron- of-the-art courses, and a query handling service. ics, Government of India. Currently, 40,000 students use the site. Another interesting feature of the SOCIS The third modification to the NetVarsity was experiment is that the entire study materials are the introduction of Microsoft certification courses. given to students on CD-ROM at the time of These courses are in high demand all over the registration. In effect, the courses are, therefore, world as they have a de facto recognition, being free of cost. authenticated by Microsoft. In the last eight Other schools at the IGNOU have also set months since this was announced (April 1998), up home pages. However, these provide merely the NetVarsity has earned over US$100,000 from a convenient way to look at their course offer- this activity and over 100 people have qualified ings. Registrations are not permitted online, from the virtual environment. mainly due to government restrictions on elec- In summary, NetVarsity is a virtual institution tronic commerce in Indian currency. However, of seven people operating from New Delhi, with it is expected that the use of Indian currency a Web server in the U.S. and networking around credit cards on the Internet will be permitted 50,000 learners and teachers together in a com- sometime in 1999, which is likely to have a great mercially viable manner. It is definitely a model impact on virtual education in the region. worth watching further. SUPPLEMENTARY ENVIRONMENTS COMPLEMENTARY ENVIRONMENTS A large amount of educational material is made The only good example of a complementary available on the Internet by educational institu- environment in the region is the India Gandhi tions from India. For the other countries of the National Open University (IGNOU). The School region, as well as for most organisations in India, of Computer and Information Sciences (SOCIS) all that is available are addresses and details of of IGNOU was the first government organisa- courses. This has little practical utility and is likely tion in the region to set up a virtual school done mainly because of the impression that it is (www.ignou.edu). It is possible to register for sev- “modern” to have a Web site. eral courses ranging from short-term diploma It is important to note that while some repre- courses to bachelor’s degree courses through the sentation from universities of the region can be Web site. Lessons can be downloaded and inter- found on the Web, there is almost no representa- action is mainly through e-mail. tion from schools. Some of the affluent private

132 Virtual Institutions in the Indian Subcontinent schools of the region have Web sites, generally · Export revenues from the export intellec- created by children. Interest from school princi- tual property to be tax free. pals and teachers is not lacking, but there is a It is obvious from this list that even a partial great lack of awareness of where and how things implementation of the above will cause major should be done. educational and social change in the region.

GOVERNMENTAL ENVIRONMENTS The use of the Internet for government work is Online Activity a topic receiving attention at the highest levels in In spite of the difficulties in accessing the Internet all countries of the region, but details were only from most countries of the region, there is in- available for India. tense online activity. There are about 200,000 reg- The government machinery in India seems to istered Internet users in the region, most of them be close to a breaking point due to bureaucratic from India. It is estimated that each registered procedures and corruption. The need for a fast, account is used by an average of three people. transparent, and efficient system is now close to In addition, many people access the Internet from being a survival criterion for the ruling govern- offices and public access services. ment. As a result, the past few months have seen It is safe to estimate that about one million the formation of several high-level groups, fre- people access the Internet from this region. Moreo- quently headed by the prime minister. These ver a large number of people work in Europe groups have come up with recommendations that and the United States, and it is estimated that over involve major changes in most systems from ad- a million people of Indian subcontinental origin ministration to the judiciary and the information access the Internet from outside the region. infrastructure. Most of the recommendations are The activity generated by these two million available at www.nic.in and are not directly relevant users can be divided into the following catego- to this report. However, the recommendations ries: Web pages, e-mail, newsgroups and com- concerning the information industry and educa- munities, and IRC channels. tion are likely to have an impact on the forma- tion of virtual institutions in the region. Some of WEB PAGES the policies recommended are as follows: Most users, as well as organisations, have Web · All government departments to have active pages that they create on free servers. Almost all Web sites for information and form filling educational institutions in India have Web pages, applications. although this is not true of the other countries of the region, where only the major universities · Internet commerce to be allowed. seem to have Web pages. · A “citizen interface” (multimedia Internet Most of these Web pages are purely factual kiosks for public access) to be deployed. and are reproductions of the standard informa- · Education in English to be emphasised. tion booklet of the organisation. They are sel- · Hardware imports to be duty free from dom updated. 2004. E-MAIL · Private universities to be allowed. Messaging is the most popular application on the · Software exports to continue to be tax free. Web. Most users are subscribers of free services such as www.hotmail.com and others.

Virtual Institutions in the Indian Subcontinent 133 NEWSGROUPS AND COMMUNITIES place for this to happen. In Table 8.3, I have tried There are many newsgroups catering to the peo- to map these requirements in a matrix. The ma- ple of this region and their interests. Of late, a trix distributes each activity into different catego- number of communities have started to exchange ries depending on the need and feasibility of that mail and multimedia. A good example can be activity or development. found at www.bengali.org, a community for the people of eastern India and Bangladesh. Conclusion The Internet will make significant impact on the IRC CHANNELS region over the next few years, and virtual insti- I have not been able to locate an IRC channel tutions will play a major role. From schools and devoted to this region alone. This is perhaps be- universities to government organisations and the cause most users are relatively unaware of chan- corporate sector, all entities will have to change nels and how to use them. Moreover, low band- their way of thinking about transactions. Organi- width connections are not of much use in IRCs. sations with a large physical presence and small Web presence will have to change to large virtual Future Requirements organisations with a small physical presence. While it is clear that there will be a great deal of That will be the essence of the information activity in the region in the area of virtual institu- society to come. tions, a number of developments have to take

Table 8.3

Present and Future Requirements in Virtual Institutions

Articulated need Unarticulated need Unfelt need (Existing market) (New market) (Unknown market) Product exists Correspondence education Net meetings Net commerce Government information Chat E-mail IRC Video on demand Telephony

Product can be developed Non-English applications Virtual universities Rural applications Kiosks and public interfaces School networks Video-conferencing

Product could be invented Wireless, self-powered kiosks Web-based monitoring, Information warfare robotics and diagnosis and security systems

134 Virtual Institutions in the Indian Subcontinent Virtual Institutions in East and Southeast Asia

9 DR. MICHAEL ROBERTSHAW

Introduction of the ability of their students to participate in the use of a new technology before investing Information for this report has been obtained resources into introducing it into its delivery and principally from institutional Web sites following support systems. a Web search and from information provided by Although the proportion within the region individuals who have responded to e-mail requests participating in the Internet revolution is com- for information. The results presented here can- paratively small, the rate of growth is rapid. The not be considered as exhaustive or totally repre- number of Internet users is expected to double sentative, as there were major obstacles in trying by 2002, a faster rate than in the West (although to communicate with potential sources of infor- the recent downturn in regional economies may mation in a number of countries. not have been factored into these predictions). If a critical mass of users is required for insti- Cyber-populations tutions to decide to begin using the Internet for Of the 150 million people currently connected teaching, then we are likely to see projects starting to the Internet worldwide, even the most opti- mistic estimates show that only a small propor- Table 9.1 tion (16%) reside in the countries covered in this Internet Users in Asia report. Of these almost 60% of all “cybernauts” live in Japan! Table 9.1 shows the estimated Hong Kong 850,000 number of Internet users as of February 1999. Indonesia 80,000 (Some countries did not even merit an entry.) China 1,500,000 Japan 14,000,000 Given the relatively low numbers, it is not Malaysia 600,000 surprising that the level of activity in the use of Philippines 320,000 the Internet in education is very low in most coun- Singapore 500,000 tries in the region. As would be expected, the South Korea 3,100,000 level of activity reflects very closely the propor- Taiwan 2,800,000 tion of users in a country. For example, Singa- Thailand 131,000 Vietnam 6,000 pore and Hong Kong are much more active than

China. Institutions clearly need to take account Source: www.nua.ie/surveys/how_many_online/index.html

Virtual Institutions in East and Southeast Asia 135 up to test its use in education in the next couple radical changes and fees from international stu- of years. Certainly most of the virtual institutions dents represent a very attractive funding source. covered in this report are in their early stages of For any institution developing an Internet- development or are part of large projects to in- based education system for its own students, there vestigate the use of this medium. There are no are relatively few obstacles to extending the as- well-established virtual universities. sociated services internationally. The numbers participating do not necessarily have to be large, Cyber-languages but the cumulative competition from the many institutions entering the field is likely to create a A second limitation in the use of the Internet in major challenge to the region’s institutions deliv- education is the availability of the software to ering off-campus education. handle the use of local languages in what is prin- The region has a long history of sending large cipally an English-language medium. This prob- numbers of students away for education at all lem appears to have been solved in a few coun- levels, and in spite of the growth in national pride tries only (e.g., Japan and Korea), and it will be in local institutions, many people still consider a interesting to see how other countries address it. foreign education in the West better than a local The Chinese-speaking communities, for exam- one. The entrance of prestigious institutions into ple, are faced with the difficulty of standardising the distance education market through the the character set for Internet activity, and the Peo- Internet is likely to prove serious for the regional ple’s Republic of China is standardising on a dif- development of Internet-based education. Part ferent system than Hong Kong and Taiwan. of the incentive for some institutions to start us- It is possible that the extension of Unicode ing the Internet must be to ensure that they can to the Internet through HTML 4 may reduce the compete against such intruders. Indeed the ease problems faced by countries without the re- by which any individual with Internet access can sources to develop Internet interfaces themselves. subscribe to a foreign, Internet-based course may Unicode’s use of 16 bits for character representa- remove the potential market in some countries tion provides plenty of specialised fonts for us- before local institutions even start, which may ers to develop language-specific applications dampen or even remove motivation to develop without the need for specialised software. virtual education. There is pressure on all organisations to par- Competition ticipate in the use of the latest technology. Cer- In those countries where the Internet infrastruc- tainly the region is not immune from the unseemly ture is reasonably well developed, pressure is in- race to use new technology simply because it is creasing on local institutions to participate in the seen as “sexy.” use of the Internet in education through the growing number of foreign institutions offering Regional Efforts “virtual” courses. The absence of national The Southeast Asian Ministers of Education boundaries in cyberspace removes many of the Organization (SEAMEO) is composed of nine barriers to international education and provides member countries (Brunei Darussalam, Cambo- means by which local education ordinances can dia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Philippines, be bypassed. The Internet opens up potentially Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam). While the lucrative markets to institutions from developed organisation has a large number of specialist countries where education funding has undergone

136 Virtual Institutions in East and Southeast Asia groups, none is currently working towards an project to offer over 100 of its courses over the integrated approach to the use of the Internet at Internet (www.ouhk.edu.hk/~oliwww/whatnew/ any level. webe.html). The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) started planning a virtual university in JAPAN 1997, although no concrete action appears to have Japan’s work on the use of the Internet in educa- taken place yet. tion seems surprisingly minimal given the reported number of Internet users. The language makes it Progress by Country difficult to investigate through Web searches what is actually happening. Individual responses sug- gest that while the community is enthusiastic in CHINA accepting the technology, the Internet is not yet China and Taiwan have been particularly frus- seen as an important teaching tool. trating to research for the purposes of this re- For example, in the Ministry of Education port. Even where an institution was identified as there are passing references to increasing the ac- a potential user of the Internet, it proved diffi- cess to the Internet in schools, colleges, and uni- cult to get details or to read information pro- versities, but there is no direct reference to its use vided on the Web due to the different fonts used as a delivery channel. The emphasis at the tertiary for Chinese characters and the language barrier. level appears to be expanding the satellite range In spite of the presence of Hong Kong on for the University of the Air, although there is CERNET—the main Internet backbone for little information available on this in English. universities in China—transfer of data was ex- ceedingly slow, often resulting in the system tim- KOREA ing out. The only positive information available Please refer to Appendix 9.1, prepared by Insung is news of a joint European/Tianjin University Jung of the Korea National Open University, for of Technology project to offer nine courses over information on Korea. Of all of the larger coun- the Web; however, work is not expected to start tries in this region, south Korea appears to have in earnest until the summer of 1999. the most developed national strategy for all lev- The Shanghai TV University appears to be els of education. presenting four courses over the Web, including the use of sound files to assist students under- MALAYSIA stand English. (Chinese language Web site: · Universiti Tun Abdul Razak (Unitar): Unitar www.shtvu.edu.cn) was established in 1999 with the intention of providing a mix of Internet-based sup- HONG KONG port for home study and face-to-face sup- A Web search for “virtual university” in Hong port for student learning through the estab- Kong generates a lot of hits at Chinese Univer- lishment of nationwide, tech-rich study cen- sity; however, these relate to individual lecturers tres. It also intends to include overseas stu- supporting their face-to-face courses through the dents in its future plans. It is located in Internet (e.g., www.cs.cuhk.edu.hk/~kkchung/ Cyberjaya, within Malaysia’s Multimedia Su- virtual.htm). per Corridor. It offers both sub-degree and The Open University is currently preparing a degree programmes in business and ITC- pilot to test the use of WebCT in an eventual related programmes.

Virtual Institutions in East and Southeast Asia 137 Students spend the first two semesters at use of the high end of the technology due their study centre in part to be familiarised to the availability of large bandwidth through with the Intranet system. After this period, the ONE system. Examples of these insti- physical attendance is not a requirement as they tutions are given below. can access the Intranet from home. A virtual Web site: www.s-one.gov.sg library is to be established to provide support · Virtual College was launched in 1997 and is at either the centres or at home. Students are run by Singapore Polytechnic to offer online expected to participate in both academic and courses. Thirty-seven modules are currently non-academic virtual communities. offered in Engineering, Information Tech- Three hundred students started their nology, and Business with a further 24 foundation year in September 1998 with planned for the end of 1998. Students are current plans for 41,000 students to be reg- able to study the courses at their own pace istered through 12 study centres. Eligibility with the assistance of a tutor, although the to study is currently determined by strict aca- vast majority of students are full-time and demic requirements. Courseware is to be access the courses on campus. distributed on CD-ROM and then updated Recently Singapore Polytechnic has en- through the Internet. Online classes will be tered an agreement with SingTel for the use held with shared whiteboards and streamed of its Magix service to deliver its courses to audio through the institution’s Intranet. Stu- the homes of students through the Singa- dent study teams will facilitate learning pore ONE high-capacity network platform. through a variety of virtual environments. This enables access through a networked Web site: www.unitar.edu.my. home computer at 5.5 megabytes per sec- ond through a phone line! SINGAPORE Web sites: www.sp.ac.sg/department/vc/ · Singapore ONE is a central resource for Sin- modules.htm and http://164.78.252.19/ gapore’s co-ordinated approach to incorpo- s1start.html rating new communication technologies into education. ONE is a nationwide broadband · Informatics1 provides students from Singapore network that will deliver a new level of in- and Hong Kong with access to programmes teractive, multimedia applications and serv- from a number of educational institutions ices to everyone in Singapore. Resources for in the United Kingdom. Study is self-paced all ages involved in education are provided through virtual classrooms. It provides a through its service. Sites involved are from good example of the type of educational government educational institutions and pri- invasion occurring through the Internet. vate companies offering education courses. Web site: www.informatics1.edu.sg It appears that Singapore is keen to allow · Intra-tech Education specialises in providing market forces to determine the extent of education to children. Primarily the site con- Internet-based teaching. tains Javascripts teaching users how to cor- A number of institutions offer their online rectly form Chinese characters as well as offerings through ONE. Potential practition- speak Mandarin. ers of Internet education will find it useful Web site: http://203.116.95.67 to view these sites, as generally they make

138 Virtual Institutions in East and Southeast Asia · Sky Media offers “Skytutor,” revision sites for students to access library resources. Two exam- O-level Physics and Chemistry using sound ples are described below, but it is not clear from and synchronised images either how the virtual library will form part of http://203.116.81.7 the integrated virtual institution. Given the prob- lem of copyright for electronic versions of text- THAILAND books, it seems unlikely that the virtual library will provide students with the type and extent of · Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University access offered in face-to-face institutions. This (STOU) is the biggest distance education challenge suggests that virtual libraries need to provider in Thailand, but it does not appear develop their identities as completely different to have any current courses offered through types of resource centres. the Internet or any plans to do so. · The Asian Institute of Technology is offering four OPEN UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG courses using streaming video. Open University of Hong Kong is expected to Web site: www.ait.ac.th be a prime example for the region of virtual ac- · SchoolNet is a dedicated network for schools cess in libraries. The first phase of the project has to use the Internet. It was piloted in 1995 been completed and students already have ac- and was expected to have 1,500 schools cess to a wide collection of electronic databases, online by 1998. The main purpose is to en- resources, and collections as well as different types courage interaction between schools as well of supplementary course material. To date there as enhancing Internet experience among chil- has been little integration of the use of this facil- dren. Accompanying this project is Class- ity in course design or development except for room 2000 (http://ntl.nectec.or.th/classroom) research-based courses, which can direct students which provides a number of teaching re- to access the associated resources. sources over the Internet. The second phase plans to include electronic ver- sions of course textbooks for students to access. Web site: http://www.school.net.th Web site: www.lib.ouhk.edu.hk Virtual Libraries TSINGHUA UNIVERSITY, CHINA Tsinghua University is in its early stages and it is While institutions may be slow in developing simply an attempt to provide students with a di- teaching through the Internet, it appears that li- rectory of resources available on the Internet brarians in the region have accepted the challenge together with access to CD-ROM databases. of using the Internet as a means of allowing Web site: www.lib.tsinghua.edu.cn/english

Virtual Institutions in East and Southeast Asia 139 Appendix 9.1

The Development of Virtual Institutions in Korea

INSUNG JUNG (KOREA NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY)

The Context It has been noted that for K-12 schools, inte- grating multimedia materials into the conventional The Ministry of Education in Korea has set up classes and increasing two-way interactions are a six-year (1997–2002) strategic plan for estab- important goals for virtual education pro- lishing infrastructure and encouraging the use grammes, whereas for the higher education in- of information and communication technol- stitutions, increasing student access and making ogy (ICT) in education. Under this plan, sev- courses available at convenient locations and time eral projects have been initiated with govern- are rated as very important. ment funds. These include equipping all class- The dramatic progress in the field of ICT rooms in schools with a multimedia network has influenced the method of training in the busi- system, providing two computer labs for each ness sector. The development of advanced tel- school and a computer for each teacher, com- ecommunications has led to a paradigm shift in puterising students’ profiles and records, de- education and training in enterprises. Many vir- veloping educational software and a database, tual training courses have been created to allow and implementing virtual education. To meet employees to overcome the difficulties of geo- the goal of the last item, implementing virtual graphical distance and limited training time and education in primary and secondary schools, the to receive “just-in-time” and “on-demand” Korea Multimedia Education Center was es- courses in more flexible modes. tablished in April 1997. It is believed that, in the coming years, Korea To explore ways of integrating a network- will see tremendous growth in the number of based virtual education system into the existing schools, colleges, universities, and training insti- higher education system and identifying appro- tutions that offer virtual education and use infor- priate legislative policies, the Ministry of Educa- mation and communication technologies for their tion initiated the virtual university trial project early education and training. in 1998. This trial project led to more than 40% of higher education institutions in Korea offer- ing distance education courses using the Internet, Virtual Education in Primary CD-ROM, CATV, or video-conferencing sys- and Secondary Schools tems by the fall of 1998. The courses offered Distance learning in K-12 education received leg- from about half of the institutions were designed islative backing in 1997 when the Ministry of Edu- primarily for undergraduate students. Adults and cation enforced the law permitting distance edu- professionals were targeted by less than a quar- cation as a formal method of teaching and learn- ter of the institutions. ing in schools.

140 Virtual Institutions in East and Southeast Asia EDUCATIONAL BROADCASTING SYSTEM schooling by teachers in conventional high The Educational Broadcasting System (EBS) was schools. set up in 1990 as the affiliated organisation of As the computer network became available the Korean Education Development Institute to its students, KACHS adopted the PC network (KEDI) to support school education by provid- and Internet as supplementary media to deliver ing educational TV and FM radio programmes some of its courses such as English, Mathemat- primarily to students in K-12. The government ics, and Sciences. subsidises 50% of the budget for EBS. Web site (Korean language): www.kedi.re.kr The EBS programmes are on the air by TV DISTANCE EDUCATION PROJECT AT for eight and a half hours every day and by FM radio for twenty hours a day. More than 50% of PRIMARY SCHOOLS the programmes concern school curriculum, and In 1995, the Ministry of Education and the Minis- K-12 schools are using them to supplement their try of Information and Communication funded classes and provide virtual learning experiences a distance education project that used a two-way to the students. Foreign language conversation, video-conferencing system with a T1 communi- , , cation line. The video-conferencing system con- culture, music, and art programmes are all used nected one large primary school and four small in the schools, and other general distance educa- schools in a mountainous province. Using the tion programmes for children, youth, teachers, video-conferencing system, the students in the four parents, and the public are also offered. small schools where qualified teachers in specific In 1997, EBS began to provide distance edu- subjects were not available could receive the les- cation programmes in a more systematic form sons provided by the teachers in the large school. via satellite for high school students. These pro- KOREA MULTIMEDIA EDUCATION grammes are used during class hours and also by the individual students at home. Recently, EBS CENTER AND INTERNET MODEL began to operate the Internet TV station and SCHOOL PROJECT provide these distance education programmes in The Korea Multimedia Education Center was a digitised format. established in 1997 to provide a full service Web Web site (Korean language): www.kedi.re.kr site called EduNet. The EduNet is an integrated Web service that distributes educational Web KOREA AIR AND CORRESPONDENCE materials and services to students, teachers, edu- HIGH SCHOOL cational administrators, and parents. It is also The Korea Air and Correspondence High School designed to provide virtual learning programmes (KACHS) was founded in 1974 as the affiliated through a computer network. For students, the organisation of the Korean Education Devel- EduNet provides learning materials, self-study opment Institute (KEDI). It aims to provide packages, self-evaluation tools, and other coun- opportunities for high school education through selling services. For teachers, the EduNet pro- distance teaching methods to those who, for vari- vides teaching materials, articles, legislative infor- ous reasons, could not receive or continue their mation, and virtual in-service teacher training high school education. KACHS mainly operates programmes. For parents, the EduNet provides a method of distance education using EBS TV information about their children, counselling serv- and radio, printed materials, and face-to-face ices, and parents’ education programmes.

Virtual Institutions in East and Southeast Asia 141 The Korea Multimedia Education Center ini- Weekly News. KNOU has also developed CD- tiated the Internet Model School project, which ROM titles and Internet courseware for some emphasised use of the EduNet services for teach- degree subjects. ing and learning in K-12 schools. The Internet In 1995, with funds from the Ministry of In- Model Schools are encouraged to use Web mate- formation and Communication, KNOU launched rials for their teaching and learning and promot- a project to research the use of the Internet. As a ing two-way interactions between teachers and result, an interactive video-conferencing network learners or among learners. In 1998, more than 80 was introduced for educational programmes in schools were involved in distance learning projects the geographically scattered regional and local study using the Internet and the EduNet services. centres. Using this network, the project connected Web site (Korean language): http://edunet.kmec.net 14 centres; introduced interactive tutorial sessions; held various meetings among university members Virtual Education in Colleges in different places; encouraged open discussions among students, faculty members, and general citi- and Universities zens; and created non-degree programmes such as teacher training. This video-conferencing sys- KOREA NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY tem uses a commercial T1 line for transmission. The Korea National Open University (KNOU) In February 1998, KNOU decided to par- was founded in 1972 as the only distance teaching ticipate in the Virtual University Trial Project ini- university in Korea. KNOU has maintained the tiated by the Ministry of Education and joined a mission of serving the advanced educational needs consortium, the Korea Virtual University Con- of adults and awarding degrees at the bachelor’s sortium (KVU), consisting of eight conventional level. The official purpose of KNOU is to raise universities and KNOU. The members collabo- the people’s overall educational level by providing rate in designing Web-based virtual courses and opportunities for higher education to those high in delivering those courses to their students who school graduates who, for various reasons, could wish to study at a distance. not receive or continue their university education; The KVU consortium provided 41 Web- to improve the academic and professional profi- based virtual courses in the spring of 1998 and ciency of people who are already engaged in pro- 39 more in the fall. To ensure the courses were fessions; and to make major contributions to the of the highest quality, a virtual administration welfare of the nation and to society as a whole. office and quality assurance system was estab- KNOU offers 18 major areas of study. lished. In 1999, the KVU consortium will de- Teaching and learning is conducted through the velop several lifelong, non-degree virtual educa- various media of cable TV, radio, audio and video tion programmes for adults who are not the stu- cassettes, video-conferencing, Internet and other dents of the member universities. computer network, and face-to-face schooling Web site: www.knou.ac.kr and tutoring. Since 1992, KNOU has provided database KOREA POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY services to its students through a nationwide com- Korea Polytechnic University was founded in puter network system. Using the database serv- December 1997 with funds from the Ministry ices, the students can obtain supplementary learn- of Industry and Energy. Its purpose is to train ing materials for each course, updated news of technologists working in the practical fields and their department, and information in KNOU to provide continuing education for craftsmen

142 Virtual Institutions in East and Southeast Asia and technicians through distance education along · Sogang University: http://multinet.sogang.ac.kr. with field-experience and face-to-face education. · Gyungsang University: http://vu.gsnu.ac.kr The university has established the Center for (Korean language). Distance Technology Education and Training to · Chnungnam National University: http:// develop various models for distance technology business.chungnam.ac.kr. education and to develop virtual courses in the fields of technology education. · Hankuk University of Foreign Studies: Pro- In 1999, the Korea Polytechnic University will vides foreign language courses using the establish several regional study centres and a net- Internet and synchronous technologies work system linking the headquarters to the centres. (www.hufs.ac.kr/cyber). · Sookmyung Women’s University: Provides VIRTUAL UNIVERSITY TRIAL PROJECT retraining courses for professionals such as In February 1998, eight conventional universities pharmacists and TESOL experts (http:// and seven consortia of universities and private snow.sookmyung.ac.kr). companies joined together to take part in the · Seoul National University: Provides Virtual University Trial Project initiated by the Internet courses for students and lifelong Korean government. This project aims to explore learning programmes for the public (http:/ ways of setting up a high-quality, cost-effective /snuvc.snu.ac.kr – Korean language). virtual education system, develop and implement distance education courses, identify appropriate 2. Consortia policies and standards for running a virtual uni- · Korea Peninsular Virtual Campus: Five versity, and share experiences during the trial pe- conventional universities providing virtual riod. The project will last until February 2000, ICT programmes for adults (www.inje.ac.kr— and during this period, the Ministry of Educa- Korean language). tion will enforce the revised higher education law, · Korea Virtual University Consortium: Pro- accepting a private virtual university as a formal vides virtual courses for students of its nine higher education system. It is expected that after member universities and for other adults 2000, Korea will have several private distance (www.knou.ac.kr). teaching or virtual universities that will adopt ICT in delivering their courses. · Korea Online Virtual University: Provides The universities and the consortia participat- practical courses for adults registered in the ing in the virtual university trial project, and their lifelong education centres of four member URLs, are as follows: universities. · Korea Universities Virtual Education Con- 1. Conventional universities sortium: 22 universities and a newspaper · Yeungjin Community College: Provides prac- company’s consortium provide virtual tical courses to the community (www.yeungjin- courses using satellite and the Internet c.ac.kr). (www.chosun.com/class—Korean language). · Dongguk University: Has established an inter- · Bool Virtual University: Four member uni- disciplinary virtual programme under the versities providing graduate degree pro- name School of Cyber Creation (http:// grammes for teachers and public officers cyber.dongguk.ac.kr). (http://bool.tit.ac.kr—Korean language).

Virtual Institutions in East and Southeast Asia 143 · Open Cyber University: 12 universities, a The primary functions of the Center include dis- newspaper company, and an SI company, seminating electronic information, establishing Samsung Data System; provide Internet databases for professionals, providing a digital courses for students of member universities cyber library, and designing and developing vir- and lifelong programmes for the public tual courses. (www.ocu.ac.kr—Korean language). In 1998, the Center offered virtual pro- · Seoul Cyber Design University: Two uni- grammes for pharmacists, general Engligh ex- versities specialising in Art Design provid- perts, TESOL experts, and music therapists. In ing virtual courses (http://cyber.hongik.ac.kr— 1999, the Center will offer virtual programmes Korean language). for child education experts, nutrition counsellors, and virtual education specialists. After the trial OPEN CYBER UNIVERSITY (OCU) project ends, the Sookmyung Cyber Campus will Open Cyber University (OCU) university is con- be founded based on the work of this Center. sidered an excellent example of the future vir- SEOUL NATIONAL UNIVERSITY tual institution, with an efficient organising body. It was officially founded in October 1997 and VIRTUAL CAMPUS started its educational services in September 1998. The Seoul National University (SNU) is Korea’s Twelve conventional universities, a newspaper most respected traditional university. It provides company, and Samsung Data System collabo- distance education non-degree programmes to rate in managing and funding this university. The engineers who are working in companies using member conventional universities provide con- interactive video-conferencing. tent and design virtual courses, while the compa- In addition, SNU has created a virtual cam- nies provide advanced technologies and techni- pus that provides several Web-based credit cal skills needed to deliver the virtual courses and courses for its own students and those from other advertise the university. universities. Non-credit courses are also available OCU offers degree programmes for the stu- at the SNU virtual campus. Its virtual courses use dents from the member universities and non- the Web as a primary medium and face-to-face degree and certificate programmes for other tutoring by a course facilitator as a supplemen- people. Based on a well-established course man- tary method of teaching. agement system, OCU develops virtual courses that reflect learners’ needs. Web-based instruc- Virtual Teacher Training tion, real-time interactive education, non-sym- metrical satellite-based education, and off-line As computer networks became popular in the CD-ROM-based instruction are common uses early 1990s, teacher training institutions began of educational technologies. In the first quarter, using them, and eventually the Internet, as a teach- OCU had 914 students from the member uni- ing and communication tool along with conven- versities and 122 adults from outside enrolled in tional training courses. However, distance or vir- its virtual courses. tual training courses for teachers were not cred- ited by the Provincial Office of Education until SOOKMYUNG CYBER EDUCATION CENTER the Korea National Open University (KNOU) The Cyber Education Center of Sookmyung Wom- provided a distance teacher training programme en’s University, established in May 1998, is now in 1997. KNOU, with the support from the Min- offering virtual programmes for professionals. istry of Education, created a distance training

144 Virtual Institutions in East and Southeast Asia programme for primary school teachers using designing, the Samsung Network-ISD model is CATV and a two-way video-conferencing system used. To manage the Samsung Cybercampus, the in 1997. By the winter of 1998, the programme Distance Learning Support System has been used. had been delivered four times and each time, 1,600 Other enterprises have also made efforts in teachers took this virtual training course at home. virtual training. The Korea Banking Association has In the summer of 1997, the Ministry of Edu- set up a Cyber Banking School to provide virtual cation and the Ministry of Information and Com- training courses for its member institutions. The munication funded a project to create a Cyber LG group has also established a Cyber Academy Teacher Training Center within the Korea Multi- to provide Web-based virtual courses to its em- media Education Center. A software platform for ployees. The Korea Telecom and the Posco Com- managing the virtual teacher training and 11 train- pany have used the Web and desktop video- ing courses were developed as a result of the conferencing system to deliver training courses. project. With the additional six courses developed As the economic crisis continues to affect in 1998, these virtual teacher-training courses are enterprises in Korea, it is expected that more now available through the EduNet, which is an companies will adopt the method of distance integrated educational service on the Web. education for their training to reduce the training costs in the long run. Virtual Training in Enterprises ICT- based virtual training in Korean enterprises Conclusion began in 1996. The Human Resources Develop- Due to the exponential growth in ICT, many new ment Center (HRDC) in Samsung Group forms of educational media have been made formed a distance education team and began to available over the years, with the support of the provide virtual courses to their members. After Korean government. One of the most attractive establishing the HRDC Web server in 1994, the traits of these new virtual education media is that Center started developing virtual courses. In 1996, they eliminate the spatial limitations and time con- Business, English, and Marketing courses were straints of education. In other words, a person’s offered, and in 1997, 10 more courses and sev- need to be actually present at the instructional eral Web video lectures were added. In 1998, site at a designated time is eliminated. This has Samsung Cyber Campus (http://cyber.samsung.net) made education and training more affordable, was launched to provide virtual training courses flexible, and effective. in a more integrated form, and a total of 28 The evaluation report written by the Korea courses were offered. There will be 10 more Multimedia Education Center in 1998 indicated courses offered in 1999. that the educational use of ICT projects in K- Among the 28 courses, 13 are in the area of 12 schools showed positive results in spite of a basic job-related skill acquisition, 8 in advanced job- short implementation period. These results were related skill acquisition, 6 in management, and there attributed to the government’s strong will and is 1 Samsung induction programme for foreigners. financial support, school principals’ leadership, These Web-based virtual training courses are and teachers’ dedication. The problems identi- planned, designed, managed, and evaluated by fied in the evaluation report included teachers’ the distance education team within the HRDC. lack of relevant skills to use ICT effectively, in- Actual production of the courses is done by sufficient information infrastructure in schools, outside companies. In the process of planning and and difficulties in technology maintenance.

Virtual Institutions in East and Southeast Asia 145 Virtual education projects in colleges and uni- Despite the positive feedback for the virtual versities have not yet been systematically evalu- learning experiences, there are several points ated. However, several reports presented by in- worth mentioning when considering the future dividual researchers showed that virtual courses of virtual education. First, it would help to es- proved to be a more flexible form of educa- tablish a nationwide educational computer net- tion, thus gaining more satisfactory responses work system backed up by the Internet so that from the learners. Increasingly, higher education multimedia materials could be properly used in institutions are announcing the introduction of classrooms and at homes and so students and virtual degree courses for their students, non- schools in remote areas would not be excluded degree lifelong education courses for adults, and by technical limitations. Second, various educa- specific skill training courses for professionals. tional entities, both public and private, should be Virtual training programmes for profession- allowed to develop instructional materials, vir- als are expected to grow drastically. The Korea tual education and training courses, and electronic Multimedia Education Center and other teacher libraries so that learners have more opportuni- training institutions have already announced their ties to choose appropriate courses for their edu- plan to develop Web-based virtual courses for cational needs. Third, continuous training oppor- teachers in the next year. Many human resource tunities must be offered to teachers, instructors, divisions in private enterprises, suffering huge administrators, trainers, and professors. And fi- cutbacks in their budgets and numbers of work- nally, it’s crucial to establish quality management ers, have decided to incorporate distance educa- and accreditation system for virtual education. tion using the advanced technologies into their training system.

146 Virtual Institutions in East and Southeast Asia Virtual Education Institutions in Australia: Between the Idea and the Reality

10MRS. SUELLEN TAPSALL & DR. YONI RYAN

Introduction technologies have been incorporated into many individual courses and have been used for ad- Australia’s pre-eminence in the area of distance ministrative purposes in many dual-mode or education has been widely acknowledged. Given multi-campus tertiary institutions offering both our geographically dispersed population, large on- and off-campus programmes. But on the distances, relatively sophisticated technological other hand, Australia has not yet established a infrastructure, and long experience in off-cam- virtual university; it has still to realise recent plans pus delivery, it might seem axiomatic that Aus- for a virtual TAFE College (Technical and Fur- tralia would be a pioneer in using information ther Education College) in one state, Victoria; and and communication technologies (ICT) for teach- there is no evidence of any virtual primary or ing and learning across the range of sectors. secondary school activity. There is talk of much Further, Australia is the third largest national activity in the corporate sector (e.g., Qantas Col- provider of training and education in English to lege Online), but such terms at present connote international students after the U.S. and the U.K., more about management efforts to promote the with nearly 20,000 students in “twinned’ cam- notion of a learning organisation than any real puses” offshore, and a further 6,000 enrolled by structure. In all cases, the major use of ITC has distance (Campus Review, “International Review,” been in simplifying and automating administra- November 1998, p.7). This might also suggest a tive processes such as enrolment, student-status relatively high use of distance methods and tech- inquiries, and communication and management nologies. That ICT has not been heavily utilised decision-making across campuses. for overseas delivery has as much to do with a There is an acute understanding throughout decision to spread the industry dollar into the all sectors of the pressures regarding new learn- Australian community through “import educa- ing technologies, and a recognition that wide tion” as it has with the recognition of the low uptake of ICT for teaching and learning pur- opinion of distance education in Asia, Australia’s poses is a function of economic and ideological major market. imperatives at the external level and pedagogic Indeed, Australian educators have been early imperatives at the internal level. On the one hand, adopters of ICT, from the establishment of advances in technology use are occurring in a time Schools of the Air, based on radio, for isolated of decreasing public outlays on education at all primary school students in the 1930s. Multimedia

Virtual Education Institutions in Australia 147 levels, from 6% of GDP in 1977–78 to less than When OLA Australia was originally established 5% in 1998 (Campus Review, November 11–17, in 1993, its function was purely brokerage. It was 1998, p. 8). On the other hand, the agenda of the intended as the only open institution in the country federal government department responsible for without entry qualifications and was a response to funding higher education is clearly to promote unmet demand resulting from quotas for univer- the new technologies. sity education. Since then there has been a large ex- pansion in the university intake, and OLA’s costs Defining the Beast and unwieldy arrangements with its provider uni- versities have caused enrolments to plummet. Hence One of the difficulties associated with such an it has planned to begin commissioning its own sub- investigation is the confusion of terminology that jects and courses, and holds high hopes for an online has developed at almost the same pace as the M.B.A. for the overseas market. However, its fu- technology. It is not uncommon for terms such ture is uncertain. There is apparently limited interest as virtual and online to be used interchangeably in this sort of operation, and would-be students at by individuals to describe different approaches present seem to prefer the “brand names” of es- to technology integration. In our book New Me- tablished educational institutions. OLA has also been dia and Borderless Education (see References), we troubled in 1998 by resignations and retrenchments described the virtual university as primarily hav- of key staff and revelations of deep divisions both ing two forms: one existing independent of a within the agency and a relationship akin to “en- physical location (although, like Open University mity” with partner universities (The Australian HES, in the U.K., it might otherwise resemble a tradi- July 1, 1998, p. 36). tional university), the second denoting an online In Australia, “flexible delivery” has increas- institution with some or all parts of the virtual ingly been used to describe content delivered in campus replicated using information technology. non-traditional face-to-face mode. Flexibly de- We later expanded that definition of virtual insti- livered units may be offered using multiple me- tutions to include organisations that broker edu- dia, including CD-ROM, Internet, video- cational services; these may take the “shopping conferencing, tele-conferencing, and audio- trolley approach” to education and training, pro- conferencing. Students may take these units on- viding a basket of goods and services drawn campus or from a distance. Australian universi- from partner institutions. ties, pushed to incorporate technology on a yet- The brokering agency has a very recent his- to-be-confirmed basis that it is a solution to some tory in Australian education. Thus far, only the sectoral problems (e.g., costs, increasing demand Open Learning Agency of Australia (OLA) has for access to education, shrinking public budg- established itself with any credibility. We define a ets), fit along a continuum with some moving broker as an entity that does not of itself de- faster and closer to a totally online presence. velop curriculum or employ teaching or support Many could be considered dual providers—those staff, but rather assembles programmes with traditional institutions that are offering both tra- materials developed by educational providers, ditional face-to-face programmes with a “bricks offers these to students in combination with other and mortar” base and also as providing virtual subjects to develop a full programme of study, educational experiences. and contracts with one or more of the provid- Various institutions, including University of ers to actually confer the qualification on successful Queensland and Griffith University, have an- completion of the individual units. nounced the opening of online campuses. Rather

148 Virtual Education Institutions in Australia than being totally online alternatives to face-to- audiographics, and two-way tele- and face teaching, these tend to be physical campuses video-conferencing) that take the institution into new geographic mar- 4. The flexible learning model (CD- kets. Griffith University’s Logan campus, for ex- ROM, Internet) ample, is heralded as an innovation in flexible These appear to align with a broader socio- delivery. It has just one large formal lecture thea- historical emergence of concerns in distance edu- tre, although the use of this for large classes has cation. That is, distance education emerged in been discouraged. The majority of communal response to the issues of distance (geographical spaces are technology-enhanced learning centres distance from a major learning centre when edu- and small group spaces. Some lectures are pro- cation was conceived primarily as a face-to-face vided from other campuses via video-confer- model) and disadvantage (lack of preparation ence and tele-conference facilities, however in a for tertiary studies or domestic responsibilities, number of disciplines these tend to be interac- preventing admission by the usual means). Open tive question-and-answer forums between con- learning models, while also providing answers tent experts and students. The development of to problems of distance, primarily focused on this campus has seen an increase in some disci- issues relating to lack of entry qualifications and plines in problem-based learning and small group “second-chance” entry, moving to meet the tutorial approaches to curriculum. needs of the disadvantaged cohort, through a Finally, no serious examination of new tech- range of alternate learning styles and subjects. nology use in education in the late 1990s could The preoccupation with flexible delivery in be complete without some mention of the ad- the late 1990s in countries like Australia is less vent of, and growth in, the “corporate univer- about distance or disadvantage, and more about sity.” These institutions are largely possible be- meeting the needs of the worker-student, pro- cause of the combination of technological con- viding “more” educational opportunities to vergence and globalisation in the commercial sec- “more” students at “less” cost. Australian insti- tor, which has necessitated the use of technolo- tutions see technologies such as the Internet and gies in training worldwide employees. CD-ROM as providing delivery of learning en- vironments to any student, anywhere, at any The Emergence of the Beast time—whether an internal or external student. J. Taylor, in Perspectives on the Educational Uses of Flexible delivery modes are being used as much Technology, analyses the historical progression of as a solution to on-campus problems as to off- distance education models by building on Soren campus access. Consequently, face-to-face, dis- Nipper’s three generations model, in a four part tance, and open learning modes of delivery are schema: converging and the boundaries between these 1. The correspondence model (print modes are blurring. based) It may be that there is a correlation between 2. The multi-modal model (highly devel- these three educational models and Taylor’s four oped structured resources including stages of distance education that could provide videotapes, audiotapes, and computer- insights into appropriate technological solutions assisted learning) for socio-educational problems. If dealing with issues primarily of distance, it may be that tradi- 3. The tele-learning model (interactive tel- tional “correspondence” methods are a viable ecommunications, instructional use of

Virtual Education Institutions in Australia 149 solution. If open access and disadvantage are an with both academic and administrative staff. issue, the multi-modal and tele-learning models However, we attempt here to give examples of present solutions. Where the distinctions between the more interesting uses in each area specified. these models are disappearing, converged deliv- ery styles (the flexible learning model) become a ADMINISTRATION more viable alternative. Table 10.1 outlines these University sector relationships graphically. All universities in Australia now utilise sophisti- cated electronic networking systems for admin- Towards “Virtuality” istrative purposes such as enrolment, student records, student administration, staff records, and It is difficult if not impossible to disaggregate fee payments. The costs and delays in introduc- the uses to which ICT has been applied in Aus- ing robust networking systems have cost some tralia. Many systems have been deliberately de- universities dearly. For example, the collapse of veloped or are in the process of development as the contract between a consortium of universi- total systems, incorporating an online informa- ties and a systems supplier, Casmac, in 1997 lost tion face with enrolment and administrative sys- the institutions concerned some $100 million, and tems, course details, some learning resources, as- has resulted in costly continuing litigation (Cam- sessment systems, and online communications pus Review, March 12–18,1997, p. 7).

Table 10.1

The relationship between educational models and the stages of distance education

Desire to “Second- Lack of Desire to teach “more” chance” Lack of entry capital Worker- broaden students with Problems Distance Disadvantage learning qualifications infrastructure students student base “less”

Solutions Distance Education

Stage 1 solutions

Open Learning

Stage 2/3 solutions

Converged

Stage 4 solutions

Stage 1 solutions: Stage 2/3 solutions: Stage 4 solutions: • Print based • Multiple media/ telelearning • Internet/multimedia • Recognition of prior • Articulation of programs learning/non-formal learning • Blurring of delivery modes • Competency testing and education sectors • Cross-credit

150 Virtual Education Institutions in Australia Over the last five years, all tertiary institutions about 10% of 1998 tertiary applications were have developed a Web presence for marketing made via the Web (The Australian HES, October and prospective student purposes. Video- 28, 1998, p.37). conferencing and tele-conferencing is common, particularly in those institutions designated in the VET sector 1980s as distance education centres. Inter-cam- State providers of vocational education and train- pus communication has been facilitated by such ing (VET) have progressively networked their telecommunications and was initially funded administrative functions to respond quickly to through special grants to the centres to encour- central directives and co-ordination, but the de- age the use of new technologies for teaching and volved management of colleges has prevented learning. However, the technologies were mainly full utilisation of these networks. All states are applied to administration, notwithstanding many moving towards a more co-ordinated and cen- pilot programmes using them for core educa- tralised networked online system for informa- tional activities. Leaders in these pilots were tion and student administration (see the section, Monash University, UNE, Charles Sturt Univer- In the Making, below). In several states, learning sity, and Curtin University. centres have been established to encourage the The primary use of ICT in Australian edu- use of multimedia, especially video-conferencing cation at all levels is administrative. Whether be- and the Internet. The Queensland Open Learn- cause of ideological demands for accountabil- ing Network, for example, has an extensive net- ity or because the technology exists to collect work of centres that, in effect rent their equip- more comprehensive data, most institutions in ment, via an annual levy, to participating institu- the education sector have highly sophisticated tions such as TAFEs and universities. administrative software systems and networks. Schools sector In 1998, many of these were not completely As one of the smallest states, and the most cen- integrated (e.g., admissions may not be net- trally governed, Victoria has emerged as the leader worked with payroll), but increasingly software in the establishment of infrastructure for its schools systems are moving to one platform, as in the sector. A $50 million project, VicOne, connects all planned Monash-SAP R/3 system, which will public schools, the Education Department, the replace almost 80 different computer systems, Board of Studies, and a range of government the heritage of numerous amalgamations with sites via a WAN. The project, among many others other institutions. in the public and private sector, is overseen by a In Australia, each state currently has a tertiary dedicated Minister for Multimedia. admissions centre that determines university and (generally) Technical and Col- MATERIALS DEVELOPMENT PRODUCTION lege selection following the state’s final school year AND DISTRIBUTION assessment. Almost all states currently operate To date, the most interesting aspect of learning interactive voice response telephone system in- material development in Australia is in the quiries for school leavers seeking admissions in- number of small private consultant firms that formation, and by the end of 1999, all plan to have been established to capitalise on the new have an active Web-based site for information technologies and their application to the educa- and applications. In Victoria, one of the most- tion sectors. Some of these have been deliber- advanced states in terms of government-driven ately set up as part of a national government information technology policies and procedures,

Virtual Education Institutions in Australia 151 scheme, the Cooperative Multimedia Centres clearinghouse meant that it attracted few depos- (CMCs) to forge private-public partnerships in its, except from the primary sector, since univer- the area of emerging technologies. A local sities almost invariably contributed their own Queensland example is QANTM. QANTM funding to resource projects, and in a competi- General Manager Shawn Ket suggests this CMC tive regime, were loathe to lose any commercial is the most focused in Australia in the area of sales through free distribution of materials. EdNA education and training, saying it has a “cradle-to- also suffered from a lack of exposure and lim- grave” training philosophy. ited funding. The centre is delivering K–12, vocational, In 1997, EdNA was reconstituted with a brief and diploma training in multimedia and new to co-ordinate and disseminate a database of all technologies, in partnership with a range of uni- learning materials produced in the three educa- versities, schools, VET organisations, and pri- tion sectors as described on its Web site vate providers. Supporting notes and student (www.edna.edu.au/EdNA): resource material are all electronic-based, both The site is organised around Australian cur- downloadable and accessible via the Web. The riculum, its tools are free to Australian educa- centre provides teaching into schools, as well as tors, and it is funded by the bodies responsi- cyber camps and summer and winter schools for ble for education provision in Australia—all primary and secondary students. Australian governments. The centre plans to officially launch its online It is a network in several senses. EdNA is Diploma in Multimedia, developed in consulta- a Web site pointing to thousands of resources tion with Queensland TAFE, in February 1999, identified and contributed by Australian edu- but it already has 70 students studying the self- cators. It networks the bodies responsible for paced, project-based modules. It is involved in a Australian education. Discussions and range of government-based training schemes and noticeboards are offered on the site, making will launch a Diploma of Gaming, supported it a meta-network of Australian education by corporate partners Auran (one of the coun- practitioners. Its services create communities try’s leading computer games companies) and of educators online—further networks. Boeing, in 1999. EdNA covers the schools, vocational educa- tion and training, adult community educa- The university sector tion, and higher education sectors. Through Although a number of attempts have been made the EdNA forums, the Australian education at the national level to co-ordinate the produc- systems and sectors collaborate on a range of tion and dissemination of learning materials based online education, communications and in- on the new technologies, particularly those that formation technology issues—a powerful are more expensive to produce such as CD- network. ROMs and Internet-based materials, the various EdNA continues however, to suffer from lim- relevant projects have been singularly unsuccess- ited recognition in the sectors. ful at preventing the “reinvention of the wheel.” Each university has a for-profit, or more EdNA (Education Network Australia), for commonly a cost-recovery, centre charged with example, was established initially in 1994 to col- the development and production of learning lect and distribute electronic resources devel- materials utilising the new technologies. One oped by public funding in all education sectors. example of the for-profit centres is METALE, Unfortunately, the voluntary nature of the

152 Virtual Education Institutions in Australia the Metaphoric Experiential Training and Learn- Some outstanding standalone materials, ing Environment Unit of the Canberra Insti- mostly in CD-ROM form, have been produced tute of Technology (www.cit.act.edu.au/metale) within university multimedia centres, with a large where “metaphoric” is “the replication of number of award-winning items designed for workplace experiences for learning purposes.” the secondary and early tertiary market. The Uni- METALE has worked closely with Qantas Col- versity of Wollongong’s Interactive Multimedia lege Online, its largest client to date, to develop Learning Laboratory has been outstanding in this four workplace-related modules of learning regard. The materials are generally modules de- materials. signed to be used within a larger subject or unit University centres commonly undertake the or as reference material. The Open Learning development of a template for internal users. The Agency of Australia initially depended heavily on University of Melbourne commercial arm has broadcast TV to deliver its learning materials. used a Department of Industry, Science and However, most students reported videotaping Technology grant for $174, 000 to develop Crea- the programmes for more convenient viewing. tor, a template for those unfamiliar with HTML This, plus the costs involved, has led to a reduc- protocols to enable them to produce materials tion in the television component of most pro- for online access. Many commercial operators grammes of study. compete in this area. Few universities use the Internet alone for the A bewildering number of consortia exist as delivery of learning materials and student sup- partnerships between university and VET pro- port. Where it is used extensively, it is in a select viders, both public and private, and often include group of subjects such as e-commerce or in open software companies for particular projects in and distance learning courses. Curtin University particular discipline areas. For example, OnFX is of Technology in Western Australia, for exam- an Internet cum CD-ROM learning package for ple, has a Masters in e-commerce, using multiple the production of course materials in Graphic media: the Internet, CD-ROM, tele-conferencing, Arts, which spans the university-VET sector, and and video (www.cbs.curtin.edu.au/ecn). It also offers has Apple and IBM as partners. The use of CD- a graduate certificate and a graduate diploma in ROM in this project was dictated by the large Internet Studies, with all materials and classes bandwidth required in graphics-based subjects, conducted via the Internet, print-based materials which limited the utilisation of the Internet in provided where appropriate, and face-to-face much of Australia. meetings organised to suit students’ needs. A new public university, Sunshine Coast, began its to- DELIVERY AND TUITION tally online M.B.A. in 1997 and now has 50 stu- dents. This currently appears to be the only wholly The university sector Internet-based M.B.A. in Australia. Copyright restrictions have meant that although Some Australian institutions have collaborated Australian university libraries make extensive use with media companies. Monash, which has had of the Internet for administrative purposes re- a long association with the Australian Broadcast- lated to inter-library loans, electronic storage and ing Commission (ABC) through its involvement transmission of resources is limited to those pro- in the Open Learning Agency, has forged an in- duced by lecturers for specific subjects, restricted teresting alliance for a pilot not-for-credit sub- in most cases to bona fide students of particular ject, Money, Markets, and the Media. This was institutions.

Virtual Education Institutions in Australia 153 developed by Monash academics and is deliv- an early use of video-conferencing for teaching ered through complementary online real audio was employed in the hospitality industry, where and text and shortwave and satellite radio trans- students are often situated in remote areas such mitters (see www.abc.net/money). For Monash Vice as island resorts. Chancellor David Robinson, the venture is a part- Many of these innovations in delivery using nership that allows the university and the ABC new technologies occurred because employers “to capitalise on global broadcast technology to demanded less time off site for their trainees. It deliver education throughout Australia and in- might also be noted that VET courses might be ternationally.” For the ABC’s Managing Director more amenable to multimedia delivery than uni- Brian Johns, it is a glimpse of the ABC’s digital versity-level courses, especially if technical skills future “where convergence means that our pro- are involved. gramming can be accessed by audiences on dif- ferent mediums, and online,” (Campus Review, Sep- Private providers tember 23–29, 1998, p. 6) Qantas College Online is the Internet-based vir- In November 1998, the first full-page adver- tual college of one of Australia’s air carriers. The tisement for a U.S.-based distance university pro- corporation has various training arms, and Qantas gramme appeared in the specialist education press, College was the brand name of the corporate offering tuition via the Internet, video-conferencing, development and training area charged with iden- videotapes, satellite, and correspondence. (Campus tifying training needs across the corporation and Review, “International Education,” November 11– focusing on interpersonal skills. It had no respon- 17, 1998, p. 3). There was no indication whether sibility for cabin crew or operational training. the qualifications would be accepted in Australia, Qantas College Online was established to pro- nor indeed whether Colorado State University vide a framework and policy delivery mechanism Network for Learning (CSUN) was a private arm and as a means to deliver training needs. The vir- of this state university. tual training arm was set up after the corporation identified a need to provide training to the 30,000- The VET sector odd corporate staff, who travel frequently and After some 15 years, the Australian National work a high proportion of shift work, which lim- Training Authority (ANTA) has succeeded in se- ited their ability to access face-to-face training. The curing all states’ agreement for a national training corporation used to publish a schedule of face- framework and a national curriculum for some to-face courses on offer at various locations trade and semi-professional areas. Consequently, around the world; this has now been replaced by it has 18 packages of teaching and learning ma- online courses including business, management and terial developed in these areas. These have a strong customer service skills, and interpersonal commu- emphasis on computer-based resources and nication. The virtual college offers accredited quali- online delivery, and they often incorporate video- fications at certificate and diploma level in cus- conferencing for teaching purposes, especially in tomer service, leadership, and management and those vocations where employers prefer has set up paths of articulation. workplace delivery. The college network in Ad- Much of the assessment is project-, compe- elaide, South Australia, for example, uses video- tency-, or work place-based. It can be accessed conferencing extensively across campuses within at home, the work place, or in a number of the metropolitan area to avoid students having learning centres set up in some of the corpora- to travel for specialised subjects. In Queensland, tion’s larger operational areas throughout the

154 Virtual Education Institutions in Australia world. There are more than 40 different course to two universities and a corporate training com- modules, which take from 4 to over 20 hours to pany. It provides infrastructure for authoring of complete. content online, content management, student as- Qantas College traditionally operated on an sessment, bulletins, forums, chat sessions, prob- outsource model, with external consultants deliv- lem-based learning, search facilities, and admin- ering its in-house training. One result of the move istration functions (including student records, to virtual delivery is that the college, in putting some enrolments, and database management). of those programmes online, has purchased them Not surprisingly, myriad private providers of and now owns them. It has also expanded its range varying quality and credibility have emerged to of offerings and taken the opportunity to review capitalise on the perceived move to virtual edu- its business programmes and develop new ones cation. These include operators who guarantee needed by their business and staff. to move the traditional university to virtual cam- Other business training arms such as Optus, a pus in less than 60 days. Some examples are as telecommunications sales arm of the U.K. Cable follows: and Wireless, prefer CD-ROM, audiographics, and · Real Education, the most-known proponent face-to-face, although some components use of this approach, has registered as a busi- Internet delivery. ness in Australia and its supporters are known to have approached a number of Australian “Off-the-shelf ” solutions institutions. Australian institutions tend to orchestrate their move towards virtualisation in one of two ways: · DVP’s 32 CD-ROM CDX automotive train- · By recreating the whole process for them- ing package was developed to service a world selves, creating their own software pro- market, taking $5 million and three years to grammes for administration, information, complete. and communications. · Armstrong Fleming has established a “virtual · By taking advantage of “off-the-shelf ” al- education centre online” (including an “en- ternatives. terprise learning centre environment”), which can be customised to the client’s satisfaction. By the end of September 1998, at least eight universities had installed Callista, an Australian- · Redbean Pty Ltd bills itself as “one of the pio- developed student systems software programme. neers of online education in Australasia.” Both TopClass and WebCT (North American Redbean developed Big Tree OnLine to “fa- developed programmes for putting courses, class cilitate the creation, management, and secure administration, student and staff communications, delivery of Web-based training and educa- and teaching resources online) are in use in vari- tion programmes”(www.bigtree.com.au). Clients ous universities. and partners include Apple Australia, Sun- At the same time, some universities have been rise Research Laboratories (this partnership developing their own products and making them delivered an online education master class for more widely available. The previously mentioned Australian and New Zealand universities), and Creator, a software programme that “allows various K–12 schools. anyone who can use a keyboard and a mouse to · CBTS Australia distributes a range of com- easily create courses online,” was launched in puter-managed learning, curriculum, and August 1998. The product had already been sold assessment products (including Learning

Virtual Education Institutions in Australia 155 Management System, The Learning Manager mixed-mode delivery, and a relationship was es- and TLM (Web) to Australia and Asia tablished with the Secondary Correspondence (www.ola.edu.au/providers/virtcon/stubbs/ School in Darwin. Setting up links to tertiary pro- poster.htm). The largest user is Curtin Univer- viders was more difficult because of the limited sity, with about 13,000 on- and off-campus number of remote sites. The project was driven students accessing approximately 40,000 by members of the local communities for mem- computer-mediated assessments annually. bers of the local community, and as a result has · Eastern House has developed a range of print- been used for a range of commercial, govern- based resources and test banks used in con- ment, and social programmes. The Tanami junction with CBTS support systems; these model, which puts Aboriginal tribes in charge resources are now used by more than 400 of their own communications and gives them education providers and enterprises in Aus- the opportunity to communicate beyond tribal, tralia (via face-to-face classes, Intranet, and geographic, and cultural boundaries, has been Internet). such a success that it is to be extended to com- munities in other remote parts of Australia. WHOLE COMMUNITY APPROACH There are initiatives in Australia that represent a Facing the Issues “whole life-whole community” approach to the There are many inhibiting factors and impediments integration of technology and virtualisation of to a wholesale move to an e-education system akin government, administrative, health, education, and to the e-banking system, where limited face-to- social interaction. Such an initiative is the seven-site face service has rapidly become the norm in Aus- Tanami Network, using high-speed digital narrow tralia. We have explored these more fully in our band video-conferencing technology via ISDN book New Media and Borderless Education (see Ref- and satellite, which was established by four Abo- erences); briefly, they are summarised as follows: riginal communities in remote areas of Australia. The Tanami Network is about far more than PRACTICAL ISSUES education, although that is an important focus · Bottom line: Is there enough money in educa- and was the initial reason for a three-year project tion for the media corporations? that got underway in 1992. There is no access · Core business: Will stakeholders and the man- to comprehensive secondary education for agement see education as a core business of Aborginal tribes in the Northern Territory, and the corporation? the average school completion age is 12 to13 years · Branding: What is the place of brand names for boys and 14 to 15 years for girls. J.M. Barker, like Harvard? Can brand names like Disney, in a paper presented in Perth in 1998, said “Many for example, compete against these “educa- parents despair of making the impossible choice tion names”? between a decent European education and deal- ing with the difficulty caused by children being · Costs: Electronic forms of education are ex- absent in the very years they would be learning pensive unless there is huge volume. No ex- their position in the community and their roles in tensive financial model yet exists which takes ceremony and cultural life.” (See References.) into account all the factors involved. Cost The Network started out with an emphasis factors are an issue for students, institutions, on secondary and tertiary education in a trial of and government.

156 Virtual Education Institutions in Australia · Differential regional take-up: The take-up rate · Competency-based education: This remains an is- for Internet connection and telephony varies sue at universities, where competency has widely across the world. been a hotly contested concept. · Household take-up: Notwithstanding optimis- · Cultural differences in learning styles: There is in- tic forecasts about Internet connection in sufficient acknowledgement in the literature domestic residences, the figures continue to of the learning preferences of different cul- indicate that in Australia, most people access tural and ethnic groups. from work for work-related activities. · Technology and learning: There is insufficient · Industry volatility: Both the technology itself research to indicate whether students learn and the booming nature of a new industry better with technology. mean that instability is part of the scene. · Partnerships, alliances, and cultural clashes: Edu- POLICY ISSUES cational institutions and business have had · Accreditation: This is the single most pressing robust relationships in the past based on dif- issue for many institutions that are consider- fering cultures. ing sharing courses to minimise costs, or to · Intellectual property and copyright: No jurisdic- students who wish to enrol in organisations tion has yet grappled successfully with the outside their state jurisdictions. claims of staff developing materials for · Levels of government support: Who pays for Internet use through their institution or with cross-border enrolments? the matter of electronic library access to all · Consumer protection: Who verifies the new pro- print-based materials. viders? · Training teachers, support staff, and learners: Huge programmes of staff development and learner PHILOSOPHICAL ISSUES development must be considered in any inte- · Access and equity: Notwithstanding the lower gration of online teaching and learning. prices for telephony services and computer equipment, regional differences and distance PEDAGOGICAL ISSUES mean that equity remains an issue, even within · Age-related factors: Lifelong learning may be a developed countries. reality for educational mangers and teachers, · Cultural imperialism: There have been major but it is far from being an accepted rubric in concerns expressed about the imposition of the community at large, especially in relation U.S.-centric values via educational material. to learning via technology, where older em- ployees may not have the skills or disposi- PERSONAL ISSUES tion to learn in this mode. · Teaching and learning from a box: This concept · Local support: UKOU has relied on local tu- had a poor reputation in the 1950s. Radio tor support, and this is crucial in electronic and TV were also hailed as the education delivery. system of the future in their time; sceptics · Education versus training: There may be a limit argue that the Internet may be another vari- to the sorts of activities that can be success- ant on that theme. fully learned online only.

Virtual Education Institutions in Australia 157 The Australian Perspective development needs of the secondary and pri- mary sectors are enormous, according to union The issues, we believe, remain the same today, and departmental sources. With the exception of despite debate that now accepts the Internet and Bond University, most “for-profit” post-school virtual institutions as the way of the future. Here, providers in Australia have no policies on staff we update several of these issues in the Austral- development for their casual teachers, nor do they ian context. pretend to be “technology-savvy.” Indeed, they STAFF DEVELOPMENT make a virtue of intensive face-to-face teaching.

Across all education sectors, staff familiarity and SUPPORT CRISIS use of newer technologies remains a limiting fac- Uptake of Internet-based or flexible-delivery tor in the uptake of electronic media. For exam- teaching options, while not leading directly to the ple, a recent study in Australian universities (“Aca- totally virtual campus, has been significant in some demics Online,” reported in The Australian HES, parts of the education sector, creating its own staff October 28, 1998, p. 39) indicated that a lack of development problems. R. Atkinson, in a paper training was responsible for limited use of dig- to the Ascilite Conference, December 1997, ar- ital technologies for teaching and research. One- gues that the support crisis identified by an Aus- quarter of academics never used e-mail to com- tralian Vice Chancellors’ Committee (AVCC) pa- municate with students, and a large proportion per in 1996, continues to be a problem: used it no more than once a week to communi- Teaching staff need support services such cate with someone other than a friend on their as media specialists, instructional systems own campus, the study found. More positively, developers, computing consultants and 58% of academics at isolated rural campuses used equipment technicians to assist them in the Web daily, compared with 42% of metro- gaining access to and effectively using IT. A politan institutions. Over 40% did not subscribe phenomenon confronting many universi- to any electronic newsgroups. Staff remained ties, however, is an insatiable demand for sceptical of the usefulness of the Internet for information technology services which ap- direct teaching and learning purposes: “The pears to be growing day by day The re- Internet as a teaching tool is far from useful at sult is that many universities report that the moment. This is because access is slow, con- there is a “siege” environment in their IT tent of material available is, on average, very support organisations Many universities poor Apart from e-mail and access to library report an IT support crisis. catalogues, the Internet is a huge and costly waste of time” (Campus Review, October 28–Novem- INFRASTRUCTURE AND TECHNICAL ber 3,1998, pp.1–2). (This report also called for DIFFICULTIES research into whether the infrastructure and main- tenance costs were justified in view of the edu- Unlike most European and North American in- cational returns, based on these figures.) stitutions, many Australian universities are large The relative poverty of TAFE institutions federations of institutions separated by large dis- suggest that usage is even lower in that sector. tances. Charles Sturt University (CSU), for ex- Despite the drives of state education departments ample, is spread over 500 kilometres in New to supply infrastructure in the form of modems South Wales, with five campuses and an external and computers in all public schools, the staff enrolment of 72%.

158 Virtual Education Institutions in Australia Telecommunications constitute an increasingly indicator of the centrality of the university sec- large component of the running costs of uni- tor in the growth of the Internet in Australia, it versities, despite the moves to shift these costs to should be noted that AARNet still constitutes 40% students. Administrative costs cannot be shifted of Australia’s Internet traffic. however, and the result is that a number of insti- Upgrading of equipment and standards is a tutions have been obliged to provide their own major issue for the public sector, with most state infrastructure to avoid commercial providers’ departments choosing to purchase rather than STD charging rates. The costs of “bricks and lease, with inevitable redundancy problems. mortar” are rapidly being overtaken by fibre and microwave costs, which, perhaps unfortunately TECHNOLOGICAL LITERACY AND for politicians, are invisible. DEMAND FOR ONLINE LEARNING Charles Sturt University has committed an ini- The abilities of students to benefit from any move tial $3 to $4 million for a 34 megabit microwave to virtual education have as yet received limited link for Internet access and voice and video- attention outside controlled classroom situations. conferencing, although this is only expected to Our own research has shown that when TAFE meet the university’s bandwidth needs for the next or university students are asked their preference, five years. CSU’s information technology execu- they rarely ask for less face-to-face teaching. The tive director reported that the investment was evidence comes from qualitative data like the not desired but necessary, because leasing adequate Baron, Thiele, and Hintz (1995) South Australian bandwidth from Telstra was too expensive. In TAFE study of a new flexible delivery campus late June, CSU joined a delegation of other re- at Tea Tree Gully. One student wailed “I came gional Australian universities in proposing that the here to learn and you aren’t teaching me any- federal government fund a $20 million inter-var- thing!” because the delivery method was resource- sity microwave network so they could compete based learning supplemented with optional ac- with city institutions to provide distance educa- cess to learning skills advisers. tion. Regional universities were reportedly des- The evidence also comes from quantitative data perate to increase access to affordable techno- such as the recent Australian National Training logical infrastructure. Authority (ANTA) study by Warner, Christie, and The Australian Vice Chancellors’ Committee Choy (1998), which reports that 86% of students (AVCC) was prescient enough to establish a ro- preferred face-to-face modes of instruction. This bust Australian Internet (Australian Academic and study found that over 70% of students had aver- Research Network, AARNet) for universities and age or below average levels of readiness for self- the premiere research entity, the Commonwealth directed learning. All of their students were sec- Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, ond-year TAFE students, and 67% were under (CSIRO) in 1990. It has since committed large 25 years of age. The authors observe that TAFE amounts of money to extend and maintain this students are highly teacher-oriented, relying on system, $16 million of the total operating budget teachers for motivation and direction. The extent of the AVCC (Campus Review, November 11–17 to which we can expect students of any age to 1998, p. 2). Conscious of the need to divest it- have the independent learning skills required with self of a “non-core business,” in 1995 the AVCC new technologies has not been fully explored. handed management of the backbone to Telstra An Australia-wide evaluation of informa- and in 1997, to a rival company, Optus. As an tion technology projects showed that university

Virtual Education Institutions in Australia 159 students, too, while enthusiastic about the use of whether they were using the Internet as a substi- ICT in education, still preferred face-to-face teach- tute for face-to-face classes, or simply as just an- ing and learning, although it was not always possi- other source of information for assignments. (See ble (UTS Anchor, September 14–17 1998, p. 1). their article at www.edfac.unimelb.edu.au/online-ed.) The federal government-funded study, An Evalu- ation of Information Technology Projects for University GOVERNMENT POLICY Learning, highlighted the dilemma for those con- We address the issue of government policy in templating greater integration of ICT into educa- New Media and Borderless Education, but in the time tion programmes. The two-year study reviewed since the release of that report, the federal gov- more than 100 projects undertaken at Australian ernment’s enthusiasm for online education has universities, finding that massive expenditure on apparently grown. The final report of the West ICT alone was not enough to ensure learning. Re- Committee, which reviewed Australian higher port author Shirley Alexander concluded learning education in 1997–98, had a heavy emphasis on design is the over-riding factor in successful inte- technological solutions to perceived problems gration of information technology. “Spending a with the sector—problems including cost, access, lot of money on a flashy Web site and complex and quality of education. content is not enough Some educators rushed In July 1998, the federal government released to put lesson material on the Web, but that was a preliminary statement, Towards an Australian only one percent of what was needed.” (UTS Strategy for the Information Economy (www.noie.gov.au/ Anchor, September 14–17 1998, p.1) nationalstrategy/resource.html ). The document lists Despite the push for Australian education and the government’s 10 strategic priorities “to achieve training to “go virtual,” considerable questions are its vision for the information economy,” two of still raised about the demand and market for online which deal with education and/or training: courses and virtually delivered teaching. An Aus- · Train our workforce to harness opportuni- tralian Bureau of Statistics household survey in ties within the information economy. February 1998 showed there were three million · Unlock the market potential of the health adult users of the Internet in Australia at that time and education sectors. (Online-Ed, September 13 ,1998). Of these, about Responses to the policy statement, while one million used the Internet to find information agreeing that education and training were key relating to their studies, but this was the least re- building blocks for an information economy, ported type of Internet activity by adult users. again raised concerns about funding priorities and B. Pattinson and J. Di Gregorio found that inadequate infrastructure. EdNA (www.noie.gov.au/ roughly 80% of studying adult Australians nationalstrategy/submit32.html) argued the key im- accessed the Internet as part of that study. The pediments to effective participation in the infor- majority of Internet education users were young mation economy were: (43% aged 18 to 24 years; 37% aged 25 to 39 · Lack of universally accessible infrastructure at years), adult Internet education users were largely an affordable price for educational institutions; city-based (79% living in capital cities) and most inadequate access to dedicated high band- were employed (full-time 48%; part-time 22%). width communications in the post-secondary The authors concluded that while it was clear the sector; domestic shortages of skills and the Internet was an integral part of the education professional development to address the lack system for adult Australians, it was not clear of understanding of the technology.

160 Virtual Education Institutions in Australia · Lack of high-quality, locally generated online situate the need for these skills solely in terms of content, applications, and services. the dollar benefits they are likely to bring the com- EdNA called for “co-ordinated action to munity. There is no discussion of pedagogical or address the key roadblocks,” saying that in the learner-led need for such change. education and training sector, this must involve However, both documents are consistent with actions by governments: stated government objectives to get Australian edu- Commonwealth, state, and territory govern- cation online and to move funding away from tra- ments must commit the necessary resources ditional “bricks and mortar” institutions. The pref- to remove the impediments to effective par- erence expressed is for virtual, online, or technol- ticipation in the information economy by the ogy-dependent education solutions, preferably of- education and training sector. This will re- fered in cross-sectoral collaborative ventures involv- quire both readjustments of funding priori- ing various post-secondary institutions and industry ties and additional funding commitments. partners, and delivering to a global market. In order to ensure that these resources are used effectively a national plan of action must In the Making be developed to provide a high level strategic One difficulty with analysis of the state of vir- focus for activities across the sector. tual is that developments The July statement followed the earlier re- are ongoing. While there may be no clearly de- lease (December 1997) of the Australian Gov- fined virtual institutions apparent at present, a ernment’s policy document “Investing for number of institutions and projects are working Growth” which Prime Minister John Howard towards that aim. It is appropriate, then, to con- proclaimed a major step in ensuring the country sider some projects “in the making,” which are could make the most of the opportunities of- at various stages of the virtualisation continuum. fered by the 21st century. Education and training was one of four sectors identified in that docu- ASIASPACE ment as a major focus in the endeavour to “get The AsiaSpace Trials Project appears to hold Australia online” (the others being government, considerable promise for those nations and or- community, and business). ganisations for which heavy bandwidth, telecom- Education and training (at school, TAFE, and munications, and electricity-intensive technology university levels) was to be targeted as an “essen- options are problematic. Ironically, its support- tial foundation to create a workforce with the req- ers report great difficulty in interesting Australian uisite skills” to compete in the information content providers in the project because it is not economy. Measures announced included an analysis technologically intensive or interactive enough. of current ICT skills of school students, $600,000 The project involves the use of AsiaSpace, a for a community access pilot project to introduce point-to-point multi-point satellite service, which the education community to the uses of technol- has the capacity to deliver data to fixed and ogy in education in rural and socio-economically mobile locations in remote regions without disadvantaged areas, and the donation of surplus power or phone. The wireless broadcast system government ICT products to schools. operates through the use of the satellite and low- There can be no argument with the notion that cost, transistor radio-sized digital receivers with access to ICT and information and technology external antenna (audio only) and a PC adaptor literacy skills needs to be provided to workers and (data and multimedia services). The system is students. However, this document appeared to

Virtual Education Institutions in Australia 161 specifically designed to deliver services to homes, establishments via communications technology. buildings, and vehicles in areas with traditionally Its planned TAFE Online 2001 project, rep- poor access to traditional broadcasting and tel- resenting some 30 TAFE colleges as well as pri- ecommunications infrastructure. vate providers, will be a Web-based campus The Australian trial, due to get underway af- (TAFEVC) catering for external students outside ter the satellite is launched in mid-1999, involves Victoria, including overseas. The system is de- a collaboration of industry (AsiaSpace and signed to allow students to choose a course, en- WorldSpace), educational providers (Murdoch rol, access materials, join discussion groups, and University, South Metropolitan College of submit assignments. Per subject costs would be TAFE), research groups (Centre for International identical to on-campus costs ($40 per subject). Research in Communications and Information A limited number of course materials have Technologies), and government bodies (Office been developed at this stage in Business Studies, of Information and Communications, Depart- Hospitality, and Electronics, which are the most ment of Commerce and Trade, Regional De- popular of TAFE’s internal courses, and which velopment Commissions). The trial will involve have a high number of students in the workforce, the creation of distributed virtual classrooms in where non-campus based education is an attrac- remote areas of Western Australia (including in- tive option to employers. Equity and access is- digenous communities, remote islands and mine sues are acknowledged through the establishment sites, rural fishing communities, remote house- of planned learning centres across the state, simi- holds, and ships at sea). For the purposes of the lar to the QOLN centres in Queensland. trial, the technology will be used to deliver some The Education Minister is adamant that the university courses into Asia. Educational content advent of TAFEVC will not diminish on-cam- will be provided from the TAFE and Murdoch pus provision, although on-campus students will University partners, along with radio broadcast be urged to utilise the system. Mr. Honeywood services and a virtual edition of The Land, a na- said, “This is an additional tool intended to put tionally distributed rural issues based newspaper. flesh on the bones of the rhetoric about lifelong learning.” Its development, he said, had been ADMISSIONS DATABASE driven by access issues for the disadvantaged and In support of calls for greater national student housebound, although as stated above, employ- mobility by the federal department responsible ers wanting less down-time for trainees were a for university (but not TAFE) funding, the state- driving force as well. The amount of funding based tertiary admissions centres plan to assem- allocated for professional development for staff ble a Web database of national subjects and constitutes only $2 million (although it was ini- courses and hot-link course information to other tially reported at a generous $10 million), and courses across the country (The Australian HES, only $4 million has been earmarked for curricu- October 28, 1998, p. 37). lum development (Campus Review, October 14– 20, 1998, p. 3). VIRTUAL TAFE As stated previously, Victoria has become one SCHOOLS of the most advanced states in Australia in the In the schools sector, Victoria also appears to be development of the new technologies and has leading the way. A deal was recently announced been in the forefront of linking its educational (Campus Review, October 28–November 3 1998,

162 Virtual Education Institutions in Australia p. 4) between the Education Department, Acer, capable of delivering via the Internet (see and Apple to supply all teachers (including TAFE www.databeam.com). In November 1998, USQ’s teachers) with laptops via a lease arrangement with commercial arm, INDELTA, received $200,000 their schools for $3 per week, on the proviso from the federal government to launch a virtual that they first undertake 40 hours of training. Acer campus initiative that would provide Web-based will commit up to $15 million a year in Victoria course delivery in Australia and overseas (Campus for research and development into local multi- Review, November 18–24 1998, p. 4). The virtual media applications. In November 1998, 11,000 campus is to be set up through a company called computers were to be delivered in the first e-HIGHERed. Campus Review reported USQ tranche, with science and technology teachers the would become the first Australian university to first priority. This is an example of the sort of become a shareholder, with a 25% stake in the private-public co-operation we predicted in New company, and that seven other Australian uni- Media and Borderless Education, and seems likely to versities were negotiating with e-HIGHERed. play a major part in staff development and fa- USQ Vice-Chancellor Peter Swannell said miliarity with new technologies. USQ would put 50 to 100 units on the Web in In Queensland, central departmental initiatives 1999, targeting full-fee paying overseas students include ConnectEd, designed to allow all primary and fee-paying postgraduate Australian students. and secondary state schools Internet access by Swannell predicted modest enrolments in the vir- the end of 1999. This will necessarily involve sub- tual campus of 100 to 200 students in first se- sidies for telecommunications costs, as many re- mester 1999, and possible enrolments over the mote schools are disadvantaged by STD charges next three years of up to 2,500 students. In the to the nearest ISP provider. Currently, the ma- same week, three USQ students graduated over jority of students have only one-hour-a-week the Internet (in an online ceremony) after com- access to a computer in the classroom because pleting a graduate certificate totally online. The of the shortage of computers and large num- students, two from Kuala Lumpur and one from bers in classes. Toowoomba, were the first to complete the Most state education departments are planning Internet-based Graduate Certificate in Open and on a ratio of one computer to five pupils at high Distance Learning. About 300 students are cur- school and one to ten at primary level by 2002. rently enrolled in the course.

UNIVERSITIES TELECOMMUNICATIONS The University of Southern Queensland (USQ) The major telecommunications corporations in is one of several regional universities with an ex- Australia are focusing on core business and at isting strong distance education provision to de- least one, Cable and Wireless Optus, is now ap- cide on a future as an online institution. Others proaching all educational sectors with a view to include Central Queensland University, Charles buying content for their cable carrier. Optus has Sturt, and Monash, although none of these ex- approached all Australian universities, TAFEs, and pects to be solely online. schools in a bid to establish a relaunched educa- USQ has high expectations of its improved tion channel to operate from March 1999, from external computer interface through 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., with Australian content. The USQConnect, and its use of FarSite, an channel will be bundled free with the Disney chan- audiographics system replacing SMART 2000, nel and others. Optus intends to put only three

Virtual Education Institutions in Australia 163 hours of U.S.-sourced education material on this of Torrens Valley Institute of TAFE, NCVER, Ad- channel, and it is looking for partners in devel- elaide. oping Australian material. Barker, J.M., ed. Learning Together: Collaboration in Open Learn- ing. Proceedings, International Conference, Perth, Australia, 1998. Last Words Cunningham, S., Tapsall, S., Ryan, Y., Stedman, L., Bagdon, Perhaps, as suggested by Professor Tony Adams, K. & Flew, T. New Media and Borderless Education: director of Macquarie University’s international A Review of the Convergence Between Global Media Providers and Higher Education Provision. AGPS: centre, “Australia will be the home of the first Canberra, 1998. global or regional universities.” However, rather Fiddes, Tony. Manager, Qantas College Developments. Con- than being a virtual institution based on electronic versation with author, November 27, 1998. delivery, Adams reportedly argues that the emerg- Healy, G. “E-mail links search,” The Australian, November ing global and regional university would be a 18, 1998, p. 44. “bricks and mortar” institution in which the vir- Holt, P. and R. Japanangka. “Mixed-Mode Delivery of tual university will be an important part (Campus Health and Education Services in the Tanami Review, October 7–13, 1998, p. 4). Regardless of Desert Region of the Northern Territory” in Barker, J.M., ed. Learning Together: Collaboration in whether or not government and institutional as- Open Learning. Proceedings, International Con- pirations of global markets will be realised, ference, Perth, Australia, 1998. Adams’ model appears to be the most accurate King, B. “The Australian Open Learning Institute—New in describing the current state of virtualisation in directions for higher education?” ASPESA Pa- Australian education and training. pers, No 12, pp.7-15. Nipper, S. “Third Generation Distance Learning and Com- puter Conferencing,” in Mindweave: Communica- References tion, Computers and Distance Education, 1989. Atkinson, R. Murdoch Online: Preparing an Infrastructure for Spencer, M. “Regionals Link Up for IT Network,” The Virtual Campus Operations, Ascilite Conference, Australian, Wednesday, July 1, 1998. December 7-10 1997. (www.curtin.edu.au/confer- Taylor, J. Perspectives on the Educational Uses of Technology. ence/ascilite97/papers/Atkinson) Toowoomba: University of Southern Queens- Baron, J., Thiele, D. & Hintz, E. (1995) Following the Yellow land, 1996. Brick Road: Implementation and Evaluation of Flex- Warner, D., G. Christie, and S. Choy. The Readiness of the ible Learning Systems at the Tea Tree Gully Campus VET Client for Flexible Delivery, 1998. (www.worklearning.corskill.com.au, accessed Septem- ber 1998)

164 Virtual Education Institutions in Australia Trends in the Virtual Delivery of Education in New Zealand and the Pacific Islands 11DR. LALITA RAJASINGHAM

Introduction What kind of education system is needed to prepare people for life in an information soci- New Zealand and the Pacific Islands are like every ety? What will be the shape of education in the country in the world, finding that the key to their future? It is the search for answers that prompted future economic advancement and cultural in- John Tiffin and I to write our book in 1995, In tegrity depends on the way their people are edu- Search of the Virtual Class: Education in an Informa- cated. At the same time advances in information tion Society. (Routledge, 1995) in which these ques- technology has a great impact on all aspects of tions are explored more fully. our professional and private lives, changing the In this report, I examine the status of this way we learn, do business, bank, shop, and play. new mode of delivery of education in New Increasingly, society is global and digital in na- Zealand and the Pacific Islands. I argue that edu- ture, and the key to socio-economic growth and cation is communication and I use the following success will be education based on telecommu- benchmark, building on Lev Vygotsky’s concept nications-networked environments. of the Zone of Proximal Development The dilemma all societies face is that their edu- (Vygotsky, 1978). Vygotsky specifies three fac- cation systems are designed to meet the needs of tors in the educational process: the industrial society of the past, not of the com- 1. Someone in the role of learner ing information society. We are preparing people for jobs, ideas, and values of a way of life that is 2. Someone in the role of teacher fading away and for work in areas of shrinking 3. Something that constitutes a problem which labour requirements. What is needed is effective, the learner is trying to solve with the help of cost-efficient instruction that matches the skills re- the teacher lated to technological change, delivered interac- By implication there is also a fourth factor: tively, at the convenience of the learner. This is the knowledge needed to solve the problem. I distance education using new communications and suggest that it is the interaction of these four fac- information technologies (ICT)—virtual classes— tors in a particular context that constitutes the so that no matter where people live, they can ac- fundamental communication process that is edu- cess education anytime, from anywhere. Equita- cation. The virtual delivery of education is where ble access means access to quality teachers and the four factors of education can interact, using content to ensure effective learning outcomes. ICT to deliver the spoken word, written word,

Trends in the Virtual Delivery of Education in New Zealand and the Pacific Islands 165 and pictures in different locations. This is the com- While New Zealand has one of the highest per munications environment that must be provided capita telecommunications access in the devel- by a virtual institution. oped world, and the highest proportion of New Zealand and the South Pacific share the Internet users, educational institutions and schools global problem of the lack of equitable access to (primary, secondary, and tertiary) seriously lack quality educational opportunity. We also have our access to ICT. In an increasingly user-pay envi- own geographic, demographic, socio-economic, ronment, and with the stringent cuts in govern- and cultural challenges. Isolation from the rest of ment funding, educational institutions can simply the world is a major factor. Although the new in- not afford ICT. formation technology has eliminated the barriers While many institutions have centrally admin- of distance and time, access to technology con- istered e-mail, the management infrastructure to tinues to dog small island nations in the Pacific integrate ICT into curriculum is not present. and, to a lesser extent, rural New Zealand. Among However, there are a few departments in uni- the critical issues are telecommunications penetra- versities (e.g., in the Department of Communi- tion, tariff structures, lack of government fund- cations at Victoria University, Wellington) where, ing, and no coherent ICT and education policies. with the help of industry, they have been research- The region is one of great geographic, cul- ing, developing, and piloting online courses since tural, linguistic, political, and economic diversity, 1995, using the Internet. and the traditional dichotomy of developing and developed economies is becoming a less useful CURRENT EXAMPLES OF VIRTUAL concept when considering the particular issues of EDUCATION virtual education. All societies are facing the need There are two reasons for educational institutions to adapt to rapid change brought about by ICT to use technology: advancements, and no society, even the so-called 1. To offer instruction as effective and as high developed ones, can justifiably claim that all sec- quality as the conventional classroom tors have equal access to the necessary technology. 2. To give access to educational opportunities Without access to technology, people are de- to more people than is possible with current nied the capacity to build and develop human education systems, and therefore, to do so resources, a critical component of which is edu- cost efficiently (in terms of unit costs). cation and training opportunities. Disenfranchise- ment is a universal condition and women, indig- Some examples of the application of tech- enous peoples, and other minorities in this re- nology in educational institutions in New Zea- gion are the most vulnerable. land are described here.

UNIVERSITY SECTOR New Zealand · University of Wellington: My colleague, Profes- New Zealand is one of the most deregulated sor John Tiffin, and I in the Department of economies in the world, and this is especially re- Communications Studies have been research- flected in the telecommunications industry. How- ing and teaching the application of ICT to ever, its market-driven philosophy and the lack education and training since 1986. We have of coherent education and ICT policies has re- published internationally, and have pioneered sulted in a serious deficiency in its ability to re- the implementation of virtual classes, virtual spond to the urgent need for educational reform. universities, and virtual learning organisations

166 Trends in the Virtual Delivery of Education in New Zealand and the Pacific Islands on the Internet. We offer master’s and doc- · Open Polytechnic of New Zealand is New Zea- torates in communications studies designed land’s first and only distance education (sin- to equip New Zealand with a cadre of pro- gle-mode) tertiary institution. Since its incep- fessionals in an increasingly competitive en- tion in 1946 (named the New Zealand Tech- vironment. The master’s of communications nical Correspondence Institute) it has been is offered on the Internet nationally (and in print- and postal-based. In 1992, the Insti- the near future internationally) using cost- tute became the Open Polytechnic and sought effective platforms and software (TalkShow to move into a computer-based environ- and Vphone), providing synchronous and ment. At present, about 40% of its courses asynchronous seminars. are on disks and mailed to students, and the However, Victoria University, like all Open Polytechnic is gradually moving into a universities in New Zealand (except for networked environment. Massey University), is a single-mode, face- · The Wellington Polytechnic has established the to-face institution. Although there is an in- Educational New Media Centre to spear- creasing effort to offer courses off-cam- head the use of new media to improve and pus (mainly through audio-conferencing, innovate open flexible learning initiatives for face-to-face block courses, and video- different learning styles in the polytechnic conferencing via the Internet), the main sector. thrust of such approaches is restricted to While all tertiary institutions are acutely aware particular schools and departments. These of the need to incorporate ICT into learning, initiatives rely on “champions” of the cause teaching, administration, and management sub- whose efforts to inspire colleagues is of- systems, they lack trained staff, adequate finance, ten very hard going in an economically technology, and support systems, and most im- punitive environment. portantly, a vision, strategic thinking, and cham- · Massey University is a dual-mode institution, pions of the cause. While there are pockets of with a larger enrolment in their off-campus development, there is also a lack of co-ordina- courses than on-campus. However, the tion and collaboration among the universities as mode of delivery is mainly correspondence each institution competes with the others for and attendance at block courses, and since government funding, which is predominantly 1992, a limited number of courses on edu- based on the number of bodies on seats. cational television. However, Massey is cur- rently exploring the use of multimedia and SCHOOLS SECTOR Web-based technologies in the area of open The school sector faces similar issues in trying to and flexible learning, For Massey, these de- integrate technology into curricula in a holistic velopments are important because they will and culturally appropriate manner. While the allow their courses to be electronically de- Minister of Education is committed to ensuring livered at its other campuses. Waikato Uni- that schools are funded for ICT, the $4.6 million versity and Massey University are piloting over three years for nearly 3,000 schools in New multi-campus teaching using computer net- Zealand is grossly inadequate. The Ministry has works, particularly ATM, to provide tele- recently launched the technology-in-schools presence in off-campus sites. project where four clusters of five schools each that have progressed in integrating technology in

Trends in the Virtual Delivery of Education in New Zealand and the Pacific Islands 167 curricula will mentor other schools that do not Telecom has sponsored a number of IT have these skills. If efficiently executed, this project schools competitions, which has lead to sev- could be very useful in disseminating ICT skills eral school clusters gaining funding for com- to all schools and facilitating teacher training in puters and telecommunications infrastructures. the use of technology. · The Cantatech Project is a notable initiative in The school sector appears to be more en- New Zealand involving a group of rural trepreneurial than the tertiary sector, although schools in Canterbury (South Island) that all educational institutions at all levels are begin- captured the vision of the virtual class and ning to realise that if they do not make the move actively planned to make it a reality. The to integrate technology in curricula, the quality project enabled students to have remote ac- of education in this country will be seriously cess to specialists, teachers to provide effec- jeopardised. tive learning over the telephone, businesses · Maori education: In 1993, I was commissioned to deliver affordable, stable, and easy-to-use by the Ministry of Maori Development (Te technologies, and government to encourage Puni Kokiri) to develop a project that looked schools to explore new models of learning. at the use of ICT for Maori education in the Those involved are pioneers who are suc- predominantly Maori population living in cessfully reaching out to settlers and sharing rural East Cape in New Zealand. The ob- experiences in tele-learning with all New jective was to link the largest Maori School, Zealand schools. Ngata Memorial College with 1,500 students · The Correspondence School was founded in 1922 to international and national databases and to service New Zealand’s dispersed expert teachers in Physics, Chemistry, and populations. It was correspondence based Mathematics for Forms 6 and 7. Because of and was supplemented by school radio the few students in these classes, it was ex- broadcasts. It provided vital and effective tremely difficult to retain teachers in the area. schooling, not only for New Zealanders liv- In short, my brief was to ensure that rural ing in isolated communities but also, in the Maori students would be able to access the 1980s, for over 600 students in the Pacific same quality of education available to the Islands. Essentially, parents took charge of city-based students, in a culturally appropri- the teaching based on the Correspondence ate way. This project was very successful and School lessons delivered by the postal sys- linked three schools, the marae (meeting tem. Periodically, a Correspondence School house) and Wananga (higher education insti- regional teacher would visit the homestead tute) in a 600-kilometre area. The audio- to advise and monitor the process. graphic conferencing system that we had designed, tested, and used at Victoria Uni- In order to ensure its future, the Corre- versity was extended to link most Maori spondence School is involved in exploring schools from the north and south islands, tele-learning and has used CD-ROMS, vid- which lead to the birth of the “clustering” eos, and disks and has even explored the use concept. of broadcast satellite. (Land line telecommu- nication is not an economical option in the Telecom New Zealand, who sponsored mostly mountainous areas of the Corre- the project, adopted the research and estab- spondence School constituents.) However, lished the IT Schools Education section.

168 Trends in the Virtual Delivery of Education in New Zealand and the Pacific Islands the demographics have changed and have ICT is increasingly used for data transmission and affected the Correspondence School’s origi- enrolments are logged in at five centres and nal mandate. Increasingly, the dropouts of downloaded in Suva. Suva staff provide basic conventional classrooms, the truants, the training for staff at the centres by “talking them “difficult” children, and the adult dropouts through” various problems associated with the seeking a second chance education make up satellite link. (All satellite discussion is audio only.) the school’s enrolees. MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT, PRODUCTION, There is another problem. In the 1990s, New Zealand faced its most severe unem- AND DISTRIBUTION ployment ever. Many people, through ne- The section responsible for design and develop- cessity or choice, moved to rural areas. ment communications with the course writers at Eighty percent of Correspondence School the two campuses in Samoa and Vanuatu is children in rural areas (1998) live with a solo mainly by point-to-point discussion or team parent. Not only are resources to technol- teleconferencing. Increasingly, draft attachments ogy scarce, there is often not the support are exchanged through e-mail. Similarly, some of a skilled parent to provide the motiva- courses (drafts and manuscripts) developed in tion and discipline so needed for distance Suva are sent electronically, and in the near future education. Later this year, the Correspond- videos will be included in the courses. Efforts ence School year will be reviewed by are being made to move into multimedia in the ministerial audit as part of the future of near future. distance education schooling. Management and administration communi- cations within University Extension and the pro- duction and distribution are becoming fully com- Pacific Islands puterised. In the Pacific Islands, the most significant pro- vider of virtual delivery of education is the Ex- DELIVERY AND TUITION tension Unit of the University of the South Pa- The four time zones and two sides of the date- cific (USP) in Suva, Fiji. It has had this role of line in the region present significant challenges. providing distance and continuing education since Satellite tutorials are held up to 7 p.m. on Tues- the 1980s. The formal higher education pro- days to Fridays, and on Mondays for students grammes were delivered face to face either with on the same dateline as Fiji. However, public students from the 12 island states physically at- transport being very limited in the evening, stu- tending classes in Suva or with instructors visit- dents find it a serious problem attending the cen- ing the centres. tres. A few courses are beginning to use CD- Since the late 1980s, USP has used a satellite ROM and the Internet. network (USPNet) that links five centres: The most significant operation is the assign- Lautoka, Fiji; Cook Islands; Tonga; Vanuatu; and ment traffic, with daily assignments from 12 cen- Samoa, to the Suva studio. Samoa is patched in tres. A specially designed programme is used to via high frequency radio, and the link is used for log in and out and to track the movement of the weekly administration meetings and point-to- assignments, and to monitor the turnaround point sessions between two people on request. times of marked assignments.

Trends in the Virtual Delivery of Education in New Zealand and the Pacific Islands 169 CAREER COUNSELLING AND STUDENT · Pedagogy: Teacher training in the use of tech- SUPPORT nology; instructional design and develop- ment; teacher and student support. A beginning is being made to use the student record systems to counsel students, although ca- · Institutional change: Allocation of funds for reer counselling is usually done at the centres. the new pedagogy; vision for the virtual class; E-mail and satellite are used to communicate a shift in institutional culture in a competitive with students. It is proposed to have video- environment; commercialisation of educa- conferencing facilities in the year 2000 with the tion (i.e., who will pay?). new standalone satellite network (funded by the · Accreditation of courses. governments of Australia, Japan, and New Zea- · Technological challenges: Hardware, software land). This will provide voice, video, and compatibility issues; training and maintenance; datacommunications in a dedicated system. bandwidth; ongoing technical support; ac- cess to the technology (equity issues). EDUCATION FOCUS · Culture (remembering that there are many Most courses are degree level, provided off and diverse paths to the development of virtual on campus. Two courses are offered at Forms 6 institutions). and 7 using study packages. A few certificate and diploma courses are offered for teachers, as well · Intellectual property rights and technologi- as some continuing (non-credit) programmes cal proprietary rights: Who owns the courses? tailored to specific needs (e.g., computer aware- Will implementation be stalled because of ness, creative writing, arts and crafts). proprietary rights of technology?

Conclusion References Transport technologies provided the infrastruc- Tiffin, J.W. and L. Rajasingham. In Search of the Virtual ture for conventional classrooms and traditional Class: Education in an Information Society. London distance education, and telecommunications net- and New York: Routledge. 1995. works will provide the infrastructure for virtual Vygotsky, L.S. Thought and Language. Cambridge, MA: MIT education. The virtual class can provide effec- Press. 1962. tive, cost-efficient learning opportunities to more ———. Mind in Society: The Development of the Higher Psycho- people than is possible in the conventional class- logical Processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Uni- versity Press, 1978. room or by traditional distance education based on print and transportation technologies. New Zealand and the Pacific Islands are well aware of the need for a paradigm shift in educa- tion delivery, but are grappling with the world- wide problem of a lack of resources to provide equitable access to information technology. More specifically, the following issues must be faced: · A policy for ICT in education: Tariffs and cost categories for off-campus and on-cam- pus delivery of education.

170 Trends in the Virtual Delivery of Education in New Zealand and the Pacific Islands