E-learning for TU: Prospects, Issues and Challenges

1. E-learning a Media for Conventional and Open & Distance Learning E-learning for TU: Prospects, Issues and Challenges

2. Background • TU a huge public university with 60 constituent and 832 affiliated campuses through out the nation. • Centralized system – everything regulated by the central level. • Science & technical,medical, engineering , agriculture as technical and science and other Humanities & social sciences, management, & education programmes in TU. 13.44% in science and techno, where as in faculties(humanities and social sciences, management, education, and law) is 86.56% • About 389,460 students ( 2011/12) in TUwhere 40.93% study in constituent campuses and other 59.07% in affiliated campuses • Teaching and learning is mostly traditional in many cases – face to face lecturing and note taking prominent • No good library access and even less qualified teachers in campuses outside Kathmandu and the other major cities. • Students pass rate 24% in Master’s Level and a little bit higher in Bachelor degree – waste of resources.

3. Contd. • TU going to be a dual mode(planning stage) • E-learning Conceptualized as • online learning, web-base learning in interactive mode interactions with multimedia materials and/or instructors are mediated through all electronic media, including the Internet and other computer networks (Chang & Chen,2009; Chiu & Wang, 2008; Basioudis & Lange, 2009; Duan et al., 2010).

4. Central Office and University Campus at a Glance

5. Distribution of Campuses of TU Constituent 5 Affiliated 3 69 5 Far Western Region Mid-Western Region 63 11 69 Western Region 28 163 central Region 13 407 Eastern Region 130

6. Graduation Ceremony, TU

7. Need of e-Learning • To address the growing number of higher education aspirants (e-learning in ODL mode). • Recently FOE, TU has got the responsibility to upgrade qualification of 13000 working teachers of schools from the government (agreement of FOE and NCED, MoE). • To improve quality of education in conventional mode blending e-learning as access to learning and learning materials. • E-learning as a way of getting international exposure to and standards in higher education for the students. • Collaborative teaching & research in higher education engaging Universities Denmark for quality improvement (possibility of having classes of foreign universities, projects, assignment and learning materials).

8. Contd. • E-learning for "private students” ,(a type of ODL) support. • The working migrants are increasing and they can pursue their higher education through ODL(using e-learning). • The last 10 years conflicts caused many youths deprived from education, ODL can be an alternative for them. E-learning could be a way. • Promotion of ODL in school education, significant numbers of students are still out of secondary education and technical & vocational education. • E-friendly students increasing, love e-media rather than print in learning – need to target this group of students,

9. Is e-learning possible? • Technological and power base • Nepal Telecommunication has been planning to reach all 4000 VDCs of the country with its wifi system by 2015. Currently it has reached 50%VDCs. • It is estimated that about 70% people have access to mobile phone. • Solar power distributed in subsidized price in remote areas – an alternative for power source.

10. Contd. • Institutional commitment • Budget allocation started and a decision is made in Executive Council of TU • Ministry of Education has felt the need to support in ODL • Attraction to M.Phil and Ph.D both in conventional and distance mode(willingly pay for the education) • Free software and bandwidth for conducting e-learning(eg cloud computing technology – googleaps, wiki, blackboard, etc)

11. Strategies • Plan, act and lesson learn before implementing in mass scale (a piloting in a small sector/some course). • Acceptance from all: Government and users positive attitude (i.e. popularization) • HR development:Trainingto the faculties in e-learning pedagogy. • Institutional set up: ICT use as media of instruction, set up multi-media laboratory for producing the programme and circulating them • Strict in enrollment: Limit the size of enrollment in constituent campuses according to the availability of human resource, educational and physical facilities available • Change of curriculum: block/modular curriculum focusing on problem base learning (semester system is needed)

12. Contd. • Begin ODL from Faculty of Education TU and some other university/ies of BSU partner as pilot project and expand to other. • Allocating annual budget to e-learning management from this fiscal year. • Policy of collaborative funding in shared modality of investment for sustainability of the programme.

13. Challenges • Fitting E-learning, a developed world’s phenomena, into developing countries • High speed internet and uninterrupted power supply • Well-trained faculties in IT and pedagogies • Culturally a belief of being learner and tutor together for learning • Cost-effectiveness in ODL questionable • Print media and contact session only –cheaper than conventional • Including other media like e-learning could be expensive(fixed cost and variable cost may increase).

14. Contd. • Meet the demand of disadvantaged section an irony • Human resources as well as ICT access problem • Learner support • Necessary financial resource management. • TU has allocated budget for constructing buildings and e-library(computers are given) • Software as well as other media-lab equipments management? • Student support(about 40% dropout cases in Sri Lanka) • Learning(different level of tutors, their training, and remuneration costlier) • Materials( learning materials differs, HR are not prepared)

15. Contd. • Social recognition of ODL degree/e-learning • Employment opportunity • Reluctant to employ • Difficult to put fixed students number(the present scenario) • Human resource development: Most of the faculties as well as other resource persons unfriendly( to e-learning pedagogies and materials preparation). • Competitive to other universities

16. Contd. • Discrimination of ODL students( a matter of flexibility): may raise voice same credit, working hours can be covered as conventional mode students do. • Lab related courses issue: e-learning supplementary for conventional but problem for ODL • Language issue: can use materials prepared by other universities but need to be proficient in English for using them. • Learners’ quality/nature/morale • Faculties quality/nature/morale • Localization of content and Attitudes on e-learning.

17. How e-learning Relate to PSDR • E-learning can support to PhD, and Small Scale Research researchers (grants awarded by PSDR in themes related to it). A provision of joint supervision from UD and TU • Increases opportunity of Rights to Education(employed, women, disadvantaged section etc). • Help to increase educated people /critical mass, ultimately a help for a democratically living society. • New cross-cutting areas/subjects that are necessary for developing countries can be introduced.

18. Expectation from BSU • Human resource development support • Planning e-learning for ODL and quality insurance (on the basis of the experiences) • Some lessons from universities Denmark and/or developed countries in ODL and even in conventional classes using e-learning (blended learning) • Joint academic programme for some years based on e-learning in undergraduate and graduate courses (like Mphil and Ph.D). • Different departments in TU has given value to Mphil, better to have support for such programm, it is the contemporary need. • Collaborative supervision in student's research and collaborative academic research among the faculties. • Exchange of faculties for sharing and learning technology and researches as well as modalities of university education. • Changing the mind set of higher authority through visit of the successful e-learning programmes/PBL.

19. Impact on Institutional Capacity • Within 5 years, big number of senior professors are being retired, will be compensated by this programme. • Improve in quality standards with shared experiences.(e-learning, PBL will be introduced). • Improve university management in general learning best practices. • The conferences and seminars based on researches of different platform themes can provide opportunity of understanding the social problems, see the prospects and act for the development. • Enhance quality in PhD supervision with joint supervision and some workshops.

20. Thank You