The Role of US Higher Education in the Global E-Learning Market

This paper analyzes system and institutional level responses to the growing demand for e-learning in the US in comparison with a number of other countries\ud and regions. It reviews the external forces and factors that are driving institutions to introduce and use ICT in this area and investigates in particular the role of globalisation and increasing competition. The responses of institutions to the changing (global) environment are discussed with respect to e-learning models and international strategies. Finally, a number of future scenarios are presented as well as an outline for research on the strategic pathways institutions may choose in planning for the future

EU–originated MOOCs, with focus on multi- and single-institution platforms

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Transition UGent: a bottom-up initiative towards a more sustainable university

The vibrant think-tank ‘Transition UGent’ engaged over 250 academics, students and people from the university management in suggesting objectives and actions for the Sustainability Policy of Ghent University (Belgium). Founded in 2012, this bottom-up initiative succeeded to place sustainability high on the policy agenda of our university. Through discussions within 9 working groups and using the transition management method, Transition UGent developed system analyses, sustainability visions and transition paths on 9 fields of Ghent University: mobility, energy, food, waste, nature and green, water, art, education and research. At the moment, many visions and ideas find their way into concrete actions and policies. In our presentation we focused on the broad participative process, on the most remarkable structural results (e.g. a formal and ambitious Sustainability Vision and a student-led Sustainability Office) and on recent actions and experiments (e.g. a sustainability assessment on food supply in student restaurants, artistic COP21 activities, ambitious mobility plans, food leftovers projects, an education network on sustainability controversies, a transdisciplinary platform on Sustainable Cities). We concluded with some recommendations and reflections on this transition approach, on the important role of ‘policy entrepreneurs’ and student involvement, on lock-ins and bottlenecks, and on convincing skeptical leaders

Flexible futures: the academic librarian

Australian academic libraries are highly adaptive to the changing needs of learning and teaching and research and the demands of the changing information environment. Liaison Librarians are absolutely central to the academic library's ability to manage change and anticipate and prepare for the future. However little is shared in conference papers and journal publications about how Liaison is organised, developed and supported by academic libraries. Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and University of Tasmania (UTAS) Libraries have explicit, well established and long-running Liaison programs. UTAS recently embarked on a change process to move from an individual, school-focussed model to a faculty-focused, team approach to Liaison organisation. The process led to the organisation of teams, with team-member leadership roles in collection development, learning and teaching, and research support. The new organisation also established a learning environment in which librarians continue to change in a rapidly changing environment. At QUT Library the Workforce Plan has set the framework for the re-examination of the highly Faculty-integrated Liaison model to improve support for the University's research agenda, to respond to the changes in scholarly communication and to work collaboratively with the University's Teaching and Learning Support (TALSS) to embed information and academic literacies into the University's curriculum. This paper examines recent literature on Liaison, discusses two case studies of Liaison organisation at QUT and UTAS Libraries and how these changing models prepare libraries and librarians for the future of university learning and teaching and research and the changing information environment

Faculty and student feedback of synchronous distance education in a multi-university learning consortium

The Texas Learning Consortium (TLC) began as a partnership between the foreign language departments at 5 small, private, liberal arts universities, where each specializes in a small number of different world languages to increase the course offerings to their students without the expense of adding additional faculty on every campus. Each university offers their language courses to consortium students in a real-time, interactive, distance education format. In Fall 2017, the consortium expanded beyond foreign languages, and the first engineering course, Statics, was offered in this synchronous, distance format. As background, this paper will provide an overview of the technology used in the classrooms and some of the administrative obstacles that were overcome in scheduling, registration and information technology. The paper will also reflect on the impact of this particular technological implementation on various teaching styles in both foreign language and engineering courses, especially compared to other distance engineering education in the literature, with a purpose of analyzing the model’s suitability for expansion into other engineering courses or a fully accredited consortium based engineering program. Student and faculty satisfaction surveys will additionally provide insight as to whether this distance format is the right fit for campuses used to high-touch learning environments.Cockrell School of Engineerin

Problem-based learning spanning real and virtual words: a case study in Second Life

There is a growing use of immersive virtual environments for educational purposes. However, much of this activity is not yet documented in the public domain, or is descriptive rather than analytical. This paper presents a case study in which university students were tasked with building an interactive learning experience using Second Life as a platform. Both problem‐based learning and constructionism acted as framing pedagogies for the task, with students working in teams to design and build a learning experience which could potentially meet the needs of a real client in innovative ways which might not be possible in real life. A process account of the experience is provided, which examines how the pedagogies and contexts (real and virtual) influence and enhance each other. The use of a virtual environment, combined with problem‐based learning and constructionism, subtly changed the nature of the instructor–student relationship, allowed students to explore ‘problematic problems’ in a motivating and relevant manner, provided students with greater ownership over their work, and allowed problems to be set which were flexible, but at the same time allowed for ease of assessment

Offshore education : offshore education in the wider context of internationalisation and ICT: experiences and examples from Dutch higher education

This report presents a study on offshore education conducted by a consortium of Dutch higher education researchers and commissioned by the Digital University (DU). The study explored the extent to which Dutch higher education institutions are involved in offering their educational services abroad (offshore education). After thoroughly embedding offshore education in the wider contexts of internationalisation and ICT policies, the study particularly explores the practical experiences with a number of real-life offshore activities of Dutch higher education. As a warm-up to this report, a few interesting cases are briefly touched upon below

Role and relevance of business incubators in ICT led global educational system: case for eco-enterprise village

Following paper presents the case of Business Incubators (BIs) as future educational and learning centres. It explores the question of how feasible and relevant is this concept andt how they can be designed to deliver educational & training programmes that meet the requirement of knowledge economy by suitably preparing youth to face the challenges of the global market. Business Incubators are businesses aiming at nurturing and establishing other businesses. They are considered to be an excellent tool for Small and Micro Enterprises (SMEs) development. Targeted assistance at small entrepreneurs & start-up businesses- help them grow and graduate to mature enterprises. According to ILO estimates 300 million jobs have to be created world over in the next 5 years. As many as 45 million young people enter the job market annually, at a global level. There are three different kinds of BIs and they are public, private, and university based BIs and are commonly classified by ownership. In the IT-led global knowledge village, there are seamless potentials for study, earning a degree and education outside of the college campuses. Virtual campuses are the reality today. What are needed then would be centres for imparting practical lessons on commercialising the knowledge, innovative ideas, and technical skills. Also it is important to impart real training in starting, managing, making profit and pursuing the growth of enterprises & ventures that a youth entrepreneur could launch. In the knowledge economy, BIs can be real learning centres. Also, technological and academic oriented knowledge & literacy is not the only skill required for attaining success, set-up a business or getting a well-paying job in the new knowledge based global economy. But what is required are a set of skills called 21st century skills, which can be well delivered through BIs, when they are turned as educational centres. The paper also presents a BI model, which has an objective of building businesses with a strategic orientation towards environment and sustainable development. The BI design presented is called as Eco-Enterprise Village.Business Incubators; Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises; Information & Communication Technology; Education and Training; Eco Enterprise Incubator