Developing a framework for best practice in sustainable virtual campuses

International audienceDespite the significant investment and growth both in Europe and globally in the development of virtual universities and virtual campuses over the last decade, there have been a number of high-profile projects and initiatives that failed to achieve their intended goals. If such failures are to be avoided in the future, then it is vital that a better understanding of best practice within virtual universities and virtual campuses is achieved. This paper reports on the work of a European Commission Education Audiovisual & Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) co-financed project 'Promoting Best Practice in Virtual Campuses' (PBP-VC), which is aimed at providing a deeper understanding of the key issues and success factors underlying the implementation of virtual campuses. The paper will outline a tentative model of the issues underpinning best practice in virtual campuses which covers areas that include organisational, pedagogical, technological, student/user, financial and consolidation issues derived from an investigation into virtual campus projects and initiatives within Europe. The project is working towards developing a practical framework to help guide the process of creating best practice in virtual campuses, as well as raising awareness of issues and approaches to creating sustainable virtual campuses

Towards the development of a new model for best practice and knowledge construction in virtual campuses

International audienceThis paper reports on the work of a European Commission DG Education and Culture cofinanced project PBP-VC, Promoting Best Practice in Virtual Campuses, which is aimed at providing a deeper understanding of the key issues and critical success factors underlying the implementation of virtual campuses. The paper outlines a tentative model of issues underpinning best practice in virtual campuses derived from an initial literature-based investigation of existing virtual campus initiatives within the European Union. It is proposed that the tentative model will build upon key principles that have been identified for the development of an online constructivist learning environment based on problem-based learning and on a suitable model for knowledge construction and evolution. The tentative model comprises five main areas that can be viewed as being interrelated: 1. Organizational issues 2. Technological issues 3. Pedagogical Issues 4. Financial Issues 5. Consolidation Issues. At a meta level the authors hypothesize the presence of the sustainability issue. The project is working towards developing a practical framework to help guide the process of creating best practice in virtual campuses, as well as raising awareness of issues and approaches to creating sustainable virtual campuses. In addition to the investigation of European Union virtual campus projects, the paper will consider virtual campus projects outside the European Union (e.g. North America, Asia, Africa) in order to identify best practices and explore the use of constructivist learning environments. The last phase of the PBP-VC project will be to conduct in depth face-to-face research with specific virtual campus projects and initiatives in order to learn more about the issues that underpin best practice, as well as sending out detailed questionnaires to virtual campus projects and initiatives throughout the European Union, as well as beyond. The detailed framework for best practices built upon the principles for the development of an online constructivist learning environment based on problem-based learning highlighted in this paper will be at last developed and refined

Dissemination of the VCSE model for virtual mobility

International audienceThe Virtual Campus for a Sustainable Europe is a network of European universities experienced in e-learning and education for sustainable development who believe in the wealth of opportunities for learners and teachers engaged in e-learning across disciplinary and cultural boundaries. The VCSE shares high quality, inter-disciplinary and trans-disciplinary e-courses on sustainability issues for university students

The development of models for identifying and promoting best practice in e-learning and virtual campuses

International audienceThis roundtable reports on the work of a European Commission DG Education and Culture cofinanced project "PBP-VC Promoting Best Practice in Virtual Campuses" which is aimed at providing a deeper understanding of the key issues and success factors underlying the implementation of virtual campuses. A tentative model of issues underpinning best practice in virtual campuses which covers organisational, pedagogical, technological and student-related issues derived from an investigation into existing EACEA co-financed virtual campus initiatives within Europe will be outlined. The project is working towards developing a practical framework to help guide the process of creating best practice in virtual campuses, as well as raising awareness of issues and approaches to creating sustainable virtual campuses

A framework for promoting best practice in virtual campuses : initial lessons from the PBP-VC Project

International audienceDespite a significant growth in the development of virtual campuses (VCs) across the EU in recent years, the findings from a European Commission DG Education and Culture workshop in 2005 on VCs highlighted a number of concerns relating to VC projects and initiatives across the EU. It was felt that many VCs suffered from a low profile resulting in little support at senior levels, thus hampering their development, as well as having very little contact and interoperability with each other. If eLearning and VC initiatives are to be sustainable within the European Union, then it is vital that stakeholders understand how new models of teaching and learning transform the institution and how they can be used to enhance the flexibility and inclusiveness of the European education system. This paper reports on the work of a European Commission DG Education and Culture co-financed project PBP-VC Promoting Best Practice in Virtual Campuses which is aimed at providing a deeper understanding of the key issues and critical success factors underlying the implementation of VCs. The paper will outline a tentative model of issues underpinning best practice in VCs derived from an initial literature based investigation of existing VC initiatives within Europe. In addition, the project is working towards developing a practical framework to help guide the process of creating best practice in VCs, as well as raising awareness of issues and approaches to creating sustainable VCs