Dr Rob Phillips
President
The Australian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education (ASCILITE) was founded in 1986 with a major purpose of assisting and advancing educational uses of computers and allied technology in Australian universities.†
The purpose of this document is to address the terms of reference of the West Review of Higher Education Financing and Policy, which has five main themes, namely:
This submission concerns itself only with areas to which ASCILITE can make a meaningful contribution as a professional society, that is the application of Information Technology and Educational Technology in the tertiary education sector. Consequently, this submission is relevant only to the first two themes of the Inquiry. In fact, this submission applies equally to both themes one and two, because it was found impossible to differentiate between them in the context of the contribution ASCILITE might make.
This submission applies equally to each of the first two themes of the Inquiry, namely:
The role of higher education in Australia's society and economy
Factors affecting the demand for and provision of higher education over the next 10 to 20 years
ASCILITE believes that developments in Information Technology such as interactive multimedia and the internet can have a profound effect on teaching and learning in the tertiary education sector. These technological developments cannot and should not replace the teacher, but may change the role of the teacher. Some efficiency gains may be realised, but the major benefit will be in equity and flexibility of access to education.
The use of Information Technology in an educational setting can be referred to as Learning Technology. ASCILITE understands learning technology in a broad conceptual sense as the systematic application of a body of knowledge to the design, implementation and evaluation of learning resources. The body of knowledge - the fruit of research and practice - is based on principles of learning theory, instructional design and change management. Learning technology makes use of a range of communication and information technologies to support learning and to provide learning resources. ASCILITE believes that learning technology adds value to both the efficiency and the effectiveness of the learning process.
However, to gain maximum benefit from learning technology requires that existing paradigms of teaching and learning be challenged. Learning technology is not simply using computers to replace teachers. Computers make poor teachers, but they can be effective in supporting learning.
The greatest contribution that learning technology can make to improving the effectiveness of learning rests in its ability (i) to support active learning, and (ii) to facilitate cost-effective forms of educational dialogue. It is these functions that are of educational importance rather than the ability of learning technology simply to support access to information (itself a relatively trivial part of learning). The kinds of learning outcomes valued in tertiary education (and which employers are demanding of our graduates) depend upon a complex mix of educational processes. Advances in learning theory and cognitive science now allow us to build learning technology systems which support these processes in quite sophisticated ways, without damaging acquisition of skills traditionally associated with university education (for example, through personal interactions, debate, group and individual discussion).
Several factors have combined to change significantly what society needs from its tertiary education system. Foremost among these are the rate of technological change and the changing nature of work. The content of many degree programs is now becoming obsolete in two to three years. Most graduates can look forward to a number of major career changes and an increasing proportion will be creating their own employment. The requirement for tertiary education to be responsive to these changed needs has considerable implications for its shape, size and structure. At the heart of the changes required is the mainstreaming of lifelong learning.
Although learning technology will not automatically increase the size and scope of tertiary education nor change its structure, it does present an opportunity to support such changes and is particularly powerful as an enabling mechanism for lifelong learning.
Three categories of lifelong tertiary education students can be identified:
While the first category is normally assumed to be composed of students studying full-time, economic considerations are turning increasing numbers of recent school leavers into de facto part-time students. The distinction between full-time and part-time study is thus becoming less relevant and increasingly unhelpful.
A priority for the tertiary education sector must be to improve the general level of understanding of how learning technology can be used to support lifelong learning.
All students - after proper and timely guidance and advice from institutions and others - should be given maximum opportunity to choose the time, place, learning style and method of access for any course of study. This ideal will not be realised until the issue of universal access in the education sector is resolved and the accessibility of communications is affordable, particularly for students in distance learning situations.
Learning technology can increase student choice and facilitate open and flexible learning (OFL) by:
Open and flexible learning, per se, does not necessarily lead to substantial financial benefits. However, a well-thought out approach to implementing OFL, by challenging existing paradigms of teaching, offering incentives for change and providing effective staff development initiatives can lead to significant efficiencies by reducing the need for additional buildings and facilities as student numbers increase. Cost savings from technological developments only become obviously apparent if a holistic view of the whole tertiary education environment is taken.
Lifelong learning requires a learner-centred rather than a teacher-centred approach. Furthermore, research has shown that learning technology is more effective if designed from a learner-centred viewpoint. The role of the academic is therefore changing from the sage on the stage to the guide on the side.
Academic staff will have to acquire new skills in order to meet the requirements of providing open and flexible learning using the new communications technology. At present most effort of academic staff is directed towards the presentation and delivery of subject knowledge, with less being dedicated to facilitation, consolidation, remediation and assessment of learning outcomes. With the development of learning technology, and the subsequent increasing reliance on computer-based learning resources, less time will be needed for preparation and delivery allowing more time for ensuring and enhancing the learning outcomes. This shift - a considerable role change for academics - should be viewed as job enrichment in so far as consolidation, remediation and assessment are just as demanding and rewarding as presentation. This role change for academics needs to be nurtured through strong staff development programmes.
Developments in learning technology will also make new demands on support staff. The roles of support staff will increasingly overlap with those of academics, because of the way that communications and information technology has changed the nature of learning and teaching. There is a need to review and redefine the roles of academic staff and support staff within universities. To complete the picture, students will need to be taught suitable learning skills.
In summary, universities have a responsibility to provide adequate training and education for staff who have not acquired appropriate learning technology skills. The Committee for University Teaching and Staff Development should continue, and have enhanced responsibility to support the professional recognition of all staff involved in the development and use of learning resources in universities.
A priority for the tertiary education sector must be to improve our understanding of how learning technology can be used to support lifelong learning and open and flexible learning.
We should recognise that some technology-led experimentation is valuable, a necessary part of discovering what technology can offer and a useful stimulus to the articulation of educational requirements. However, we would argue that far too much investment in learning technology for tertiary education has been driven by technological possibility rather than educational need. Too much experimentation has been carried out without due recourse to the existing body of educational research on learning technology.
We can point to a number of examples where investment has been justified through a flawed analysis of educational need. (For example, the broad-brush approach taken in the UK to 'convert' entire courses into electronic format through the TLTP programme; the assumption that there is a significant need for synchronously 'broadcast' lectures over the internet, or the assumption that putting existing lecture material onto the Web enriches the education process.)
There is a need - for academics as well as managers - to understand the different forms of educational provision which different configurations of learning technology can offer. We urge the adoption of incentives to encourage a range of methods of learning technology development, appropriate to the varied needs within the sector.
Funding incentives are necessary to encourage the future development of courseware and online learning resources. Such initiatives should be structured in such a way that (i) they build squarely on what has already been learned by others and (ii) new lessons are learned and widely disseminated.
The Australian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education (ASCILITE) was founded in 1986. The purposes for which the Society was established are:
ASCILITE has a membership of over 300 individuals and organisations, mainly from the university sector. It has held annual conferences since its inception in 1986, and the society arose from an earlier series of conferences between 1983 and 1985. Recent conferences have discussed issues of relevance to this inquiry, for example:
"Organisational and cultural implications of changes in teaching and learning", Professor Stephen Brown, De Montfort University, UK, 1996.
"Changing educational paradigms", Carol B MacKnight, University of Massachusetts, 1996.
"Learning with Technology: Keeping the focus on learning", Shirley Alexander, University of Technology, Sydney, 1995.
"The virtual university: new approaches to higher education in the 21st century", Linda Harasim, Simon Fraser University, Canada, 1995.
"A vision of higher education in the year 2000", Jonathon Darby, Oxford, UK, 1994.
"Multimedia and the changing experience of the learner", Diana Laurillard, Open University, UK, 1994.
Substantial parts of this submission are based on the report
to the UK Dearing Committee of Inquiry into Higher Education by
the Association for Learning Technology, prepared by Professor
Ray McAleese. ASCILITE thanks ALT for the use of that material.