Lounge

LIVE!  International Webcast on Quality Assurance in
Online Learning - 
The Example of the Greek Schools Network 

The Collaborative Book Project - British Columbia
Campus, Canada 

Sharing and Discussion Session
Moderator: Niki Lambropoulos

Thursday 27 April 2006 at 12:00pm PST (20:00 Greenwich
Time (London), 22:00 Greek time (Athens)) 

The aim of this Webcast is to talk about a book
chapter that proposes a holistic approach for
Instructional Design to ensure and improve quality in
online learning. Based on a series of studies to
identify a process for Quality in order to facilitate
collaborative learning in the Greek Schools Network,
the book chapter suggests a framework starting by
setting intentions and an analysis of the context ID
is aimed for. Thus, it considers the Analysis phase
for the operational stages of Design, Evaluation Use
and Sustainability (ADEUS).  

The link to the discussion is
http://community.bccampus.ca/expo?go=1187813 You need
to create an account first to access the button so to
participate in the Webcast as it is password
protected.

The research to trigger the discussion comes from
Nikis research study process to tackle the problem of
participation in the Greek Schools Network. To solve
this problem by ensuring Quality in Online Learning
Communities the following analysis and planning in the
first stage for Instructional Design was considered
helpful: 
   -	Troubleshooting: Description of the problem based
on a key variance (intentional and operational
variance in socio-technical design)
   -	Involving stakeholders in the process of design
(3 research studies)
   -	Pilot deployment, in combination with
   -	Real-time evaluation to track and record the
members and the communitys evolution. 
   -    Use and Sustainability

The topics of the International Webcast are the
following:

A. Quality in Online Learning  Need for
Critical Awareness
1. What does Quality in Online Learning mean for you?
2. Why is it important for you?

B. Need for Specific Frameworks & Quality requirements
in Instructional Design: Planning/Analysis Phase for
Quality Assurance 
3. Description/Planning/Analysis Phase: There are
different ways to approach the scope of ID. 
   a.	respond to a particular problem being
experienced from all stakeholders (key variance)
(focus on this book chapter), and
   b.	address particular needs and goals by needs and
goals analysis. 

C. Identification of One Key Variance
4. Quality assurance variance needs to answer the
following questions in order to respond to a key
variance:
   a.	Which issue Analysis will address on both an
intentional and operational level?
   b.	What are the expected outcomes?
   c.	What is the appropriate learning style?
   d.	What is the appropriate Instructional strategy
for the selected learning style (in our case
collaborative learning for conflict resolution and
reaching consensus)?  
   e.	What is the appropriate Instructional Design
strategy for this particular context (IMS-Learning
Design)?
   f.	What is the appropriate Learning Design approach
(criteria for selection e.g. collaborative learning)?
   g.	What are the Instructor Technology/Competency
Requirements? 
   h.	What are the User as Learner
Technology/Competency Requirements?
   i.	What are the crucial User/Learner-Centered
Design issues for this particular context?  
   j.	When is the point we need a totally new design
and a new system?


Follow ups:
-----------
1. Intelligenesis immediate space of use Forum>
http://www.intelligenesis.eu.com/ > Forum >
no password or login is required
2. European Community Forum: Quality in Online
Learning Communities > http://community.eun.org/

Suggested reading and recourses:

Nancy Parker 
The Dilemma in Online Education (2003)
http://cde.athabascau.ca/online_book/pdf/TPOL_chp16.pdf


European Foundation for Quality in eLearning (EFQUEL)
http://www.qualityfoundation.org/  All feature
articles 

Wallace K. Pond
Twenty-First Century Education and Training:
Implications for Quality Assurance
http://eric.ed.gov/

Panayiotis Zaharias
E-Learning Design Quality: A Holistic conceptual
framework
http://www.eltrun.gr/news/Encyclopedia_ElearnQuality.pdf

--== * ==--
Niki Lambropoulos
Research Student
Centre for Interactive Systems Engineering
Faculty of Business, Computing and Information Management
London South Bank University
London, UK
http://www.lsbu.ac.uk/bcim/research/cise/
http://nikilambropoulos.org