The viewpoint of a European University

Professor Michael Brady FRS FREng

Department of Engineering Science

Oxford University

UK

(Europe!!)

Overview

• e-learning: technology & education

• The UK context

• learning Oxford-style

• e-learning at Oxford

• Examples

• Oxford’s international relations

e-learning: the technical base

• Internet– Much “information” available – Need for authoritative data: gateways– Filters to websites judged authoritative

• The emerging Grid– Virtual organisation, information utility

e-learning: the technical base

• Internet– Much “information” available – Need for authoritative data: gateways

• The emerging Grid– Virtual organisation, information utility– SOAP, WSDL, OGSA, …

e-learning: educational perspective

• Success stories and hype– Self-paced, interactive, cheaper– learner dictates when & where (home),

• Technology facilitates but e-learning is about learning

• Many modes of learning– Acquisition: lecture, video, lecture notes on WWW– Discussion: face to face (tutorials qv)– Discovery: laboratory, field-trip, ..– Guided discovery: possibly optimal for e-learning

e-learning: educational perspective

• Success stories and hype• Many modes of learning• Blend of methods is best

– e-learning is but one part of the puzzle

• Authoring e-learning courses is a specialist skill– At Oxford, an e-learning course is the result of a

collaboration between a domain expert and an authoring specialist

Changes in UK students entering universities

• Changing students– Games, Internet, and the connected high-school– Students expect changes: medium/quality of learning

• Increasingly broad A (and AS) –levels– Mix of science & humanities– Life science/physical science continuum – Wide variations at university entry

• Government aspirations– 50% participation in higher education– Tony Blair’s aspiration

Technology has revolutionised the way we work and is now set to transform education. Children cannot be effective in tomorrow’s world if they are trained in yesterday’s skills.

Nor should teachers be denied the tools that other professionals take for granted.

The Grid will be a way for finding and using on-line learning and teaching materials.

By 2002, all schools will be connected to the superhighway, free of charge; half a million teachers will be trained; and our children will be leaving school IT-literate, having been able to exploit the best that technology can offer.

Tony Blair

7th October 1997

Of course, it now is 2002 …

UK context

• Open University (1963)– Television & distance learning– The OU effect on social attitudes

• Industrial needs– Lifelong learning– Knowledge management & renewal– Recruitment and retention in a knowledge economy

• e-Science • The e-University (2001)

The challenge:

The 84 courses submitted for roll-out in 2002 must be easily adaptable to the local needs of the course organiser.

Canned course material developed elsewhere with different students in mind rarely encourages effective learning

Oxford University

• Brilliant students

• Academic staff who are– Mostly world-class researchers– Mostly dedicated teachers– … sometimes both!

• Culture of individual tuition– Since 1279!!

Much the same applies to the Grandes Ecoles

Oxford’s odd structure

Engineering Science

Physics

Chemistry

…

St.

John

’s

Keb

l e C

olle

g e

Chr

ist C

hurc

h

… C

oll e

ge

The legendary wealth is in the colleges not in the University

An assistant professor is also a member of a college, teaches tutorials and contributes (more) administration

An Oxford student’s experience

• Science & medicine– Lectures (10 pw)

– Laboratories

– Coursework modules

– Group projects

– Individual project

– Tutorials (2 pw)

• Humanities– Occasional lecture

– Overwhelmingly tutorials

Quality of learning determined by dedication of tutor

Tutorial teaching

• What are tutorials?– A dedicated teacher meets with 1 or 2 students

for one hour per week– “disputation” – formulate & defend

• Tutorials– Individual needs and “disputation”– Training ground of Government!– Expensive in money … and academic time

Can high-quality teaching and world-class research continue to co-exist?

e-learning at Oxford

• Learning Technology Group– http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ltg

• Humanities Hub• E-science centre• Doctoral Training Centre

– e-learning at the life/physical sciences interface

• Internet Institute– Ethical and social issues raised by the Internet/Grid

TALL: The Alliance for Lifelong LearningOxford, Stanford, and Yale

Oxford – ComputingR Flood, J Axford, B Lockhart & TALL

Oxford – immunologyProf Kathryn Wood & TALL

Oxford-Princeton links• internationally renowned libraries, each with

extensive digital library projects• units for online learning resources for on-

campus students – LTG in Oxford and the Educational Technologies

Center (Princeton) – http://etc.princeton.edu/

• faculty centres to develop teaching and learning – IAUL in Oxford and Harold W. McGraw, Jr.

Center for Teaching and Learning Princeton http://web.princeton.edu/sites/mcgraw/ ).

Princeton - Almagest

• a networked database describing the objects, places and people related to slides that are used primarily in Art History

• Currently = database tables for describing– Constructs / Artefacts (objects, places, buildings etc.)

– Agents (people, organizations)

– Locations (places, countries)

– Images (multimedia) and Directories holding them

– Documents (untyped, can be external to database)

– Small Documents (typed, 2000 char or less)– …

     

Princeton – using Almagest

e-learning at Oxford

• Learning Technology Group– http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ltg

• Humanities Hub• E-science centre• Doctoral Training Centre

– e-learning at the life/physical sciences interface

• Internet Institute– Ethical and social issues raised by the Internet/Grid

Virtual mammo

1. Basic research

2. Spin-out company

3. Commercial product

• Continuing education credits for 80,000 radiographic technicians in the USA

4. Teaching and research should be symbiotic

http://www.mirada-solutions.com

E-learning has the potential to make unique resources available to scholars world-wide

The universities having those resources will see their competitive advantage reduce!

• the Ashmolean museum

• the Bodleian Library

• the Alzheimer archive

• …

Thoughts for the Classe Préparatoire• E-learning is not a panacea

– developing technique for effective learning– Collaboration: content providers & authoring specialists

• A blend of teaching methods is most effective• Individual needs: the brighter the student, the greater the

potential• The world’s top universities have a key role to play as providers

of authoritative content– Market through the e-University?

• The humanities may be the leader, not the physical sciences• Chinese proverb and Nuffield Maths• Tony Blair’s quote still inspires

I hear, and I forget

I see, and I remember

I do, and I understand

Technology has revolutionised the way we work and is now set to transform education. Children cannot be effective in tomorrow’s world if they are trained in yesterday’s skills.

Nor should teachers be denied the tools that other professionals take for granted.

The Grid will be a way for finding and using on-line learning and teaching materials.

By 2002, all schools will be connected to the superhighway, free of charge; half a million teachers will be trained; and our children will be leaving school IT-literate, having been able to exploit the best that technology can offer.

Tony Blair

7th October 1997