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Invigorated by the freedom and power of the omnipresent
Web, some teachers and students are embracing e-learning;
and educational institutions, worried by cutbacks in government
subsidies, are also forming international alliances with
one another to expand their campus boundary, to attract
more students, especially part-time, fee-paying working
adults who need professional development credits to advance
their career. The recent outbreak of SARS in the region
has also acted as a stimulus, as well as a challenge, for
the adoption of e-learning as a supplement to, if not a
replacement for, traditional methods of teaching and learning
[1].
We are hence at the threshold of a new era where institutional
and government policies and practices are still in their
infancy, and that is why we have organized this one-day
symposium for theorists and practitioners to share their
ideas and solutions in order to push for the formulation
of a global agenda for regional action. Issues our keynotes
and workshops participants are expected to touch upon are
pedagogical and socio-economic, rather than purely technological,
for example:
- Should institutions opt for a "pure"
e-learning model using the Web or a "hybrid"
model" using also hardcopy prints, CD-ROM, VCD, face-to-face,
video-based meetings, telephone tutorials, on-campus school.?
- How do traditional, non-distance education institutions
integrate their ongoing regulations and practices
with the special requirements of web-delivered programs?
- How do institutions estimate the cost of pure
or hybrid e-learning for their overall budget planning?
- How do institutions guard against plagiarism and cheating
behind the keyboard to defend the quality accountability
of professional awards?
- How do institutions handle the ownership and
accreditation issue in an allied offering of programs
contributed by different partners?
- How do partnering institutions process international
student and staff use of their subscription digital
library resources ?
- Can the "fair use" and "fair
dealing" proponents reach a truce so as to improve
the accessibility of courseware, reference resources and
library holdings for lifelong learners across nations?
- What do teachers need to know or do to ensure a better
chance of transferring/cultivating knowledge across
classes comprising multinational and multilingual students?
- How do teachers facilitate the access of multimedia
course material by less well-off students without
suitable machines, software and high bandwidth connectivity?
- How do teachers mentor and motivate their
students whom they may never get to see?
- How do teachers take advantage of open courseware
such as those offered by MIT and others?
- What are the essential features to incorporate/look
for in designing or purchasing off-the-shelf course
management systems?
- How helpful are these "hot" concepts/slogans
of "knowledge network and/or knowledge bank",
"learning objects", "grid computing",
"Internet2"
going to be for e-learning alliances?
- To what extent are governments and regional/national
accreditation bodies prepared to deal with e-learning
awards from different nations, or will they be merely
kicking the ball back to the institution's court?
It is important to appreciate that these issues are not
discrete ones but are interrelated and need people and governments
to work together for solutions regardless of sectors and
professional briefs.
Some related references to stimulate your thinking
Notes
[1] Visitors are referred to the on-line
conference "Educational
narratives and reflections in the time of SARS"
held in May this year, which was hosted by the Consortium.
[2] This is a recent paper by Professor
Diana Laurillard, our Sym6 keynote speaker.
[3] This link is very slow to download.
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