An approach for e-learning/b-learning dissemination in a higher

education institution using pivot faculty

Gonçalo Cruz* Ana Maia* João Barroso** Teresa Pessoa* Leonel Morgado**

* Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra (UC), Portugal

** University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD), Portugal

Abstract: This paper presents a preliminary approach for implementing e-learning/b-learning

pedagogical practices at the University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD), North-

eastern Portugal. It is a low-resource, middle-out approach, based on the creation of “pivot”

teachers at each UTAD subunit, supported by consultancy services. It was initiated in

September 2010 and scheduled for one year, with the ambition to serve as a basis to extend e-

learning and b-learning practices to the overall organization.

Introduction Empowering faculty to take advantage of the affordances enabled by e-learning technologies in

their educational approach can be a major task, when viewed from an institutional perspective, requiring

significant allocation of human and technical resources. But strategies and approaches can be taken to

facilitate or support wider adoption of these technologies, even before allocation of significant resources

becomes viable, as we mention in the next section.

The University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD), located in Vila Real, North-eastern

Portugal, is taking such an approach, led by the Pro-Chancellery for Innovation and Information

Management, building from existing technology and scattered efforts and goodwill. There is an

institutional practice of administrative use by faculty of online services developed locally, to provide

syllabi, grades, and other course materials. There is a willingness of several faculty members to engage in

b-learning and e-learning practices, as a way to increase contact with their students, and as way to reach

new audiences, geographically distant, for whom physical presence at the campus would not be viable.

There are scattered online education practices by some faculty members, using wikis, blogs, and virtual

worlds. There is also a scarcely-used Moodle platform and a technical team available to maintain its

operation (but not for producing content and no team with an educational background).

The adopted approach consisted in creating “pivot” faculty members in each sub-unit of UTAD,

assisted by a small team of educational consultants, in the form of Educational Sciences trainees with a

background in e-learning as part of their formal education. The goal is for these faculty members to

become aware of educational possibilities and the actual practices involved, not just in terms of traditional

e-learning/b-learning, but also of novel practices using Web 2.0 platforms and virtual worlds: the

planning requirements, the management process, assessment, etc. In doing so, it is UTAD’s expectation

that these pivots both can act as supporting peers of other faculty members in their sub-units, and as

advocates for adoption of e-learning and b-learning technologies and practices. This, in turn, is intended

to serve as a base for establishing clear needs and requirements, so that a university-wide approach can

later be developed.

Institutional practices for adoption of e-learning/b-learning Adoption of e-learning by higher education institutions has been widespread throughout Europe,

with varying degrees of success (Barajas & Gannaway, 2007; PLS Ramboll, 2004).

That is not an easy and simple process for the traditional European universities. The complexity

and difficulty associated, normally requires a greater effort from involved actors than initially expected. It

is reflected in the alliance between resources, time, energy and skills. For every arisen problem, is

necessary a fully context and strategic vision adopted analyze. Only these way universities can effectively

adapt and respond to their own situations, because each problem is unique and exclusive to the reality of

each institution. (Barajas & Gannaway, 2007).

In the specific case of Web 2.0 and eLearning 2.0 respectively, inclusion and equity, advanced

digital competence, safety and privacy concerns, special needs, pedagogical skills, uncertainty and

requirements on institutional changes are the largest challenges, barriers, and bottlenecks identified in

educational European institutions. In this way, institutions must provide students with access to media, as

well as ways to promote their responsible and critical use. On the other hand, should also provide an

adequate infrastructure, supporting and equipping teachers with the required skills for the development of

e-learning with their students (Redecker & Punie, 2010).

Therefore, organizational changes, particularly in university contexts, can not only focus on

whether the approaches are top-down or bottom-up. The middle-out approach, in this context, must be

considered. It is based on management staff work, to promote the change process. That is, the middle-out

approach juggles a mid-terrain between the individual focus of faculty members and the strategic focus of

higher management (Rankine & Malfroy, 2009).

Cautions are needed. Since process beginning, starting at individual purposes to organizational

purposes, good dynamic understandings’ crucial, facilitating implementation and unwind of institutional

process. This is the present challenge, especially for universities (Casanovas, 2010).

These institutions have followed different paths towards innovation, with diverse allocation of

resources/features, and varying costs associated with them. The changes in institutional policies must be

followed by changes in leadership perspective (Giardina, 2010).

Peer instruction education has been increasing in the past few years. Its potential is big in many

situations, innovation being one of them. Several researchers defend that a good strategy to obtain good

results is creating pioneers (or pivots) in the use of e-learning on pedagogic practices, so they can

influence actively and help their peers to do the same. In several projects for innovation technology,

specifically in e-learning, this concept of pivot (typically, a pivot teacher) is consensual and used, because

results often exceed expectations. We consider that the key element is a culture of mutual support and

sharing, to increase the possibility of success. On example of adoption of this model is the

FutureSchool@Singapore Programme (Lim & Cheah, 2010; Giardina, 2010).

Another element to bear in mind is the possibility of supporting pivots with consulting services.

Such an approach is found in the Flexible Learning Initiatives Project, implemented in the Faculty of Law

of the Queensland University of Technology: a team of consultants provides pedagogical support to

teaching staff introducing e-learning in their practices. The consultants work in a case-by-case basis,

helping design appropriated pedagogical strategies for each teacher’s educational content. The consultants

are also available for consultation and assistance at any time (Giardina, 2010).

Institutional context – UTAD UTAD is located in Vila Real, North-eastern Portugal. Originally the Polytechnic Institute of

Vila Real, founded in 1973, with a focus on agricultural and biological sciences, it became a university in

1986. Currently, the educational offer at UTAD is diverse, organized in five schools: School of

Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences (ECAV, Portuguese-language acronym), School of Humanities and

Social Sciences (ECHS, Portuguese-language acronym), School of Sciences and Technology (ECT,

Portuguese-language acronym), School of Life and Environmental Sciences (ECVA, Portuguese-

language acronym), and Higher School of Nursing (ESE, Portuguese-language acronym). UTAD has

several technical services, including a Computing and Communications Service (SIC, Portuguese-

language acronym), which provides technological support to computer systems, such as e-mail, computer

networks, institutional intranet, Moodle platform, and SIDE (described later), among others. However,

the SIC do not provide pedagogical support of training for e-learning; nor is it available at any other

UTAD technical service.

The SIDE platform (information system in support of teaching, Portuguese-language acronym),

provides online content in support of classes and student autonomous study. It also supports routine

administrative tasks such as registering attendance, grades, syllabi and class summaries. The use of this

platform is widespread by faculty members, to the point of being explicitly mentioned in the teaching

standards of UTAD that all teachers must use it to provide basic information about each course, the

attendance records and students’ grades. SIDE originated locally at UTAD in 2002 and has been

constantly developed ever since. It originated as a final graduation project in Electric Engineering, and

evolved into an on-line service which was used by the full Department of Engineering, and later by the

entire university (since 2006). A technical support team produces further enhancements and responds to

needs and requirements that are identified regularly. Since SIDE is not focused on the teaching-learning

process, but rather on the administrative procedures, it is not a Learning Management System (LMS) but

a Course Management System (CMS), simplifying students’ access to courses syllabi, supporting

materials, and results of assessment.

A Moodle platform is also available at UTAD, with technical support provided by the SIC, since

the academic year 2005/2006, as part of the institutional will to develop e-learning initiatives. All

teaching staff at UTAD have access to the platform with the same credentials they use for SIDE and for

the institutional intranet. The SIC has promoted initiatives for teacher training on how to use Moodle,

from a purely technological and functional view.

Very few faculty members have responded by taking up the challenge of using this platform. The

teaching staff numbers about 600, with only about 4 or 5 regularly using Moodle in their teaching practice

– and mostly for the most basic activities, such as forums and providing feedback on student assignments.

One cannot disregard, at this level, the lack of support for the transition from classroom teaching practices

to online practices. However, individual initiatives by that small percentage of teaching staff keep

occurring. The latest is that in February 2011 a post-graduate programme on Natural Hazards and

Emergency Plans will be launched, almost entirely supported by using Moodle. This is the result of a joint initiative by three institutional departments, involving approximately about ten teachers.

However, the use of Web 2.0 tools for educational practices, especially blogs and wikis, is found

amongst teaching staff – in particular, staff that is not using Moodle. Initial contacts with some of these

members of teaching staff have been fruitful, for they have expressed an interest in improving their

teaching practice with these tools and willingness to use other tools.

3D virtual worlds are also found. A small number of teachers use them in their practices and

even develop educational and technical research in the field, particularly in the teaching of programming. There are also several engineering projects involving the use and development of virtual worlds, in

partnership with national and international companies.

The approach

The approach adopted is based on two main aspects: a pedagogical supervision with a team of

two consultants, who are experts in Educational Sciences and with knowledge in e-learning pedagogy,

and in pivot faculty members, two volunteer teachers of sub-units of UTAD. The reasons for choose two

teachers per sub-unit are related to intention of promote the institution autonomy, enabling the pivots

assist others in the same school, who wish to join use of technology to their teaching practices. The intend

is ensuring the continuity the project and get a redundancy that prevents dropouts or losing motivation of

one of the pivots, keeping the second to guarantee the stability of this one.

This initiative starts in September of the academic year 2010/2011. There were two alternatives

for action: a) starting to prepare, with teachers, the semester which starts in February, or b) start working

with teachers immediately, even though they already have plans for teaching defined, established and

started. We opted for the second part, to the extent that - although very limited in scope than would be

possible - would allow the team of consultants and teachers to establish a mutual understanding of

interests and objectives and develop ways to communicate more free from misunderstandings or

differences in terminology and culture. Thus, it is possible not only to develop some experience within

the disciplines e-learning/b-learning underway in the first half, but also ensure that the planning of the

second semester will not be impaired by deficiencies of communication or mutual understanding.

Temporal Diagram

Image 1: Temporal Diagram representing the principal phases of the project.

September December February June

Establishing Communication

Channels

Mutual Knowledge

Prepare and plan the activities

for 2nd semester 2nd semester

Moment 1 Moment 2

The first phase will start in mid September 2010. The goals are the presentation of the

participating teachers and consultants and interviews to survey the needs and expectations of each. It is

expected in this period the preparation and planning activities to be held next semester and still produce

b-learning situations that allow a setting to Web 2.0 tools in teaching practices of teachers and

students. The aim here is to prepare these players for the use of different tools, promoting a period

ambience to them, allowing their exploitation and development of skills to use technology, thereby

enhancing its use as a tool for pedagogical work in the semester that will follow. In the case of teachers

that already use e-learning in their practices, this period will serve to support the pedagogical

development.

The second phase aims to achieve the plans drawn up earlier time, using appropriate

technological tools. The expected is start the second half with a detailed planning of courses and/or

modules that will be taught, including activities using various technology tools, past the Web 2.0, virtual

worlds, skills acquired for manipulation of these tools and tutoring and evaluation practices of the tasks

required.

The consulting function and the role of consultants guess is most intense at first phase, as

mediators in the process of inclusion and adequacy of tools for teaching practices of each teacher. It also

extend to functions as aids in the process of planning activities and schedules, instructional design, in

online tutoring, development of assessment tools and tutorials and to motivate the different subjects of the

process: teachers and students (intervention just in time). In the second phase the consultants will monitor

all activities to be undertaken, restricting itself to provide assistance whenever requested.

At the end of this process will proceed to the evaluation. It will take place according to several

dimensions, the activities of consultants in different tasks, getting an insight into the burden of supporting

educational effort that was involved. This allows assess how large of an ideal team to support UTAD as a

whole or, from another perspective, what the scope of results expected and the pace behind those of a

team with the same dimension. The satisfaction of teachers and students in the consulting provided and

the activities will assess the adequacy of the model used for consulting and teaching strategies

adopted. Finally, the usefulness of the instruments produced (videotutorials, questionnaires, etc.) and the

need for them, lead, initially, the conclusions regarding the immediate need to adapt and improve them, as

well as gauging the need for a specialized team in content production technology and their size, to support

the process of UTAD b-learning/e-learning. Other dimensions deemed relevant will also be subject to

evaluation.

This evaluation plan will integrate necessarily three phases: an initial diagnostic evaluation,

through an ongoing evaluation or evaluation-regulation (which will allow identification of problems and

solving the same throughout project intervention just in time) and a final evaluation, summative (aiming

to examine the achievements and indication of the important aspects in order to pursue the project and

similar future actions).

Field effort: first impressions The development of this approach has now ensued. At the time of writing, pivot faculty members

were already identified in all schools except the Higher School of Nursing. Of those, some have embraced

the project with enthusiasm, either by being more ambition in their ongoing Web 2.0 efforts and e-

learning efforts, or by deciding to start the preparation of the February semester right away. Others have

been more cautious, refraining from changing practices, wishing to start only in January. Others still have

embarked on assisted experimentation and fiddling with e-learning tools, with the support of the

consulting team, but not with the direct involvement of students, rather as a personal awareness.

Unforeseen events did occur, which have impacted our consulting planning, and may ultimately

require a reorganization of the approach during its course. It is necessary to take into account that the

educational dimension of a university professor has the lowest value compared to the dimensions of

research and extension. Because of that, some teachers not always have the availability that an effective

development of e-learning activities requires and others do not demonstrate the pedagogical and

technological skills that supposedly should have. This fact, associated to some communication failures

with teachers involved made us to change some aspects of our initial approach and point of views.

Final thoughts We are confident and hopeful on the outcomes of the presented approach. While technical

resources have been applied regularly in the past 4 years to develop e-learning at UTAD, the pedagogic

know-how and practice is a critical element which requires significant investments in human resources.

While these will eventually be put into place, establishing the actual needs and ensuring the sound use of

such investments is no trivial task. The resources involved in the approach described in this paper is low,

and the potential is high: if we do achieve to making e-learning/b-learning practices more widespread and

diversified at the institutional level, the actual needs and requirements may spring out of grassroots

dynamics, thus ensuring that larger investments can be made effective almost as soon as they are put into

place, and possibly reach maturity faster than through an institutional top-down approach.

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