Journal of Computer Assisted Learning (1994) 10,50-54

A strategy for educational technology in higher educafion P. Adman and 1. Warren University of Hull

Abstract Setting an institutional strategy for technology in higher education will involve both high- level political commitment and varying degrees of financial investment, depending on the extent of structures already in place. In return for this investment, institutions will expect to see significant quantifiable gains in efficiency over relatively short time periods. This article outlines a realistic approach to ensuring that such gains are made without compromising either teaching quality, or the research base.

Keywords: Assessment; Communication; Courseware; Higher education; Technology.

Introduction: The National Picture

The Academic Audit and the projected increase in studentstaff ratios have focused attention on the quality of teaching and learning in UK universities as never before. The Committee of Scottish University Principals have recently described in detail the problems of not only maintaining, but increasing present quality levels as funding pressures intensify (The MacFarlane Report, p. 4,1992). To help meet this challenge, many institutions are currently looking towards providing mechanisms for the introduction and development of innovative teaching methods. This embraces the use of educational technology (ET) which is now considered mature enough to play an important role, enabling academic staff to become more effective and to access new resources (The MacFarlane Report, p. 12,1992; Tuckey, 1992).

ET has been criticised, by Clark, amongst others (UEA and Bell Educational Trust, 1990; Clark, 1992), for being technologydriven, rather than needs-driven; moreover, Trainor (1992) has pointed out that ET has sometimes been seen as no more than a weapon to combat a lack of funding. However, the Universities Funding Council Information Systems Committee Courseware Development Working Party (CDWP) now report that the technological advances of the last decade, in particular the advent of the desktop microcomputer, have ensured that there is now a pedagogic, not just

Accepted 13th September 1993

Cones ndence: Dr L Warren, Project Development Officer, ITTI, University of Hull, Hull, If& 7RX, UK 50

Educational technology in higher education 51

an economic imperative for change (UFC, p. 7,1992). To some extent, this has been recognised at national level by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), firstly by the maintenance of the schemes established by the former Universities Funding Council (UFC) - the Computers in Teaching Initiative (CTD, the Information Technology Training Initiative (ITTI) and the Teaching and Learning Technology Programme (TLTP), and secondly by the formation of the Teaching and Learning Advisory Group (TLAG). However to realise fully the pedagogic potential of technology will also require that institutions take a lead locally by providing an intellectual and conceptual framework within which change can take place (The MacFarlane Report, p. 26,1992). This article outlines an approach to formulating an institutional strategy for educational technology which ensures that efficiency gains are made without compromising either teaching quality, or the research base.

Formulating an Institutional Strategy

Any large-scale expansion in the use of ET will require a major institutional investment. Justifying this can be difficult when there is no comprehensive study which evaluates the costs and benefits of applying innovation and using ET in higher education (The MacFarlane Report, p. 80,1992; Kearsley, 1993). Indeed, the Executive Summary of the MacFarlane Report (p. ix, 1992) stresses the need to organise and support a national programme of research in this area. Until the facts are established, it would be irresponsible to make substantial financial commitments to ET by 'top-slicing' monies which would otherwise be allocated to support traditional teaching and research. In particular, there is no rationale at this stage for establishing sizeable institutional structures with their inherent administrative costs and bureaucratic overheads. Realistically, therefore, institutions should be looking to make progress by means of small-scale, innovative schemes which are demonstrably cost effective.

ET can only be successfully harnessed, even on a small scale, within the context of an effective institutional strategy. It is necessary to take such a proactive approach because of the rapid rate of technological change. Institutions must continually look to the future if they are to stay at the forefront of good practice (UFC, p. 13,1992; British Library, 1993), thereby realising both efficiency gains and an increase in quality. Success cannot be guaranteed by blindly following trends in an immature and volatile market. Doing so can create an unnecessary dependence on commercial suppliers, who may cease to produce or update a product in response to economic factors. This dependency is illustrated by the current fashion for the use of commercial authoring tools to prepare computer-based learning materials. Those who follow this path may eventually find that they are unable to benefit from mainstream technological advance, as their material is firmly locked into what may become outdated proprietary formats. Therefore, especially in areas such as multimedia, where there is little consensus on

52 P. Adman and L. Warren

standards, it is critical that a centre of expertise be available to participate in the decision-making process at a high level.

The identification of realistic and attainable objectives is a critical part of formulating a responsible management strategy. Before this can be done, it is necessary to first discuss what is meant by 'educational technology', with particular emphasis on the role of the computer.

Educational technology and the role of the computer

Nowadays, the term 'educational technology' is increasingly associated with the use of computer-based learning (CBL) materials, in particular, the one-to- one interaction of a student with a computer running discipline-specific courseware. Unfortunately, this is a serious misconception, as it ignores the value of other technological aids to teaching, such as audiotape, videotape and television. Moreover, it undervalues the potential role of the computer.

Using the computer merely as a mass delivery platform presents institutions with serious difficulties, including pressure on space and high expenditure (both capital and recurrent) (The MacFarlane Report, p. 30, 1992). If the technology base is to be effectively exploited, it is crucial that the computer be assigned a role beyond that of a delivery platform for courseware. That is not to say that good courseware does not have its place; yet to make a meaningful contribution to lessening the teaching load, effort must be concentrated in the following three areas:

(a) Production of low-cost delivety media: convergent technologies.

In the past, the diversity of teaching aids now available, including digital technologies (computers) and analogue technologies (TV, videotape, audiotape), has caused problems, as materials produced at considerable expense of time and money could contain valuable information locked into a particular format or medium unsuitable for a particular teaching situation.

This is not the case today, due to the phenomenon of convergent technologies. Recent advances have eroded the barriers between digital and analogue technologies to a great extent, as illustrated by the example of PhotoCD. PhotoCD is a service aimed at the domestic consumer market, which converts images captured on photographic film, an analogue medium, to digital form, storing them on a CD. With appropriate equipment, the images may be displayed either on a TV screen (analogue), or a computer screen (digital). Once available in digital form, images may be edited at pixel level.

Therefore, there is now the technological capability to produce rich, interactive learning materials by using the computer to combine existing digital material with information from traditional media, such as books, photographs, audiotape, videotape and broadcast TV. More importantly, the reverse process is also available; the material may be delivered not only via the computer, but also by means of a range of low-cost media, including videotape.

Educational technology in higher education 53

Such versatility means that once prepared, materials may be converted from one medium to another, as required by the tutor, to meet a whole range of teaching situations. This widens accessibility for the student, as high-end multimedia workstations are no longer a necessity for self-learning.

Using videotape to deliver information derived from a CBL package might invite the criticism that teaching quality has been compromised by loss of interactivity. Yet the benefits of increasing access to the information without having to provide additional workstations can often outweigh any loss, especially if the degree of interactivity in the original package was low.

(b) Computer-managed assessment

It is perhaps surprising that computer-managed assessment remains a much neglected area. This may be due in part to the scarcity of quality software for this purpose. Because there is confusion over the precise meaning of the term assessment, the requirements of the intending users are often not clearly understood by developers, resulting in software which does not have the expected functionality. Furthermore, much of it tends to be afflicted by rigid syntactic rules, limited fuzzy matching capabilities, awkward user interfaces, or all three.

In any case, the majority of software is not designed to enable seamless integration with the learning process itself (Adman & Warren, 19931, although there are some systems which go some way towards meeting this criterion: one example would be the Ceilidh system for teaching programming at the University of Nottingham (Benford etal., 1992). Consequently, assessment is seen and treated as an activity to be performed separately and summatively, rather than being an instrumental and coherent part of learning. As long as this is so, the full potential of computer- managed assessment is unlikely to be realised, a fact overlooked by tutors and developers alike.

(c) Cmptter-suppmfed communication

Computers can be used to support more flexible patterns of teaching and learning, by providing a means of communication: between tutor and student and between the students themselves. This includes the use of electronic mail, conferencing, bulletin boards and interactive broadcasting. Some of the more successful initiatives are described in the MacFarlane Report (p. 70,1992). Whilst this raises important social and curriculum issues which must not be overlooked, it also creates a technical challenge which has to be addressed at institutional level, to enable not only local activity, but efficient communication with the outside world to take place.

Conclusion: a realistic and responsible model

It is now widely recognised that large scale courseware developments are unlikely to take place within single institutions: national initiatives such as

54 P. Adman and L. Warren

the TLTP are more likely to have successful outcomes (Darby, 1992). That accepted, as a possible model, it is suggested that institutions should establish a small educational technology unit, to concentrate efforts on the three areas described in (a) to (c) above.

Given its small size, to make a real impact on an institution-wide scale, the Unit must function solely as a centre of advice and expertise. It would be unrealistic for it to be assigned a courseware development role, even on a small-scale; doing so would restrict its benefits to a handful of individual enthusiasts. However, the Unit would work closely with various project teams, which would be formed when required to achieve given educational objectives. Most importantly, the Unit would be expected to provide guidance on the cost effectiveness of potential new projects.

The Unit staff should be regarded as key personnel, commanding the regard of the other academic staff. Through its head, it should be directly accountable to the top management of the institution. Working unhindered by rigid organisational structures, the Unit would then become strongly influential and of central importance to the institution as a whole.

Finally, a cautionary remark: no amount of money poured into a new venture can guarantee its success. In reaching out for quality learning via educational technology, institutions have the responsibility to ensure that any new investment made in this area produces real efficiency gains without diminishing funds for crucial research activities and existing supporting services. That, clearly, would be a folly.

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