The Report of the E-Learning Advisory Group March 2002

Introduction

New Zealand’s learning environment is undergoing a powerful and exciting transformation. New advances in technology, electronic media and the Internet are revolutionising the way we live, learn and work. E-learning – the provision of learning through the electronic media – has enormous potential as an educational tool. It can provide immediate and ongoing access to the skills, knowledge and experiences that will help transform New Zealand into a Knowledge Society with learning opportunities for all, young and old.

But technology alone won’t achieve this transformation. What is also required is a shared vision of the kind of learning environment we want to create, with genuine representation of all cultures and communities. This is essential if we are to develop our own distinctive approach to e-learning and use it, along with other approaches, to reflect and contribute to a collective New Zealand identity.

The tertiary education systems and support structures we establish must be tailored to the diverse needs of our learners and be flexible enough to evolve over time as technology advances and our learning needs change. Above all, the needs of the learner must be paramount and drive the process of transformation. E-teachers must be well-supported in their efforts to fully utilise e-learning, or its potential will never be realised.

Care must be taken to establish an inclusive system which can offer quality learning to people of all ages and educational backgrounds, from entry-level learning through to advanced research. It needs to be a system that is responsive to students’ learning needs and capable of replenishing their skills throughout life. Within that system e-learning can make a significant contribution to ensuring equity of access, improving quality and delivering on the promise of lifelong learning. It will not replace our campuses, although it will change the way students learn when they are there. It will also help develop a variety of other learning contexts – at home, at work and learning centres – to meet diverse demands.

What’s happening internationally

New Zealand is now part of a global marketplace, serviced by increasingly-sophisticated communications systems. In this new global economy, New Zealand must compete by developing a highly-skilled population which is constantly improving its skills and knowledge base.

In such a society, ongoing learning is integral to the lives of all individuals and communities. It assumes there will be increasing numbers of people participating in learning and that there will be a vigorous pursuit of excellence in teaching and research.

E-learning’s potential is already well-established globally. By the end of 2000, more than 200 million people were using the Internet worldwide and this figure is expected to reach 638 million by 2004. In the United States alone, knowledge services in the school, tertiary and corporate markets is already worth $740 billion dollars. It is estimated that the global industry is worth $2 trillion.

As Moe and Blodget1 note in their May 2000 report: “At no previous time has human capital been so important – finding, developing and retaining knowledge workers will be mission-critical functions and areas of high growth in the new economy. ”

Different countries have approached the e-learning challenge in different ways. The European Commission recently announced a US$13 billion three-year e-learning action plan to deliver technology-based education. The United States is also moving towards a systematic national approach to e-learning and has established a web-based education commission to maximise the educational promise of the Internet across all levels of education.

The United Kingdom and Australia are debating the merits of establishing national “virtual” universities while Canada already has one up and running. The challenge for New Zealand is to decide where it should sit internationally in the provision of e-learning services, mindful of the fact that we have many competitors at home and abroad in this e-learning market. We must identify where our competitive edge lies and where international links might usefully be fostered.