Special Research I

Session 11: Study Case in IM Field (1) (Lecturer: Fujio Ohmori)

[Study Case]

  Although, as indicated by the term "virtual university", e-Learning in higher education had been anticipated and opposed from the late 1990s to the 2000s, there is no change in the situation of "words before action". However, looking at the trend in the world, although it is just a sign at this moment, the changes in higher education through e-Learning are certainly taking place. In addition, the change is not limited to the area of higher education; it is progressing in a form that links and competes with corporate training and educational businesses, along with cross-border activities. On the other hand, in Japan there is little movement, as though Japan is left behind by the global trend. According to The Economist Intelligent Unit, Ltd & IBM, Co (2003), Japan is ranked 23rd, behind such Asian countries as Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

  In order to further understand my viewpoints on this issue, read the following article (Ohmori, 2006a, pp.60-61).

Institutional strategy or policy on e-Learning
  The term 'globalisation' has a number of connotations including 'borderlessness', 'marketisation' and 'standardisation' among others, and the nature of e-Learning seems to be much in tune with these phenomena. E-learning has been said to have a considerable potential in global knowledge-based economy. Nonetheless, the Japanese higher education is yet to develop its e-Learning element towards its full potential. For that purpose, institutional innovations might be more important than, or at least as important as, governmental initiatives. Each institution needs to make its strategy or policy on e-Learning explicitly stated, with some flexibility though......

Adaptation to globalisation at classroom level, institutional level and national system level
  Actual teaching and learning occur in 'classroom' either real or virtual, and quality and standards of teaching and learning at classroom level decide those at institutional level and at national system level. At the same time, institutional strategies and national policies influence pedagogic practices in classrooms. Therefore, adaptation to globalisation in higher education is to be understood as a complex mixture of these different levels' endeavours, which are not necessarily compatible with each other.

  Why has e-Learning in Japanese universities not made any breakthroughs yet? The biggest cause is the lack of "management". In reality, even advanced attempts, in most cases, rely greatly on voluntary and self-sacrificing efforts by a few teachers and the mobilization of graduate students based on the spirit of an apprenticeship type of education. There is no "management" that reallocates human resources and material resources based on "strategy" or "policy" that integrates the purpose, process, and achievement of education, dealing with conflicts with vested interests. As described below (Ohmori 2006b, p.344), the lack of "management" is inextricably linked to the lack of "quality assurance" of education.

  Some might think that a lack of "management" is not always bad for "education". However, this is wrong. A writer from Aoyama Gakuin University rightly points out that "methods of instruction or educational outcomes are not rigorously examined" and that "there is low awareness of assurance of achievement" (pp.72-73). The situation can also be described as "lack of quality assurance" in Japanese higher education. In terms of the lack of systematic approaches that create links among purpose, process and achievement, it is similar to the "lack of management" described above and they are closely connected with each other. The key issue is "education management" and "education strategy" that facilitate "quality assurance" of education. The viewpoint of the editor that underlines the lack of specialists having skills such as instructional design (ID) as a problem for e-Learning in Japan compared with the U.S. (Chapter 8) is accurate. Moreover, it is highly suggestive that the essential nature of ID is the systematic approach to assure the quality of education described above. It is a challenge not just for e-Learning, but for university education as a whole.

  Policies at the institutional level should not be a list of fine-sounding phrases to please everybody, but should enable the institution to choose purpose, process and achievement strategically based on its mission and available resources in the macro environment including the national system and policy and the market.

Citation and Reference

・The Economist Intelligent Unit, Ltd & IBM, Co, 2003, The 2003 e-learning readiness rankings.
・Fujio Ohmori (2006a), "Quality Assurance of Transnational e-Learning: from a Japanese Viewpoint", National Institute of Multimedia Education, NIME International Symposium 2005 Report: Quality Assurance of e-Learning in Higher Education, pp55-62 (Japanese only)
・Fujio Ohmori (2006b), "Book Review" (Aya Yoshida, Mana Taguchi, Jun Nakahara (Eds.)), e-Learning Management Strategies at Universities – Requirements for Success –, Japan Society of Educational Sociology, 'The Journal of Educational Sociology', No.78, Toyokan Publishing, pp343-345. (Japanese only)
・Aya Yoshida, Mana Taguchi & Jun Nakahara (Eds.) (2005), e-Learning Management Strategies at Universities – Requirements for Success –, Tokyo Denki University Press. (Japanese only)