Don Passey
email: d.passey@lancaster.ac.uk

Managing Quality Education -Identifying the Learning Needs of the Individual, Then Satisfying Them

Keywords: Managing quality education, individual learning needs, data management systems, formative assessment, social and emotional aspects of learning

Do teachers have access yet to the forms of data that will allow them to meet the needs of different learners? School head teachers and managers, when seeking to manage quality education, are challenged by the dilemmas of balancing quality of provision through classroom interactions with quality of provision that meets the needs of the individual learner. A number of processes and technologies are now available that support schools in managing those balances: availability of data; access to different forms of data; and technologies that support areas of learning and different learning approaches. Although there is continued development of systems to support schools in each of these areas, this paper will argue that there is need to consider further development in all of these areas, and to link up critical elements and features more. This paper will look at, in a United Kingdom (UK) context: the forms of data normally accessible to schools; an example of the ways that some forms of technology are supporting the learning needs of the individual; and an indication of the limitations for consequential quality management arising from lack of 'learning-to-data-to-learning' links.

Introduction

A teacher recently shared a concern with me: she said that there are some students in her classes who really do not understand algebra, and she does not know why. To help them, she wants to know why they do not understand algebra, and what learning approaches or pedagogic practices she might use to help them, rather than being told from test and data records that they do not understand algebra. In essence, the issues at the heart of this concern are those considered in this paper.

School head teachers and managers seek to manage quality education in a range of ways; they seek to manage the quality of school environments for learning, of teacher interactions to support learning, and of interactions that support the needs and interests of the individual learner. It is clear that school head teachers and managers, as well as teachers themselves, when seeking to manage quality education through these domains, are challenged by the needs to balance quality of provision offered through classroom interactions with quality of provision that meets the needs of the individual learner. In the context of the United Kingdom (UK), an increasing emphasis has been placed on the importance of engaging in a personalisation of learning, discussed in the Report of the Teaching and Learning in 2020Review Group (2006). This influential report emphasised the need to consider ways that schools and learning might be transformed, as well as a review of the integration of assessment and data management to support those goals. It stressed that personalising learning should be learner-centred, knowledge-centred, and assessment-centred; some of the characteristics associated with personalising learning that were stated in the report included 'close attention … paid to learners' knowledge, skills, understanding and attitudes', learning 'connected to what they already know (including from outside the classroom)', teaching that engages pupil 'interest in learning, … identifies, explores and corrects misconceptions', learners being active so that they 'create their own hypotheses, ask their own questions, coach one another, set goals for themselves, monitor their progress, … knowing that mistakes and 'being stuck' are part of learning', with assessment being both formative and summative, supporting learning, and identifying next steps.

A number of facilities and technologies to help schools manage the balances and approaches concerned with personalising learning are becoming increasingly available. Data relating to individual learners is increasingly accessible online, through systems that provide access over the period of their school careers, there is increasing access to different forms of data (so that statutory test and examination data can be supplemented by data relating to attitudes, behaviour, and learning access outside school), and how technologies can support areas of learning, pedagogies and different learning approaches are being detailed and understood to greater extents.

In this paper I will consider a current 'data dilemma'. I will explore the current forms of data that are accessible to teachers in schools in the UK, and the (sometimes limited) ways that those data can be accessed and associated with individual learner characteristics. I will indicate evidence from research reports that shows that technologies are supporting some learners with specific social or emotional characteristics, but that the data accessible to a teacher neither allows attainment or achievement to be easily viewed through those learner groupings, nor allows access to information and advice to offer alternative ways to support a personalisation of learning for those learner groups.

Data Accessible to Schools

Schools in the UK have access to a wide range of data, and in many cases schools record and use data that is additional to statutory test and examination results. Data normally accessible to schools includes background results (prior national attainment or non-statutory test results in subjects at the end of a period of schooling referred to as a Key Stage), estimated likely outcomes (estimated future results based on previous performance, statistically produced and validated), targets (future targets generated by statistical engines, or by pupils, teachers or school leaders, so that they can be used as an aspirational focus), teacher assessments (subject attainment results entered by teachers to show achievement at specific points in time, and in some cases also records made regularly by teachers about homework completion, attendance, effort in class, or behaviour in school), added value measures (indicating the value added at the end of a particular period of time, usually at the end of a Key Stage, generated and presented in the form of either raw score added value, or contextual added value moderated according to individual or school context, or within school variation value moderated according to previous school performance or school subject comparison). The forms of data listed here are widely used, but generally offer ideas about subject content or attainment, rather than ideas of pedagogic practice.

Some schools select to gather other data, including data from specific tests that provide measures other than subject attainment outcomes. For example, the GL Assessment (2009) Cognitive Abilities Tests (CATs) provide perspectives about learning potential; these are not subject focused (they indicate standardised scores for quantitative, qualitative and non-quantitative reasoning). Some online resource facilities monitor and report individual learner access levels outside as well as inside school, with access rates and outcome measures reported back to schools (SamLearning, n.d., for example). Some schools record details concerned with social and emotional attitudes to learning (SEAL), discussed in government education department guidance (DfES, 2005), and in this context, while many schools record details of attendance and behaviour, fewer maintain specific records of selfawareness, the managing of feelings, motivation, empathy, and social skills. Some of these social and emotional features are regularly tested in some schools using tests that measure attitudes of learners to aspects of readiness for and confidence in learning, feelings about school, perceived learning capability, self-regard, attitudes to teachers, to work, and to attendance, using a system such as the Pupil Attitude to Self and School (P.A.S.S.), for example (W3 Insights,n.d.). For those schools that gather these records, the data tend to offer insights into the contexts of learner engagement, however, rather than giving ideas directly about content or pedagogic preference (except in the case of CATs).

Access to Data in Schools

Schools can access these data in a number of ways, through a number of different access points, many through online portals, and some in hardcopy form (these are discussed in more depth in [START_REF] Passey | First no choice, then some choice, and finally overload: A reasonable data management evolution?[END_REF]. The tracking of data through the individual child, however, a need that teachers have desired for many years and highlighted by work of the author in 2002 with the government department in England, and summarised in a later paper [START_REF] Passey | Technology enhancing learning: Limited data handling facilities limit educational management potential[END_REF], is now beginning to become more easily available to local authorities (LAs) and schools through the work and development of the Fischer Family Trust with its Student Explorer system (2009), and through facilities offered in management information systems.

While data that is linked to the individual child enables LAs and schools to look at background data and estimated likely outcomes (and often attendance data), links to other forms of data such as attitude are not currently so easily accessible, for either comparative or selection purposes. However, data that allows filtering to highlight similarities or differences with specific groups of pupils are becoming increasingly accessible. Filtering factors such as ethnicity, gender, special educational needs, additional language needs, and socio-economic indicators are being built into systems such as Student Explorer. Whilst uses of these forms of group filter data have been in place for some time (see DfES, 2002, for example), there has been increased interest in use of these data to explore impacts of background circumstances as well as specifically targeted interventions. A key question still remains however -if certain mechanisms or interventions are recognised to support personalised learning in certain ways, are appropriate and relevant data routinely collected and made available to teachers and managers so that they can set up and support quality interventions (where quality can be judged by shifts in attainment or achievement at individual as well as at group level)? In the next section, an example will show that systems in place do not yet allow for this need.

How Technologies are Supporting some Individual Learners

Many learning support interventions have been introduced into schools in the UK over the past 20 years. A range of these have involved and continue to involve technologies. Evidence presented in this section will indicate that a certain range of technologies and associated interventions can support a certain group of learners (evidenced by reports from learners themselves and from teachers).

Government education policy in England, initially defined in a report by the government education department (DfES, 2005), and later described within an implementation plan from the government agency for e-strategy (Becta, 2007), highlighted the need for schools and LAs to focus on effective implementation of certain specific learning and teaching practices. These practices included the personalisation of learning, the harnessing of technologies to enhance learning opportunity and effectiveness, the eliciting and integration of student voice, and the widening of home access and support. To this end, schools were (and still are) encouraged to implement e-learning practices, including approaches that use learning platforms, virtual learning environments (VLEs) and e-mentoring systems. A range of VLEs is accessible to schools across the UK. In this paper, learning outcomes from uses of two VLEs will be considered. The first, Virtual Workspace, was introduced into two LAs for use by all secondary schools and their learners aged 14 to 19 years. Findings from this implementation [START_REF] Passey | Virtual Workspace: An Independent Evaluative Review. Wolverhampton: Wolverhampton City Council and Worcestershire County Council[END_REF] are included here, and are supplemented with findings from a second study that explored aspects of the implementation of a second VLE, LP+ (Learning Possibilities, 2009), introduced into one of these two LAs for use initially by all primary schools and all learners aged 4 to 11 years, and extending into use into secondary schools at a slightly later stage.

The two VLEs both provided similar ranges of facilities, although different facilities were accessible for different users (teachers, school managers, LA consultants, pupils, parents and governors). However, there were some differences between the two VLEs. In the case of Virtual Workspace, facilities included: a range of communication channels, including messaging, discussion forums and chat rooms; online assignment management and storage of work and interest materials; online communities, offering collaboration between learners and teachers across schools; a mentoring service, involving live mentoring between 8am and 8pm on weekdays; a bank of interactive learning materials supporting the curriculum for 14 to 19 year old learners; an incentive or reward scheme for learners; and a continuing professional development (CPD) programme for teachers and support staff, run by the commercial providers. In the case of LP+, facilities included the integration of: messages in the forms of notices from head teachers and in the form of news items; document handling and storage, for weekly as well as longer-term plans, organised by year groups, and able to accept online feedback from school managers; a calendar, and reporting of events, with online meeting spaces; an area to report technical faults (picked up locally by LA consultants) and access to support and training resources; discussion areas; surveys; subject areas within each school site; facilities for inclusion of school television or radio broadcasts; resources to support specific aspects of subject learning; a CPD programme for teachers and support staff run by LA consultants with training from LP+; networking tools in the forms of blogs and wikis; online spaces to share profiles and successes, task setting and tracking tools; assignment management tools; content repositories; an online text editor; paint and draw applications; an early years media player; search tools; and mobile compatibility and synchronisation.

To date, much of the evidence of benefit and outcomes arising from VLEs has been identified from uses within the higher education (HE) and further education (FE) sectors. As [START_REF] Condie | DfES Primary National Strategy: Excellence and enjoyment: social and emotional aspects of learning -Guidance[END_REF] stated: "Specific benefits observed in the HE/FE sector … included improved motivation and engagement, flexibility of access, learning gains in ICT, in writing, understanding and presentation, enhanced communication and interaction, plus the adoption of new approaches to learning". Since 2005, research findings have increasingly pointed to learning benefits arising where learning environments and VLEs have been adopted in some schools. [START_REF] Condie | DfES Primary National Strategy: Excellence and enjoyment: social and emotional aspects of learning -Guidance[END_REF] stated that Becta found that: "… learners benefited from them in that they could extend their learning experiences beyond the confines of the classroom, submit and track electronic activities for assessment and manage aspects of their personalised learning".

The studies of the two VLEs reported in this paper gathered evidence that allowed perceptions and outcomes of implementation and uses to be viewed from different perspectives. Evidence was gathered in the first case (Virtual Workspace) through visits to 10 schools (selected on the basis of their different levels of learner and teacher use and different approaches to implementation of the system). Interviews with head teachers, senior managers, information and technology (ICT) co-ordinators, teachers, and learners gathered views about practices involved from management, teacher and learner perspectives, the recognition of positive and negative aspects arising, unique features identified, the roles of mentors, how uses matched approaches to learning, the recognition of pedagogies to complement online and personalised learning, aspects of change management that were considered to be of importance, and evidence of learning outcomes arising (in total, from 11 head teachers and senior managers, 7 ICT co-ordinators, 23 teachers and a teaching assistant, and 61 learners). Subsequently, further evidence was gathered through discussion and feedback with key personnel, including mentors in the management company, discussions with key project personnel through face-to-face, email and telephone means (16 in total), and completion of online questionnaires by a wide sample of learners across all schools (1,486 learners in total). Web-based materials, project documents and statistical evidence were also examined as a part of the study. Evidence was gathered in the second case (LP+, where implementation was more recent), from LA consultants (who completed a grid of features, providing implementation details at a school level for all 63 schools initially involved), from 5 key personnel in the LA (through discussion), and from key personnel in 22 schools (who identified key features for the implementation through discussions).

From all forms of evidence gathered it was clear that not all learners had necessarily benefited to the same extents (or in the same ways). When learners used the Virtual Workspace system, the evidence suggested that those benefiting were often reported to be gaining through the nature and focus of social interaction, rather than gaining through forms of direct information transfer. In terms of those who were reported to benefit through these forms of social learning provision, it was not necessarily those who talked most in classrooms. These learners were likely to be those within classrooms that teachers would regard as being 'shy' or 'quiet' (perhaps not wishing to make their thoughts public, or not wanting to be seen by others to be actively participating). By comparing the responses of 'shy' boys (179 in total) with self-reported 'non-shy' boys (354 in total), the percentage of responses from 'shy' boys was higher in their reports about being more involved in learning than might have been the case otherwise (24% difference, χ 2 = 34.17, p<0.0001), discussion of work outside the classroom (21% difference, χ 2 = 21.19, p<0.0001), allowing ideas to be expressed when this might not happen in class (20% difference, χ 2 = 18.31, p<0.0001), helping to understand teachers more (13% difference, χ 2 = 12.11, p<0.0005), helping with coursework or assignments (13% difference, χ 2 = 8.68, p<0.0032), mentors helping personally (13% difference, χ 2 = 10.43, p<0.0012), and wanting to see more use of the system (12% difference, χ 2 = 9.02, p<0.0027). By comparing the responses of 'shy' girls (412 in total) with 'non-shy' girls (541 in total), the percentage of responses from 'shy' girls was higher in their reports about allowing ideas to be expressed when this might not happen in class (16% difference, χ 2 = 23.58, p<0.0001), and being more involved in learning than might have been the case otherwise (14% difference, χ 2 = 25.01, p<0.0001). In all the instances highlighted, statistically significant differences were shown between the 'shy' group and the 'non-shy'group of learners. It is clear from these data that the 'communities' area of the VLE was felt by more 'shy' or 'quiet' learners through their questionnaire responses (and this was supported by individual discussions with learners and by teacher responses) to support to a greater extent an engagement with learning.

Evidence from teachers using the other VLE system supported these conclusions, and offered further evidence about the nature of interactions that were ocurring. In one of the schools involved in using the LP+ system, the teacher set up a discussion about a poem, The Highwayman and Bess. The activity related to a unit of work that had been covered 3 weeks beforehand in class, so the discussion replicated some of this work. The lead teacher found that the online discussion that learners could contribute to at home as well as at school engaged pupils, and that it continued for many months (at least 7 months of discussion were recorded). On occasions the time intervals between pupil responses were short; pupils were involved as they would be in a conversation. From the contributions to the discussion, the lead teacher could see individual pupil opinions and their interests, and these she could access in textual form (which she found to be particularly valuable, since previously she had found that an assessment of verbal opinions could lead to rather general indicators being identified only). She found that a textual discussion was giving her more detailed evidence, and she could go back to it whenever she wanted to gather further detail to inform her assessments. She found that comments came from some pupils who might not have been expected to comment; one deaf child used the facility a lot, and his confidence in responding was supported by opportunities to discuss his ideas with someone at home before he wrote his responses. The teacher found that the online discussions were particularly valuable, as pupils could: write an opinion; handle different opinions more easily; reason in a more measured way even when they were challenged; be less aggressive than they might be in face-to-face discussions (which would tend to be taken more personally); respond more easily to written (rather than verbal) material; accept written comments more objectively and less emotionally; take time in reading, thinking, and then responding; take more time to think about a reference to another idea or another text; and respond in their own way, rather than backing down as they might in class. The online discussion was reported to engage the pupils; it appeared to gain their attention so that they remembered it and the poem as a consequence; the teacher found that pupils could still quote lines from the poem some 7 months after encountering the poem in class. Evidence from another school using the same system indicated that online discussion was engaging learners in writing and completing homework, those who were in class situations 'shy' with regard to both writing and communication (and the teacher suggested some 6 learners within a class of 30 would have had these characteristics).

In all of the cases above, teachers are noticing impacts of a technology-based facility on specific groups of pupils. However, there was no indication that prior recorded data was being used to identify these pupils, or that the findings of these teachers were being used to link potentially useful learning opportunities for the benefits of others with similar characteristics or for teachers with learners of similar characteristics in their classes. The personalisation of learning for these individuals happened through fortunate opportunity rather than through guided advice, planning or design. The facilities did not enable these opportunities to be highlighted for other teachers and other learners who might benefit from them. Yet it was clear that outcomes for these learners when using these facilities was important to them and to the teachers; having data facilities to support the 'learning-to-data-to-learning' link could be important for other learners where these experiences have not been 'tried and tested'. This is an example of a pedagogic practice being explored that, if highlighted in some way for other teachers and classes, might well support a wider number of learners.

Conclusions

The previous section identifies a specific example, but highlights a key issue. 'Shy' or 'quiet' learners are increasingly being recognised by teachers across a range of age groups as being learners who should be supported more. Evidence from practice shows that some of these learners can be supported by e-mentoring and online support systems, potentially providing schools and teachers with useful approaches to enhance learning. But how can a widening of experiences be managed within a school or classroom environment? Does data allow school managers and teachers to consider how to support these individual pupils best? Does the standard data provision help? Prior national attainment or non-statutory test results, estimated future results based on previous performance, subject attainment targets, teacher subject attainment assessments, and added value indicators are all measures focused on subject content, rather than pedagogic or learning process (although some of these data might allow teachers to pick up on low levels of pupil writing, pointing to or suggesting support through appropriate uses of a VLE). Indicators of attendance, effort, or behaviour in school might highlight when contextual issues are arising, but do not offer any direct indication of potential actions in terms of pedagogic or learning process (although indicators of low homework completion might suggest to a teacher that this issue could be supported through appropriate uses of a VLE).

Does SEAL data help? Attendance and behaviour records are likely to offer indicators of the time periods when disengagement issues might be arising, while specific records about self-awareness, the managing of feelings, motivation, empathy, and social skills could provide indicators that could point towards the potential for certain pedagogic or learning processes. However, teachers might well need to be offered specific ideas of pedagogic or learning processes that they might use when indicators highlight a need for intervention or support. A link between data indicators and pedagogic alternatives (which might be called 'data-driven pedagogic intelligence') can be made by those who are already aware of what the indicators might tell them, what processes might be suggested as alternatives, and which processes have worked for some learners in those categories on previous occasions. This form of 'learning-to-data-to-learning' link is supported by some data systems; the GL Assessment CATs data system offers measures of qualitiative, quantitative, and non-quantitative reasoning, and pedagogic and learning processes are suggested through accompanying materials.

Data from P.A.S.S. could also provide useful indicators for teachers, but the links between these indicators and pedagogic and learning alternatives are not provided through the current form of results as they are presented. Indeed, a research practitioner has recently undertaken a study to explore whether there is any correlational link between P.A.S.S. results and a lowering of results below those estimated from standard attainment tests in core subjects (English, mathematics and science). To undertake this work, the research practitioner had to manipulate the two sets of data to gain correlation results, had to interview learners to detail instances to greater extents, but then still needed to consider what pedagogic or learning alternatives might be available to her colleagues to address the issues.

So what is needed? The emphasis on personalisation of learning is clearly laudible; placing a learning provision that is learner-centred, knowledge-centred and assessment-centred offers potentially enhanced individual commitment, focus and ownership. However, managing quality educational experiences in this context, where data management can support a personalisation of learning (meeting the needs of individuals as well as specific groups) requires: the identification of learning and pedagogic practices that support specifically identified groups of learners (and in the current context this needs to be the first, rather than the last, step); an identification of those learner features that indicate which learners might be within these groups; a means to capture shifts in levels of these features and to make these shifts known to managers and teachers; and a subsequent provision that highlights for managers and teachers possible pedagogic and learning alternatives that might be adopted at times when these shifts emerge, perhaps through links to vignettes of practice, such as those in guidance documents or in video format (including teachers.tv, n.d.). School managers are increasingly using data management systems to help them manage some quality educational experiences, but using 'learning-to-data-to-learning' links (data highlighting those who might benefit from pedagogic and learning processes), are only now beginning to be created. There is clearly wide potential to develop resources in this area, to support desirable transformational development.

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Wolverhampton and Worcestershire LAs, Virtual Workspace, and LP+ for their support of key elements of research reported here.


Ronald Bisaso
email: ronald.bisaso@uta.fi

In Search of a Conceptual Framework for the Capacities of University ITEM

Keywords: University ITEM systems, organizational learning, integration

The purpose of this paper is to conceptualize and illuminate the capacities of information technology for educational management (ITEM) as a regulative element in the managerial operations of universities. It is argued that the environment in which institutional management functions has become more unpredictable typified by numerous stakeholders with various demands. Moreover, the academic organization comprises disciplinary units that respond to the stakeholders differently. However, pressures for efficiency and effectiveness are calling for more integrated functioning. We envisage that ITEM has the capacity to support internal integration of the university and also link it to external constituencies. But understanding this capacity in terms of organizational theory has been largely elusive. It is this dimension that this article seeks to elucidate by applying the tenets of the organizational learning framework to illustrate the possibilities university ITEM in integrating the functions of middle management within a university.

Introduction

Concerns for the efficiency and effectiveness of institutional management are not new. There are increasing demands for efficiency and effectiveness as the universities operate in their turbulent environments. It is perhaps no coincidence given the declining fiscal resources to higher education, the demands for accountability amidst granting autonomy to the institutions, and quality in the academic programmes. Yet at the same time, the commonest pattern within institutions as they respond to these external changes has been to transfer responsibilities to the academic units premised on the nature of the university as a loosely-coupled organization comprising several academic units based on disciplines [START_REF] Becher | Academic tribes and territories[END_REF][START_REF] Clark | The higher education system. academic organization in cross-national perspective[END_REF][START_REF] Weick | Educational organizations as loosely coupled systems[END_REF]. Unsurprisingly, each of these subunits responds to the environment quite differently further perpetuating fragmentation. As a result, universities have sought to integrate the activities and functions of the academic units and also strengthen their links to the environment by using information technology as a key tool [START_REF] Dill | University 2001: What Will the University of the Twenty-First Century Look Like[END_REF]. In fact, previous studies have shown the role and relevance of information and information systems in enhancing self-regulation and hence integrated functioning of institutional management as it responds to the changing requirements of government (Hölttä & Nuotio, 1995 p.14;Hölttä, 1995 p.238-239). Undoubtedly, in some European countries, universities have provided management information to government agencies and synchronized feedback has been obtained in return (Frackmann, 1994 p.33-34). Evidently, most universities have acquired integrated information systems to contribute to integration of the disparate units with the overall objective of improving efficiency and effectiveness. However, despite their valuable role in coordinating and monitoring the responses their units make to the environment, research on how to regulate the operations of middle management based on their information needs is highly needed (Creswell & England, 1994 p.16). Moreover, most of the ITEM research in universities has focused on economic rationales of introducing ITEM, dealt with attitudinal issues concerning the users, without clear conceptual reflections [START_REF] Gorr | Why all the fuss about information systems? or information systems as golden anchors in higher education[END_REF][START_REF] Mccredie | Does IT matter to higher education?[END_REF][START_REF] Rodrigues | Towards an integrated management information system: A case of the University of Mauritius[END_REF][START_REF] Creswell | Improving Information Resources for Academic Deans and Chairpersons New Directions for Institutional Research[END_REF][START_REF] Masland | Administrative computing in higher education[END_REF]. With a few exceptions (Höltta, 1995;[START_REF] Hölttä | Cybernetic institutional management theory and practice: A system of flexible workload for university teachers[END_REF] ITEM in universities has been hardly explored in terms of organizational theory. It is this perspective that this paper presents by using the organizational learning framework to explore the question how can the capacities of university ITEM in regulating the roles and functions of the academic deans with respect to academic and financial management practices be conceptualized? The next sub-section of the paper outlines the information needs of the deans with respect to their roles. This is followed by the dilemmas surrounding the work of these deans as the university seeks to harness integrative operations. Thirdly, the organizational learning framework is examined. Fourthly, discussions and conclusions are made on the possible conceptualization of the capacities of university ITEM.

Infor mation needs of the academic deans

Although it is not uncommon for universities to acquire ITEM systems or even establish mechanisms to determine the relevant information, the "…beginning point for most … deans would be to conceptualize the categories of information needed and used" (Creswell & England, 1994 p.10). Thus, it is first of all vital to explore the roles of the academic deans as a basis for understanding their information needs. Firstly, there is a faculty-oriented leadership role whose focus is on faculty morale, professional development, and promotion of university-wide faculty development activities. Essential information for this role can be found in personnel records, budget information, and policy documents and procedures. Secondly, it is possible for the dean to concentrate or emphasize the discipline or field of study. Such roles would entail keeping the discipline up-to-date by gathering information on the changing patterns in teaching, research and practice in the field. Thirdly, the dean functions as a manager. This role has a focus on support activities such as preparation of budgets, maintenance of departmental and faculty records, and assigning duties to faculty. Information required is basically on personnel records, budgeting and scheduling. Fourthly, the dean is an academic leader. In this, the strategic goals and vision are emphasized where interest is on ideas that can improve the processes within the academic unit. With regard to the hierarchical structures of the university, the deans receive information from the heads of departments, and then communicate to the central administration. Such information exchange could be related to various policies and procedures, alumni, students and personnel. Fifthly, academic deans may be externally oriented. It is through this that the deans stress the need to scan for external changes that affect the operations of their units, partner with various stakeholders, explore new student markets, and source for new funding opportunities. The information requirements associated with this may be met by institutional research offices on campus or external stakeholder organizations (Creswell & England, 1994 p.13-14).

Constraints in the role of the academic deans

The information needs and roles of the academic deans illuminate the diffusion of institutional leadership at the middle level of the organization in order to enhance responsiveness. Whereas the deans may concentrate on such managerial roles by executing the mandate of the central administration, the same deans also pay attention to "the drives of disparate academic professional groups" (Clark, 1995 p.9). Undoubtedly, the dean operates in a state of role conflict (Bray, 2008 p.692-694;Wolverton, Wolverton, & Gmelch, 1999 p.82) and thus, to assume that deans are inclined to the managerial roles is to underestimate their disciplinary obligations of research and publishing within their parent academic units. Yet for the deans to pay exceeding attention to the academic profession is to discount the new "…image of the dean as an executive -politically astute and economically savvy" (Wolverton et al., 1999 p.81-82). The two conflicting roles certainly demand for different sets of information owing to the tensions elicited by the competing values. But still, the deans are confronted with role ambiguity. For instance, in hierarchical terms, the dean reports to the vice chancellor just as the dean receives directives from the vice chancellor or any other members of central administration. Apparently, the academic deans allocate or reallocate resources to the departments, activities and programmes within their units without any consideration of the allocation decisions of their counterparts in the same university. It is therefore certain, for example, that "…if deans receive no clear guidelines [from the central administration] about budget priorities, decisions made at the college level may seem capricious and indefensible" (Wolverton et al., 2001 p.21). Undoubtedly, vertical looseness is likely to occur in contexts where "adequate procedural safeguards" are non-existent or weak (El-Khawas, 2001 p.246;Rubin, 1979 p.213). In other words, information may not be delivered or gets distorted leaving room for multiple interpretations that are at times incongruent to acceptable standards. Certainly, the greatest challenge is how to maintain equilibrium in such contexts of conflict and ambiguities.

Theoretical Learning Framework

Organizations learn internally and also encounter internal threats to learning with implications for integrated responsiveness (Easterby-Smith & Araujo, 1999 p.8;Kezar, 2005 p.13). Most significant is that, "… an organization learns if any of its units acquires knowledge that it recognizes as potentially useful to the organization" and "an entity learns if, through its processing of information, the range of its potential behaviors is changed" (Huber, 1991 p.89). Information is an essential element that enables the organization and its subunits to make responses to its external pressures in order to maintain or restore equilibrium. The disciplinary origins of organizational learning are in the Cybernetics theory. Cybernetics focuses "…on the selection of the limits that are to be placed on behavior as on the active pursuit of desired goals" (Morgan, 1997 p.99).Accordingly, the cybernetics framework suggests that "cybernetic control mechanisms" have to be in place to guide the actions of the basic units towards institutional goals and to enable the institution to respond and function as a whole as it deals with the external demands, for example, from government. The organization would establish mechanisms for self regulation on the basic assumption that "organizations [are] systems [functioning] as complexes which maintain certain essential constancies through cycles of action, error-detection, and error correction". In fact, system theorists have argued that organizational learning is evident in systems that have favorable conditions for self regulation and in instances where organizational stability is collectively pursued (Argyris & Schön, 1978 p.325-326).

In the organizational learning framework, responsiveness of an organization is dependent on gathering and processing information about itself both internally and externally (Easterby-Smith, 1997 p.1090; Easterby-Smith & Araujo, 1999 p.3). It is this information that provides impetus for the 'cycles of action' within the organization. These cycles of action comprise structural -social interactions through which gathering and processing information become the core processes and enablers for pursuing organizational learning. On the assumption that the environment is dynamic, and that the consequences of any interactions cannot be accurately predicted, it is necessary to establish parameters or governing values/variables within which outcomes can be ascertained or feedback on performance can be generated (Argyris & Schön, 1978 p.18-26;Morgan, 1997 p.100;Senge, 2006 p.74-75;Senge, 2000 p.277). Indeed, due to the likely differences in responses that the organizational subunits make to external contexts, parameters or controls within which the organization operates have to be established in order to sustain equilibrium. It is against these parameters that can be in form of output or behavior that appropriate action strategies are sought, identified and deployed with the aim of achieving a certain set of desired outcomes [START_REF] Argyris | Organizational learning: A theory of action perspective[END_REF]. When deviations from the organizational norms occur, specifically when the actions elicit unintended or undesirable outcomes, they are detected and corrected.

As shown in Figure 1 below, following actions that may be either within or outside the limits of governing values or variables, feedback is generated. The single feedback loop "connects detected outcomes of action to organizational strategies and assumptions which are modified so as to keep organizational performance within the range set by organizational norms" (Argyris & Schön, 1978 p.14-15). Such corrective feedback (single loop) is triggered when outcomes show low performance e.g. through built-in controls of the information system or print-outs from the information system. On the other hand, transformative feedback (double loop) is when information is used to change the values or norms themselves. Certainly management information systems are mechanisms that an organization can use to support its internal regulation and integration (Argyris & Schön 1978 p.268-276;Easterby-Smith & Araujo 1999 p.4). In essence, 'limits' can be established or 'control systems' designed or built in or installed to detect errors and take corrective actions within acceptable ranges for organizational effectiveness [START_REF] Argyris | Organizational learning: A theory of action perspective[END_REF]Birnbaum, 1988 p.34-35;[START_REF] Easterby-Smith | Disciplines of organizational learning: Contributions and critiques[END_REF]p.1092;Hölttä, 1995 p.242-255). Obviously, deviations trigger feedback loops within the organizational processes and systems that become the basis for new actions for organizational improvement [START_REF] Easterby-Smith | Disciplines of organizational learning: Contributions and critiques[END_REF]p.1090;Huber, 1991 p.91;Morgan, 1997 p.100). However, it has to be understood that subunits simply store new information on old information making retrieval of old information, when it is needed, difficult [START_REF] Easterby-Smith | Disciplines of organizational learning: Contributions and critiques[END_REF]p.1093). This may constrain transformative feedback. Perhaps, it is information on external changes for instance; fiscal hardships or demands for quality or change in the interests of the stakeholders may elicit a form of information feedback that can challenge the existing values, systems and structures within the organization and its subunits [START_REF] Easterby-Smith | Disciplines of organizational learning: Contributions and critiques[END_REF]p.1093;Hedberg et al., 1976 p.51;Hedberg, 1981 p.18-19).

By way of illustration, we can argue that, information systems have the capacity to support the accomplishment of performance targets, for instance, where there is feedback on cost and output between the subunits and central administration (Hölttä, 1995 p.248-251;Hölttä & Nuotio, 1995 p.15). Such performance targets may be set by the central administration in terms of funds reallocation and new demands for internal accountability hence presenting new sets of information requirements for the deanship (Creswell & England, 1994 p.8-9). As a requirement, information may have to be presented in specific formats or with certain contents to authenticate whether the output or behavior of the academic unit conforms to acceptable standards. When such required information deviates from the expected, the decision to accept is withheld until the information is corrected. A good example is the use of minutes of meetings as a valuable measure to assure that the academic and financial practices are congruent to established standards. Incidentally, some of the information that is necessary for organizational effectiveness may be withheld or not availed to the deans with the consequence of deviations in work processes or low performance of the tasks (Wolverton et al., 1999 p.82;Wolverton et al., 2001 p.21). In the use of ITEM

Single-loop feedback

Governing values or variables

Action strategies

Intended/ unintended outcomes

Double-loop feedback

Figure 1: Organizational learning framework

Author's compilation on the basis of [START_REF] Argyris | Organizational learning: A theory of action perspective[END_REF]; [START_REF] Senge | The fifth discipline. the art & practice of the learning organisation[END_REF] Environment Environment systems, feedback can be generated when the limits are built into the information system or by analyzing outputs from the information system that may show significant anomalies that would elicit corrective action. All in all, the essence is to keep the organizational activities in equilibrium through self-regulative capacities of ITEM and/or using its outputs. As the external environment keeps changing, the governing values or variables may be altered in alignment with the environment. Obviously this will sanction new action strategies in form of mechanisms that will facilitate the realization of the new set targets.

Discussion and Conclusions

In this section, an attempt is made to illustrate the applications of the tenets of the organizational learning framework as shown in Figure 1. This is based on previous analysis of the perceptions of faculty deans at a Ugandan public university concerning the utilization of university ITEM systems. The ITEM system was a relational database that was an integrated vendor product that had been procured from South Africa and comprised four modules namely; the academic records information system (ARIS), finance information system (FINIS), the human resource information system (HURIS) and the library information system (MakLIBIS). The modules discussed in this section are ARIS and FINIS. Because of the peculiarities of the context, this vendor product had been quite difficult to customize to the local institutional conditions. As a result, it was found out that in addition to the structural or output controls, there were several manual or behavioral controls that augmented the regulative capacities of the ITEM systems. In the same way, two dimensions of feedback were evident. The outputs from the ITEM system elicited corrective feedback e.g. if a large percentage of students who did an examination had their grades or test scores below acceptable ranges then such an anomaly would be detected by other means such as committees because the existing ITEM system did not have the capacity to detect the error but its print outs were the basis for the detection and rectification of the error by the committee members.

With respect to financial management, the main support activity of FINIS was in the allocation of finances to the academic units. It enabled the computation of the percentages of the tuition fees that would accrue to the academic units. Financial allocations to the faculties were based on the number of privately sponsored students who had paid their tuition fees and duly registered with the faculties they belonged to. Although the remittances to the units were computed using the ITEM system, actually the university bursar had to write a cheque to the unit that would be presented in the bank in order for funds to be transferred to the account of the faculty. During the expenditure of these finances now belonging to the faculty, the ITEM system was not very helpful. In other words, its impact was mainly seen in the governing value of deciding how much was due to the faculty based on the registered students. Thus expending the resources at unit level applied other means to monitor the processes. These entailed the use of minutes of meetings of the planning and finance committee that was composed of the faculty dean, deputy deans, heads of departments and a student representative. Importantly, corrective feedback (single loop) was possible through the university internal auditor who verified all payments to be made by the subunits before they could be approved by the university bursar (chief finance officer). This was another example of a governing value against which errors in financial transactions would be detected and corrected.

Transformative (double loop) feedback was not directly evident in the university ITEM system. Rather informational feedback from the environment was responsible for the changes in the governing values or parameters themselves. For instance, whenever there were delays in the subventions from government to the university, the central administration responded by cutting the disbursements to the faculties or by remitting to funds to the academic units without consideration of the sharing ratios but based on the priority demands of the subunit. Similarly, when there was concern that quality was declining or new mechanisms for accreditation were being established, the information requirements for the academic units, for example as they proposed new programmes or changed existing ones triggered new mechanisms that were capable of causing modifications in the institutional strategy. This is an example of change in the values themselves as double loop feedback would envisage. This kind of change definitely requires substantial time.

Based on the perceptions from the deans that demonstrate the theoretical elements, the following conclusions can be made. a.

Information is a crucial resource in the regulation and integration of the processes of the academic units. Such information may not necessarily come from the ITEM system but, the information from the ITEM system remains highly valuable in providing the bases for decision processes. It is such information that can reduce on the ambiguities and conflicts within which the deans function. The information needs of the deans in this case generally concern management perhaps illuminating the focus of the ARIS and FINIS. b.

ITEM systems may be sophisticated but their use may only elicit a few tools for defining the controls and feedback processes. In such scenarios, other means are sought that can contribute to monitoring and ensuring that there is integration of the activities within the academic units. c.

A combination of the ITEM system and other supporting dimensions discussed illuminate the applicability of the organizational learning framework in contributing to understanding the self-regulative capacities of the university organization. What is more is that we need to pay attention to the uniqueness of the context as we deploy vendor-evolved systems. More studies on the application of organizational theory to ITEM research are needed both in environments with advanced ITEM systems in terms of infrastructure and use, and in settings where these are not readily available. Only then can we have a clearer understanding of the capacities of ITEM and also be in position to conceptualize such capacities. There is need for more case studies and more applications of different organization theories. Organizational learning is just one of the theories.


Bill Davey
email: bill.davey@rmit.edu.au

Arthur Tatnall
email: arthur.tatnall@vu.edu.au

Managing the Online Student Experience: an Ecological Model

Keywords: Online university education, blended courses, management of elearning, ecological model

The move towards providing fully online and blended courses for university students is becoming almost universal. To maximize the benefit to students and organisations we need to develop a robust model that allows us to identify the needs of students. We propose that an ecological model, already found to be useful in complex educational settings, can be used to make sense of data gathered regarding the behaviour of online students. Using an example involving three courses at a large Australian University we show this model yields useful pointers to investigating these issues.

Introduction

When university courses are taken online, or significant support is provided through the Web for blended learning, a difficult complication arises for the educational manager. In an asynchronous online environment feedback usually available through physical contact with students is replaced by parametric information available through the educational server. It is possible to interpret this information in many ways. If improvements are to be made in the content and delivery of online and blended courses then and we need to have a model that allows us to measure the effects of changes we make and relate them to intended outcomes.

Modelling student use of the Internet

The literature contains a wide range of studies based upon models of student behaviour. When these models are studied in detail many of the assumptions we make about the way in which young people interact with the Internet are found to be unsupported by fact. For instance [START_REF] Spennemann | Learning and Teaching 24/7: Daily Internet Usage Patterns at Nine Australian Universities[END_REF] looked at the assumption that students are choosing online courses because of the flexibility it gives them in study times. This study found that the overwhelming majority of students studied during normal working hours. Another study by (Kennedy, 2009), look for evidence of a generation gap between students and their teachers. This study found that there was no evidence of a generation gap in terms of using technology, that assumptions about be preference by students for particular learning technologies were in error and it is critical that pedagogical technical and administrative issues be aligned. So much of our thinking on how to use the Internet to deliver education is based upon these poor models of students that studies often find no advantage to the student in having materials delivered online. For instance studies by found that there are many small numbers of students who felt that the Internet support provided helped them understand material being studied (Anagnostopoulou, 2009) (Franklin & Van Harmelen, 2007). A recent study [START_REF] Essentials Of Ecology Wong | The Need to Balance the Blend: Online versus Face-to-Face Teaching in an Introductory Accounting Subject[END_REF] found that the initial improvements in education supported by the Internet drop off quickly or students became less motivated by be novelty of a system that they used. This study hints at the possibility that it is not the materials, the way they are presented, or the technology used to present them, but be interaction between students and their environment that must be modelled if we are to effectively administer the use of the Internet to deliver educational services.

Ecological models

The world abounds with situations of great complexity. One of these situations that has been studied for a long period of time is the natural environment. The science of Ecology has developed many different ways of investigating nature. Ecology is concerned with interrelationships between different living things, and between living things and their environment [START_REF] Tatnall | Improving the Chances of Getting your IT Curriculum Innovation Successfully Adopted by the Application of an Ecological Approach to Innovation[END_REF]. In addition to dealing with the natural environment however, the principles of Ecology have been used to deal in many other areas to deal with the complexity of those areas [START_REF] Star | Institutional Ecology, 'Translations' and Boundary Objects: Amateurs and Professionals in Berkley's Museum of Vertebrate Zoology[END_REF][START_REF] Richards | An Evolutionary Change in the Information Systems Curriculum at the University of North Texas[END_REF][START_REF] Podolny | A Role-Based Ecology of Technological Change[END_REF][START_REF] Nagarajan | Evolutionary Diffusion: Internal and External Methods Used to Acquire Encompassing, Complementary, and Incremental Technological Changes in the Lithotripsy Industry[END_REF][START_REF] Simon | Ecological Metaphors of Security: World Politics in the Biosphere[END_REF][START_REF] Barnett | The Evolution of Collective Strategies among Organizations[END_REF][START_REF] Grzywacz | The Social Ecology of Health: Leverage Points and Linkages[END_REF][START_REF] Havelka | Evolution of IS Professionals' Competency: an Exploratory Study[END_REF][START_REF] Sutcliffe | IEEE International Requirements Engineering Conference (RE'03)[END_REF][START_REF] Johnston | Panel: Evolution of Computing in Spanish Speaking Countries[END_REF] These techniques have also been used in education and curriculum development to produce worthwhile results [START_REF] Tatnall | Monterey Bay, California, IEEE. The Evolution and Re-Invention of Information Systems Curricula in Australia[END_REF]Tatnall and Davey 2002;Tatnall and Davey 2002;Tatnall and Davey 2002;[START_REF] Tatnall | ICT and Training: A Proposal for an Ecological Model of Innovation[END_REF][START_REF] Tatnall | Improving the Chances of Getting your IT Curriculum Innovation Successfully Adopted by the Application of an Ecological Approach to Innovation[END_REF][START_REF] Tatnall | A New Spider on the Web: Modelling the Adoption of Web-Based Training[END_REF][START_REF] Tatnall | Curriculum Change and the Evolution of Postgraduate e-Business Subjects[END_REF][START_REF] Tatnall | Information Systems Curriculum Using an Ecological Model[END_REF] Ecological models can be simple or complex and can incorporate some or most of the techniques used in ecology and environmental science. Two key biological principles exemplify the concepts of ecology [START_REF] Townsend | [END_REF]:

• Organisms behave in ways that optimise the balance between their energy expenditure and the satisfaction they obtain. • Organisms operate within a competitive environment that ensures only the most efficient of them will survive. A complete ecological model of educational change would consider the Environment in which the innovation under consideration was occurring; the Organisms (actors) involved; possible Competition or Cooperation between these organisms; maximisation of return for the Least Expenditure of Energy; and the possibility of finding a Niche Environment that is free from competition from other organisms [START_REF] Tatnall | Improving the Chances of Getting your IT Curriculum Innovation Successfully Adopted by the Application of an Ecological Approach to Innovation[END_REF]. In this study we have used a simplified model involving just Competition and Cooperation between entities and ecological concept of greatest return for the organism for the Least Expenditure of Energy, in order to explain the complex datasets.

The ecology of online courses

Ecological models require us to identify the Organisms which will interact with each other and the Environment they live in. The process of identifying organisms and environments is similar to that used in actor-network theory to identify actors. We see organisms as being those 'actors' who have the ability to respond to their environment independently. Those organisms that remain constant throughout a significant time, for instance a semester, are identified as being part of the environment. In an online course the principal actors who can respond are students, the resources and tools delivered through the Web, and the academics controlling the delivery of the course. The environment will include the facilities available to the student, including time, the software to be used in the course including the software that forms the University delivery system, and the details defining the course such as assessment and due dates. Our simplified ecological model asks us to look for potential competitive and cooperative behaviours between the organisms.

Least ener gy expenditur e

A principle often found in ecology is that organisms will behave in a way that maximises the amount of return they get from a small amount of energy expended. This principle will lead us to look for behaviours in the online experience where organisms (probably students or academics) are attempting to get maximum response for minimum energy expenditure. For instance, if there are two alternative methods available for an academic to communicate with students, we would look to find which of these this academic saw as requiring the least effort (energy expenditure). Similarly students might choose a path through the materials to return the greatest assessment results for the minimum effort on their part. Using this part of the model we would first of all look for communication facilities that enable students and teachers to communicate easily and efficiently. We would look for patterns of behaviour among students which improve their educational outcomes because communication was easy. We will also look for ways in which the student was missing out on educational experiences because they are attempting to minimize energy expenditure.

Co-oper ation

In ecology we find successful organisms are often those that cooperate with other organisms to derive maximum benefit from their environment. This principle would let us look for behaviours in the online setting where organisms are attempting to cooperate. For instance an academic might find that cooperation with the tools available in the delivery system (even if they are not quite what they want) gave a better outcome than inventing a new tool. Another important aspect of cooperation is the idea or of coordinating the structure of the course with the tools available on the Internet. Courses that give credit for students using tools seem to be important to the educational experience would be using the idea of cooperation to increase use of those tools.

Competition

In ecology scarce resources can lead to competition between organisms, with the most competitive organisms being successful. This would lead us to look for behaviours where the organisms compete with each other to obtain advantage. For instance a student might wish to communicate privately with the lecturer rather than using a bulletin board where all other students obtain the same information. Competition can be seen in more subtle interactions between the components of the environment. For instance use of Internet tools are require specific browser can lead to competition between those tools in the operating system favoured by the student.

The cases: Courses at RMIT

All courses at RMIT are supported by the Learning Hub. This is connected to the Student Records System and comes online one week before the commencement of semester. Semesters have twelve teaching weeks and a mid-semester break, before a week of exam preparation (that we call "swat week") and two weeks of examinations. This is followed by the publication of results. We will now investigate three RMIT courses that we will call: Face-to-Face-1, Face-to-Face-2 and Online Course.

"Face-to-Face-1" is a compulsory subject for all business students and has no prerequisites. It has a very large student cohort for each of the three semesters in a year. All teaching materials are provided to the Learning Hub and students are required to communicate with the teaching team either at tutorials or using the discussion board within the Learning Hub. "Face-to-Face-2" is an elective course with no prerequisites and is open to all students in the University. In this course all the teaching materials are available both on the Learning Hub and on a network drive available to all students. The teaching team uses the Learning Hub mostly for dissemination of assessment results. "Online Course" was changed to a fully online course during 2008. It is an elective course with no prerequisites and is available to all students in the University. In the first of the three semesters studied the Learning Hub was used for all teaching materials and students were encouraged to communicate with the teaching team using individual academic e-mail addresses. Assignments were all uploaded to each student's individual server account, and assessed by the team from that account. Results were then transferred to the Learning Hub and feedback provided by e-mail.

Results

It is often assumed that students will take advantage of online resources by studying at different times that suit them. [START_REF] Spennemann | Learning and Teaching 24/7: Daily Internet Usage Patterns at Nine Australian Universities[END_REF] examined server traffic statistics over a number of Australian universities and found that the overwhelming majority of use of University servers took place Monday to Thursday and during office hours, principally before two o'clock in the afternoon. We looked at two aspects of the use of the Internet-based facility available to students in the three courses: firstly days and hours when students accessed educational materials. 2007) and shows that regardless of the principal delivery method students mostly study during office hours. In our case this is surprising in that a significant proportion of the students undertaking these three courses are working full time and are studying part time.

Next we looked at each of the courses to see if there is any pattern in students logging into the Learning Hub. Logins are powerful in that they are direct evidence of student behaviour. They are also a broad measure as we only know that a student's computer is connected to a particular part of the learning hub and not what there are looking at there. We have only counted logins where the student navigated to some page other than the course homepage. These figures have been aggregated to give totals for each week. This means that a total of 600 logins may be one student logging in 600 times, or 600 students logging in once, or any combination of these scenarios. Careful study of the individual figures shows that students log in about three times a week. This means that the bars in the following graphs represent one student for each three logins. Figure 1 shows the pattern of logins for Face-to-Face-1. There were no logins for the week prior to semester when the Learning Hub was available because students generally are given instructions on how the course is delivered only during the first lecture. This chart is vaguely bimodal. There are two major assignments in the course due in week six and twelve. Students encountering a problem with their assignments are required to report that problem on the Learning Hub discussion board so that answers to problems are distributed to all students. This process was put in place mostly to make it possible for the teaching team to provide answers to a very large cohort of students. Inspection of the detailed access in this course shows that 22% of all access was to the discussion board and 61% was to the announcements page (where summaries of answers were kept.) Inspection of access to the discussion board shows zero posting for the board by students for other students. All postings on the discussion board are intended for the lecture in charge of the subject or that lecturer making a reply. "Face-to-face-2" has assignments every few weeks, with the major assessment during week 12. The chart below should be interpreted in the context of this course making electronic copies of materials available in several forms. In this course 21% of accesses were to the page showing results of assessment, and 53% to the page showing announcements. The announcements page was mostly used to clarify any issues about assessment and the course. In this course, although a discussion board was provided, there were no postings to the discussion whatsoever. The third subject in a study was delivered completely online. In this case the figures show three peaks, again coinciding with the assessment task. This course requires all students to communicate directly by e-mail with an e-mail account separate from the learning hub. 80% of all hits on the learning hub were to the pages containing content, either lecture material or tutorials or assessment. Again the discussion board with provided in the subject was not used by the students.

Conclusion

The courses presented in this case study cover some of the range that must be administered in the University. There are consistent outcomes across the three diverse courses that would indicate the need for action. Students appear to be only using the Internet materials at the last moment before assessments. They are also ignoring any of the richer facilities available to them that are not directly related to assessment.

There is no evidence of student using social interaction within the courses, such as discussion boards and groups, unless they are forced.

The extensive use of office hours access the study materials by students is consistent with our model in that students are using the online subject and materials to avoid personal appearance rather than to gain flexibility. This choice is clearly a way of minimizing energy expenditure.

The evident rush of hits immediately prior to assessment task being due is both an indication of minimizing energy and cooperating with the structure of the course.

What we do about this consistency of student behaviour depends upon whether we see it as being positive or negative. The University was not concerned with students using the Internet facilities during office hours. It does, however, give us insights into the reason for students choosing to use the Internet facilities provided. These reasons have little to do with flexibility of study and more to do with the way in which students prefer to have their materials delivered. The lack of social interaction between students using the discussion boards and the apparent lack of interest in the course except immediately prior to assessment times is concerning.

The model would indicate that we can change student behaviour by looking for opportunities to give students least energy, cooperation with our course and competition with the other aspects of their life that interfere with maximizing the education. If we are concerned mostly with smoothing out student effort throughout the semester then our model suggests we did try some strategies:

• Smaller and more regular assessment spread through the semester.

• Use of push technologies with time release material.

• Covert monitoring of student interactions.

The ecological model was found to be useful in both predicting student behaviour and suggesting strategies for improving the outcomes of Internet delivered materials.

Figure 1 :

 1 Figure 1: Large face-to-face subject showing number of students logging in each week

Figure 2 :

 2 Figure 2: Face-to-Face-2 subject showing number of students logging in each week

Figure

  Figure 3: Students logging on Semester 1

Table 1 : Percentage of hits during working hours

 1 Table 1 below shows these results.

	Hit Times	Courses
		Face to Face-1 Face to Face-2 Online
				Course
	# hits	25481	18377	3733
	% 9-5	57.9%	76.19%	68.77%
	% outside office hours	42.1%	23.8%	31.23%
	% 11-4	43.82%	58.02%	55.16%
	Mon-Fri	84.82%	87.61%	89%

This table confirms the results from Spennemann (


Nicholas B Mavengere

Mikko J Ruohonen
email: mikko.ruohonen@uta.fi

Using Open Source Software for Improving Dialog in Computer Science Education -Case Mozambique University

Keywords: Learning Management Systems, Open Source Software, Higher Education Institutes, Africa

This paper highlights the essential matters in adopting technology as an aid to delivering education in higher education institutes in Africa. The key idea of the paper is how to use open source software for teaching and hence for improving interactivity between content, teachers and students i.e. how a wellselected open source software can foster learning processes. The paper also includes a case study in a Mozambican University to reveal a practical example on how technology has been used as an aid to education delivery. Availability of computer infrastructure, computer literacy, competent information technology staff, leadership support and collaboration and sharing culture are some of the identified issues important in using learning management systems (LMS) in African higher education institutes. The paper concludes by noting the need to fit the local environment and circumstances in adopting the use of technology in Africa.

Introduction

When IFIP Technical Committee 3 on Education had its first conference in a developing country in 1997 in Harare, Zimbabwe it was stated: "... while per capita income may be the dividing line separating "developed" from "developing" countries, the search for solutions to a host of common problems unites IT users around the globe. For example, IT adds a new level of complexity -acquiring equipment, training users and reconceptualising past practices -that places extraordinary demands on the IT community and, at the same time, creates dislocation in day-to-day life, whether in village or the megalopolis." [START_REF] Marshall | Capacity Building for IT in Education in Developing Countries FIP Publication[END_REF] The use of technology is of immense importance to the education sector. It is one of UNESCO's aims to ensure that both developing and developed countries have the best educational facilities essential to prepare youths to actively participate in modern society and add value to a knowledgeable society (Anderson et al., 2002). Information technology (IT) plays a very important role in this endeavor. However, [START_REF] Watson | Blame the Technocentric Artefact! What Research Tells us about Problems Inhibiting Teacher use of IT[END_REF] states, that "more attention is needed to consistent and appropriate pedagogies with an infrastructure for support that includes ease of access and time to incorporate IT into a well-established curriculum. Time for teachers to reflect professionally is essential. Strategies targeting professional capacity building will have a greater chance of success. They need to be focused not on the technology but on pedagogy and on the delivery mechanisms to be contexted within, rather than superimposed on, the real professional environment of the teacher."

Furthermore Visscher (2001) noted the general lag behind in use of computerized information systems in developing countries due to constraints for example in skills, expertise, finance and computer infrastructure. [START_REF] Nissilä | Coopworks -A Case Study on an Information System Meant to Enhance the Capacities of Agricultural Co-operatives, International Conference on Social Implications of Computers in Developing Countries[END_REF] highlighted problems of technology related projects as including using expensive methods, ignoring local wishes, undermining local capacity and distorting priorities.

The key idea of this paper is how to use open source software for dialogic teaching and hence for improving interactivity between content, teachers and students.

In addition the purpose of this paper is to highlight practical issues in educational management and systems in an African context. IT can be used to aid administration of a university i.e. to, for example, keep records of teachers and students. Another educational management perspective is classroom/teaching management which is handled by the teacher and is the focus of this paper. This educational management system has several names in the academic literature such as course management systems and learning management systems. While a significant number of tertiary education institutes in Africa have administrative educational management systems, there is even more room for improvement pertaining to systems that could be used for classroom. Moreover, seemingly the teachers' use of IT in their daily work is still a challenge (both in developed and developing countries). [START_REF] Beauchamp | The Influence of ICT on the Interactivity of Teaching[END_REF] stated that "Most teachers adopting ICT use it for relatively authoritative teaching approaches, and our results suggest that they should identify how it can help achieve a more dialogic approach to whole-class teaching" Furthermore, it has been noted that IS in the African educational sector are used mainly for administrative purposes with no direct impact on the main stakeholders in education i.e. students. Therefore, this research aims at motivating IT use in African universities in directly and positively impacting on learning methodologies. In addition, this research includes a case study from an African setting which will aid in providing experience in practical solutions on how to incorporate IT in enhancing education deliverance at tertiary level.

In this paragraph, we introduce potential learning management systems (LMS) which could be used for classroom management. This is important for awareness of existing platforms; some of them are part of free and open source software (FOSS) which African tertiary education institutes could use and benefit. The main advantage of using FOSS is the reduction of costs. It is important to highlight that the aim of this is to simply bring to light the possible LMSs. There is neither detailed discussion of these systems nor review of the systems in this paper. The first system KEWL (http://www.opensourceafrica.org/view_article.php?type=case_study&id=16) is an African initiative and the second system Moodle (http://moodle.org/) is free, open source software and was used in the case study as elaborated in section 3. Other FOSS systems evaluated in the case study below (Section 3) are Dokeos (www.dokeos.com), Sakai (http://sakaiproject.org/portal) and ILIAS (www.ilias.de).

The rest of this paper is structured as follows. Section 2 covers key issues in practical application of LMS taking into consideration the African setting. Next, the case study of the application of LMS in a Mozambican university is covered in section 3. Finally, the discussion in section 4 then highlights the key issues when implementing an LMS in Africa.

2 Key Issues in Practical Application of LMS [START_REF] Kumar | [END_REF] noted that technology incorporation in education is better than methods without IT use. However, there are several essential aspects that have to be taken into consideration for successful use of IT in education. This section discusses these aspects from an African perspective and in the tertiary education sector. These issues could be termed key issues in practical application of LMSs in African tertiary institutes. The issues that are discussed include computer literacy, computer infrastructure, collaboration/sharing culture, human resource (IT staff) and leadership support.

Computer infrastr uctur e in developing countr ies

The first requirement in using LMSs is the computer infrastructure. [START_REF] Kumar | [END_REF] noted that the main challenge for IT-enhanced education in developing countries is availability of computer infrastructure. [START_REF] Wright | The Role of ICT in African Development[END_REF] highlighted that IT has long been recognized as having a key role to play in emerging markets but questioned the effort of African countries in promoting ICT for development. There is need for African countries to actively support and make initiatives to avail computer infrastructure to the education sector. [START_REF] Wright | The Role of ICT in African Development[END_REF] also notes that "the difficulty faced by Africa is one of access and in a global society increasingly driven by access to information Africa lags behind because its population does not have access to the technologies that are facilitating information access and dissemination."

Computer literacy

Lecturers and students should be computer literate to be able to use LMSs. [START_REF] Kumar | [END_REF] argued that this is a problem in use of IT in education in developing countries. There is need to incorporate IT literacy classes at teacher training institutions. There is also need to organize workshops to train in the use of IT. Students should also have compulsory computer literacy classes and be encouraged to make use of the computer in different aspects such as entertainment, research and assignments. Anderson et al. (2002) suggested that countries must be able to benefit from technological development and to do so there is need for professionals with sound IT background. This IT background should not be computer hardware or software specific but general which enable learning and keeping in touch with technological advances. Different players in the tertiary education sector in Africa needs tailormade IT training which suits their job requirements. For instance there is need for trained IT staff who can manage the network on which the LMS runs. They should also have the essential skills to administer the LMSs. Different platforms such as Moodle and KEWL offer support to users which is an important aid in using the LMSs. The essential IT skills for running LMSs include basic knowledge on databases, network administration, web servers, system administration and server-side HTML embedded scripting language like PHP.

Human r esour ce -IT staff

Lear ning and knowledge sharing cultur e

The success of a LMS depends to a great extent on the need for collaboration at different levels. There are many benefits if there is collaboration from students, lecturers, departments, facilities and even between different universities. For instance in Finland a student can take courses from any university in the country. Libraries are open to both university personnel and other residents. This sharing culture and collaboration is essential especially to get the best out of limited resources. The power or usefulness of any LMS for example increases with the increase of users. And user value increases with the increase of input into the system. Hence the need for collaboration and sharing culture to effectively use LMS.

Leader ship suppor t

The use of LMSs in Africa could be regarded as a change effort [START_REF] Kumar | [END_REF] and change initiatives require the support of leaders This support has to be substantial and in some instances is recognized by resources put in support of these initiatives. A simple example is the inclusion of funds for IT in education in national budgets. Support at high levels such as in government should be cemented by policies which promote the use of IT in education. For instance computer literacy course could be mandatory at teacher training institutes.

Case Study: Mozambican University Experience

Initial findings

The first intake in the Information Technology Department did a Database course in their third year of study. The Database course was done in two semesters. The first semester was taught using the "Traditional" face-to-face teaching methodology. There were many problems in the first semester, which are noted below.

At the end of the first semester, interviews were done with students to enquire about their Database course experience and below are some of their responses. From the interviews:

• "There was inadequate time to use the Module Resources."

• "It was difficult to communicate problems (academic and administrative) to the Lecturer." • "It was difficult to seek help from other students."

• "Sometimes we did not hear the deadlines set or forgot them when told long time before the date." • "There was not enough time and space for discussions and debates."

• "We have inadequate or no practical experience with the use of Database especially in a System." After the interviews an analysis of the problems was carried out and a review of the problems was done. This motivated research on how to improve class administration and the learning methodology.

Pr oblem Identification

There was rampant shortage of study material for the database Module. Eighteen students and the lecturer relied on three main textbooks only. This made access to textbooks quite a problem and had adverse effects in the class performance and motivation. In addition, communication barriers were encountered in the first semester. There were no sufficient and efficient communication channels among the students themselves and between them and the lecturer. This made expression of problem areas and information dissemination quite difficult for the two parties. Furthermore, there were insufficient learning resources to carry out vivid discussions on the database concepts. This meant that the time each individual student had on the course material was limited. A conducive learning environment was difficult to create and this demotivated the students. And finally, there was lack of ICT hands-on-tools to improve the computer literacy of the pioneer class.

Solution; Facilitating lear ning by blended lear ning appr oach

After the problem analysis, the use of technology was recommended to aid face-toface learning and also help in the class administration. This led to consider blended learning approach [START_REF] Colis | Flexible Learning in a Digital World: Experiences and Expectations[END_REF], see further discussion [START_REF] Kim | Towards a Definition and Methodology for Blended Learning[END_REF] which is used to describe learning that mixes event-based activities, including face-to-face classrooms, live e-learning, and self-paced learning. Research on how to incorporate technology was carried out and technology use was initiated to add to face-to-face learning methodology in the second semester. There were several possible FOSS alternatives that could be incorporated as described previously. However, there were several reasons that led to selection of Moodle such as stability, for it had a stable software platform at the time of the research, user support with well documented and free online support from users community, user-friendliness and personnel's expertise on its administrative and network requirements. Blended Learning was a combination of face-to-face learning and use of Moodle course management system (CMS) in the second semester. The following objectives were set for using a Blended Learning Approach in the second semester of the Database Modules:

-make Module materials available every time students need them -improve communication between students and lecturer and among the students themselves -create space or platform for discussions and offer students alternatives in helping each other. -improve computer literacy of the students.

The Database Module chapter materials were prepared and uploaded on the Moodle CMS before the chapter commences. The students then downloaded the materials for use. The materials were available on the university's local area network for the students to use. Face-to-face sessions were carried out using the materials downloaded. With Moodle CMS forums were utilised to discuss Database course concepts. Students uploaded their thoughts to Moodle CMS and debates were carried out which were accessible by students anytime of the day. This offered space for discussions and debates. Students also utilized this feature to highlight problem areas, difficulties and/or misunderstandings they had in the face-to-face sessions.

During face-to-face sessions students were informed about deadlines of tests, exercises and other activities. These deadlines were highlighted on the calendar, which was one of the features of Moodle CMS. Students were reminded every time they use Moodle CMS as the calendar is on the index page. Students also carried out case studies such as "The use of database systems in local Companies." These case studies were presented during face-to-face sessions. These Case Studies were carried out in group research settings and then uploaded on the Moodle CMS for further use.

Evaluation of the inter vention

The use of technology to improve the dialogic learning and interactivity effects had several outcomes. These outcomes can be described as technical, performance and social outcomes. In this section we will elaborate each of these outcomes.

Technical outcome; diffusing new technology

Moodle CMS was the first information system to be used by the Information Technology Department Faculty of Tourism Management and Information Technology. It was an outstanding technical step for the Department as a whole. The Pioneer students participated in Moodle CMS set up. This enhanced their technology appreciation and knowledge. They also had the opportunity to practically learn MySQL database, PHP language, Apache web server and EasyPHP. In the first semester the students did not have any practical experience of Database use in a System. This made the grasp of Database Concepts difficult and this demotivated the students. In the second semester, Moodle CMS offered a platform to learn database (MySQL Database) use in a system. This motivated students to understand better the Database concepts. Four students failed in the first semester as compared to one in the second semester. Mark range 51-60 had three more students in first semester as compared to second semester. There were two more students in the mark range 61-70 in the second semester than in the first semester. This shows a positive shift from a lower range to an upper range, which is an improvement in performance of "average students". In the second semester there were six students in the mark range 71-80 and three students in the first semester (half of second semester). There was no student in the percentage range 81-90 in the first semester and one student in the second semester. This shows a better class performance in terms of both quality and quantity in the second semester. In the first quarter of the semester there was an increase in average class attendance by three students. The increase continued in the second quarter -we had an average class attendance of fourteen in the first semester and seventeen in the second semester. In the third and fourth quarters, there was full average class attendance in the second semester rising by four students in the third quarter and three students in the fourth quarter from the first semester. Moodle CMS shows statistics of usage by each user showing time logged on and out, last time accessed and frequency. The statistics revealed increased usage by the students each quarter from the first semester quarter to the last semester quarter. It also revealed high participation in discussion forums. This showed high interaction among the students and also with the lecturer. Students discussed socio-academic problems in forums and this motivated the students.

Social Outcomes; increasing motivation and attendance

Feedback fr om inter views

At the end of the second semester, interviews were done again with students to enquire about the impact of technological intervention to their learning experience and below are some of their responses.

• "Learning was fun with lots of material available that could be downloaded from the system." • "There were lots of interaction through Moodle, which made problems be quickly addressed and from different perspectives of other students and the lecturer." • "Studying with access to material (from Moodle) helped me understand better and improved my performance." • "Technology use brought a new thinking in my life. It was like opening a window to a whole new world with possibilities." • "Help as well as communication from other students and the lecturer improved significantly because of the new channel technology brought." • "The system offered adequate space for discussions and debates."

We can state that the blended learning approach has had a great impact on student's learning skills, improved dialogic approach, increased motivation and better commitment to the use of educational management technology.

Lessons lear ned

There was a significant improvement in performances as shown previously. This was attributed to a large extent, to the use of a blended learning approach. Hence the use of technology improved the performance of the Database course. There was improvement in computer literacy. Students maneuvered through the course management system, which was the first system they used. This triggered and encouraged students to start carrying out research in technology use in education. The use of Moodle CMS was an "eye-opener" and motivated students to study more.

The increase in class attendance shown was a result of the motivation and enthusiasm in use of technology by the class. Interaction among students increased significantly as noted by the number of emails they wrote each other. Discussion forums (on Moodle CMS) on academic, class administration and social issues were well participated by the students. Hence technology use had a positive social impact.

There is need for proper and good orientation in time before the implementation of blended learning. This is necessary to avoid panic and discomfort among students in using new technology. In addition, there is need to allocate adequate time for students' practice in using new technologies. For example, two students dismally dropped in performance and these were slow learners who did not grasp and adapt to use of technology very well. Remedial work is therefore recommended for the benefit of slow learners.

The main drawback and disadvantage of Moodle CMS use is when electronic materials are not available due to unavailability of network, electricity blackouts, server problems and/or the computer laboratory security rules. Continuous Moodle CMS access problems will raise adverse effects to class administration, progress and motivation. It is recommended that the responsible authorities and policy makers do appreciate and have technology use knowledge so that they fully support technology use.

Computer literacy is a prerequisite to use blended learning. However related to this, [START_REF] Nissilä | Coopworks -A Case Study on an Information System Meant to Enhance the Capacities of Agricultural Co-operatives, International Conference on Social Implications of Computers in Developing Countries[END_REF] noted that one of the reasons for project failure is too much emphasis on technology and little attention to user needs. In addition, they highlighted the importance of including the users from the starting phases of the project. The success of blended learning in this case was due to the fact that the database course class was a computer literate group. It is therefore recommended that there be a computer literacy test before blended learning methodology use.

Discussion

Technology use in the tertiary education sector is of immense importance for educational development in Africa. The use of technology by higher education institutes varies, however this research focused on the LMSs. The key issues of learning management systems identified from an African tertiary education perspective are need for increasing computer literacy in the sector, need for computer infrastructure, learning and knowledge sharing culture, human resource -IT staff and leadership support. This paper included a case study of how open source software was utilized to benefit students at a university in Mozambique. This case demonstrated that there is no defined way of technological adoption but there is need to adjust and adapt technology to suit the different local conditions and circumstances. Nevertheless the use of technology is very much encouraged to aid and improve the higher education institutes in Africa.

  Figure 3 below shows the Database Module class performance in first semester and second semester respectively in the same student population. The graph shows the number of students in each mark range for the two semesters.

Figure 1 :

 1 Figure 1: Class performance in first and second semester

Figure 4

 4 Figure 4 below shows database course class attendance in first and second semester.

Figure 2 :

 2 Figure 2: Average class attendance in first and second semester