It is important that the University's position on elearning develop from a shared understanding among colleagues. Furthermore, this shared understanding must be clearly stated in order to inform and guide practices and initiatives in elearning across the University. Finally, the University position on elearning should be periodically reviewed to ensure that it adequately represents the viewpoints of members of the PolyU community as well as incorporates current knowledge of best practices.
The following are the key tenets of the PolyU position on eLearning:
PolyU is committed to actively promoting and supporting the effective use of modern educational technologies in all learning endeavours. All staff members are strongly encouraged to make appropriate use of elearning to enhance the effectiveness of their teaching to positively impact student learning. The University will support staff in the development of their elearning skills as well as provide funding and/or in kind assistance where appropriate, to staff, departments and faculties to achieve high quality standards in elearning.
The University recognizes the quality effort and good practices of staff in developing, implementing and evaluating the effectiveness of elearning as a form of scholarly activity. As scholarly activity, it is to be counted in the total workload and performance review and reward structures.
The ultimate goal of the use of elearning is to improve student learning outcomes. elearning should be used to further the stated role of PolyU which is to develop all round students with professional competence. eLearning should support the discipline specific outcomes identified by programmes as well as the professional competencies listed in Strategic Objective 1. Furthermore, achievement of student learning outcomes should be documented.
In the present context, most PolyU programmes are offered in an on-campus mode with regular face-to-face sessions. According to the present context and current knowledge of up-to-date elearning practices, elearning is mainly to be adopted in PolyU as an integrated complement to, and not a substitution for, classroom instruction/interaction to enrich students' learning experience and enhance learning outcomes. The current climate advocates the use of a "blended" or "hybrid" mode in which elearning is used as a cognitive and communication tool for enhancing development of discipline specific as well as lifelong learning skills.
To achieve the aim of improving student learning outcomes, it will be a high priority of PolyU to ensure that as many students as possible will be given the opportunity to undergo a substantive elearning experience in their programme of study. The specific uses of elearning are to be determined by the programme of study, and in the cases of faculty and university-wide subjects, by the responsible department(s). The goal is that elearning should permeate the curriculum and be employed repeatedly to fulfill a wide range of uses including but not limited to transmitting information, sharing ideas, giving feedback, conducting assessment and documenting student progress on specified outcomes.
Emphasis should be placed on the pedagogically effective use of modern educational technologies as a tool for learning rather than simply 'technologising' the dissemination or one-way delivery of subject materials. It is considered more appropriate to use elearning in an interactive manner that challenges students to interact with their teachers and peers, to learn and think actively with and about their subject knowledge, to connect with the vast network of knowledge available on the Web or from other professionals and experts in the field, to actively search for and apply new knowledge to solve problems, and to learn independently.
All elearning materials and instructional systems should be designed according to sound pedagogical principles, and be subjected to vigorous formative and summative evaluations at various stages of the process to assure the quality of the materials produced, and optimise their impact on student learning. These design and evaluation principles include but are not limited to the good practices of establishing project objectives which are clearly linked to desired programme outcomes, systematically searching for existing elearning materials which can be adapted or adopted, early pilot testing, and planning and making improvements in response to evaluation data.
elearning endeavors will be supported within the PolyU through a) development opportunities for staff; b) in-kind assistance in skill areas specific to the design, development and evaluation of elearning; and c) funding, when necessary and with priority for development of elearning in strategic areas aligned with the goals of the University. In order to ensure coordination of services and simplify provision through a "one stop shop" approach, elearning support will be coordinated through the "eLearning Development and Support Section" (eLDSS) within the Educational Development Centre (EDC).
Members of the PolyU community are welcome to make suggestions on the PolyU position on elearning at any time by writing to Josie Csete, Section Leader, eLDSS of the EDC at
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