eLearning in daily school business

 eLSA is a Project by the Federal Ministry for Education, Science and Culture in Austria

for students from the age of 10 up to the age of 15. (Middle School, School Levels 5-8). - as part of the e-Learning Cluster of Austria.

In 2002 eLSA started as a pilot project with four -a few months later - with nine schools, each located in one of the nine Austrian provinces. Teachers tried to implement E-teaching and E-Learning in the everyday teaching situation by offering the students E-learning sequences in very different and creative variations. As a common communication and working platform they were using “blackboard ®”. The initial phase was systematically evaluated (University of Innsbruck) and there were several case studies during the first three years of the pilot project.

In autumn 2004 eLSA II started with 15 new schools, in autumn 2006 about 40  schools were members for the eLSA community. We hope to increase the number of participating schools up to 60 till the end of 2006.
 
 eLSA - An Outline of the Past, Present and Future of the Project
 
eLSA began in 2002/2003 at 4 pilot schools in 4 Austrian provinces. All schools are AHS (general secondary school of higher education), each with highly different preconditions.  They had to meet the diverse challenges occurring in this project. Each of the participating schools established at least one core “eLSA class”. This class had the focus to implement eLearning in all subjects; teachers had to act as a teaching team.

One of the objectives  of eLSA pilot project (as well as ELSA II) consists of  the teachers’ in-depth investigation of the learning platform (Blackboard in the pilot projects, different platforms in eLSA II as Moodle, WeLearn…) and the possible ways of using it in the everyday school routine (developing and testing e-learning teaching sequences).Approx. 50% of the eLSA-school-teachers and pupils are meeting  these challenges with great enthusiasm and achieve a number of exceptional results. One of these results: There is no problem for children beginning from the age of 10 (and maybe even younger) to “move themselves” in e-Learning platforms and to use e-learning offers.

Since March 2006 a nationwide platform (Moodle) is available for eLSA-schools all over Austria. Schools of different provinces realise projects together. Even international collaboration (e-Twinning, Comenius) is planned.
 
 The Eight Objectives for “eLSA” Schools
 
Bases of the whole eLSA project was, that participating schools committed themselves to goals before participating in the project.

An “e-Learning” school in this cluster must fulfill 8 objectives and, in the medium term, anchor these objectives in its school program. 8 Propositions for Establishing an e-Learning Cluster School (quoted from the concept for cluster schools by K. Cortolezis-Schlager and K. Schubert, Vienna 2002:
 

Each student will try out “e-learning sequences” in class during the course of the project.

The successful transformation of a school must be reflected in its teaching. The first transformation parameter begins directly with the students in class. The pedagogic background of this first objective is that each of the students get an idea of how he/she can personally profit (or not profit) from an electronically supported learning environment. This basis of reflection derived from teaching sequences in the various subjects must be offered to all secondary school students, at least in the upper levels (9th - 12th school levels).
 

Each teacher will have gained experience with e-learning sequences in his/her own subjects (in at least one subject) and will have put this experience at the disposal of all members of the teaching teams involved with these subjects and the participating classes.

This transformation parameter reflects the transparency of the transformation process up to the teaching level. The objective is to convince a qualified majority of teachers in a particular school of the value of achieving the objectives of e-learning. A fundamental transformation, however, means that everyone in the school system must become familiar with the new requirements. Only in this way is it possible to ensure that all the students will notice the results in their work and profit from them.
 

Teachers of the same subjects and the teaching teams of the various classes test the possibilities, potential and limits of e-learning together in a coordinated way.

This parameter measures team performance. E-learning promotes and demands cooperation among teachers at both the class and subject levels. This can be done, independent of time and location, through professional organizational environments such as learning platforms; however, the new developments are so extensive that real innovations in teaching can only be realized through teamwork. When drawing up “e-content” and “teaching sequences”, a high degree of cooperation among the teachers is required.
 

The pilot schools develop concrete models for testing “e-learning” teaching sequences in cooperation with one another and put their experience at the disposal of all other schools.

At the school (management) level as well, new possibilities for cooperation should be tried out. The cluster constitutes the organizational framework of this inter-subject and inter-school cooperation.
 

The school program (short and medium-range school objectives and implementation measures) continually integrates newly gained “e-learning” insights into the daily school routine.

In order for a transformation process to become an ongoing routine, it is necessary to anchor “e-learning organization” in the school program. The school program creates the basis for a school’s operative annual goal planning and goal reviews. Innovations in the organization of the learning process must be integrated into the school curriculum and anchored in an annual program. This is the only way, from a management perspective, to ensure that e-learning processes will not be only a passing trend but rather become a viable element of the daily school routine.
 

Testing “e-learning” in class is an important concern of the school principalship. The project has high priority in the school routine.

In the final analysis, professional leadership is the decisive factor in the success or failure of transformation processes: In the evaluation of the e-learning notebook classes, it was apparent that in the end only schools whose principals strongly supported and involved themselves in the project succeeded in achieving extensive innovations.
 

There is a steering group that coordinates and harmonizes the “e-learning” content developments and their testing in class and ensures that the project progresses.

In Austrian schools the principalship is responsible for a broad range of management duties and at the present time has little possibility of delegating any of these to a subordinate level. In order to ensure the involvement of the teaching staff of a school in e-learning projects on a broad level, a management organization is needed to supervise the project at the school.
 

The school offers its students the possibility of obtaining at least one IT or e-learning certificate (on a voluntary basis).

The school must offer its students, in the form of an educational grant, practice-oriented IT certificates on a voluntary basis. This ensures that the reality of economic practice is implemented on a concrete basis in e-learning  schools. Typical IT certificates appropriate to the middle school levels are, for example, the ECDL (European Computer Driving Licence) and the ECDL-Advanced.
 
 Topics from the Analysis of the pilot project – view of headmasters
  After the pilot project was finished, the evaluation was done. Here are some results, which are typical for the whole project.
Headmasters where asked to participate in a SWOT analysis. They had the following opinions:

Strengths:
ELSA Schools do have an innovative reputation (seen by school partners, such as parents, school environment)
Schools’ equipment is always up to date and there is a certain interest in a functioning infrastructure.  This can be found among teachers and students.
Teachers’ new media comptentence  has severely  grown due to the project.
Students appreciate new methods of learning, they are motivated and see their knowledge gain concerning new media as an important part for their future vocational development
Elearning benefits (such as having the possibility to study whenever and wherever) are seen and accepted by students and teachers.
Elsa supports collaboration in teams among teachers and strengthens students ability to study due to their own responsibility
Weaknesses:

Time problem: teachers’ training is rather difficult to be fulfilled, due to several other projects of eLSA teachers.

Technical support is not perfect yet.

Some teachers and parents still have doubts concerning the use of e-Learning.

 Chances:

Didactics and methods are becoming more and more important

Collaborative working, learning and teaching is being encouraged and is seen as a positive development.

Schools get a better reputation and they set steps towards an new European dimension

Teachers are more motivated to accept training within  the area of multimedia and new media

 Risks:

Teachers have too high expectations concerning time and work saving
Additional financial burden for schools, parents and teachers
Danger of PC-elites: students without PC and internet have less chances.
Conflicts among teachers: those, who do not participate in the project might get excluded
School system is too inflexible for new learning methods (syllabus , payment e.g.)

 EVALUATION REPORTS

In spring 2002, Professor Dr Michael Schratz, head of the Department of Teacher Education and School Research at the University of Innsbruck, assisted by MA Sc Kurt Leitl (BRG/BORG Landeck), was asked to evaluate the eLSA project.

Link: Final report on "eLearning in daily school business" (eLSA) Summary

Five schools involved in the eLSA project were used as case studies in a research project. The findings reveal that at the beginning the participating schools had to face the challenge of a quick, efficient and successful implementation as well as the changes the project caused. Since e-learning had not been exercised by most teachers beforehand, the schools had to overcome obstacles partly resulting from their lack of experience and partly form the project design itself. Technical, structural and personnel resources had to be developed gradually.

Link: Selected examples - Summary 
   
 Further Information:

http://elsa.schule.at/
http://it-projekte.schule.at/index.php?modul=list
http://edumoodle.schule.at
 
  Authors:
Project manager: MR Mag. Helmut Stemmer
Federal Ministry for Education, Science and Culture, Dept. I/9
A-1010 Vienna, Rosengasse 8
helmut.stemmer@bmbwk.gv.at

Erika Hummer, Walter Hermann
Project assistance
erika.hummer@inode.at  walter.hermann@pib-bgld.at.at