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8. The Institutional Context
It is clear that an understanding of the learning process and the way in which technology can best support it, are necessary for successful teaching. However they are not sufficient conditions for success. There are other factors which are also important determinant s of successful implementation, but which lie outside the model of learning. These factors relate to the current institutional culture in UK higher education. The main factors are as follows:
- The need for large scale collaboration in education technology development.
- The need to share resources, especially transferable courseware, on a national scale.
- The need to establish links with schools and training organisations.
- The need to mount a programme of research into the approaches which work best for different disciplines
- The need to recognise that proper evaluation of educational technology needs resources at least as substantial as those provided for the development of the technology itself
- The need for staff development
- The need for computer literacy programs for learners and teachers.
- The need for a ‘systems’ view of technology, in which the human factors, including training and staff development, are seen as equally as important as the hardware and software.
The greatest underlying institutional barrier to development is the value attached to teaching.
..”The greatest challenge is to persuade a majority of those involved in higher education to see teaching as their prime activity, and as one posing intellectual challenges and offering rewards comparable to those of standard research.”
The MacFarlane Report, 1993.
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