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Chinese ICT-based higher edu

doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2010.01095.x

The educational technology centre:A window to view the progress of Chinese ICT-based higher education

Rong Zhou and Baizhi Xie

Rong Zhou is a doctoral student in the Modern Educational Technology Center at the Fourth Military Medical University(FMMU).She is currently researching the development of educational technology in the Chinese ICT-based higher education process.Baizhi Xie is a professor and doctoral tutor of the Modern Educational Technology Center at FMMU.He is the leader of the research project‘Construction Model of Educational Technology Center in Chinese Universities and Colleges’.Address for correspon-dence:Miss Rong Zhou,Modern Educational Technology Center,the Fourth Military Medical Univer-sity,17,W est Changle Road,Shaanxi,710032,China.Email:rzhouet@https://www.wendangku.net/doc/ca10290054.html, Abstract

In China,after many years,the current status and challenges of e-learning

development in higher education have been gradually understood.The educa-

tional technology centre(ECT)serves as the key unit to promote e-learning

initiatives,but the performance of some centres still trails their foreign coun-

terparts.Under such conditions,the project‘Construction Model of the ETC in

Chinese Universities and Colleges’was conducted.An investigation of the

e-learning performance of70ETCs was provided and the main problems were

identi?ed through quantitative analysis.Then,with the guidance of interna-

tional standards,the‘functional-level’model coupled with some common

strategies for its application was created as an innovative blueprint to help the

ETCs towards excellence.

Introduction

With the spread of information communication technologies(ICT),e-learning is ubiq-uitous across the world.Universities and research institutes in the USA and UK have developed and implemented massive programmes to make ICT into a powerful educa-tional tool(Anthony,2006;O’Neill,Singh&O’Donoghue,2004;Surachet&Boon-chom,2007).Other areas,such as the South Paci?c and Africa,also established co-ordination agendas for educational institutions to use technology(eLA,2008; Robert,2008).Asian governments,such as Taiwan,Japan and Korea,strategically value e-learning as a powerful tool to leverage and promote teaching,training and lifelong learning(Jung,2009;Latchem,Jung,Aoki&Ozkul,2008;Zhang&Hung, 2006;),and have highly developed ICT infrastructures to reform their higher education systems and encourage e-transformation(Chang,Wang&Chen,2009;Zhang,2008).?2010The Authors.Journal compilation?2010Becta.Published by Blackwell Publishing,9600Garsington Road,Oxford OX42DQ, UK and350Main Street,Malden,MA02148,USA.

China is no exception to this trend.With substantial increases in the availability of ICT, the largest educational system in the world is characterised by27million students enrolled in2008and over97000academic staff in China’s colleges and universities in 2007(Zhou,2008).To meet the requirements of China’s education reform,the govern-ment has con?rmed that e-learning is identi?ed as one of the nation’s ongoing and major education projects.As the Chinese Ministry of Education(MOE)announced, e-learning provides people with lifelong learning opportunities and enables the devel-opment of a learning society(MOE,1998).

He(2002)de?nes e-learning as‘the learning and teaching activities by the Internet or with other digital content...to fundamentally change the nature of teaching and the education structure’.A recent conference held in Xuzhou in August2009caused extensive attention and heated discussion about the suggested changes among Chinese educators.

In the1990s,the MOE carried out several programmes(for example,Modern Long-distance Pilot Project,Project of Education Informationization,Project of Building State-Level Quality Courses)to reinforce the position of e-learning in higher education. These projects identi?ed speci?c targets for ICT-based higher education,and in the process,the educational technology centre(ETC)was designated the key enabler and functioned as the centrally administered institution for conducting numerous e-learning activities.

ETCs in Chinese universities and colleges had their beginnings in the early1980s;their initial role was to provide service to faculty engaged in media-assisted teaching.Given the continuous emergence of new media,their function was continuously expanded and reached their peak when e-learning was introduced into higher education.The ETCs are now authorised by most universities as the administrative department charged with implementing e-learning.They are key units that analyse,design,develop,imple-ment,and evaluate e-learning projects and activities.

In contrast to the e-learning activities of professional organisations and personal per-formances of higher educators,the ETC’s e-learning activities are highly systematic and administrative oriented.Almost every university has its own ETC to construct the e-learning system;for example,making the ICT-based education development plan for the decision-making departments and administrators,supporting varied e-learning activities of teachers and students,and evaluating the e-learning work performance of all teaching faculty.At the same time,the ETC itself is assessed by the administration according to the work plan formulated in advance.This distinctive character indicates that the work performance of the ETC can,and does,have an immediate in?uence over e-learning development within its own university.

Nevertheless,it is important to recognise that noticeable gaps remain between the e-learning work of ETCs in China and that conducted by their foreign counterparts. There are numerous reasons for these performance differences.First,China can be said

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to have just entered the e-learning arena.This lag can be attributed to economic and educational disparities,both of which have had a de?nite impact on the spread of e-learning(Helen,2007).Second,the ETCs themselves have not yet fully understood what they should do and how to do it,given the continuing and growing surge of ICT-based innovations.Some ETCs have made great progress under the guidance of advanced e-learning concepts,while others are still marking time or even clinging to the situation as it existed10or more years ago.This certainly caused the great gaps between the levels of e-learning tasks within the more than260ETCs across China (Sun,2003).The most fundamental reason for the gap has been the absence of stan-dards and models to guide their developments.When facing problems or establishing development targets,too many ETCs always involuntarily work in experience-based or even irrational ways,rather than adopting scienti?c,forward-looking and sustainable ones.

Having recognised these facts,we began a project in2002called‘Construction Model of the ETC in Chinese Universities and Colleges’(a sub-project of the national10th Five-Year National Educational Science Plan Key Project‘Development of Technology Edu-cation in the Process of ICT-based Education’)to search for more effective ways to facilitate the ETC’s development.Our targets using the acronym‘W2H2’,involved three major initiatives:

1.Conduct a comprehensive investigation of the current level of the ETC’s e-learning

activities to identify‘What(W)and How(H)the ETC’s ful?l their e-learning tasks’.

2.Analyse current standards of existing e-learning systems to de?ne What(W)the

ETC should do.

3.Create a model for the development of the ETC in Chinese universities to tell How(H)

to be an excellent ETC.

Method

The project team chose a sample of90ECTs from more than1800public universities across China and sent surveys to each.These universities are all announced as being(or classi?ed)the‘development priority’by the MOE or provincial governments.Taking into account the various e-learning tasks of different university types,the survey covered6 engineering universities,10normal universities(a university that trains teachers),8 medical universities and66comprehensive universities.The ECT of each sample has a ?xed working location,speci?c staff and independent management system.

Khan(2001)developed an e-learning framework containing eight dimensions,which can be used to capture an organisation’s inventory of e-learning by addressing issues encompassing eight dimensions of open and distributed learning environments(Sura-chet&Boonchom,2007).With the guidance of this framework,Chinese researchers gradually formed a consensus that ETCs should be developed into a multi-functional organisation to provide varied e-learning services instead of managing simple instruc-tional equipment(Chen,2005;Wu,Du&Dong,2005;).Chinese ETC’s function is further classi?ed to three,?ve or six dimensions(Liu,Xie,Fang&Feng,2003;Sun,?2010The Authors.Journal compilation?2010Becta.

2003;He,2006)but the main framework of these classi?cation focuses on the same three sections:e-learning management,e-skill training and e-learning research. Several researchers also use the framework as the outline to complete their survey on ETC’s performance(Educational Technology Research Committee of Shanghai Higher Education Association,2004;Wang,2007)

In collaboration with other professors in the Fourth Military Medical University,we designed a three-section and seven-item questionnaire,which maintains consistency with the popular e-learning framework of Chinese ETC,roundly covering the classi?-cation of its function.We also took into consideration the historical elements in arrang-ing the sequence of the three sections.The management work,especially those revolving around the types of equipment available to faculty,was ETC’s original target and its function was very simple at that time.Along with the development of instruc-tional theory,ETC staff began to realise that the‘pedagogical element’behind the media is much more critical.Since then,more e-skill training works have been carried out,and academic research has bloomed.The sequence of section in our questionnaire is not strictly set,but re?ects the general route of the ETC’s development.

The questionnaire was reviewed by an internal panel of researchers before being sent to each subject institution via e-mail,post or fax.The framework of the questionnaire is as follows:

1.Infrastructure/resource management:equipment management,electronic environ-

ment construction,network construction,e-learning resource management and e-learning resource development.

2.Teacher training:e-skill training for teachers.

3.Professional research:professional research achievements.

Seventy-four of the90answer sheets were returned:16failed to be submitted within the speci?ed time because of institutional or staff changes.Seventy of the returned answer sheets were acceptable,and four were rejected because of incomplete informa-tion or manifest error.(For example,the number of awarded papers one ETC received during2003–07was shown as being eight,while the total number of papers that ETC completed during that period was only six.)The investigation results can still be con-sidered credible because the criteria of selection and type of samples remained unchanged:5engineering universities,7normal universities,6medical universities and52comprehensive universities.

Analysis of results

Infrastructure/resource management

The ETC’s equipment management system was divided into two types according to its scale.Twenty-three ETCs(32.86%)established speci?c departments to manage their university’s public devices;seven of these ETCs had developed e-management systems. The other47ETCs(67.14%)controlled only the devices within their own centres. Table1shows the ETCs device management level in2007.

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The e-environment construction undertaken by the ETCs is an increasingly compli-cated task.Since 2007,the network bandwidth of 57universities has risen to 1000Mbs,and there are 41Chinese universities which have more than 800campus network users.Thirty-eight universities have constructed over 100multimedia class-rooms and 36universities have retro?tted more than 50networked classrooms.Since 1990,the boom in production and use of e-learning resources compelled the ETCs to purchase large-capacity storage devices and establish databases for collecting a plethora of multimedia materials.After nearly 20years of accumulation,57of the 70ETCs in Table 2have created comprehensive resource systems.The e-learning resources that the ETCs developed mainly cover ?ve types and Table 3shows the quantities.

Teacher’s e-skill training

In 2001,the Chinese Ministry of Education (MOE,2001)implemented the ‘Educational Technology Training Project for Higher Educator (ETTPHE)’and published a uniform curriculum system (see Table 4).Since 2006,24ETC’s participating in our investiga-tion have adopted the system and 32ETC’s adopted special training content then adapted it to mirror the characteristics of their own universities better.

Professional research

Between 2003and 2007,70ETCs published a total of 1722papers and 86academic books (the average is 25.8).From these,384papers and 503e-courses were given awards (the average is 12.67)by organisations such as the MOE,provincial institutions,professional associations,publishing houses and peer institutions in competitions.Eleven ETCs (16%)published more than 30papers and books,19(27%)ETCs failed to break through the limit of 20academic publications,and 40(57%)ETCs distributed around the average.A great gap was found through a comparative analysis of the

Table 1:Devices owned by ETCs (in 2007)

Quantity of device

Digital camera

Digital video Video nonlinear editor Digital projector <33–6>6<33–6>6<22–4>4<22–4>4Number of ETCs 2839345792147219492Percentage (%)

Quantity of device W eb server

Computer Basic network device *<55–15>15<1515–25>25<1515–25>25Number of ETCs 15469853953926Percentage (%)

*Basic network device refers to hub,switch,router,repeater,etc.ETC =educational technology centre.

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number of awards given:24(34%)ETCs garnered 432(48.7%)awards while the other 27(39%)ETCs only gained a total of 216(24.4%)awards.

The wide application of e-learning has created numerous topics for ETC-based studies,which are somewhat dif?cult to detail.We chose 107sample papers published by 70ETCs that appeared in the three leading professional journals in 2007:China Educa-tional Technology ,E-education Research and Distance Education in China,and carried out a content analysis.The results are shown in Figure 1.

Investigation conclusion

Based on the investigator’s data,the current problems of ETCs can be more clearly revealed by those who demonstrated below average e-learning performance levels.

Table 2:Resource management levels of ETCs (in 2007)Quantity of resource Video teaching materials

CAI *courseware

W eb course

<250250–350>350<100100–250>250<5050–150>150Number of ETCs 21193024252116468Percentage (%)

Quantity of resource Instructional case *

Subject database

<5050–150>150<1010–20>20Number of ETCs 1645948139Percentage (%)

*The packets of typical instructional design cases of ICT-based learning,ie,the e-documents of design scheme,the copies of teaching resources and the video record of classroom teaching.ETC =educational technology centre;CAI =computer-assisted instruction.

Table 3:E-learning resources developed (2003–07)Quantity of resource Video teaching materials

CAI courseware W eb course <2020–40>40<2020–40>40<2020–40>40Number of ETCs 50128361420143719Percentage (%)

Quantity of resource Instructional case

Subject database

<2020–40>40<55–10>10Number of ETCs 144412134017Percentage (%)

ETC =educational technology centre;CAI =computer-assisted instruction.

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1.Learning resources development fails to keep up the pace with the increasing of infrastructures.Over 19%of ETCs developed no more than four web courses and one subject database every year.More seriously ,the resources failed to meet the relevant standards so they cannot be shared or exchanged.

2.Training for teachers has long been neglected.Fourteen ETCs did not provide any systematic e-skill training.Many teachers are not capable of mastering the new instructional media or pedagogy .Some educators continue using slides or overhead transparencies instead of PowerPoint ?les.

3.Professional research is seriously ignored.Nineteen ETCs ranked below average in the number of published articles and 27failed to reach the average level of publication awards.Some workers only treat e-learning tasks as simple application rather than instructional innovation.

Table 4:Training curriculum system of Educational Technology Training Project for Higher Educator Level

Part

Module

Level I

Basic theory and skill

Part I

Instructional theory (1)—progress,method and model

Basic theory of ET

Learning theory (1)—learning theory branches

Educational technology (1)—educational implication of ICT Part II

ICT and its application

ICT infrastructure

Computer operation systems Basic knowledge of the Internet PPT production Word processing

Instructional media applications

Part III Featured cases (1)—instructional applications of ICT

Cases Level II General

principles and basic

technology

Part I

Instructional theory (2)—learning principles and strategies

Basic theory of ET Learning theory (2)—instructional target,environment,evaluation Educational technology (2)Part II

Webpage production

Materials implication and basic production Basic methods of Image Processing Animation production

CAI courseware implications and evaluation Part III Featured Cases (2)—instructional design Cases Level III

Web course development

Part I

Systematic design of web course System development and management CAI software development

Management of software development Part II

Streaming network animation Development technology

Digital video production

3D animation and visual reality Interactive webpage technology

ET =educational technology;CAI =computer-assisted instruction;PPT =Microsoft PowerPoint.

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Guidance from standards and models Guidance for model structure and service types

China has now taken pages from selected international educational technology books in emulating ?rst,then establishing a new set of e-learning concepts more relevant to Chinese higher education.Our research also gained all-important guidance from several sets of standards when de?ning the ETC’s e-learning tasks to be completed.

Following 6years of collaborative efforts,preceded by the work of William Fulton,Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT )developed ‘Standards for College and University Learning Resources Programs:Technology in Instruction’(Cornell et al ,1989)and then provided accompanying standards for the accreditation of initial and advanced programmes in educational communications and instructional technology .These standards not only guide Learning Resource Pro-grams (LRP)to provide more ef?cient and effective means of serving all educational systems,but also help instructional units to evaluate the current quality and effec-tiveness of the LRP when it integrates materials and methods to assist learners.In

1 Comprehensive research

T o p i c

2 Instructional design

3 Distance learning

4 Web resources

5 CAI courseware

6 Audio-visual materials

7 Multimedia materials

8 Integration of ICT into classroom

9 Educational management

10.9%9.3%

16.1%

18.6%18.0%

3.4%

7.2%

11.2%

5.3%0

51015Present (%)Topics

Main Issues

1 E-learning theory, information literacy and higher education reform.3 Internet-based instructional schemes, online learning mode and strategy.4 Subject-based websites, online courses, network resources databases.5 The integration of multimedia, the human–computer interaction.6 Audio-visual materials design and development.7 Graphics processing, 2D or 3D animations.

8 The teacher-student relationship, instructional models, new ICT tools.9 The constructioon and information safety of ICT -based facilities.

2 E-learning psychological and pedagogical strategies.

2025

Figure 1:Research topics of educational technology centre’s papers (2003–07).ICT =information communication technologies;CAI =computer-assisted instruction

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these standards,the performance of the LRP was delineated by three levels:opera-tional,leadership and innovative,and the service capabilities of each level were described in detail.

In1987,a committee of AECT surveyed higher education institutions to identify the forms of instructional support services provided and then organised the response into the Integrated Instructional Technology Services model(Albright,1988).It presented seven functional areas provided by the instructional technology unit:instructional development,classroom technologies,learning resources,media development,aca-demic computing,distance education,research and evaluation,and discussed the service of each functional area.

Chinese ETCs now function exactly as the LRP units,providing personnel,facilities, equipment and integrated instructional technology service for the programmes in the universities.Because a great gap exists among ETCs,it is also reasonable for them to de?ne the discrete steps for their developments.So,in reference to the main ideas of the standards set out above,our project team identi?ed the framework of the‘functional-level’model as having four levels and indicates the seven types of support service an excellent ETC should provide,such as teaching equipment management,electronic environment construction,resource development and management,assisting the design for teaching,ICT course for students,teacher’s e-skill training,academic research.

Guidance for speci?c works

To make the‘functional-level’model more normative,our team also introduced some standards designed especially for use in the Chinese universities’learning environments,to guide the speci?c types of e-learning tasks.In fact,the majority of these Chinese standards are based on the comparative study of well-known research achievements abroad in order that they are viewed as being both advanced and international.

The e-skill training system promulgated by ETTPHE(see Table4)is the result of com-prehensive analysis and selective implementation of the competency requirements described by the National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers(Interna-tional Society for Technology in Education,2008),the North Carolina Technology Competencies for Educators(North Carolina State Board of Education,2002)and the International Council for Educational Media series of research studies on distance education and teacher training(Cornell&Ingram,1997;Cornell&Murphy,1995). This system now is the most integrated and authoritative outline of knowledge and skills that Chinese higher educators should optimally have.

Another project,derived key conclusions from the research achievements of Thach (1994)and Williams(2000),established the competency model of Chinese distance education professionals and the‘triangular competency training model’,which now complements the ETTPHE training system(Li&Chen,2004).

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From2001,the MOE established the Chinese E-Learning Technology Standardization Committee to carry out a large-scale research initiative named‘Chinese E-Learning Technology Standards Project’.Making reference to the learning technology standards of international standardisation organisations,such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers,the Learning Technology Standards Committee,the Aviation Industry Computer-Based Training(CBT)Committee,the International Organization for Standardization and the International Electrotechnical Commission,the committee de?ned the‘Chinese E-Learning Technology Standards’(CELTS)as a system containing 28component standards(Zhu,2004).Among them,CELTS-3,CELTS-8to CELTS-10, and CELTS-41to CELTS-42are the series on instructional resources,CELTS-17to CELTS-18and CELTS-20are the standards for instructional information environments, and CELTS-22and CELTS-24discuss the evaluation of e-leaning resources and services (CELTSC,2004).The CELTS system has been continually improving and expanding in order to lead the ETCs to offer more effective and integrated information services.

All of the standards we focused on can enlighten Chinese ETCs in providing a better understanding about what they should do to meet particular needs of all programmes within the institution.Having determined the frameworks of the ETC’s development model and the variety of standards required,our next step was to create the‘functional-level’model relevant to Chinese higher education.

A‘functional-level’model

The foremost task of the model should be to guide the laggard ETCs towards becoming developmentally well rounded.Unlike many other models,this model does not specify numbers of pieces of equipment or resources based on learner size.Instead,it identi?es elements necessary to grow into an excellent ETC through the integration of e-learning tasks.In this context,an excellent ETC re?ects,implements and evaluates its progress based on the following characteristics:

1.It is fully functional,that is,it can support a plethora of e-learning activities and the

services it provides meet the instructional needs of the institution.

2.It is rigorous,which means its e-learning works are normative,scienti?c and

ef?cient.

3.It is proactive and creative,that is,it has great potential to gain sustainable

development.

E-learning work&development level

The functional-level model,shown in Figure2,emphasises the impact of e-skill training and e-learning research on the ETC’s development.The‘E-learning performance’axis describes the relationship between different types of e-learning tasks and the ETC’s development level.These levels are not discrete steps.On the contrary,they represent points along a continuum of adequacy in meeting the requirements of all e-learning programmes.There are gradations within and between levels that will identify the service capabilities of each ETC.The model adopts the following formula:ETCs should

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base their development on e-learning management,gain propulsion from e-skill train-ing and achieve a target of high-level e-learning research.

To lay a solid foundation for survival and development,the ETC must focus on continu-ous improvement in the level of e-learning management,such as teaching equipment management,electronic environment construction,resource development and man-agement.The more management activities ETC participates in,the greater contribution it can make to its university and then the more opportunities for rapid growth it may get.E-learning management,as the principal responsibility taken by an ETC,not only decides the ETC’s status within the higher university institution,but also provides sustainable topics for research,which can subsequently promote the ETC’s develop-ment.Proof of this concept shows in that,among the papers published,43.7%in 2005,44.1%in 2006and 45.6%in 2007are based on the case analysis of electronic envi-ronment construction,resource management or instructional materials development.To achieve high-level evaluations,the ETC should assist teachers to complete course-work in instructional design (classroom or distance education).Sometimes ETCs also need to undertake e-skills training for teachers and ICT courses for students to cultivate information literacy .Such kinds of instructional tasks and activities are gradually becoming one of the primary e-learning service responsibilities.Since 2008,58ETCs have de?ned e-skill training and ICT courses as integral aspects of their primary work

Figure 2:‘Functional-level’model for the development of an educational technology centre.

ICT =information communication technologies

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load.(In the normal university,these tasks would be taught within the framework of instructional technology or e-learning courses,but such classes may not be readily available in other types of universities,and thus the ECT provides these instructional services.)

Training can be seen as the bridge between e-learning management and research because it provides an effective way to enhance research capabilities of the ETC staff.For example,the developer of Computer-Assisted Instruction(CAI)courseware may choose the software tools most familiar within his day-to-day management work.But when teaching others to develop courseware,he has to re-process knowledge and experience on tools selection,study about several tools and even summarise the strategies of tool integration.This process of knowledge reorganisation provides a good start in conduct-ing professional research.

To achieve the top level,the ETC should make great efforts to improve academic research.In China,the amount of papers published and awarded,and the number of completed projects either in process or completed are key indicators used when evalu-ating the ETC’s performance.Furthermore,the post-research achievements and aca-demic reputation of the ETC are key elements considered by funding agencies and the government when applying for a project.Continued excellent performance ratings related to ICT-based education research can greatly enhance the potential for future development funding and policy support.

It should be stressed that these three types of e-learning activities(management,instruc-tion and research)can not be substituted one for the other.They blend together to pave the way for the ETC’s self-improvement:that is,after the full-functional management functions have been re?ned and implemented,the ETC should make efforts to conduct some instructional projects that provide a bridge to practical experience,and?nally conduct and complete high-level professional research for long-term development. Standards for e-learning service

The efforts relating to standards in our project are not to develop new standards,but to discover ones that are compatible with current Chinese ETCs.The standards repre-sented in the model are all de?ned by government or authoritative research institutions. They direct the ETCs in methods designed to carry out e-learning activities more scien-ti?cally and normatively when they are on the development pathway that the functional-level model describes.The deeper purpose in listing these standards is to remind ETCs not to ignore the important role of standards and maintain their focus on them consistently.

Inputs for sustainable development

E-learning resources require developmental inputs from a number of specialists and the establishment of an organisational structure to accommodate this functionality and developmental improvement(Dillon,Coupland,Edwards,Hudson&Tearle,1998). Without staff development,educators may be isolated in their work,and unaware of

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new methods,technologies and applications(Wheeler,2004).In our survey,the in?u-ence of staff on e-learning performance has also been proved.

Among the seven cases(with roughly the same number of employees)in Table5,the award-winning ETCs typically re?ect the higher levels of both staff education levels and professional title as depicted in cases C,E and G.Conversely,when the ETC’s research results fell below the average level,as depicted in cases B and F,its average personal education level or professional title pro?les accordingly fell below the others.(The average age of the sampled ETC staff is36.Of these,64%have a bachelor’s degree,28% have master’s degrees and4%have doctorates.Nearly43%are lecturers or engineers, and29%are professors,associate professors or senior engineers.)

Undoubtedly,Chinese ETCs should offer more security,higher rewards and greater job satisfaction to retain talented and innovative staff.We summarised the main strategies for staff improvement elaborated in some studies(Cohen,2004;Steve,2004;Weaver, Robbie&Borland,2008)as follows:

A.Excellent working atmosphere to smooth the collaboration between groups.

B.Incentive mechanisms to sustain passion,motivation and creativity.

C.Consistent staff training policies through continuing education,short-term training

or study abroad.

D.Fair chance for promotion based on personal working performance.

E.Favourable research environments and adequate research funding.

F.Diversity in academic activities(professional competition,internal seminars,inter-

national visit,expert interviews or high-level academic conferences). Comparison between models

While there is an obvious absence of models for Chinese e-learning work,foreign researchers have put forward several.The elaborating debate about delivering models within e-learning is distilled by Rashty to propose the Delivery Systems Model(Meredith &Newton,2004).Salmon(2000)recommends a policy form of support and develop-ment to enable faculty to engage in e-learning.Osika(2006)identi?es the various elements necessary to support a quality distance learning programme through the Concentric Support Model.Ehlers(2004)described the seven?elds of subjective quality requirements in the Subjective Quality Requirements Model.The Demand-Driven Learning Model was developed as a collaborative effort between academics and experts from private and public industries(Macdonald,Stodel,Farres,Breithaupt&Gabriel, 2001).

The viewpoints of these models vary,but their basic idea is the same:to make the e-learning more effective by improving its key elements,such as the delivery technology, the instructional process,the supporting system and the learning outcomes.Those promotion works can be undertaken by professional organisations,training industries or teachers.The functional-level model also shows the framework of e-learning works, but its research object is more speci?c.Given the ETC’s special status and leadership of ?2010The Authors.Journal compilation?2010Becta.

T a b l e 5:C a s e a n a l y s i s o f t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n r e s e a r c h s t a f f a n d r e s e a r c h l e v e l (2003–07)

I t e m C a s e E d u c a t i o n l e v e l o f r e s e a r c h s t a f f

P r o f e s s i o n a l t i t l e s o f r e s e a r c h s t a f f

Q u a n t i t y o f a w a r d (a v e r a g e 12.67)

T o t a l n u m b e r (p e r s o n )

D o c t o r d e g r e e M a s t e r d e g r e e B a c h e l o r d e g r e e

C o l l e g e d i p l o m a

P r o f e s s o r /s e n i o r e n g i n e e r

A s s o c i a t e p r o f e s s o r L e c t u r e r /e n g i n e e r A s s i s t a n t /a s s i s t a n t e n g i n e e r C a s e A 18191371271629C a s e

B 142141413121130

C a s e C 312150391532230C a s e

D 211153251771431C a s e

E 213141461642330C a s e

F 161941315111230C a s e

G 312140

45173

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e-learning works,the functional-level model tries to promote Chinese ICT-based higher education by perfecting the ETC’s work performance.It comes from the Chinese reality, which brings it some advantages in providing methods and strategies to solve Chinese practical problems.

Trial application

After the publication of the functional-level model,at the end of2007,we invited three ETCs selected from the investigated70universities to be the pilot application.These ETCs included the Fourth Military Medical University(FMMU),Xi’an Jiaotong Univer-sity(XAJT)and Northwest Polytechnical University(NWPU).Each can implement the model in their own way.Our team keeps an eye on these processes and summarises their collective development strategies.Although the application trial has not yet?nished, the attributes held in common by these ETC’s are as follows:

1.First and foremost,all have a clearly de?ned system to encourage research.For

promotion,everyone working within the ETC is required to publish papers and participate in research projects.Meanwhile,they are rewarded if he or she is evalu-ated as being rated excellent in research.As a result,FMMU’s ETC has undertaken more than20research projects and won more than100awards of various types.The XAJT ETC has undertaken29projects,published more than120papers,50or more of which were selected by Science Citation Index(SCI),and Engineering Index(EI).

2.They all set up speci?c organisations(FMMU constructed the‘Modern Educational

Technology Researching Institute’;XAJT built the‘Network Education Technology Research Institute’;and NWPU established the‘Wide-band network and Distant Education Research Institute’)to conduct large-scale research projects,which now bring increased opportunities to publish papers and carry out external collaboration.

3.All three institutions undertake e-skills training for teachers or students.The FMMU

ETC supplies Information Technology(IT)curricula for medical students,teachers and the workers in its af?liated hospital.The XAJT ETC offers distance education for more than8600students(according to the statistical results on June2007)and the NWPU ETC administers,produces and delivers network technology courses through its‘Modern Educational Technology Training Center’.

4.They all have close cooperation with instructional departments,educational tech-

nology organisations or computer companies within China and abroad.The FMMU ECT has received several visits from distinguished colleagues in AECT,the Japanese Association of Medical Photography and other famous educational technology del-egations.Through co-operative research with IBM,the ETC of XAJT has made great progress along the road towards integration of production,education and research.

5.They all make efforts to establish a highly quali?ed workgroup.FMMU and XAJT

periodically organise academic activity to facilitate active research,and each employee is asked to give a professional lecture lasting at least90minutes in turn.

NWPU implements‘consistent training policies’to enhance the professional literacy of staff,which means everyone has at least one chance to take part in training projects or academic seminars.

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Conclusions and further study

Today,Chinese ETCs are facing and will continuously face great challenges brought about by newly appearing technologies and pedagogies in post-secondary instruction. However,the standards and models directly guiding the ETC’s development remain mostly absent across much of China.Owing to insuf?cient understanding of their roles and tasks in conducting e-learning,some ECTs have fallen behind.Our project tries to ?ll the blanks relating to the relevant research and hopes that the implementation of the functional-level model based on the investigation of70ETCs in Chinese universities will pave the way for the future success of all such centres.

Because of the limit of research time,the functional-level model is more general than detailed.The application trial is also limited.In the near future,we will choose more ETCs as experimental bases and investigate the problems as follows:How can the functional-level model be integrated into the current work process?How can the functional-level model be adapted to different types of universities and to differing cultural pro?les?What are in?uencing factors in the functional-level model applica-tion?How can a set of strategies for engaging participants in staff improvement be identi?ed and tested?

While each ETC of China has its own characteristics and may even be lagging behind in some initiatives,it also has some common development tasks that compare favourably with foreign peer counterpart centres.Therefore,we hope our future work might provide some helpful experience for the development of educational technology insti-tutions throughout the world.

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