The State of Integration of the Virtual Learning Environment and ICT into the Pedagogy of the Royal University of Bhutan: A Descriptive Study.

INTRODUCTIONBhutan is a small country, whose higher education system is predominated by the Royal University of Bhutan (RUB), a federated institution of colleges. Like many other countries, Bhutan accords great interest in digitalising the country, but there is very little knowledge regarding its actual devolvement. With the exceptions of the preliminary research of NN et al. (2014), Kinley et al. (2013) and Khamsum (2010), there is little research on the impact of the ICT transformation of teaching practices in higher education in Bhutan, which, like so many other countries, increasingly integrates ICT. Though ICT integration has made its beginning , the status of ICTintegrated pedagogy in higher education in Bhutan is at an early stage and this is affected by lowspeed Internet connectivity and a lack of adequate resources as well as training in ICT-integrated pedagogy (NN). This particular study on ICT-integrated pedagogy in the context of Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) in the colleges of RUB provides descriptive research on the extent and features of the pedagogical impact.Such research results will become an important baseline for all researchers, professionals and policy-makers that deal with the educational technology of Bhutan. It will also enable the colleges to obtain an understanding of the level of ICT integration into their pedagogical practices. Previously, with the exception of the aforementioned studies at the individual college level, the actual situation in Bhutan was unknown, and we were left guessing whether it mimicked that of other countries. Higher education in small states like Bhutan, (with less than 800.000 citizens) have other dynamics than in larger states, and it is important to get an empirical basis for developing an understanding of such dynamics (Baldacchino, 2011). This is even more so, given Bhutan's several special circumstances (political, demographical and historical), demarcating it from other neighbouring countries. Hence, this article is guided by the question: 'To what extent is ICT integrated into pedagogy in the colleges of RUB? ' This can be broken down to:* What professional use of ICT is being practised by RUB lecturers? * Which types of ICT integration approaches are prevalent across RUB colleges? * What is the level of ICT integration in the colleges of RUB? * What barriers affect the higher levels of ICT integration? BACKGROUNDThe research participants were lecturers and ICT officers. The ICT officers are those who assist teachers and students with matters related to ICT facilities and services, but not in integrating ICT into classroom practices and pedagogies (Mishra & Koehler, 2006). The researchers conducted 27 interviews in eight colleges in Bhutan. Among the 27 research participants, two lecturers have IT backgrounds and three ICT officers were trained in VLE and instructional designs. All eight colleges have IT labs for students and the lecturers are provided either a desktop or laptop computer. All the students have basic knowledge of ICT since they had already mastered basic computer application prior to taking the undergraduate courses. All the colleges have a mechanism for familiarising new users of the VLE by way of in-house programmes, where faculty who have obtained training cascade this information to the other faculties.LITERATURE REVIEWAccording to Granger, Morbey, Lotherington, Owston and Wideman (2002) Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have become significant feature in the field of education. Bhutan is no exception and the management of RUB has shown enthusiasm for educational technologies for several years (Reid & Cano, 2005), and that enthusiasm has only got stronger over the years. A milestone of that enthusiasm occurred in April 2011, when a policy requiring all RUB colleges to use a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) was issued (Kinley et al., 2013). Several local colleges have voluntarily initiated it. …