A Framework for Institutional Design for e-Learning Promotion:
A case of the University of South PacificKatsuaki Suzuki and Junko Nemoto

ksuzuki@kumamoto-u.ac.jp
Graduate School of Instructional Systems, Kumamoto University, JAPANABSTRACTThis is a report of the workshop conducted at the University of South Pacific in Fiji, by theauthors of this paper, in which an institutional framework was proposed for promoting eLearning by a university-wide center for distance and flexible learning. The authors wereinvited by a government supported project for information and communication technology
implementation by Japan International Corporation Agency, as our second visit to the target
institution. The aim was to strengthen the capacities of staff working at the distance and flexible
center. The authors conducted a series of interviews to groups of staff serving different
functions, from management, student support, senior designers of instructional materials,
educational technologists, and production assistants. A series of workshops were then designed
and conducted based on the interview results, with a help of e-Learning platform. The
workshops were aimed at both staff of the center and faculty members of various colleges, todiscuss future visions and action plans to promote e-Learning in that institute. A framework forinstitutional promotion was proposed to direct future activities of the center by incorporating all
the results from the interviews and workshops. The rationales and visions are explained as to
how the center should structure its activities to serve as the pivot organization within theuniversity to better serve the leadership function for promoting for better educational provisionby the systematic utilization of e-Learning infrastructure.
Keywords: workshop design, institutional strategies, e-Learning, university, FijiINTRODUCTION
This is a report of the workshop conducted at the University of South Pacific (USP) located in Suva,Fiji, by the authors of this paper, in which an institutional framework was proposed for promoting eLearning by a university-wide Center for Flexible and Distance Learning (CFDL). The authors wereinvited as short-term (two weeks) experts to a Japanese Official Development Assistance (ODA)’s
technical cooperation project: Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for HumanDevelopment and Human Security (http://www.jica.go.jp/fiji/english/activities/ technical06.html).
It was our second visit to the target institution. The aim of our first visit was the same as the current
one; to design and deliver workshops based on a need analysis through interviews and observations.
Based on the analysis of the needs, we conducted workshops on motivational analysis, instructional
strategies, multimedia application, standardization of material development process, and forms forcommunication with faculty (course writers). It was founded in a follow-up study conducted six months
after the visit that the workshop had a continuing effect in standardizing the developmental process(Nemoto, Hazelman, & Suzuki, 2007), which led to the second invitation this time.
The goal of our activities was to strengthen the capacities of staff working at CFDL. Our basic
function to serve was the same, although ICT environment had been dramatically changed withbroadband internet and the campus-full of facilities. Although the ODA project was mainly focused on
the provision of better ICT infrastructure, in order to fully utilize the more advanced infrastructure, there
was perceived need to develop capacity of the CFDL staff. It was our emphasis to make them able torecognize possible ways to enhance learning environment, from the pedagogical point of view, as well as
their organizational functions to better serve for the entire institution.

NEED ASSESSMENT BY INTERVIEWS
Upon our visit, the authors first conducted a series of interviews to groups of staff serving different
functions within CFDL. The interviewed group included management, student support, senior designersof instructional materials, educational technologists, and production assistants. As findings were evolved
from the interviews, necessary documents were identified and reviewed accordingly. The reviewed
documents included online courses on Moodle, online workshop created by CFDL for faculty, and otherrelated paper resources. Faculty interviews were also conducted to see how the CFDL was perceived bydifferent colleges within USP.
Table 1 shows a summary of finings from the interviews. It was found out that although Moodle waschosen as the campus-wide LMS, and the key target has been set to 50% increase in number/percentageof courses to be implemented by 2012, there has not adequate strategic additional resource allocations
done by the university management. It was found that re-structuring and training of the existing staffs ofCFDL, rather than hiring new one with such capacities, was the most needed. The staff was busy, but waswilling to take the challenges of acquiring the new knowledge and skills necessary to serve different
functions within CFDL. Therefore, workshop for skill training seemed to be the most probably solution,
for which they should become capable of defining, designing, and implementing necessary online
workshops, both internally and for the faculty members, as the key functionality of CFDL.
It was also noticed that the management of CFDL was not sufficient with vacancies in top positions.
It is the top management of CFDL that should be able to propose new functionalities of CFDL to theuniversity top, so that they would be given more roles and resources and act as the central leading
function for the accomplishment of KPIs. It was decided to discuss big picture issues of how CFDL canposition itself for the advancement of e-learning within USP.
Table 1. Key Findings from the Interviews
GroupsInstructional
Designers

Educational
Technologists
Production
AssistantsMultimedia
Production
Assistants
Learning
Assistants
Faculty

Current Functions, Wishes and Worries, and Needs-New expectations of CFDL and changes required from strategic plan
Feeling uncertainty as to how much learning outcomes are assured by students
Confusion by various types of delivering method combination
Feeling the course blue print are not used appropriately
Feeling that the blue print format doesn’t fit into current situation (Moodle)
Want and set online design model (both process and strategies)
Want templates for Moodle , Urge to fill the gap between DFL and F2F
Over loaded tasks (each ET has to deal with over 60 courses)
personal dependent approaches to design and development / disunity
Time limitation, Dissatisfaction of job position , Value differences among ETs
Technology focused (They eager to develop their own skill to step up their carrier)Uncertainness of the job role in CFDL
Feeing that their skills and knowledge are not fully utilized in CFDL
Confusion as new members in CFDL
Willing to change their job role
Want to know the new roles and the direction of CFDL
Not delivered new job activities
Anxiety to their unsecured position
Work under each faculty at different places, but work collaboratelly among LAs
Practices based on their own knowledge and research
New requirement and expectation by Strategic planInterested in improvement of their own courses with Moodle
Variety of learning environment where students faces
Want to know how to use new technology (OER, ebook and so on) and Moodle

THE WORKSHOPA series of workshops were then designed and conducted based on the interview results. Moodle wasused as the e-Learning platform to assist the workshop, since it was the Learning Management System(LMS) that USP decided to use as a common e-learning platform. The purpose of making the workshop
as a course on Moodle was to show a better way to utilize the LMS platform when conducting aworkshop, as well as to keep the record of the workshop itself for future references.
The workshops were aimed at both staff of the center and faculty members of various colleges, todiscuss future visions and action plans to promote e-Learning in that institute. Based on the need analysisof the interviews, the JICA-USP Capacity Building Workshop focused on the following 4 things for
CFDL staff (See Figure 1):
1.
2.
3.
4.

Find and share good examples of active learning using Moodle.
Expand the Course Design and Development Process to accommodate Moodle in online andblended formats.
Propose the minimum specification for the future production of print, online, and blendedcourses.
Draft a checklist for designing and conducting workshops for professional development.

Also introduced in the Faculty Workshop included the followings:
1.
2.
3.
4.

How to improve activities in your courses (in reference to item 1 above). --(F1)How to align activities to assessment and objectives/learning outcomes for uploading to ePortfolio. --(F2)How to develop capacities of teaching staff to teach online effectively. --(F3)How to get international recognition of student support at USP. --(F4)Figure 1. Overall structure of the Workshop

THE PROPOSED FRAMEWORKA framework for institutional promotion was proposed as shown in Figure 2. It was to direct future
activities of the center by incorporating all the results from the interviews and workshops. The rationales
and visions are explained as to how the center should structure its activities to serve as the pivotorganization within the university to better serve the leadership function for promoting for better
educational provision by the systematic utilization of e-Learning infrastructure. This framework was
introduced and explained in the open lecture on the final day of our visit.
Accreditation

JOB Hunting
Graduate
Attributes

Study
Skill
Language
Success@USP

IINSTITUTIONAL

GenericEducation

Reflection & Appeal

Assignment

Graduating Courses

Assignment

Advanced Courses

Assignment

NEXT Courses

Assignment 3
Assignment 2
Assignment 1
Set goals
Confirm Priorlearning
Ice BreakShare experiences
Motivator

Provide Info.

f2f
LectureConfirm
Understanding

Quiz

Print
Coursebook

Podcast・Multiple triesfor mastery・Automatic
Recording

Block 1
Block 2Block 3

UU100(Mahara)

ePortfolio (Mahara)

Graduate
Attributes

DICIPRINARY

Learning & Teaching

Needs
Analysis
Graduate
SurveyMissionof School

OER; Web Quest

Student Mentors

CFDL

Student Learning SupportTA

eLearning (Moodle)
On Campus
Students

Distance Students
w/ internet access

Infrastructure

Self-directed
Learning(Autonomous)

Distance Students
w/o internet accessFigure 2. Proposed Framework: Striving for USP Standards Design Elements and CFDLCONCLUSIONSThis paper described the workshop conducted at the USP, based on need analysis, and the proposed
institutional framework for promoting e-Learning by the university-wide center. It is expected that theworkshop was successful in showing the skills needed for advancing e-learning within the university, andthat the framework will be used as guiding post for the center to take a leading role in promoting elearning for the sake of all stakeholders, including the current and future students.

REFERENCES
Nemoto, J., Hazelman, V., & Suzuki, K. (2005, June-July). Instructional design workshop based on needsanalysis at University of South Pacific. A paper presented at ED-MEDIA 2005, World Conferenceon Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia & Telecommunications, Montreal, Canada, June 27- July2, 2005.