Oxford University's decision to start offering degree courses over the Internet has underscored the need for its counterparts to consider the commercial implications of the Internet and the threats and opportunities it presents.
While most Irish universities have recognised the Internet's potential as a learning aid, many are adopting a wait-and-see approach. Dublin City University (DCU), however, has been active in exploiting the technology as an educational tool.
According to Dr Danny O'Hare, president of DCU, the best of the Internet has still to come: "Much of the academic use of the Internet so far has been more the exploitation of technology than the establishment of new teaching methodologies. The Internet would be very useful if we find it allows us to do things better rather than serve as an electronic page-turning device."
In DCU's school of computer applications one lecturer, Dr Alan Smeaton, recently decided to try the Internet as a teaching tool to counter the problem of rapidly growing numbers in undergraduate courses.
Though computer-based training is predominantly delivered in CD-Rom format at present, Dr Smeaton rejected this alternative as too impersonal. Instead he focused on developing a course that would improve one-to-one interaction with students. Now the database module of the computer applications degree course is delivered completely over the Internet. Students download Dr Smeaton's audio lectures synchronised with visual course material appearing on their web browsers. The lectures also feature a search facility and index to material where students can play back areas of the course where the topic in question was discussed.
The tutorial sections of the course allow students to meet online to discuss course material, to follow set exercises and clarify course content. Dr Smeaton maintains tutorials like this address any social consequences of not originally receiving the information in an interactive class situation.
The net effect of this teaching approach has been resoundingly positive, with no apparent drop in standards or grades by comparison with traditional methods.
Questionnaires issued to each of the 130 students who took part in the pilot programme found no correlation between a student's degree of technical competence and their exam marks. Those taking virtual lectures were found to do better in the final exam, though the static nature of the database course material was widely agreed to be particularly suited to the new medium. Most students agreed they would not like this method of course delivery extended to many more of their courses.
Typically, online training has been identified as the ideal vehicle for postgraduate education and distance learning. According to Dr Edward Walsh, president of the University of Limerick: "There's no doubt you could deliver postgraduate courses over the Internet. Professionals wishing to upgrade their skills or conduct 10year refresher courses can easily purchase an information packet over the Internet, but a young person's education cannot be simulated online."
DCU has been running a remote access to Continuing Engineering Education initiative for postgraduate students since last year. Using the Internet, students can communicate with their tutor and fellow classmates via email, electronic conferencing and various World Wide Web tools. Assignments are submitted via email and electronic tutorials can be conducted in the home. The programme has been identified by its co-ordinator, Dr Paul Whelan, as requiring a high level of maturity on the student's part, and is therefore more suitable for postgraduate and senior undergraduate courses only. This is best reflected in the statistic that only one-third of those who enrol in distance education programmes complete the course.
UCD has developed its own programme over the past year where seven interest courses will be delivered online over short periods from the end of September. If successful, Mr Kevin Hurley, UCD's director of adult education, expects to start offering certificates and accreditation leading to qualifications as a next step.
"We saw the possibilities to harness the tool to provide opportunities for people disadvantaged through geography. It can also be targeted at communities that don't traditionally feature in higher education by offering courses through community centres and libraries."
The advantages thrown open by the new technology for people living in remote or inaccessible situations appeal greatly to Dr Patrick Fottrell, president of the National University of Ireland, Galway. "In the west of Ireland we would be looking after a very big region, particularly in the area of adult education, so we see tremendous potential savings in sending teachers out to remote regions."
NUI Galway has also been conducting its own investigations into online education, with university representatives recently visiting colleges in the US including Duke University in North Carolina which is conducting MBA courses over the Internet.
Looking ahead, Dr Fottrell sees opportunities to import and export specific skills online. "We could play to our strengths by exporting our expertise in Irish Studies and Marine Science, to be incorporated as part of foreign learning programmes. In return we could put our own regional flavour on courses developed in the UK or US business schools and give them a local interpretation."
Dr Michael Mortell, president of University College, Cork, echoes this sentiment. "There is going to be a lot of pressure on smaller colleges if Harvard, Stanford, MIT and Cambridge start using their vast resources to compete in the global academic market. Irish universities will need to find niche markets such as Irish studies and market them globally."
The cost implications of developing and delivering courses electronically is a concern for all colleges, as online education requires constant technical development and support. Mr Tom Mitchell, provost of Trinity College, suggests a collaborative approach where students can register with individual institutions, but the technical delivery and management of the courses would be a joint enterprise.
But despite the forward looking sentiment, the heads of all the universities offered blanket support for the notion of a traditional college education. All agreed that online courses or degrees could never provide a substitute for the experience of attending college physically. As Mr Mitchell puts it: "A lot of thought should go into what level of personal mix and social interaction is necessary to deliver a quality product. We must be careful not to think only of the commercial implications. We could devalue the currency of a degree if the technology beguiles us all."
