Evaluation of the Swiss Virtual Campus - Schweizerische ...

SVC Final Evaluation. Background Report Lepori and Probst
8.1.7 Coordination elearning, Université de Neuchâtel
General description and organisation
The central unit of Coordination elearning consists of the coordinator and two part-time research collaborators.
Moreover, the CCSP includes a network involving ~10 people in different institutes and faculties. The coordinator
recently moved his office into the faculty of sciences in order to be closer to the university’s IT and telematics services.
Website https://claroline.unine.ch/claroline/
Mission and strategy
Contribute to the development of elearning (understood as every use of information and communication technologies
that are integrated in teaching activities and that enrich the study environment) and facilitate the students’ personal or
group work through multimedia support and the electronic allocation of scientific resources. There is at the moment no
explicit strategy of the rectorate to introduce elearning.
Activities
SVC projects: 1 project as leading house (DIYS), involved in 3 more projects (Argumentum, Improving Intercultural
Communication, Operating Systems Laboratory), contribution to pedagogical and technical planning.
Support and other activities besides SVC projects: The CCSP coordinates a network of ~10 people (network of
professors, assistants, technical staff, directly involved in projects), gives pedagogical and technological support to
teachers and does some research.
o Platform ‘Claroline’ (big increase in use: fall 2006: 350 courses, 260 teachers – fall 2007: 1025 courses, 383
teachers; all students use the platform)
o support to platform users (10-15 mail per week);
o support to local projects (different degree of involvement due to different levels of competencies already present in
the units)
o projects in international collaboration with different institutes; Encyclopédie Grammaticale du Français (in
collaboration with IT institute), Training and Ressources in Research Ethics Evaluation for Africa TRREE,
Knowledge Practices Laboratory (KP-lab) – the CCSP supports the local partners
o The CCSP is partner in the European SOCRATES project Minerva (leading house: University of Bologna)
Competences: analysis of implementation and evaluation conditions for new teaching environments; particular attention
on the impact of artefacts on pedagogical communication practices.
Resources
1 coordinator, 2 research collaborators.
Future perspectives
The perspectives are at the moment uncertain; a plan for future funding has been submitted to the new rectorate, which
has yet to decide. SVC funding will be available until summer 2008.
The CCSP aims at a more reflected use of communication technologies in pedagogical scenarios. Synergies with the
teaching counsellor of UNINE will be used and contacts outside the UNINE will be re-activated.
Remarks and comments
During 2007, progress regarding the use of the platform has been made (from 350 to 1025 courses). Even though it is
still mainly used as a repository, there are teachers using also other features. There have been several changes in the
rectorate recently; therefore it is difficult to get the institutional support for elearning, for example for new projects. There
is no homepage of the CCSP that would give some information on it. The performance report (2006) states that the
CCSP is somehow under criticism and should establish synergies with another university. International collaboration is
now established, and it seems that the reflection on the use of communication technologies for learning is a central
concern.
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