VIRTUAL CLASSROOMS IN EDUCATIONAL PROVISION SYNCHRONOUS E-LEARNING SYSTEMS FOR EUROPEAN
INSTITUTIONS
ANALYSIS AND REPORT ON USE OF SYNCHRONOUS ELEARNING SYSTEMS IN EUROPE
Ericsson Education Dublin, Ireland
NITH, Oslo, Norway
DEIS, Cork Institute of Technology, Ireland
FernUniversität in Hagen, Germany
Budapest University of Economic Sciences and Public Administration
Hungary
1
Analysis and report on use of synchronous e-learning systems in
Europe
Background
European experts in distance education and open universities do not generally
realise that in the 1980s and 1990s the term ‘distance learning’ as used in the
United States of America could refer to group-based teaching at a distance. They
tend to think that distance learning refers to the individual-based systems
(frequently based on printed materials, audio and video materials, and home
science kits) with which they were more familiar.
Distance learning in the United States comprised both group-based and
individual-based learning systems.
A frequent distance learning scenario in the United States in the 1980s and
1990s was for a professor to give a lecture to the group of students based on the
home campus and for this lecture to be uplinked to a satellite and downlinked to
groupings of students brought together at other venues in the State. Feedback
was frequently provided by a telephone link-up from the remote groupings of
students to the professor at the main campus.
In a similar way videoconferencing was used in the United States to teach
groupings of students at a distance. In America it was considered normal for
instance for a Masters Degree programme in Nursing from the University of
Albaquerque in New Mexico to be taught by videoconferencing to nurses who
worked all day in the hospitals and took their courses in the evening. Rather than
face a 300k trip to Albaquerque and a similar trip back after a day’s work,
videoconferencing systems were used to teach the courses.
In European distance education group-based satellite and videoconferencing
systems had little success and were little used.
In the same way, in the e-learning period, there are group-based e-learning
systems and individual-based e-learning systems in the United States today. The
individual-based systems are based on Learning Management Systems (LMSs)
like Web-CT, Blackboard, Lotus Learning Space and others. The group-based elearning systems, on the other hand, use LMSs like Centra, SumTotal and
others.
SumTotal is presented thus:
You have employees, customers and partners, all over the world -- wouldn't it be
great if they could learn, communicate and collaborate at the same time?
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TotalVCS enables live and "on-demand" communication, collaboration and
learning over the Web for the delivery of real-time online training and immediate
return on investment. TotalVCS eliminates the time and expense of travel,
bringing geographically dispersed users together anytime, anywhere.
Benefits:
 Dramatically reduce costs by eliminating travel and facilities expenses
 Reduce time and cost required to plan, schedule and conduct training
events
 Accelerate the transfer of knowledge with highly interactive and engaging
learning experiences
 Increase participation in learning activities through the convenience of
anytime, anywhere online access to live events
Unique capabilities:
 Track attendance records and results back to TotalLMS and
TotalDashboard
 Capture and categorize virtual events for use as job aids or information
modules
 Use a variety of tools for encourage learning and retention
Here is a typical interface for a synchronous elearning system, or a live elearning
System or a virtual classroom system:
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In Europe individual-based e-learning systems are now widespread and there is
hardly a university or college that does not offer e-learning courses. As in the
distance learning period, however, the group-based systems are little known and
little used.
These group-based e-learning systems are variously known as ‘live e-learning’ or
‘synchronous e-learning systems’ or ‘virtual classroom training systems’.
The focus of this report is to establish data on the knowledge of and use of ‘live
e-learning systems’ in European university and corporate institutions. This will
then be used as the context for analyses of the didactic advantages and the
economic viability of the systems. This will be followed by the development of
model courses, of a manual of good practice and other recommendations for
European trainers and training systems.
Methodology
The goal was to collect data from 28 countries in Europe: the 15 member states
of the European Union, the 10 new members who will join the European Union in
May 2004, plus Norway, Romania and Switzerland.
The methodology proceeded in various stages:
Stage 1.
Development of a joint questionnaire to be used in each of the 28
countries on the knowledge of and use of synchronous e-learning systems in
European institutions.
Stage 2.
Identification of a leading expert in e-learning in the country.
Negotiation with the expert to get his or her support for participation in the
project.
Stage 3.
Identification by the national expert of four other leading experts in
e-learning in the country.
Stage 4.
Telephone interview. The five experts in each country were then
interviewed by long-distance telephone calls to explain the project to them, to get
their support for participation and to ascertain whether they wished to complete
the questionnaire by telephone interview or by email.
Stage 5.
The questionnaire was then dispatched to the experts and
completed by them.
Stage 6.
Data was then collated and the report written.
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It is considered that this methodology will provide valuable data. The
development of a joint questionnaire for each country in Europe gives the basis
for the data collection. It is acknowleged that the number of 5 for each country is
small, but it is considered that valid contributions can be made because they are
all carefully selected experts in the sector with wide knowledge of the provision in
their countries. The telephone interview is an important dimension of the
methodology as it gives all the participants knowledge of and commitment to the
aims and goals of the project.
Central and Eastern European countries
In the framework of the Virtual Classroom project a survey was carried out by
using a brief questionnaire on the present use of virtual classroom environments
in European institutions in the following countries:
Hungary
Poland
Romania
Slovakia
Slovenia
In each country 5 institutions were selected, both public and private institutions to
analyse how they make use of virtual classroom education and training. Hereby
we give a list of those government and corporate institutions:
Hungary
University of
Debrecen
University of
Miskolc
Eötvös
Lóránd
University
Poland
Court in
Bialystok
Romania
Babes-Bolyai
University
Indaco s.r.l.
AC Helcor
MATÁV
SAP Hungary
Slovakia
Technical
University of
Kosice
Hans Selye
University
Constantine
the
Philosopher
University
Heineken
Slovensko, a.s.
SAP Slovakia
The list of institutions who have received the questionnaire
5
Slovenia
University of
Maribor
University of
Ljubjana
Gorenje d.d.
Methodology
In each country we had a contact person who was in charge with sending out the
questionnaires to the targeted institutions. Despite the direct contact that they
had with institutions the return level was 60%, 12 out of 20. As we were informed
the possible reason of it was the feeble market presence of the VCT systems and
the fact that they are not widespread in the region. Then we carried out a couple
of interviews by telephone in order to increase our base of analysis. Having done
the telephone interview with our partners we were able to get answers and
personal opinion in more detail. In addition it turned out to be a really efficient
way to evaluate the general attitude toward the VCT systems. Finally we outlined
the role of the cultural differences in the final section of our study.
General findings
Having done several enquiries by email, phone and questionaires we were able
to form a general idea on the caracteristics of the VCT’s usage in the regions. So
taking into account all the information received from the institutions the following
general statements could be concluded:
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Institutions in the region have insufficient knowledge on VCT
systems and methodologies
Cultural differences create barriers in the successful
implementation and operation of the VCT systems
The underdeveloped IT infrastructure prevents the users from the
complete realisation of the benefits
Resistance against the new forms of teaching methods and
restructuring in the universities. On the other hand the private
sector is more open toward VCT systems.
Majority of the institution questioned have the intention to introduce
different forms of e-learning systems in the futures.
In the Central European countries the different forms of the virtual classroom
technologies are hardly known. The institutions with access to a VCT system use
the system for several purposes. Those institutions using VCT systems clearly
understand the possible advantages and benefits of the VCT systems however
they can point out a couple of drawbacks as well.
Finally we have seen a high rate of willingness to use VCT systems in terms of
those institutions who hadn’t installed any of those programs before.
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Conclusions
In the Central and Eastern European countries the different forms of the virtual
classroom technologies are hardly known. 50% of the institutions questioned
answered that they had never come across those VCT technologies mentioned
in the questionnaire. High percentages of the institutions are not even aware of
the definitions of Virtual Classroom Education and Training technologies. In
addition the institutions questioned who are using a VCT specified other
application than the ones in the questionnaire.
Those which were mentioned are:
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Oracle iLearning
WebEx.com
eEDUSER Cisco Networking Academy
IBM Lotus Virtual Classroom 1.0
iTutor
The answers reveal that despite the various numbers of VCT’s there isn’t a
widespread solution applied in the region.
The institutions with access to a VCT system use the system for the following
purposes:
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
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Formal education course
Distribution of information
Virtual meeting
The average number of the participants who were involved in a VCT session was
more than 30 and the majority of these people took up more than 5 VCT
sessions. The institutions who are using VCT systems have a high rate of
participation and a large number of VCT session offered. The percentage of the
VCT element in the formal courses however remained on a low level of 20
percent.
Considering section C – General comments the institutions could clearly defined
the possible advantages and benefits of the VCT systems by naming the
followings:
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Increased and fast access to information and other teaching
materials
Just-in-time information
Convenience
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Improved learning retention
Individualisation of learning process
The possibility to learn by own decision
Practicality, flexibility and learning consistency
Global incorporation of new concepts
A methodical construction of ideas
Elimination of space, time and geographical constraints
Increased peer interaction
Increased interaction with teachers
Increased quality of learning with deeper critical reflection
Activation of the participants and individualisation of learning
process
Increased access not available in traditional environments
Cost savings
Archiving of courses
Increased repetitions
Besides the advantages they could identify several drawbacks of the VCT
systems such as:
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Absent of the face-to-face communication
Low rate of Internet penetration
Cultural differences
The lack of control on the participants
Underdeveloped IT infrastructure
In question 7 the majority of the institutions answered that the use of VCT
systems in their country is quite sparse and seldom. Though almost all of the
answers showed a high intention to continue using VCT systems in the future.
Moreover those institutions which haven’t installed any of those programs before
are planning to use them.
Analysis of facilitating and inhibiting factors
The Central and Eastern European region covered by our survey has a cultural
background involving historic interconnections with the German culture. This
characteristic certainly influences the propensity to take up new technologies like
VCT.
In the following, we are going to summarize the possible cultural barriers of the
spread of VCT systems. This section is based on work by [Hofstede]1 also
referred to in [Biró at.al.]2.
1
Hofstede, G. (1994). Cultures and Organizations, Software of the Mind: Intercultural Cooperation and its Importance
for Survival, McGraw-Hill, London, 1994.
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The analysed countries are on the individualistic side of the individualismcollectivism dimension of national cultures which would facilitate the take up of
VCT systems. There are however other factors listed below which are rather
inhibitors.
The most important one is uncertainty avoidance which inhibits changes in well
established processes. Education in these countries has a strong tradition
showing many successes in the past, and by consequent actively or passively
opposing forces of change, even if these changes have to take place sooner or
later due to the progress of the devlopment of information society and the
accompanying increase in the demand for education.
Another important inhibiting factor is the short term cost inefficiency of VCT
systems. VCT requires considerable investment at startup, on which there is a
return most of the time only if savings are realized on either traveling or time
spent out of work. Since the analysed Central and Eastern European countries
are relatively small, travel costs are not considerable. Time spent out of work is
definitely considered by multinational companies on the other hand, which are
sensitive to ROI.
The relatively low penetration and the high cost of Internet in Central and Eastern
European countries is a factor which cannot be neglected either, strongly
inhibiting the spread of VCT especially in public education services. In-house
corporate education shows more promise on the other hand.
General market evaluation of the e-learning systems in the Central and
Eastern European region3
Besides the global challenges listed above, human resource development
systems and organizations in Eastern and Central Europe have to face
nowadays special tasks in serving their societies. EDEN`s Strategy stated in this
respect:
"In rapidly changing societies, such as in Central and Eastern Europe, the need
to expand student numbers, retrain employees and educate people for democracy
and social-political involvement provide good prospects for the wide scale
introduction and development of open and distance learning. This is also reflected
in most of the newly developed educational policies in the region and
2
Biró,M; Messnarz,R; Davison,A.G. The Impact of National Cultural Factors on the Effectiveness of Process
Improvement Methods: The Third Dimension. Software Quality Professional (ASQ~American Society for Quality)
Vol.4, Issue 4 (September 2002) pp.34-41.
(http://www.asq.org/pub/sqp/past/vol4_issue4/biro.html)
3
Prof. Tamás Lajos The role of advanced information technology in the development of distance education networks in
Central and Eastern Europe
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demonstrated in a number of international assistance programmes as well as
local efforts."
The main challenges, which human resource development spheres of the
countries of the CEE region are confronting are as follows:
access: a basic shortcoming of higher education and, more generally postsecondary education in Central and Eastern European countries is its
inability to open up to larger parts of the population. A particular
bottleneck is presented by traditional, full-time education establishments
which are characterised by a weak infrastructure;
flexibility and diversity: another common problem is the inability of systems to
adapt to the needs of rapidly changing economies. The traditional,
academically-oriented, long-cycle type of higher education is not flexible
enough to accommodate the new need for professionals. It could be said
that the more rapidly an economy and society change, the more justified
it is to introduce short-cycle post-secondary education. This kind of job
market-oriented, professional education is largely missing in the
countries of Central and Eastern Europe;
continuing education: a further common shortcoming in the region is the nonexistence or outdatedness of adult education in its various forms and at
various levels. The adaptation of distance education for continuing
education could be an effective way to supplement professional
knowledge which has become obsolete,
transfer of new knowledge and skills: the ongoing economic, social and
political changes in this region need the enhancement and development
of the transfer of relevant knowledge and skills to the wide population
and the strengthening of the European dimension of education:
languages, European studies, management, business administration,
environment, social studies, political sciences, advenced technologies,
etc.. This need can not be met in the short and medium term in the
frame of traditional educational systems.
Distance education has a role to play in addressing the major issues described
above, contributing to the re-structuring and further development of the
educational systems and responding to the needs of socio-economic
development in Eastern-Central Europe.
The development of distance education in Central and Eastern Europe offers an
exceptional challenge and opportunity for the large-scale implementation of new
methods and structures, initiating and catalysing processes which can than play
a determining role in the development and transformation of not only the
educational systems, but - through the intensive multiplication effect of modern
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training methods, combined with the latest information technologies and
telecommunication - also for the societies and economies themselves. As up-todate open and distance learning is hardly present in the countries concerned, the
establishment of basic national structures, the development of national policies,
and the creation of the physical and human infrastructure for distance education
development is in most cases accomplished in a situation, in which the steps
taken can and in most cases certainly will determine basically the direction and
extent of future developments.
The rapid and positive change of appreciation of open and distance learning,
mainly due to the development of the application of advanced information
technology and the evolution of the concept of the information society, has
interestingly coincided with the rapid development of open and distance learning
in Central and Eastern Europe.
New threats of e-learning systems
The new developments in the field of open and distance learning, particularly
with regard to the use of advanced information technology raises questions that
should be responded to according to local circumstances, traditions and cultural
background when planning distance education systems of the country and the
network of regional distance education centres, which is its backbone. The first
concern is the role of the local education cultures, in the period of the emergence
of the worldwide market of teaching materials, when a new actor, the provider of
information technology also appeared on the scene of education and training.
How can the marginalisation of the individual educational system by the
dominance of highly efficient course materials and delivery systems with no or
weak local social and cultural relevance, coming e.g. from outside of the country
be avoided? How can the increasing dominance of technology in education be
avoided? The usual conservative reaction for these questions is the refusal of the
use of new technologies would enhance the threat; it would lead to the bypassing
of local education systems. The proper response of the academic sphere and of
educators should be the active and efficient participation in this process. In this
way, a balanced contribution and impact of academy and technology can be
achieved that is needed for respecting the basic values of education. The
mobilization and utilization of local intellectual resources will result in course
materials and delivery systems that may be highly competitive.
Another question concerns the limited access of individuals to the equipment
necessary to attend open and distance learning courses using advanced
information technology. Disregarding the in-house training of employees where
the standard information technology of the firm can be used, in most countries
only a small part of population can afford to buy the equipment and services
necessary to participate in technology intensive courses. (Although in the past
decade the prices have gone down radically, the equipment required has
became increasingly sophisticated, so their cost has not changed considerably.)
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By introducing courses without considering this fact, the basic value of open and
distance learning, its openness and access will be harmed. What is the right
answer to this challenge when planning the work and equipment of the regional
study centres?
Austria, Germany and Switzerland
The report is based on the data of a questionnaire send to institutions which are
involved in VCT applications.
Research method
In the first stage the institutions had to be selected. This was done in form of
looking through the list of exhibitors of the Learntec 2003/2004 in Germany and
the e-Eduction 2003 in Switzerland. Then there were contacts with experts
known from the annual international meetings of the "Gesellschaft für Medien in
der Wissenschaft".
At the end there were 32 adresses/persons who are engaged in VCT
applications or elements of it. These institutions are universities, colleges and
private organisation - mainly suppliers in further education.
Two questions of the questionnaire have been changed for this research:
Q4b) How many VCT sessions your organisation has offered last year??
……. VCT sessions
Q4c) Please indicate how many students/employees have take part in 1
to 2, 3 to 5 or more than 5 VCT sessions last year?
Sessions last year
Number
students
Number
employees
1-2
3-5
More than 5
The interviews were done by email and by telephone. After sending the
questionnaires and one or two reminders at least 14 interviews could be
documented.
Scandinavia
Introduction
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It is a basic assumption in the project that synchronous e-learning is not very
widespread in the European countries, as opposed to the United States. The
investigation presented in this report serves to underpin this assumption with
empirical data from Scandinavia.
Main research questions
The main research questions of the investigation are:
 On an overview level, is there a general knowledge of the major VCT
systems in Scandinavian institutions, government and corporate?
 On an overview level, what VCT tools are used, for what purposes and
with what success?
An initial set of informal telephone inquiries to possible recipients of the
questionnaire in Scandinavian countries revealed that in many cases, VCT as
defined in the project is not applied by the institution, but related forms of elearning take place. It is of interest to the project to capture what these alternative
approaches are. The following research question was therefore added:
 If VCT according to the project’s definition is not being used in the
institution, what similar approaches, if any, are used?

Research method
Selection of data sources
Data was to be collected from a selection of Scandinavian institutions, corporate
and government. The selection was to be based on the institutions’ size and
status as likely users of VCT technology. The goal was to have at least five
completed questionnaires from each Scandinavian country.
The actual number of recipients completing our questionnaire was slightly
smaller. However, informal, oral communication with various information sources
added to the total amount of data. Also, some of the organisations contacted
were representative of two or more Scandinavian countries. We therefore regard
the collected data as suitable for our overview level analysis.
Data collection
Telephone inquires were made to candidate recipients with subsequent
distribution of the questionnaire via email, and if necessary reminders via email
and/or telephone. Many questionnaires were distributed via 'contact brokers' with
good networks in the relevant area, but the response rate was zero in these
cases. Personal knowledge of contacts in candidate institutions as well as
contact information from the organisation's webpage were used as starting
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points, with subsequent inquiries for 'e-learning manager', 'person responsible for
internal training' etc. or - in some cases - 'the human resources department' or
'head of the computer department'. In most cases, it was possible to get in touch
with a person with an adequate role in the organisation. In some cases, it was
difficult to identify the right addressee.
It proved necessary to talk to the person receiving the questionnaire in order to
have it completed and returned.
In a couple of cases the respondent preferred to answer the questions over the
telephone. In most cases, the respondents answered in writing, using email
attachments. We had some answers indicating only that the organisation in
question did not use VCT, which is useful information, even if the questionnaire
was never completed. Several recipients promised to complete and return the
form, but failed to do so.
The overall response rate was, roughly estimated, about 25%.
The approach to data source selection and the limited number of respondents
means that the results of the investigation should be regarded only as an
indicator of the general knowledge of, and use of, VCT technology in
Scandinavia. However, the findings profit from the wide range of organisation
types represented in the survey. Also contributing to the value of the results, a
few of the respondents were knowledgeable of state-of-the-art of VCT in their
country well beyond their own organisation.
The questionnaire
For a full description of the questionnaire: see appendix.
What should be noted about the questionnaire distributed to Scandinavian
recipients, is that it includes a question about alternative approaches to VCT (cf.
page Error! Bookmark not defined.). The question is formulated as follows:
The Scandinavian version of the questionnaire contains two other slight
modifications to the common version. One is the exact wording of the VCT
definition, which is designed to avoid referring explicitly to any specific VCT
application (without changing the meaning of the definition as such):
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The Internet is used to deliver education and training, with a WWW
browser as a major delivery medium.
There is an instructor and a group of participants (class) assembled at a
fixed time and for a fixed period.
Small group discussions may be arranged in separate breakout rooms.
The virtual classroom sessions determine the pace of student study.
Communication is managed electronically, with voice contact between
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teacher and students.
Pedagogical features like video broadcasts, text chat, whiteboards,
Power Point type presentations and application sharing are available.
Students have the advantages of the flexibility of studying on their own
and the social advantages of belonging to a learning group.
The change was made as a consequence of the initial informal telephone
requires to possible questionnaire recipients, revealing that names of specific
VCT systems were not recognized even by people who had significant
knowledge of the training efforts in their institution. A statement like ‘systems like
Centra’ would thus be likely to cause confusion and possibly lower the quality of
the data.
The other modification affects the formatting of Q4, which in the Scandinavian
version does not require that the number of people asked for is associated with a
range. The aim of the change was to make the question more understandable.
Findings from the Scandinavian survey
Viewing the survey data in the light of our initial research question, it is possible
to identify some tendencies:
 Among the Scandinavian respondents we find representatives from all of
the following groups:
o No knowledge of VCT, no present use in the organisation, no plans
for using it (Some respondents in this group failed to return the
questionnaire for this reason.)
o Knowledge of VCT, no present use in the organisation, no plans for
using it
o Knowledge of VCT, no present use in the organisation, planning to
use in the near future
o Knowledge of VCT and present use in the organisation
 There are no obvious differences between the Scandinavian countries in
respect of the answers to our research questions. Very tentatively, Finland
seems to have a slight lead.
 Larger organisations seem more likely to be VCT users than small ones.
 Companies with dedicated e-learning managers or similar roles in their
organisation generally have better knowledge of VCT and use it more.
 Centra seems to be the the tool most applied among the organisations we
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contacted, but it does not control the market.
 Companies or educational institutions with information technology among
their business or researh areas are not necessarily pioneers at the use of
VCT in their internal training.
 On the large, the most advanced users of VCT seem to be found among
corporate institutions and not among universities and research institutes
Conclusion
Our conclusion is that synchronous e-learning does take place in many
Scandinavian organisations, but our survey does not indicate that it is very
widespread.
Italy, Greece, UK and Ireland
The premise of the SOCRATES/MINERVA-sponsored project “Virtual
Classrooms in Educational Provision” is that virtual classroom software, as
typified by products such as Centra, LearnLinc and HorizonLive, have received
little attention on the European e-learning scene. This despite the success of –
mainly American – Learning Management Systems in ‘cracking’ the European
training and education market. This initial survey, though admittedly small in
scale, aimed to establish, in the first place, whether this was, in fact, the case,
whether virtual classroom software was, as the project team suspected, relatively
unknown in the European context. The survey also aimed to establish from
those, however few or many there might be, who did use such systems which
systems they used and what the nature of their use was. Both users and nonusers of VCT systems were also invited to comment on what they felt to be the
advantages and disadvantages of the VCT approach, as well as indicating how
widespread they felt the use of such systems to be in their respective countries
and whether their institutions planned to use VCT systems in the future.
The relatively small number involved in the survey was, to some extent,
counterbalanced by a careful selection of respondents by the authors, all known
to them as experts in the e-learning scene both in their own respective countries
and in the European context in general; most are long-standing partners of the
DEIS department for Education Development in the Cork Institute of Technology
in a number of other ongoing EU-funded initiatives. Such respondents then were
well placed to answer questions such as “how widespread is the use of VCT in
your country” and questions as to the pros and cons of such systems by contrast,
for example, to asynchronous virtual learning systems. Even so however it
proved difficult in many cases to reach the quota the project team had set from
themselves per country. This can be explained in part, no doubt, by the large
number of such surveys now finding their way in the mailboxes (electronic and
otherwise) of those involved in the e-learning scene in Europe and also by the
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native reluctance by many working in the field to provide sensitive information as
to the extent and success of the efforts of their respective institutions and
organisations in this still relatively new area. Previous experiences of the authors
on other projects have shown the difficulty in getting specific information as to
what is going on e-learning-wise within, for slightly different reasons, both
traditional FE and HE institutes and corporate organisations.
In the opinion of the authors it is perhaps the fact, despite the overall conclusions
of this survey, that the premise of the “Virtual Classrooms in Educational
Provision” is so accurate that respondents were reluctant to supply answers as to
their knowledge and use of these little-known systems – had this been a survey,
for example, of LMS use perhaps responses would have more forthcoming.
The survey of course was specifically concerned with VCT software, rather than
any other e-learning technology, yet in some cases this distinction was hard to
maintain. Answers from some respondents seemed to imply some confusion in
their minds as to the distinction between VCT software and Learning
Management Systems. The distinction is of course more than a little blurred in
reality when we consider that all commercial LMSs have traditionally offered
basic synchronous communication tools and many, like Blackboard, are now
making VCT functionality available in the latest editions of their systems or, like
WebCT integrating existing tried-and-tested VCT software into their systems (in
WebCT’s case the integrated system is HorizonLive).
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AUSTRIA
Preface
At first a short view on the eLearning scene in which VCT is embedded is
necessary.
2003 the Bundesministerium für Bildung, Wissenschaft und Kultur published a
booklet "Neue Medien in der Lehre – Erfahrungen der ersten Etappe"
(www.nml.at). This initiative should help to use the new technologies and the new
media in the tertiary educational sector. Altogether 25 projects are supported.
This ministery also has an eLearning Portal (www.bildung.at).
In this context some other "virtual" addresses are relevant: the server project
(http://serverprojekt.fh-joanneum.at), a portal about eLearning and LMS
(http://www.virtual-learning.at) and a community portal for eLearning
(http://www.qualifizierung.com/e-learning).
The following data bases on the statements from colleges, eLearning companies
and vocational training institutions.
Degree of knowledge of VCT applications
Centra, Interwise and Learning Space are the best-known VCT applications
followed by the other mentioned ones. E-Learning-on-Tap seems to be unknown.
Application like Blackboard VC complete this list.
Use of VCT applications
Centra, Interwise, LearnLinc and Blackboard VC are in use.
Purpose of use
VCT applications are in use for formal education courses and the distribution of
product information or similar. Other purposes are not mentioned.
Quantities
The amount of VCT sessions varies from 7 to 100. Only two institutions have
considerable figures of participants and employees using VCT sessions.
The share of VCT elements of the formal training courses varies from 5 to 30
percent.
18
Advantages
One respondent can´t see any advantage for the use of VCT applications – "it
cannot be a substitute for face-to-face sessions".
VCT offers the possibility to transform face-to-face training in the virtual space –
sometimes the only useful variant to absolve online training.
Other advantages are the reduction of travelling costs and – if it is used intensive
– the reasonable cost-benefit relation.
Disadvantages
In the view of the respondents technical environment on the part of the learners
is main disadvantages – participants don’t have the necessary bandwidth, the
client software make problems with e.g. firewalls and proxies. Not all interested
persons have enough technical knowledge.
Wrong methodical use of VCT application may cause some of the problems.
One respondent takes the missing direct feedback and the missing social
contacts for disadvantages.
Distribution
The use of VCT in Austria is described in terms as "still very little", "weak" and
"with good prospects". Certainly there is a growing acceptance of VCT to
discover.
Future
In all cases the (further) use of VCT in the future is planned. One institution will
explicit not use VCT applications in the future
Conclusion
VCT seems not to be used often in Austria. Beside the financial and technical
problems, which hinder at the moment the distribution of VCT, most solutions to
establish eLearning environments are limited in asynchronous versions.
19
BELGIUM
Institutions contacted
1.
University of Liege
2.
Belgacom
3.
Universite Libre de Bruxelles
4.
Catholic University of Louvain
5.
Universite de Mons-Hainaut
Question 1 Are you aware of Virtual Classroom Education and Training(VCT)
technology?
All respondents replied in the affirmative.
Question 2
Which of the applications are you aware of?
There was no in depth awareness but these were mentioned: Centra, LearnLinc,
HorizonLive, Blackboard, Acolad, Esprit, Interwise.
Question 3
Which of the applications have you used?
Most respondents replied 'none'. One listed Centra, Interwise, LearnLinc and
HorizonLive.
Question 4
Does your institution use VCT technology?
One institution replied no. The others said that VCT was used for formal
education and distribution of information with the participation of more than 30
persons.
Question 5
Advantages of VCT technology
The following advantages were given:

Allowing people to meet virtually if they are not able to do it physically

Better interactions between people. OK for decisions, planning, etc.

Personal contact between learner and tutor in collaborative group learning
20

Main advantage is when courses are needed for geographically dispersed
employees. It is better than videoconferencing. Sessions can easily recorded
and edited for later use.
Question 6
Disadvantages of VCT technology
1) One of the most often cited advantages of Open and Distance Learning is
self-paced learning – the opportunity to learn at one’s own rhythm. By
forcing participants to meet during a given period, one loses this important
advantage.
2) This lost advantage is seemingly counterbalanced by the opportunity to
establish a more direct (visual, audio, text-based) contact between
participants. However, this advantage of VCT is better implemented… by
a classical classroom setting ! The VCT solution hence appears like a
“lesser evil” rather than like a positive add-on/alternative to more
traditional forms of education.
3) We know that teachers often tend to use new technologies “the old way”,
reproducing traditional patterns of behaviour. This makes the so-called
“paradigm shift” brought by technology in education doubtful at best. We
thus spend much time trying to stimulate alternative and imaginative uses
of technology in the classroom. It seems to me that VCT could be a step
backward by bringing us back to a technology-mediated face-to-face
paradigm, with no real advantage over the classroom setting, and with all
the additional problems brought by the technological layer.
4) Losing non-verbal communication. Headset logistics.
5) Technical problems especially with public in developing countries.
6) Interaction remains difficult.
Question 7
In your estimate how widespread is the use of VCT in Belgium?
To my knowledge, it is seldom used. However, I should stress two possible
biases : (1) I know what is done in the French speaking part of Belgium, far less
what is being done in the Dutch speaking part and (2) I am mostly aware of
projects in Higher Education, with few contacts with corporate training.
For the segment I know best, I think two specific reasons could be advanced.
First, Open and Distance Education in Higher Education is not widespread in
Belgium. We have a specialized institution called “Enseignement à Distance de
la Communauté française” but which offers courses for the K12 level. University
degrees offered at a distance are very rare (a few recent experiences exist).
21
Thus Open and Distance methods and technologies are used mainly as a
supplement for traditional courses. The teacher and the students regularly meet
face-to-face, and they need an environment to offer complementary resources,
communication tools, etc. In this perspective, asynchronous tools are what they
most need.
Second, Belgium is small and any point of the country can easily be reached in 2
hours at worst. If it makes sense to chose an asynchronous course because of
the “anytime anywhere” benefit, a synchronous course faces the competition of
classical training: if one is to book a few hours in his agenda, why not go and
meet the teacher and the other students physically? (for international cooperation
we use our videoconferencing facilities).
Question 8
Does your institution plan to use VCT systems in the future?
No. There are no plans in this direction at present. There is no demand from
teachers.
I don't know.
Yes.
Yes. Elearning should be 35% of all training. Live elearning will help us to obtain
this figure.
Conclusion
All respondents claim to be aware of VCT systems but the range of systems
known is limited. Most have never used these systems. The advantages of VCT
systems are known but a persuasive listing of disadvantages is given. The lack of
development of distance education in Belgium is convincingly linked to the small
market for VCT systems both at present and in the future.
22
CYPRUS
Are you aware of Virtual Classroom Education and Training (VCT) technology?
Yes
Which VCT applications are you aware of? Centra
Which VCT applications have you used? Centra
Does your institution use virtual classroom technology? Yes. Used for training
courses and conferencing
Advantages offered by VCT:
Cost efficient
Good for overview of competence at a basic level
Interpersonal communication
Disadvantages of VCT:
Dependent on connection
Not applicable for long sessions
Less interactive than Instructor Led Training (ILT)
In your estimate how widespread is the use of VCT in Cyprus? Not used
Does your institution plan to use VCT systems in the future? No
23
CZECH REPUBLIC
This limited report from the Czech Republic is based on the feedback from one
respondent, who is an assistant professor at a faculty of informatics at a Czech
university. The respondent was recommended by an e-learning expert at another
university as knowledgeable of e-learning issues.
The respondent was aware of VCT prior to our contact. He had knowledge of
Lotus LearningSpace 4.0. He had however not been using VCT technology
himself.
The university to which the respondent is affiliated does not presently use VCT
technology or have access to such technology. Also, they do not offer training
which largely, but not fully corresponds to VCT as defined in our project.
The principal advantages of VCT are the following, according to the respondent:



Highly interactive, nearly like in a “real” classroom.
Everything from the discussions, chats, whiteboards, video-/audiobroadcasting can be recorded for future study and/or reference.
If the systems are personalizable and adaptive, the effect is even
better than with in-class teaching – the personalization and adaptability
is an added value.
The principal disadvantages are, in the respondent's opinion:




Complete and good equipment is expensive
Highly experienced staff is required – no complete “out-of-the-box”
solutions
Teachers need to be very well prepared; any improvisation is
impossible.
A detailed scenario and direction for each session is necessary.
To our question about how widespread VCT is in the Czech Republic, he
answers:
The fully-fledged VCT as defined above is not very widely spread.
However, other forms of e-learning are quite common, such as web-based
learning supported by study materials, self-testing, discussions, chat,
assignments, driven by a LMS.
24
Finally.about the university's future use of VCT, he replies:


Yes, since the University has got a new remote location in [..site in Cz..] where the
education will be partially implemented with VCT. In this situation, the VCT is
indispensable.
Then, other areas of application may follow such as in life-long education.
It is difficult to make general inferences about the Czech Republic on the basis of
a single completed questionnaire. However, there is reason to believe that the
selected respondent is well informed about the state-of-the-art of VCT in his
country, not only because he was recommended for our survey, but also
because his answers reflect good knowledge of VCT. This adds some weight to
the contribution.
25
DENMARK
Denmark
A major Danish pharmaceutical company contacted in our survey report that they
do not use virtual classroom technology.
At one of the major universities in Denmark, we made contact with an e-learning
consultant. His department perform research within the field of e-learning. He
reports knowledge of VCT and, in particular, Centra, Lotus LearningSpace 4.0
and Lotus Virtual Classroom. He had used Centra. To his knowledge, the only
system in use at the university is a LMS-like system in use in a single department
at the university.
In commenting on the advantages of VCT, the university representative mentions
some interesting aspects pertaining to the university setting:
In general these systems does not correspond to the pedagogic practiced
at the university. In general the educations is based on problem based
learning, with a high degree of participation from the students. Mainly the
study is based on lectures (50%) and problem based projects in groups
under supervision from a supervisor. Therefore, only few activities can be
characterized as ‘classes’, though some lectures could be substituted with
classes in a VCT.
We note that VCT is not regarded by the respondent as a suitable means for
supporting problem-based learning.
The question about how widespread VCT is in Denmark is answered in the
following way:
How do you want to measure this?
I think you will find the use of VCT’s more intense in the private sector:
Companies offering distant learning tends to use VCT’s and other kinds of
internet based technologies. Also some companies are using such
technologies for teaching the employees. However, I think most people
involved with e-learning use a wide range of different systems (VCT,
Groupware, LMS, etc.), rather than focusing on one kind of system.
About the university's possible future use of VCT, he comments:
I don’t think so. Here, we are focusing more on groupware, systems for
coordinating work (common and synchronised calendars, instant
messaging, task managing, etc.), systems that can hold and distribute
material in relation to lectures and other information systems, meeting
systems (have used Centra for this) and wireless devises.
26
ESTONIA
Institutions contacted
Miksike a private institution
Are you aware of Virtual Classroom Education and Training (VCT) Technology?
The respondent answered Yes to this question
Which of the VCT applications are you aware of?
They were aware of Centra, LearningSpace 4.0, LearnLinc 5 and ecompass.
Which of these applications have you used
They have used none of the above applications, they have used learning folders
which were self developed.
Does you institution use VCT or have access to a VCT system?
They do have a VCT system in their institution. They use it for formal education
courses and the distribution of information. All the employees in the institution
have taken more than five VCT sessions in the past year. The purpose of Miksike
is to provide a virtual teaching assistance service. Given the nature of their
business there will always be a face-to-face element and a virtual element.
Advantages of VCT
The respondent feels a VCT system corresponds better to the needs of a student
in the information age, and that the needs of tomorrow’s kids are different from
today’s. ‘Brilliant kids’ of the future will fail in today’s school environment just as
brilliant students of their age failed. Assessment is a critical issue in changing the
school environment in order to meet the needs of today’s learner. So the
advantage of this technology is that it answers the needs of today’s information
society but the respondent feels their schools may not yet have caught up with
this development.
Disadvantages of VCT
Similar to the point made above, there is a difficulty in making learning
technology work in existing classrooms due to dominant culture and pedagogy
and of course there are some outstanding technical issues. The “technology of
the future in the classroom of the past” simply doesn’t work. Good education
prepares the individual to live in the age they were born.
27
How widespread is the use of VCT in Estonia?
MIKSIKE’s software is used by half of all schools in Estonia, which is
asynchronous and is provided as a “virtual support”. There is little VCT use at
regular school level and they feel it will never take over from the more traditional
methods of delivery. Schools will always be based on the face to face, social
approach. At Higher Education it may be possible to make courses 100% elearning based and VCT will be an asset in that environment.
Is there any plan to use VCT systems in the future?
.
Absolutely, some years ago they did some experiments with synchronous
teaching over the internet and it is something they continue to work at. They
need to first figure out technical issues such as bandwidth, main commercial
vendors etc.
Conclusion
There is a good awareness of VCT technologies in Estonia and an intention to
use such in the future. The respondent was knowledgeable of the advantages
associated with the applications whilst realising the underlying disadvantages of
VCT applications. From the respondents experience VCT would be more suitable
for the Higher Education sector than the regular school level given the nature of
the technology and also teaching methods used. However, respondents were
positive about its use in the future once technical issues were resolved.
28
FINLAND
A major technical research institute in Finland report that they do not use virtual
classroom technology - yet. The situation seems similar to what we found in the
Norwegian technical research institute.
The oil refining division of a leading Nordic energy company reports to be an
active user of virtual classroom technology. Lotus LearningSpace 4.0 is presently
used by the organisation. The system is used for distribution of information to
staff. According to the respondent, approx. 700 out of 2500 people had taken at
least one VCT session last year, and as many as 400 had taken five sessions or
more. Approximately 15% of the formal training courses of the organisation
contains a VCT element. Also, they are in a pilot phase of offering manager
training that does not quite correspond to VCT as defined in the project, but
which is described by the respondent as a module-based ‘blended course’.
It should be noted that the advantages and disadvantages to VCT listed by the
respondent indicate that the respondent might be thinking also of asynchronous
e-learning, which could imply that the high number of VCT users in the
organisations in fact partly or wholly reflect an active use of asynchronous
training forms.
The respondent from the energy company estimates that only about 20 major
companies in Finland are actively using VCT learning, but, in his opinion, many
are thinking of using it.
An elevator and escalator manufacturer which is part of a large Finnish group of
companies, turns out to be a heavy and dedicated Centra user and well
acquainted with VCT.
In the organisation, Centra Symposium is being used for distribution of product
information, for formal information courses and for distribution of information to
staff. Approx. 1200 people out of 24000 had taken at least one VCT session last
year; approx. 200 of them had taken five sessions or more. The contact
estimates that around 20% of the formal training courses in their organisation
contain a VCT element. They also offer training in a form which largely, but not
completely corresponds to our the VCT definition of our project. The respondent
explains:
“My department Technical training & information services is fully
responsible for delivering corporate-wide technical training for our
products and processes. We are heavily utilising the blended learning
solution including the following elements: asynchronous web-based
29
training + VCT training + classroom training. Based on the needed training
one or more elements could be missing.”
The respondent lists a number of advantages offered by VCT: speed, access to
people in different physical locations, increasing productivity, decreased costs,
better training event planning and thereby better training results. Disadvantages
listed are the following: face-to-face-meetings are needed under some
circumstances; there are needs for training in the use of the tool, especially for
trainers and chairmen (2-3 days training are suggested for trainers, and 1 day for
chairmen) -- without sufficient training given, VCT could be ‘dying with a bad
reputation’; there is a need for organisational change in order to motivate for the
use of VCT; there are still challenges in respect of the audio technology and
telephone is the initial choice of medium.
We note that what the respondent lists as disadvantages of VCT could be
categorised as requirements for the successful use of VCT.
The respondent from the elevator and escalator manufacturing company has the
role of e-learning manager with responsibility for corporate-wide e-learning
development and implementation in the organisation. He appears well informed
about how widespread the use of VCT is in Finland:
“In Finland I know that the following firms are utilising VCT: Nokia (very
heavily, up to near maximum), KONE (growing, but still in small scale),
Wartsila (rather small scale), Metso (used, but not so much any more). But
the biggest multinationals are just awakening mostly on the Netmeeting
side due to travel cost reduction reasons etc, but rarely within the training
side”.
The elevator and escalator manufacturer plan to use VCT systems in the future;
the respondent expects exponential growth both within meeting-type use and
within training activities both locally and nationally between regional cities.
30
FRANCE
Institutions contacted
1.
European Institute for E-Learning in Paris
2.
Department of Mathematics at the University of Poitiers, Poitiers
3.
Communaute de Communes de Parthenay, Deux Sevres
4.
Expert in e-learning at ORAVEP and the European Institute for E-Learning
in Paris
5.
Department of Mathematics and Computing at the University of Picardy.
Question 1 Are you aware of Virtual Classroom Education and Training(VCT)
technology?
All the respondents replied in the affirmative.
Question 2
Which of the applications are you aware of?
One respondent was aware of all the systems and added another one Meeting
One. The others listed the Lotus system and Centra. Other systems known wer
e.Charlemagne and Formatpro.online.
Question 3
Which of the applications have you used?
Two of the respondents had used their systems (e.Charlemagne and Meeting
One) extensively.
Question 4
Does your institution use VCT technology?
All the respondents replied in the affirmative. One stated that the system was
used for weekly conferences to 150 members of their group. He stated that this
should be regarded as informal training. Another stated that it was used for both
formal education and distribution of information.
Question 5
Advantages of VCT technology
It was stated that the basic concept is clear: slides plus voice at a distance.
Storing past events to replay on demand is very useful. Fit for very simple
communication schemes.
31
Question 6
Disadvantages of VCT technology
Disadvantages listed were bandwidth requirements and the installation of plugins when needed. One responded that his focus was collaborative learning and
he was unhappy with VCT systems.
Question 7
In your estimate how widespread is the use of VCT in France?
The usage was ranked as 2 on a scale from 1 (no) to 5 (high). It was stated that it
was not much used in the field of adult lifelong learning.
Question 8
Does your institution plan to use VCT systems in the future?
One replied that they were currently using it and not planning to stop. Another
that their training development is based on the use of VCT technologies.
Conclusion
The conclusion for France is that all respondents have knowledge of these
systems. Centra and Lotus are the best known with strong support for
e.Charlemagne and Meeting One from individual institutions. One institution was
using it weekly for conferences with 150 staff and considered this as informal
training. Usage in France was ranked as 2 on a scale of 1 to 5 and those
institutions using the systems did not plan to stop.
32
GERMANY
Preface
At first a short view on the eLearning scene in which VCT is embedded is
necessary.
Under the web-address http://www.studieren-im-netz.de there is a compilation of
eLearning possibilities in general – eLearning at university level as well as
offered by private institutions. This service is provided by the Bund-LänderKommission für Bildungsplanung und Forschungsförderung.
The Federal Institute for Vocational Training (Bundesinstitut für Berufsbildung –
BIBB)
(http://www.bibb.de) conduct a data base for eLearning offers in vocational
further education (http://www.eldoc.info).
General information on on-line learning is available:
http://www.edulinks.de/inhalt.html
The following data bases on the statements from software enterprises and
training institutions (further education).
Degree of knowledge of VCT applications
There is no VCT applications which can be called best-known. E-Learning-onTap and Horizon Live seems to be unknown. Applications like WebEx, CuSeeMe
from WhitePine and NOVA Syncobox from NOVA and evolearning complete this
list.
Use of VCT applications
Used are following VCT applications: evolearning, Nova SyncoBox and WebEx.
Purpose of use
In all cases formal education courses are mentioned. The distribution of product
information and similar plays a minimal part. The other purposes are
Organisation and work in virtual organisation- and project-teams, realization of
team meetings and teamwork, conferencing and global knowledge transfer and
information rollout.
Quantities
33
The amount of VCT sessions varies from 380 to 2 0004. The other respondents
make no statements or do only provide the VCT application.
The share of VCT elements of the formal training courses varies from 25
(software enterprise) to 70 percent.
Advantages
The deciding points are interactivity and the networking of students and the quick
and inexpensive connection of virtual teams. The training content can be
provided permanent and short-term.
Other mentioned advantages are the feedback opportunities, the control
mechanism and the use for greater target groups too. The reduction of travelling
time and costs are further advantages.
Disadvantages
The are technical restrictions and missing knowledge on the part of the learners
and the promoter. For the latter the missing of a corporate identity is mentioned
too.
Problems cause the security demands and the low stability of the systems during
the sessions.
As financial aspect the relative high starting investment is mentioned.
Good virtual training sessions demands a higher expense by the virtual distance
than face-to-face-sessions. And the training sessions has to be subdivided –
there is no possibility of a training for several days in a whole.
in
As well hindered communication – no possibility for non-verbal-communication –
and the problems of emotional relationships seem to be disadvantages. The
latter has to be created by the lecturers with more expense as in face-to-facesessions.
Distribution
The use of VCT in Germany is described in terms as "still very little" and
"restricted".
Future
In all cases the (further) use of VCT in the future is planned.
4
Evolearning: "We have since 1999 more than 1500 participants with our self-developed vc in 12month training successfully trained. (www.mediadesign.de)"
34
The other argument concerns in house communication of a "global player":
communication and knowledge–flow has to function worldwide – that demands a
intensified combination of classroom and eLearning for an optimal learning
success in relation to the expense (Blended learning).
Conclusion
VCT seems not to be used often in Germany. Successful use of VCT is in the
moment restricted on special arrangements for special target groups or, in the
case of a software company, for communication and knowledge-flow of the
employees.
Appendix
A survey at suppliers of further education, done by the Fraunhofer Institute5 in
2003 shows some interesting results with regard to the use and the assessment
of VCT. The most important results will be summarized here.
The most common virtual classroom tools are CentraOne, Interwise EPC
(Enterprise Communication Platform), Foroso Training Center, Smile Tiger,
Learning Space and Virtual netucate space.
As used synchronous cooperation tools chat is named followed by virtual
classroom, application sharing, whiteboard, audio- and videoconferencing and
instant messaging.
What is the VCT used to? The suppliers mentioned the working on assignments,
the presentation of results, the training of communication skills and social
competences as well as the strenghtening of motivation.
Another question was the suitability of synchronous cooperation tools for onlineteaching. As most suitable virtual classroom is assessed followed by whiteboard,
application sharing, audio- and videoconferencing and in the end chat.
Some arguments against the use of cooperative learning tools in the view of the
suppliers of further education are: most common the technical and financial
expense, the necessary changes of demands on the teaching staff (which the
suppliers cannot or will not come up).
The use of VC technology depends on the target group and the preknowledge of
the participants too – VC technology cannot be used universally.
5
Fraunhofer IPSI: Gemeinsam Online-Lernen: Technologien & Lernszenarien. Auswertung einer
Umfrage des Fraunhofer IPSI bei Weiterbildungsanbietern im August/September 2003,
source: http://www.ipsi.fraunhofer.de/concert/ndex_dt.shtml?aktuelles#umfrage, access: 18.03.04
35
At least the suppliers will however increase their engagement in the area of VCT
because in their view the synchronous forms are supporting motivation.
36
GREECE
Institutions contacted
ERGON KeK, Greece
Gennadios School in Greece
Lambrakis, Athens
Question 1
Are you aware of Virtual Classroom Education and Training (VCT) Technology ?
All the respondents answered in the affirmative.
Question 2
Which of the VCT applications are you aware of ?
One respondent was aware of Centra and InterWise Millennium 3. The other
added that they use their own platform for VCT applications.
Question 3
Which of these applications have you used
One respondent uses their own platform as outlined in the above question , the
other uses both Centra and InterWise Millennium.
Question 4
Does you institution use VCT or have access to a VCT system?
Both respondents answered positively to this question. One uses their own
custom built platform, so that teachers can create their own lessons and part of
the platform is given to the ministry of education. The majority of the other
respondents e-learning programmes are delivered in asynchronous format, whilst
10% are delivered using VCT due to telecommunication restrictions.
The uses of VCT include delivery of formal education courses, distribution of
information and informal vocational training.
In the organisations questioned more than twenty-one people have taken a VCT
session in the past year. For one of the respondents this was more than 30.
When looking more closely at the number of sessions that people would have
been involved in , one organisations people were involved in 1-2 sessions whilst
the other more than 500 people had between 2 – 5 VCT sessions. In the formal
training courses there is a very small percentage of courses using VCT (>1-2%)
37
and mainly for experimental purposes, however one institution uses it 10% in
informal training courses.
Question 5
Advantages of VCT





Real time communication between students and teachers
Easy to develop training material (ex Powerpoint presentations)
Students don’t feel isolated
Is very close to “traditional” classroom
Pupils interest is triggered and they show a more keen interest to attend
the courses.
Question 6
Disadvantages of VCT




It costs more in terms of money and time to develop and use it
Need high bandwidth
Fixed schedule ( student must follow a predefined schedule of class
attendance)
Need special equipment at teacher’s place for broadcasting
Question 7
How widespread is the use of VCT in Greece
For this question there was a mixture of answers. On the one hand one of the
respondents believes that VCT is used very little, even in the Open University
where it is used far less than it should. The other feels that the use of VCT
covers about 30-40% of e-learning courses in universities and vocational training
in Greece.
Question 8
Is there any plan to use VCT systems in the future?
.
Both respondents are positive about the use of VCT in the future, however it was
pointed out by one, in order for this to take effect there would have to be an
upsurge in the use of broadband connections and the drop of cost. The other has
already tested two VCT systems however they are yet to develop an
implementation plan.
Conclusion
The conclusion for Greece is that there is huge awareness of the use of VCT and
the benefits of such. However, they are also aware of the current limitations of
the VCT technologies due to bandwidth and costs. The future use of VCT
technology in Greece is positive, subject to alterations mainly in costs.
38
HUNGARY
Institutions contacted
In Hungary we contacted several public and private institutions however the
return rate of the questionnaires was very low. The list of the institutions who
returned the questionnaire.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
University of Debrecen
University of Miskolc
Eötvös Lóránd University
SAP Hungary
MATÁV Hungarian Telecommunication Company
The universities mentioned above responded that they use different types of VCT
systems. Those ones who were mentioned are the VCT systems such as Oracle
iLearning, Lotus LearningSpace and Virtual Classroom and InterWise Millennium
3.0. It was remarkable to see that the scope of their usage remained on
departmental level. On university level, in contrast there were no preferred VCT
technologies. That is the reason why two different VCT applications were
reported to be used in Eötvös Lóránd University. Also, we were told that the
Lotus LearningSpace and Virtual Classroom could be downloaded and installed
with free of charge if the given university takes part in the IBM Scholar Program.
The VCT systems were mainly used for the purpose of giving formal education
course and the average number of the participants was around 30. Furthermore
the participants took up more than 5 VCT sessions per semester.
The main advantage mentioned were the elimination of space, time and
geographical constraints since it gives the opportunity to professors to overcome
travel difficulties in the scattered buildings of the universities. The SAP Hungary
uses iTutor VCT software to distribute internal information, processes. Also, they
plan to it use for educational and for collaboration purposes as well. MATÁV
answered that they plan to apply a synchronous e-learning system in the future
to train internal staff and to distribute internal information but not yet decided
which VCT systems to use.
39
IRELAND
Institutions contacted
ISCN, Bray, Co Wicklow
Webfios, Cork, Co Cork
Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT)
Oscail, National Centre for Distance Education
Trinity College Dublin
Question 1
Are you aware of Virtual Classroom Education and Training (VCT) Technology ?
The majority of respondents are aware of the existence of VCT applications , one
respondent did not indicate either way whether they were aware or not.
Question 2
Which of the VCT applications are you aware of ?
The most well known applications include InterWise Millennium , Learning Space
and Horizonlive , with less knowledge of e-learning on tap as an application.
Other applications that were submitted include Hyperwave video conferencing , a
self developed portal.
Question 3
Which of these applications have you used
Horizonlive and Webct are the most widely used VCT systems. InterWise
Millennium is also a VCT application that is used. Other applications that weren’t
listed but were added include Blackboard, active worlds, MOOs, TappedIn and
HyperWave.
One respondent was more familiar with VCT applications not listed than those
that were.
Question 4
Does you institution use VCT or have access to a VCT system?
There were a greater number of respondents without VCT use or systems than
those that had. 60% / 40%
40
Of those that have VCT systems , they are predominantly used for the
distribution of information, and to a lesser extent to administer formal education
courses and other uses such as co-ordinating.
The number of people from the institutions with VCT who have taken at least one
VCT session varied from 1 – 10 people and above 30 participants.
Two people had more than 5 sessions of VCT.
Only one respondent gave any indication of the level of formal courses with a
VCT element , and this response was not positive in that they have no real formal
courses available.
Question 5
Advantages of VCT







Alleviates the necessity to travel
Reduces associated costs
Offers potential to have intra-country// continent groupings
Can bring together geographically dispersed students provided that they
have easy access to computers and sufficient technical knowledge to deal
with CMC interaction
It might be best suited for those who have previous computer knowledge
and perhaps undertake short training programmes as part of in-company
training. However VCT compared to asynchronous interaction has the
advantage of more immediate communication and closely reproduces face
to face interaction, perhaps also with the advantage of giving a better
chance to participate to those who would feel uncomfortable interacting in
a traditional group situation.
VCT technology can be used to extend education by allowing students
better resources, contacts with experts and interactive learning
experiences.
Co-ordination and control online leads to problem solving before problems
appear in largely distributed projects
Question 6
Disadvantages of VCT




Personal contact and joint brain storming can never be substituted (the
good Irish pub)
Learning curve for all new staff, expense to buy licences for high-tech
solutions, time needed to create learning materials
Lack of easy integration with existing VLE
As VCT entails participation to learning sessions at a fixed time this
means that participants need to have easy access to an internet
connected computer at a given time. While computer access has greatly
41





increased in the past few years, such an approach to online
communication could discriminate against potential participants who do
not have either work of home access to a computer. Furthermore for those
accessing the internet from home at their own expense there is an issue
with costs and affordability.
Would not necessarily accommodate non-technical participants
Requires investment in technology and broadband access
Little actual human intervention
Unlikely to adapt to different learning styles
Requires a certain discipline
Question 7
How widespread is the use of VCT in Ireland ?
In general it is felt that there is very little use of VCT applications in Ireland,
where it is used is in the third level / educational type institutions and research
groups. One respondent felt that there is possibly more uptake in the private
sector of VCT applications.
Question 8
Is there any plan to use VCT systems in the future?
.
Vast majority of respondents were open to the use of VCT systems in the future
in their institutions. Only one respondent was unaware whether they would use
these technologies in the future.
Conclusion
There is a good awareness of VCT technologies in Ireland and an intention to
use such in the future (if not already integrated into the institutions). The group
was knowledgeable of the potential disadvantages associated with the
applications whilst realising the potential advantages of VCT applications. It was
felt generally by the group that there is very little being currently done in Ireland
with regard to VCT and its uses. However, respondents were positive about its
use in the future.
42
ITALY
Institutions contacted
ITSOS Marie Curie, which is an upper secondary school
Istituto Tecnico Commerciaiale Statale “Mario Pagno” in Napoli
INValSI(National Institute for Evaluation of Education System), based in the
University of Rome 3
CGIL
Scienter, Bologna
Question 1
Are you aware of Virtual Classroom Education and Training (VCT) Technology ?
Two of the respondents replied yes, while one responded no
Question 2
Which of the VCT applications are you aware of ?
Of the three respondents only one responded to this question. The applications
they were most familiar with were the LearningSpace and Blackboard 6
applications.
Question 3
Which of these applications have you used ?
There were no responses to this question
Question 4
Does you institution use VCT or have access to a VCT system?
Two answered No, one answered yes
Of the respondent who answered positively, they stated that they use the VCT
technology for teachers training under the Ministry of Education, for ECDL
activities and also CISCO courses.
The reason given by one of the respondent’s who answered no, was that their
mission is face-to-face courses. This is the reason given as to why they are not
interested in synchronous e-learning . They would however be interested in
integrating face-to-face and asynchronous e-learning activities.
43
Of the respondents who answered yes , the main use of VCT technology in their
institution is to distribute information to others in the institution.
They have had more than 30 people take a VCT lesson in the last year , where
40 people took more than 5 VCT sessions.
Question 5
Advantages of VCT
Some of the advantages as outlined by the respondents
 It gives the illusion of being in a classroom , so people can participate in a
way that appears to be similar to the traditional education system
 Considerable reduction in costs
 Flexibility , in that the attendees can choose when and where to learn
 It provides a solution when face-to-face activities are not a possibility.
Question 6
Disadvantages of VCT


You lose the benefit of having no constraint of time and space, which are
the main advantages of distance learning
Absence of human contact
Question 7
How widespread is the use of VCT in Italy
For this question one of the respondents stated that there is little use of Virtual
Classroom Technology in Italy at the moment, however its use is spreading more
and more. Another explained that whilst the use of VCT is not used in the upper
secondary school sector that they are aware that a virtual class was developed
by Politecnico di Milano (University for Engineers) , where they used
videoconferencing to deliver the same lecture to people in Milan and Como.
Question 8
Is there any plan to use VCT systems in the future?
There were different responses to this question, some feel they will use it in the
future, others possibly, while the final group of respondents stated that they
never foresee their organisation using VCT due to the nature of their work.
Conclusion
The conclusion for Italy was that nearly all the respondents have knowledge of elearning technologies, however their use is very limited. Only one of the
respondents is aware of VCT applications, and used them to distribute
information within their organisation.
44
There were many advantages as outlined by the respondents as to why VCT
applications would be useful. However, due to the nature of the organisations
that some were operating in they could not see how it would be feasible. There is
a mixed response to the future of VCT in Italy, some are optimistic whilst others
are less inclined to see the relevance of such systems to their institutions.
45
LATVIA
Are you aware of Virtual Classroom Education and Training (VCT) technology?
In Latvia asynchronous elearning systems and videoconferencing are used for
training but there is very little knowledge of syschronous elearning.
Which VCT applications are you aware of? None
Which VCT applications have you used? None
Does your institution use virtual classroom technology? No
Advantages offered by VCT:
Not known
Disadvantages of VCT:
People in Latvia work very long hours and it is difficult to bring them together at
fixed times for training.
In your estimate how widespread is the use of VCT in Latvia? Not used
Does your institution plan to use VCT systems in the future? No
46
LITHUANIA
Preface
At first a short view on the eLearning scene in which VCT is embedded is
necessary.
The respondent describes the situation as follows: "All universities and almost all
colleges use VCT element in studies. There is Lithuanian Distance Learning
Network (LieDM) which integrate universities and colleges. University of
Agriculture is a member of LieDM too. Activity of LieDM includes development of
distance education, research of distance education demand and other works
relative to distance learning. LieDM administrates virtual learning classroom
WebCT. All members of LieDM have access to this software and can create
courses and use them in studies. There were 7 second stage studying programs
and a lot of courses, seminars and conferences offered in distance learning
methods in 2003 in Lithuania. About 16000 person take part in these activities."
The following data bases on the statements from one university.
Degree of knowledge of VCT applications
Most of the indicated VCT application seem to be unknown – only WebCt and
Manhattan Virtual Classroom (Vendor: Western New England College) are
mentioned.
Use of VCT applications
WebCt and Manhattan Virtual Classroom are in use.
The interviewed university have access to VCT, but with following restriction:
"The Studio of distance learning .... was established at the beginning of 2004. So
we are young yet and do not have a lot of practise. Studio of distance learning
belongs to Lithuanian distance learning network (LieDM). As a part of LieDM we
have access to e-learning system WebCT."
Purpose of use
VCT applications are in use for formal education courses and the distribution of
product information or similar. Other purposes are not mentioned.
Quantities
47
The respondent states the offering of one VCT session last year. Thirty students
and four employees have take part in this session.
The share of VCT elements of the formal training courses is only 1 %.
Advantages
Three details are mentioned as advantage for the use of VCT applications:
 "It is easy to use and to change study material.
 Studying does not depend on a place.
 Student can study in his own pace."
Disadvantages
In the view of the respondent use of VCT technology the "forfeiture of national
identity" is a disadvantage. Furthermore the lack of communication is mentioned.
In general is referred on investigations "that using distance learning elements in
education changes the system of humanistic values."
Distribution
The use of VCT in Lithuania is described in terms as "using VCT elements". The
topic seems to be distance education which is supported by the Lithuanian
Distance Learning Network. In this context it is impossible to give some data
about the distribution of VCT applications.
Future
In the respondent´s institution the use of VCT in the future is planned.
Conclusion
VCT applications as a comprehensive system seem not to be used often in
Lithuania. On the other hand elements of virtual classrooms - in the sense of a
special form of learning - is used in universities and colleges. The answers
indicate certainly at the main focus - distance education.
48
LUXEMBOURG
Are you aware of Virtual Classroom Education and Training (VCT) technology?
Yes
Which VCT applications are you aware of? Centra
Which VCT applications have you used? None
Does your institution use virtual classroom technology? No
Advantages offered by VCT:
VCT makes it possible to involve a large number of geographically dispersed
learners in a lecture.
I think that VCT is not widely used in Luxembourg. At best, a few experiments
have been run but there are no plans to make extensive use of this technology
Disadvantages of VCT:
Class-room based training is not recognized as the most appropriate training
model in many areas. Personalised learning by doing is considered a superior
pedagogical approach. Therefore, one might consider VCT as a means to extent
the reach of a pedagogically inappropriate model.
Does your institution plan to use VCT systems in the future? No
49
MALTA
Are you aware of Virtual Classroom Education and Training (VCT)
technology? Yes
Which VCT applications are you aware of? Centra, Lotus Development
Which VCT applications have you used? Lotus Development
Does your institution use virtual classroom technology? No
Advantages offered by VCT:
Can be accessed from anywhere
Easily upgraded as the web is its front interface
Disadvantages of VCT:
Fixed time & loss of human contact
In your estimate how widespread is the use of VCT in your country?
Not so much. Due to the size of our country such systems are not
feasible
Does your institution plan to use VCT systems in the future?
Not planning at all
50
THE NETHERLANDS
Institutions contacted
1.
Charkov Beeher in Nijmegen. Charkov Beheer is a major distance
learning provider with 250.000 students enrolled.
2.
Hogeschool van Utrecht
3.
Ericsson Training at Rijen
4.
Training Department Manager with Ericsson in the Netherlands who is
currently in Nigeria.
5.
Training Advisor, with Ericsson in the Netherlands based in Rijen.
Question 1 Are you aware of Virtual Classroom Education and Training(VCT)
technology?
All respondents replied in the affirmative.
Question 2
Which of the applications are you aware of?
Four were aware of Centra. Two of HorizonLive. One of HP Elearning on Tap
and InterWise. Additional systems mentioned were Dreistadt, Tapped in SRI,
Web Train and Web Ex.
Question 3
Which of the applications have you used?
Only one respondent had used none. Three had used Centra. One had used
InterWise, Web Train and Web Ex.
Question 4
Does your institution use VCT technology?
Three replied yes; two replied no.
Of those who replied yes, only one had used it for courses. The others had used
it for information sharing and meetings.
Of these the number of users was given as 11-20, 21-30 and 21-30.
The number of formal training sessions using VCT technology was given as 0%,
0% and 5%.
51
Question 5
Advantages of VCT technology
The following advantages were listed:

Better than mail for negotiation of meaning and socialisation

No travel involved; online everywhere, anytime; no participant limitations

Flexible; no need to travel

Costs a minimum of time

Direct contact/proximity; application sharing; multi-channel communication.
Question 6
Disadvantages of VCT technology
The following disadvantages were listed:

Interruptions from normal daily work

Need for tutor to be present (as opposed to distance and correspondence
education); costs; organisation. Bandwidth requirements, hardware
requirements on the students’ side; not flexible in time

Too dependent on IT infrastructure and bandwidth

Synchronicity is vulnerable. Current and topical issues get priority over prearranged dates and times

No secure connection; participants unknown in the Centra system; no
interaction between participant and instructor; bottleneck to ask questions
Question 7 In your estimate how widespread is the use of VCT in The
Netherlands?
The replies ranged from extremely low, to my impression is that it is more
widespread in business than in formal education; 5%; very few use it; it is starting
a little.
Question 8
Does your institution plan to use VCT systems in the future?
Two replied no. One said yes and another that it depended on student demand.
Another stated that they had started using it and would use it more and more but
that conditions were not optimal and you can be interrupted.
52
Conclusion
The conclusion for the Netherlands is that all respondents have knowledge of live
e-learning systems. Most of the respondents were aware of Centra but a number
of other systems were listed. Four had used the systems, mostly using Centra.
Three stated that their institution used these systems but only one had used
them for training. Detailed advantages were provided but the listing of
disadvantages was also comprehensive. The judgment of these experts on the
use of e-learning in the Netherlands was that it was extremely low. Few
institutions were planning to use it in the future.
53
NORWAY
In Norwegian universities and colleges, efforts in the direction of establishing
virtual classrooms seem to be strongly influenced by the introduction and use of
LMS’.The majority of these institutions already make use of a LMS, whereas the
rest is about to choose one. ClassFronter (http://www.fronter.no) is by far the
most widespread system. It’sLearning and BlackBoard are used by some
institutions, including two of the biggest universities, and a couple of institutions
are about to choose a LMS.
The LMS’ in question are not designed for synchronous e-learning, with the
exception of BlackBoard. The general impression is that synchronous e-learning
is initiated by individual members of staff who perceive it as useful in their own
teaching, and who make use of available technology such as videoconferencing
and chat for this purpose.
ClassFronter has no audio / speech transmission except for a possibility for
storing audio files. The system supports chat and collective writing, i.e. users
having access to a common document, each user writing his paragraph, with the
possibility to comment on others’ writing, which may be combined in two
separate windows. The developer, Fronter AS, has gained a market share in the
other Scandinavian countries also. Their representative explained that there is
little demand for functionality for synchronous e-learning including audio
transmission. The technology exists, but universities are limited by economic
constraints and do not give preference to acquiring costly equipment for this
purpose. Much of students’ work is done on private computers, the standard of
which depends on students’ private economy.
BlackBoard integrates virtual classroom technology in its new version. The
respondent from a large private university contends that the system, whilst
extensive, is somewhat inflexible and difficult to tailor to the school’s specific
needs, The VC functionality is not used by the school. Some teachers do
however make use of chat as a means for implementing synchronous learning in
their classes.
The respondent from the university states in the questionnaire:
"The closest we get to your definition of VC is our long experience in
using:
 video-conferences supported by electronic classrooms (discussion
groups and small group areas), and
 a pilot using real time lectures supported by online discussion
groups."
In one of Norway's major telecom companies we contacted a senior advisor at
the R&D department. She reported knowledge of VCT and LearningSpace 4.0,
but VCT or similar technologies are not applied in the telecom company. Their e-
54
learning solutions are asynchronous, and the system used is Saba
(http://www.saba.com/english/index.asp). To the knowledge of the respondent,
there are no plans for the introduction of VCT in the organisation. Also, she
believes that the use of VCT is not very widespread in Norway.
The advantages of VCT listed by the telecom respondent indicate how an
international telecom company (which, in this case, has recently faced severe
financial challenges) seek to enable participation of employees across distances
and to minimise travelling costs for employees and external resources. Among
disadvantages mentioned are the initial cost of introducing VCT, the usability
threshold of VCT for new users and/or users non-familiar with ICT, the
requirements for good preparation among participants of e-learning sessions,
and the requirements for new and suitable pedagogical means for achieving
effective e-learning.
We made contact with a leading oil and gas company. The majority of its
employees are situated in Norway, but in addition, there are several thousand
employees of the company in other parts of the world. Our respondent has the
role of e-learning coordinator. He has knowledge of VCT and several specific
systems (Centra, InterWise and LearnLink, of which he has used the two latter,
and also Placeware (http://main.placeware.com) (Microsoft)). He mentions the
following advantages of VCT:
Cost-efficient (less expensive than traditional education)
Good opportunities for collaborative interaction
A student unavailable to attend a live training session has access to the same
class in an electronic mode at any time.
A lot of content available (on the intra/internet)
Learners can work at their pace (to some extent)
Suitable and cost-efficient tool for training and education across a global
organisation (e.g. building a corporate culture).
Can be blended with classroom education
Teacher's role is more a facilitator of instruction than an expert.
Principal disadvantages listed by the respondent are:
No opportunities for trying hand-on procedures.
No face-to-face interaction with other students or the instructor (whenever
important for students learning style).
Requires highly motivated learners (and teachers) that take an active role
Introducing pedagogical techniques that fits the learning need for the learners
and keep them motivated is a challenge. Success probably depends on the
amount and quality of interaction among participants.
55
The oil and gas company does not presently apply VCT, but their respondent
reports that it is likely that they will. A decision in respect of VCT use in the
organisation must be made in the near future, according to the respondent.
A major technical research institute in Norway report that they do not apply
synchronous e-learning in their internal training.
A large international consultancy firm with approx.1000 employees in Norway
report that they use Centra. The processes for internal training in the consultancy
firm are aligned on a corporate level, which means that the answers given about
their use of VCT can be seen as representative of all countries in which the
organisation is represented, including all the Scandinavian countries. It should be
noted that this is a firm with top management in the U.S. They illustrate our initial
assumption that many U.S. organisations are active users of synchronous elearning technology.
The organisation uses Centra for distrbution of product information, for formal
information courses and for distribution of information to staff. The respondent,
who is training coordinator in the organisation, reports that almost 20% of the
Norwegian employees have taken at least one VCT session last year. She
estimates that 18% of the formal training courses offered by the organisation,
contains a VCT element.
An interesting advantage mentioned by the consultancy firm representative is
that a VCT training session is "easier to cancel. I.e.: If an unexpected client
situation occurs the student can easily be withdrawn from the class because the
training is taking place in the office." This is an aspect of work life / training which
can be seen as particularly relevant to the consultancy world, which is
characterised by a strong focus on project deadlines and customer needs.
56
POLAND
Institution contacted
1. Court in Bialystok
CentraSymposium is used in the organization in Poland for formal education
courses, and the distribution of information. Where the system is
available, a large number of people take advantage of it and use it
repeatedly. About 10% of the courses offered by the organization
contain VCT elements.
The advantages offered by VCT technology as viewed by the court in
Bialystok are: the use of new technologies in repetitive court actions,
improvement of recording the trial, creating models of lawsuit
decision, verification of the state of backlog and taking reparative
actions, multiplying the number of solved cases, elimination of
unnecessary workload.
The organization is optimistic about the spread of VCT in Poland and in
house.
57
PORTUGAL
Institutions contacted
1.
TecMinho, Guimaraes
2.
INOFOR, Lisbon
3.
University of Minho
4.
Universidade Aberta, Lisbon
5.
Sociedade Portuguesa de Innovacao, Porto
Question 1 Are you aware of Virtual Classroom Education and Training(VCT)
technology?
All respondents replied in the affirmative.
Question 2
Which of the applications are you aware of?
All were aware of Centra and Lotus. Other systems listed were KMx from KMSI,
LearnLinc and IBM Lotus Live Virtual classroom (LVC).
Question 3
Which of the applications have you used?
All had used Centra. KMx and Lotus were also used.
Question 4 Does your institution use VCT technology?
One replied no. The rest had used VCT mainly for formal education and training.
Participation rates for students were given as 100%
Question 5
Advantages of VCT technology
If the content is well developed, the learning experience is richer and more
interactive. The student can control his own learning pace, according to his
specific objectives and knowledge.
The advantages are related with the meeting point with groups of students or
with all students, establishing the possibility of maintaining the course rhythm and
students pass. Also for all students and teachers is usual because is a simulation
of the typical face to face situation where people can communicate in a
synchronous way.
58
Students and teachers like this type of communication if rules and procedures
are well established and if the is an agenda to discuss.
Question 6
Disadvantages of VCT technology
Reading on the screen is tiring and a bad content development can compromise
the learning experience. People are usually less willing to study in front of a
computer and alone, so the trainer must develop a bigger effort on promoting
interactivity and parallel activities that attract students attention.
The disadvantages are related with the type of bandwidth and with the failures in
the technology.. Not always (at least in our experience) it is possible to
coordinate a big number of students, and the system is failing many times (due
almost always to technological problems – servers, bandwidth, students and
teachers connections, plug ins, etc).
Due to those problems it is very dificult to share multimedia files (students
activities that could be shared and then discussed using this medium), use audio
and video, etc
European infrastructures, technology prices and connection prices should be
decreased in order to facilitate this type of syncronous Learning that can be very
useful and which can motivate students.
On the other hand it is difficult to find e-teachers that are able to deal with this
technologies and able to use the medium in the most efficient way.
Question 7
In your estimate how widespread is the use of VCT in Portugal?
The use of VCT in Portugal is still very limited. In the majority of the cases, what
exists is blended learning, mixing VCT and classroom training. However, there
are interesting and successful case studies in some of the major Portuguese
companies.
In my opinion almost all institutions that use commercial (American or Canadian
based) systems are using VCT, namely users of the following systems:



Learning Space (TecMinho/Universidade do Minho, Universidade de Èvora,
Caixa Geral de Depósitos- Larger Portuguese Bank, Instituto de Soldadura e
Qualidade(training institution), Nova Base(training institution))
Web CT (Universidade de Aveiro, Universidade do Porto, Instituto Politécnico
do Porto)
Intralearn/Centra (Sociedade Portuguesa de Inovação (training institution),
Academia Global (provider of the system in Portugal), Universidade Aberta)
59
The institutions using self-developed Portuguese based systems, most of them
Portugese Commercial systems, have very simple VCT facilities (basically
composed by a chat (write), no audio or video, no file sharing, no other facilities).
Please see this list of the most significant Platforms in use:
1) Formare (Portuguese Telecom Platform used by more then 26 Institution
in 2003)
2) Teleformar (Platform developed by a University of Coimbra spin-off
enterprise, used by training institutions in more then 10 institutions in
2003)
3) AEP e-cursos (Platform developed by an Enterprises Association, used in
two institutions)
Question 8
Does your institution plan to use VCT systems in the future?
My company provides VCT to managers on several areas: innovation,
international markets, marketing, quality, and e-business. We intend to proceed
with our strategy, organizing VCT for managers and enlarging our target
audience.
The other respondents were a mixture of yesses and nos.
Conclusion
All respondents knew of the existence of VCT systems and all had used them
though not all institutions were listed as using them. Of those that were using the
systems usage was given in a number of cases as 100% of students. The
advantages and disadvantages of the systems were well known. Usage in
Portugal, although estimated as slight, was still detailed in a number of major
Portuguese companies and universities. Those institutions already using VCT
technologies plan to continue using them.
60
ROMANIA
Institutions contacted
1. Babes-Bolyai University
2. Indaco s.r.l.
3. AC Helcor
All answers given showed the awareness of the respondents who claimed to be
aware of VCT systems but they could name only a couple of them. Those were
the Lotus LearningSpace and Virtual Classroom and WebEx.com. At the
universities only a slight number of students had the opportunity to use VCT
systems. In the telephone interview that we carried out with the Babes-Bolyai
University they pointed out several difficulties and drawbacks that prevents them
from using the VCT applications. Those were:



The lack of control on the participants
Underdeveloped IT infrastructure
Lack of development of distance education
Those Romanian companies that we were questioning replied us that they don’t
use VCT application at all and don’t plan to install any of them in the near futures.
Probably the low level of the VCT penetration is linked to the small market for
them and difficulties mentioned before.
61
SLOVAKIA
Institutions contacted
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Technical University of Kosice
Hans Selye University
Constantine the Philosopher University
Heineken Slovensko, a.s.
SAP Slovakia
Knowledge of VCT systems in Slovakia is widespread, and four different VCT
systems were mentioned.




eEDUSER Cisco Networking Academy
IBM Lotus Virtual Classroom 1.0
ITutor
LearnLinc 5
In Slovakia 4 out of 5 institutions questioned answered that they had come
across those VCT systems. The answers revealed that despite the various
numbers of VCT’s there isn’t a general application applied in the region.
The institutions with access to a VCT system use the system for the following
purposes:



Formal education course
Distribution of information
Virtual meeting
The average number of the involved participants per session was around 50 and
the students took up more than 5 VCT sessions per semester. The percentage of
the VCT element in the formal courses however remained on a low level of 20
percent.
62
SLOVENIA
Institutions contacted
1. University of Maribor
2. University of Ljubjana
3. Gorenje d.d.
All respondents claim to be aware of VCT systems but they named only two VCT
applications. Their usage was only presented in the universities as a
supplementary device for the formal distant learning tools. The software that they
mentioned:


eEDUSER Cisco Networking Academy
IBM Lotus Virtual Classroom 1.0
63
SPAIN
Institutions contacted
1.
Fundacion General of the University of Valladolid, Valladolid
2.
Professional Association of Industrial Engineers of Catalonia, Catalan
Institute of Technology
3.
Universidad Oberta de Catalunya
4.
CEDETEL
5.
Universidad Politecnia de Cartagena
Question 1 Are you aware of Virtual Classroom Education and Training(VCT)
technology?
All respondents replied in the affirmative.
Question 2
Which of the applications are you aware of?
None mentioned Centra. All mentioned Lotus. In addition Horizon Live and
LearnLinc were known. Other systems were CLIKS and School City. Two
mentioned the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya system known as Virtual
Campus. Another listed the ODISEAME project virtual learning space, an
elearning platform which is being developed by the ODISEAME of the EUMEDIS
programme.
Question 3
Which of the applications have you used?
The systems used were Lotus, the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya system
known as Virtual Campus and the ODISEAME project virtual learning space.
Question 4
Does your institution use VCT technology?
One institution replied no. The others were using VCT systems, some quite
extensively. One institution stated:
It is a web-based system developed by ourselves, and it was launched several
years ago. In any case, the organization never cared too much about
technological issues, but on the educational model to be used. Typically, ICT has
been used in a blended learning model in which presential education and
distance learning have been mixed depending on the nature of the items to be
64
taught. In addition, teachers’ main goal has been to implement among learners a
permanent attitude to the “learning to learn” concept in an interconnected society.
In order to achieve this, the use of virtual communities has been one of the main
outstanding factors.
They stated that they were using VCT systems for formal education courses,
distribution of information to staff and for the creation of virtual communities. The
extent of the use of VCT in formal training courses was estimated at 15%-25%.
One institution stated:
We are a technology centre and we are not an educational institution but we are
developing a virtual learning space within the ODISEAME project and our
partners (fifteen universities from Europe and Mediterranean countries) in the
project will use it during some virtual learning experiences that will take place
during next year.
The Universidad Politecnica de Cartagena also used VCT systems for formal
education courses. They stated that the number of persons involved was more
than 30 and the number of sessions held was more than 5. Their estimate of the
percentage of VCT used in formal training courses was 5% of subjects and that
26% of students were involved.
The Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Open University of Catalonia) had used
VCT systems for formal education courses, distribution of information to staff and
for management, cooperative work, communication and administrative issues.
The number of students who had been involved in VCT was 100%.
Question 5
Advantages of VCT technology
Comprehensive answers were given:
For students:





They feel like they have a personal treatment with their tutors and
virtual classmates.
They can adapt their study to their personal timetable.
They can meditate their participation thanks to the off-line possibility of
working.
They will be able to follow the pace of work set by the teachers and by
their virtual classmates.
Students have an active role since they form a part of their own
process of education.
65



Education is accessible to all the students, even to those who are
unable attend to classes in person due to reasons such as: work,
distance, and so forth.
As feedback is always available, teachers know if students respond to
the method and if they have reached the aims initially set.
They benefit from the advantages of the different methods of
education and of the traditional didactic means, avoiding their
disadvantages.
For universities:





It allows Universities to offer education/formation to companies without
the considerable expenses which mean their workers’ displacements,
lodging and expenses allowances.
It allows Universities to extend their offer of education to those people
or workers who cannot attend classes.
It permits the improvement of the quality of attendance courses.
It increases the efficiency of the budgets destined to education: in
many countries education budgets are frozen, though the demand
increases. Whereas the funding diminishes, governments ask for higher
levels of the professionalisation of the courses.
Responsibility of the educational system: governments not only expect
educational institutions to improve their relation of cost-efficiency, but
also that they justify the public money they use.
Further responses listed





Flexibility, accessibility and cooperative learning
Spatial and temporal flexibility. Permanent access to the material. Possibility
of continuous assessment.
Acess to the VCT at anytime and from anyplace
Students, teaching staff and management staff can communicate and relate
at any time
The environment allows the development of skills related to the use of NT,
which will be of need in their future professional development
Question 6 Disadvantages of VCT technology
The responses listed:




Immediateness is not always as fast as in a face-to-face situation
Classroom climate and other “sensibilities” might be difficult to perceive
Major work for the teachers.
Possible failures in the network
66

Resistance to the change, access to technological resources.
Question 7
In your estimate how widespread is the use of VCT in Spain?
In the higher education system most of the universities have already set up VCTs
for both e-learning courses and traditional face to face courses.
In the primary, secondary and vocational education the percentage is still
reduced, because training objectives are more focused in learning with ICT in
general.
50 % of the Universities
I do not have any figures about this, but in any case VCT has become an
ordinary tool in the finance and insurance industries. In the educational world it is
also becoming outstanding, but in the rest of industries, people are still reluctant
to adopt this learning mechanisms.
Question 8
Does your institution plan to use VCT systems in the future?
One institution replied Yes, another No.
One replied ‘As I mentioned before we already use our own VCT system’ and
they have no intention of changing.
Conclusion
Knowledge of VCT systems in Spain is extensive, but Centra was not mentioned.
The Lotus system was known as well as a number of others, but the most
important was the Virtual Campus of the Open University of Catalonia. Use of the
system s among the respondents was extensive with one institution stating that
26% of their students were involved and another stating 100%. There was also
important involvement in the EUMEDIS project which is developing the
ODISEAME system. Comprehensive listings of advantages and disadvantages
were given, showing wide knowledge of the systems. The estimate that 50% of
Spanish universities were using VCT is high, as is the extensive use by the Open
University of Catalonia. Institutions already using the VCT systems will continue
to do so.
67
SWEDEN
A leading Swedish university specialising in IT was contacted. They participate in
international research on e-learning which means their respondent is a wellinformed source on e-learning in Sweden. He is aware of VCT technology and
perceives what he denotes the ‘non-synchronous virtual classroom’ as the most
interesting e-learning alternative in their institution. He describes it as ‘a
supplement to the physical classroom; an extra dimension’. About the use of
VCT or related solutions, he adds: “In each corridor there is an enthusiast testing
different things in his courses.”
Even if the university does not employ technology that falls under the VCT
definition of our project, they have since -95/-96 arranged courses over distance
at up to 3 sites simultaneously, with video and audio transmission. “. In the
questionnaire, they explain as follows:
We use several different systems, from Lotus to FirstClass for
asynchronous contacts and also several in-house applications for
distributing of materials and discussions, virtual seminars. We also have
an in-house system for synchronous teaching with video + audio two-way
communication.
On this background, the university respondent chose to redefine VCT to
comprise ‘asynchronous communication involving modalities from text to video’
when answering the questions about advantages, disadvantages, dissemination
in Sweden and future use in the institution of VCT technology: Advantages
offered by VCT (as defined by the respondent) are seen to be its role as ‘a
complement to the real classroom.’ A disadvantage is, in his opinion, that the
technical level is still too complicated for the average teacher. The use of VCT
(as defined by the respondent) is widespread in Sweden, and he believes that his
university will use this kind of technology more and more in the future.
A leading Swedish/Danish dairy company, which is also established in other
European countries, report that they do not apply VCT in their organisation.
We contacted a Swedish/Finnish telecom company with a significant market
share in the Nordic and Baltic regions. The respondent, employed in Sweden and
responsible for the training of employees with customer contact, reported that the
company were, in his opinion, the organisation in Sweden who had reached the
furthest within the area of e-learning. Distance education is an important activity
within the organisation. In their training, the company employ an 'integrated
concept' with four elements:
 traditional learning ("which we cannot avoid", the respondent commented)
 distance education, using Centra Symposium
 'playback' training, recorded on tape
 web-based CBT in the form of 'comics' with educational contents
68
In the respondent's opinion, Centra on the internet does not properly handle
'spyware', which requires each user to check for this problem. But: 'we cannot
ask the customer to check for spyware.' Among advantages of VCT, the
respondent lists travel cost savings, flexibility and the possibility to reach the
target group when they have the time to engage in training sesstions. A
disadvantage of VCT is, in his opinion, that it is not adequate when the subject
matter to be learnt is too complex; in this case, a teacher is needed (Presumably
he believes that a teacher needs to be physically present.) The telecom
respondent estimates that the use of VCT is not very widespread in Sweden. His
organisation plans to continue using VCT system in the future.
69
SWITZERLAND
Preface
At first a short view on the eLearning scene in which VCT is embedded is
necessary.
The project FNL - Forum New Learning (http://www.fnl.ch) – is part of the
national program Swiss Virtual Campus (http://www.virtualcampus.ch) and offers
- amongst others services – the LMS WebCT and Centra – as an audio
conferencing tool - for interested colleges. Though for Centra there is a
restriction: it is limited only for punctual experiments of FNL Community
members.
Other relevant adresses are the Schweizerische Bildungsserver educa.ch
(http://www.educa.ch), the Bundesamt für Berufsbildung und Technologie BBT
(http://www.bbt.admin.ch) responsible for vocational training, advanced technical
collges ans innovation policy.
NET - Network for Educational Technology (http://www.net.ethz.ch) is an
innovation and service centre of the ETH Zürich and supports the use of ITbased training systems in the university
The following data bases on the statements from universities, colleges and
training institutions.
Degree of knowledge of VCT applications
Centra and Interwise are the best-known VCT applications followed by the other
mentioned ones. E-Learning-on-Tap seems to be unknown. Applications like
WebEx and Vitero/Fraunhofer Institut complete this list.
Use of VCT applications
Centra is the most used VCT application. Interwise, Horizon Live and Vitero are
used in less extent.
Purpose of use
In most cases formal education courses are mentioned. The distribution of
product information and similar plays a minimal part. The other purposes are
eCollaboration, marketing, teamwork meetings, experts discussion, meetings as
well as tests and evaluation.
Quantities
The amount of VCT sessions varies from 457 to 2. Only two institutions have
considerable figures of participants and employees using VCT sessions.
70
The share of VCT elements of the formal training courses varies from 1 to 60
percent. The institution with relevant figures offers training possibilities for
specific target groups.
Advantages
The most mentioned item is the independence of place and with that the loss of
journey there. This time argument seems to be an attractive cost-benefit
proportion for the participants and the lecturers.
VCT applications can be used for the transfer of universal knowledge. The
"know-how" from the distance is locally available.
Teaching persons can relative easily convert their competences they have in
face-to-face lessons.
One statement can be declared nearly as a didactical advantage: "with livelessons we provide a structure for eLearning measures which support the
learners in integrating the learning in their time schedule."
As distance is not a relative factor for using VCT there could be a greater market
for the educational offers.
Especially the functions audio-chat, application-sharing and white-board are
stressed.
Disadvantages
In the view of the respondents there are two main disadvantages: a technical one
and a financial one. The technical one consists of the technical barrier on the part
of the learners and the electronic communication – the delay of sound
production, the bandwidth range of the internet, low stability of the systems and
even the high latency time of the communication channels. The lack of
authenticity by using VCT is mentioned too.
As financial aspect the relative high starting investment is mentioned.
As well hindered communication – no possibility for non-verbal-communication –
and the problems of emotional relationships seem to be disadvantages. The
latter has to be created by the lecturers with more expense as in face-to-facesessions.
Distribution
71
The use of VCT in Switzerland is described in terms as "very little" and "relative
weak". Certainly there is a growing acceptance of VCT to discover.
Future
In all cases the (further) use of VCT in the future is planned. There is however a
wide range of intensity: from "a strategic element of our activity" to "not
systematically, only for projects".
The other argument concerns the "state of the art" of offered VCT applications:
the use depends on the existence of "solid and reasonable solutions".
One interviewee will concentrate on the hearing function as a main focus.
And others will only use rental systems.
Conclusion
VCT seems not to be used often in Switzerland. Beside the financial and
technical problems, which hinder at the moment the distribution of VCT, there are
doubts about the universal use of VCT because it seems to be useful only for
tailored target groups.
72
UNITED KINGDOM
Institution contacted
CREATE at Suffolk College
Question 1
Are you aware of Virtual Classroom Education and Training (VCT) Technology ?
The respondent answered No to this question
Question 2
Which of the VCT applications are you aware of ?
Not aware of any VCT applications
Question 3
Which of these applications have you used
None used
Question 4
Does you institution use VCT or have access to a VCT system?
They do not have a VCT system in place in the institution at present
Question 5
Advantages of VCT
None given
Question 6
Disadvantages of VCT
None given
Question 7
How widespread is the use of VCT in the United Kingdom ?
They are not aware of widespread use of VCT
Question 8
Is there any plan to use VCT systems in the future?
.
73
They are currently using a VLE and undertaking research into other technology
available
Conclusion
There is currently no experience of use of VCT by the institution questioned and
no indication whether it may be used in the future.
74
CONCLUSION
Results
The view that virtual classroom systems (VCT), or live e-learning or synchronous
e-learning systems, are little known and little used in Europe is supported by this
survey. Although nearly all respondents stated that they were aware of VCT this
awareness appeared fragile and there was little in-depth knowledge of the
systems.
This is at a time when the evidence from America is that these systems are
gaining ground and more and more of the vendors of Learning Management
Systems are having to incorporate a synchronous dimension in their systems if
they wish to maintain market share.
Usage was less widespread with few institutions using VCT for formal education
and training. In those institutions and countries where an attempt to measure the
presence of virtual classroom systems in education and training provision the
figure given was less than 5%.
Some of the institutions in Spain and Portugal that were using the technology
claimed that there was an element of VCT in 100% of their courses.
The advantages and disadvantages of VCT were well known and there was an
even balance between favourable and unfavourable evaluations. In Spain the
Open University of Catalonia was a leader and had developed its own system,
Virtual Campus. In Hungary, too, there was extensive use of Virtual Classroom
systems at higher education level by the Budapest University of Economic
Sciences and Political Science.
It appeared that institutions that were already using the systems would continue
to do so.
References
Land D, Experiencing the online environment
http://www.usdla.org/html/journal/FEB02_Issue/article05.html
Acterna, Acterna’s virtual classroom
http://www.acterna.com/global/Training/eLearning/VirtualClassroom/index_gbl.ht
ml
Keegan D and Landers P, The role of live e-learning in education and training
systems. Proceedings of 2004 ILTA conference.
Jennings A et al, Experience in the use of synchronous elearning in a traditional
university with non-traditional learners. Proceedings of 2004 ILTA conference.
75
Appendix
Here is the questionnaire used in the preparation of the report:
Brief questionnaire on the present knowledge of and use of
virtual classroom environments in European institutions
Name
Date
Job Title
Institution Name
No of
employees/students
Institution Category
Email
Telephone
About the project
The project Virtual Classrooms in Educational Provision – Synchronous Elearning
Systems for European Institutions is part of the Socrates research programme funded by
the European Union.
The project partners are:

Ericsson Competence Solutions, Ireland (coordinating institution)

Budapest University of Economic Science and Public Administration, Hungary

FernUniversität-Gesamthochschule in Hagen, Germany

NKI, Norway

Cork Institute of Technology, Ireland
The aims of the project are:

to analyse how European institutions (government and corporate) make use of virtual
classroom education and training (see definition below)

to evaluate pedagogical and technical aspects of current virtual classroom
environments

to develop and test a portifolio of courses for virtual classroom education and training

to produce a manual of virtual classroom Best Practice for European institutions

to identify advantages of virtual classroom environments over alternative teaching
environments
The current stage of the project is one of data collection about the use of virtual classrooms
among relevant European institutions. Analysis of the data will result in an initial project
76
report. Based on further analysis of the pedagogical and economical aspects of virtual
classroom provisions, test courses will be developed, implemented and evaluated in context
of the project partners’ institutions. The findings of the project will be made publically
available, to the benefit of European institutions.
Virtual Classroom Education and Training (VCT) is also known as Live e-learning or
Synchronous e-learning Systems and may be defined as systems which

use the Internet to deliver education and training

use a WWW browser as a major delivery medium

have an instructor and a group of participants (class) assembled at a fixed time and for
a fixed period

manage communication electronically

make use of a system like Centra or similar
Section A - General Information
Q1) Referring to the definition above are you aware of Virtual
Classroom Education and Training (VCT) technology?
Yes
No
Q2) Which of the following VCT applications are you aware of?
Name
Vendor
Centra
E-Learning-onTap
InterWise
Millennium 3.0
LearningSpac
e 4.0
LearnLinc 5
HorizonLive
Centra
Hewlett
Packard
InterWise
Lotus
Development
LearnLinc
HorizonLive.co
m
Other (please
specify)
77
Please
tick
Q3) Which of the following VCT applications have you used?
Name
Vendor
Centra
E-Learning-onTap
InterWise
Millennium 3.0
LearningSpac
e 4.0
LearnLinc 5
HorizonLive
Centra
Hewlett
Packard
InterWise
Lotus
Development
LearnLinc
HorizonLive.co
m
Other (please
specify)
78
Please
tick
Section B - VCT in your institution
Q4) Does your institution use virtual classroom technology or have
access to a virtual classroom system.
If yes please proceed to the subsequent questions in this
section, if no please proceed to section C.
Yes
No
Comments
Q4a) What purpose do you use it for (Please tick all relevant options).
Distribution of product
information e.g. product
updates
Formal education courses
Distribution of information
e.g. updates to staff, new
processes etc
Other, please specify…..
Please
tick
Q4b) Approximately how many people from your organisation have
taken at least one VCT session last year?
Range
1 - 10
11 -20
21 - 30
More
Number
79
Q4c) For people that have taken a VCT session please indicate the
total number of people in each of the categories in the table
below?
Sessions last year
1-2
2-5
5+
Number
Q4d)
Of the formal training courses offered by your institution,
what approximate percentage contains a VCT element?
Section C - General Comments
Q5) Advantages offered by VCT
Please detail your opinions on the principal advantages offered by VCT
technology.
Q6)
Disadvantages of VCT
Please detail your opinions on the principal disadvantages of VCT
technology.
In your estimate how widespread is the use of VCT in your
country?
__________________________________________________
______
Q8) Does your institution plan to use VCT systems in the
future?
__________________________________________________
Thank you for your contribution.
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81