E-learning and Sustainability in Higher Education

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to examine and investigate the challenges that higher education face to become more sustainable in their teaching and learning especially in Australia and Portugal. E-learning challenges have numerous concepts: i.e. 1) training and developing new e-learning skills for lecturers, and 2) enhancing pedagogic approaches to match the e-learning models. All these challenges have the role in supporting teaching and learning in the higher education and have ‘implications for sustainability’ (Attwell, 2004, p.7). These challenges will require time and enthusiasm to work with a ‘new collaborative model to devise and implement strategy, as well as for e-learning development at practice level, is a particularly challenging target in institutions with long-standing traditions of hierarchy’ (Gunn 2010, p.100 -101). A number of successful approaches were identified and implemented by talented lecturers looking for clarification to real educational problems. However, some of these approaches were recognized in their universities, as teaching and learning grants were awarded to enhance the adoption of these approaches in the future. These approaches were: firstly, discussion group forums using the FLECS facility - i.e. Blackboard at Curtin University, while Moodle Forums at Universidade Aberta (Portuguese Open University), to develop individual student learning and to reduce the raw materials between lecturers and students. The forum approach encourages collaboration and teamwork, creates connections and links with other students, enables the sharing of information, and enhances communication and interaction between the students. These benefits were imperative to develop students’ communications skills and learning of new materials, which will assist them to develop their skills as individuals, and be successful and confident in real life situations in the future. Secondly, students’ assessments were uploaded to the FLECS facility for marking. Lecturers used two methods for marking: 1) adding their comments to the softcopy version and uploaded it once again to the FLECS facility, 2) using software i.e. ‘Audacity’ and ‘echo360’ to communicate with students by providing them with feedback on their assessments and uploaded these MP3 files to the FLECS facility. Furthermore, lecturers provided general assessment feedback for the benefit of the whole class, directed to all campuses, and weekly lecture summaries. This paper provides experimental evidence based on quantitative and qualitative data derived from informal and formal student’s feedback from 77 student evaluations and perspectives toward the IS6 and AP units (respectively in Curtin University and in Universidade Aberta). The findings indicated that win-win strategy was executed since lecturers were delighted that e-learning sustainability principles were flourishing in their teaching and learning approaches, since all communication between students were established via email or Blackboard at Curtin University and Moodle forums at Universidade Aberta.