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The Pa as blended s a egy model o deep and meaning ul lea ning in quali y li e-long
dis ance educa ion
© Au ho s, 2019
Published e sion
Mys akidis, S ylianos; Be ki, Eleni; Val anen, Ju i
Mys akidis, S., Be ki, E., & Val anen, J. (2019). The Pa as blended s a egy model o deep and
meaning ul lea ning in quali y li e-long dis ance educa ion. Elec onic Jou nal o e-Lea ning,
17(2), 66-78. h ps://doi.o g/10.34190/JEL.17.2.01
2019
ISSN 1479-4403 66 ©ACPIL
Re e ence his pape : Mys akidis, S., Be ki, E., and Val anen, J., 2019. The Pa as Blended S a egy Model o Deep and
Meaning ul Lea ning in Quali y Li e-Long Dis ance Educa ion. The Elec onic Jou nal o e-Lea ning, 17(2), pp. 66-78,
a ailable online a www.ejel.o g
The Pa as Blended S a egy Model o Deep and Meaning ul
Lea ning in Quali y Li e-Long Dis ance Educa ion
S ylianos Mys akidis1,2, Eleni Be ki2 and Ju i Val anen3
1Uni e si y o Pa as, G eece
2Uni e si y o Jy äskylä, Finland
3Tampe e Uni e si y, Finland
[email p o ec ed]
eleni.e.be ki@jyu. i
al anenju ipe[email p o ec ed]
DOI: 10.34190/JEL.17.2.01
Abs ac : Li e-long lea ning is cu en ly being emb aced as a cen al p ocess ha could dis up adi ional educa ional
pa hs. Appa en ly, he (ideal) ype o lea ning o en p omo ed is deep and meaning ul lea ning, hough i is no always
equi ed o be so. Deep lea ning goes beyond supe icial knowledge assimila ion o unlinked ac s; i aims a de eloping
deep disciplina y unde s anding, ans o ma i e knowledge, pe sonal meaning, emo ional in elligence, c i ical hinking,
c ea i i y and me acogni i e skills. Meaning ul lea ning occu s when lea ning is ac i e, cons uc i e, in en ional, au hen ic,
and coope a i e. Technology enhanced eaching and lea ning me hods should p o e hei po en ial o ans o m li e-long
lea ning p o ision and acili a e he achie emen o deep and meaning ul lea ning. In he con ex o dis ance educa ion in
li e-long lea ning, one impo an challenge is he design o e sa ile quali y assu ance s a egies o e- aining. Based on
he expe iences in dis ance li elong lea ning p og ammes in he Uni e si y o Pa as’ Educa ional Cen e o Li e-Long
Lea ning (KEDIVIM) he au ho s p esen how he p inciples and a ibu es o deep and meaning ul lea ning can be
combined wi h p ojec managemen in p ac ice and be inco po a ed in an e-Lea ning quali y s a egy. We p esen i) he
me hods used o assess he quali y o he e-Lea ning p og ammes, ii) key indings o he e alua ion p ocess and iii) i s
esea ch e alua ion esul s on he quali y o lea ning. This esea ch s udy on lea ning p ocess quali y was conduc ed by
using an online ques ionnai e, which aimed a es ima ing he le el o pa icipan s’ sa is ac ion while using in e ac i e
lea ning me hods such as collabo a i e lea ning. Some esul s o he e alua ion indica e ha he e-Lea ning quali y
s a egy led o e-Lea ning p og ammes ha used ac i e lea ning me hods o achie e high lea ne s’ sa is ac ion owa ds
deep and meaning ul lea ning.
Keywo ds: e-Lea ning, dis ance educa ion, echnology enhanced lea ning, li e-long lea ning, deep and meaning ul lea ning
1. In oduc ion
Li elong lea ning is o en emb aced as a cen al ans o ma i e unc ion ha could dis up he adi ional and
o mal educa ional pa h o mos p o essions. Lea ning is no jus a p e equisi e o employmen ; i is g adually
becoming he ac ual co e o wo k. This a he uncon olled p ocess is expec ed o a ec 30-50% o oday’s
jobs ha could possibly be au oma ed o e he nex 10 o 20 yea s (Pe e s, 2017). I seems ha cu icula in
schools, colleges and uni e si ies and he way educa ion i sel is o ganized migh need o adap in o de o
enable young people and adul s o acqui e some skills and key compe encies and upda e hem h oughou
hei li e. In his con ex ual amewo k, he na u e o lea ning ha people a e expe iencing in a ious o ms o
educa ion is o p ime impo ance. In many ins ances o hei li es people ha e been exposed o in o ma ion-
ans e eaching and s udying me hods and ac i i ies ha lead o o e, su ace lea ning in o m o
memo iza ion and aw assimila ion o unlinked ac s o p ocedu es. In he e a o he ou h indus ial
e olu ion a di e en kind o lea ning is encou aged o ensu e employmen (Gleason, 2018). Many new ypes
o lea ning p edominan ly claim o conside a deepe disciplina y unde s anding combined wi h he essence o
ou humani y, ou emo ional in elligence, c i ical hinking, and c ea i i y. This kind o lea ning is called deep
and meaning ul lea ning.
2. The Dis inc ness o Deep and Meaning ul Lea ning
Deep and meaning ul lea ning is he uni ica ion o wo concep s and espec i e heo ies, deep lea ning and
meaning ul lea ning. The wo concep s can be combined due o co espondences in hei cons uc ion (Hay,
2007), as explained nex .
Deep lea ning is he esul o a deep app oach o s udying. This app oach is cha ac e ized by he inhe en
in e es in and ac i e engagemen wi h a discipline in a ques o g asp he unde pinning p inciples and
S ylianos Mys akidis, Eleni Be ki and Ju i Val anen
www.ejel.o g 67 ISSN 1479-4403
associa e i wi h p e ious knowledge. I encompasses he achie emen o ans o ma ional knowledge,
meaning and me acogni i e skills (Ma on and Säljö, 1976). Deep lea ning is posi ioned in he opposi e
spec um o su ace lea ning (o su ace p ocessing) as a quan i a i e inc ease o knowledge wi hou e lec ion
(Ma on and Säljö, 1997).
Meaning ul lea ning occu s when lea ning is ac i e, cons uc i e, in en ional, au hen ic, and coope a i e o
ela ional (Jonassen, 2003). Meaning ul lea ning builds on he in e connec ed a ibu es o eaching, s udying
and lea ning (Ausubel, 1961). Meaning ul lea ning is associa ed wi h lea ning app oaches such as disco e y
and p oblem sol ing esul ing in he abili y o iden i y he unde lying s uc u e and connec exis ing wi h new
concep s (Howland, Jonassen and Ma a, 2012). Sho explana ions o each ea u e ollow:
 Ac i e: Lea ning is an ac i e men al p ocess. This dimension signals he ac i e pa icipa ion o lea ne s by
in e ac ing wi h con en and he lea ning en i onmen , and engaging wi h a subjec ma e so as o make
a pe sonal cogni i e con ibu ion.
 Cons uc i e: Lea ne s a e expec ed o cons uc con inuously hei own meaning by in e p e ing and
e lec ing on obse ed phenomena and he esul s o hei ac ions.
 In en ional: Lea ne s a e encou aged o exhibi indi idual owne ship, agency, be sel -di ec ed, se goals
consciously and commi emo ionally.
 Au hen ic: Meaning ul lea ning equi es asks linked o an au hen ic expe ience o simula ed, ealis ic
con ex so ha hey become pe sonally signi ican and ans e able.
 Coope a i e/ ela ional: Human lea ning is also a social p ocess in ol ing lea ne s and eache s. G oup
collabo a ion and pee con e sa ion occu s na u ally in knowledge building communi ies. Also, he
engaged, passiona e eache s con ibu e signi ican ly o he emo ional in ol emen o lea ne s (Howland,
Jonassen and Ma a, 2012).
3. Deep and Meaning ul Lea ning in Dis ance Educa ion – Two Daun ing Challenges
Achie ing deep and meaning ul lea ning is a challenge in all modes o ins uc ion -class oom-based, dis ance o
blended- conside ing ha he key s akeholde o he lea ning p ocess is each lea ne wi h his/he unique
ea u es, cha ac e is ics, men al and emo ional capaci ies. Thus, deep and meaning ul lea ning equi es
conside able ca e, p epa a ion, a en ion, mas e y and e o . Deep lea ning is an e en mo e daun ing
challenge in dis ance educa ion. Dis ance educa ion ea u es p edominan ly lexible sel -di ec ed s udy in
asynch onous mode. E en when lea ning combines synch onous eache -lead o pee collabo a ion ac i i ies,
lea ne isola ion is an inhe en ly inhibi ing ac o (Tyle -Smi h, 2006). Resea che s sugges using ac i e and
challenging lea ning ac i i ies, collabo a i e p oblem-sol ing asks and emo ional empowe men o p omo e
deep lea ning in dis ance educa ion (Hacke and Niede hause , 2000).
S udies in he con ex o dis ance educa ion and e-Lea ning connec deep lea ning wi h ac i e lea ning, pee
communica ion and collabo a ion (Mo in, Thomas and Raa a , 2012) as well as high le els o eaching and
social p esence (Bange , 2008). Meaning ul lea ning in dis ance educa ion is based on quali y e sus quan i y
o meaning ul online in e ac ions o lea ne s wi h con en , ins uc o s and pee s (Yoon, 2003). Meaning ul
in e ac ions enable lea ne s o en e he zone o p oximal de elopmen (Jonassen e al., 1995; Lamb opoulos
e al., 2012). These in e ac ions should be designed a ound au hen ic open-ended online ac i i ies ha
equi e complex knowledge cons uc ion asks and p o ide oppo uni ies o collabo a ion and e lec ion
(Ga ison and Cle eland-Innes, 2005; Woo and Ree es, 2007).
One o en neglec ed ac o in e-Lea ning is lea ne s’ emo ions and mo i a ion. Emo ions a e an inhe en
elemen o lea ning. Knowledge is associa ed wi h emo ions and eelings. Feelings and emo ional s a es
e oked by in e nal o ex e nal ac o s can ei he acili a e o inhibi lea ning. Humans can ha e mul iple goals
and mo i es o di e en na u e, ex insic o in insic (Co ing on and Müelle , 2001). Lea ne s wi h ex insic
goals engage lea ning o ex e nal incen i es such as passing an exam o ma e ial ewa ds. Ex insic mo i a ion
is associa ed wi h su ace lea ning, anxie y and high d op-ou a es (Ro hes, Lemos and Gonçal es, 2017).
Lea ne s wi h au onomous, in insic mo i es and goals a e d i en by he p ac ice o lea ning i sel . In insic
mo i a ion is associa ed wi h deep lea ning, high pe o mance and lea ning esilience (Zainuddin, 2018).
Thus, igno ing he impo ance o in insic mo i a ion in dis ance educa ion has esul ed in high d op-ou and
a i ion a es (Tyle -Smi h, 2006). Educa ion p ac i ione s do no always know o a e able o mo i a e, engage
The Elec onic Jou nal o e-Lea ning Volume 17 Issue 2 2019
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lea ne s and in eg a e meaning ul social ac i i ies (Mimi inis and Bha acha ya, 2007). This e ec has been
obse ed in a magni ied scale in he Massi e Open Online Cou ses (MOOCs) mo emen , whe e global
pa icipa ion in MOOCs ose o housands and e en hund eds o housands bu comple ion a es ypically
luc ua e a ound o below 10% (Jo dan, 2015).
4. Dis ance Educa ion and Li e-Long Lea ning – A Con enien Combina ion
The adop ion o echnology enhanced lea ning has o en been designa ed as a c i ical success ac o o
educa ion. Eu opean Union’s Digi al Agenda s a egy encou aged he mains eaming o e-Lea ning o all
subjec s in all le els o educa ion in he na ional policies o all membe s a es (Eu opean Commission, 2010;
He nández-Ros, 2012). Addi ionally, he EU’s Digi al Educa ion Ac ion Plan p io i izes he digi al ans o ma ion
o eaching and lea ning (Eu opean Commision, 2018). The ongoing de elopmen o new echnologies and
hei applica ions in luenced job ma ke changes and ends and pinpoin ed he need o con inuous
p o essional de elopmen and upda e o skills and compe encies. The la e is especially e idenced in he ield
o oca ional educa ion and aining (Eu opean Commission, 2016a), whe e he e has been c ea ed an
eme ging, dynamic ield o dis ance Li e-Long Lea ning (LLL). Acco ding o a ecen s udy, dis ance educa ion
sec o is apidly g owing and was ecen ly es ima ed o ep esen he app oxima ely 30% o he o al
educa ion p o ision in Eu ope (Schnelle and Holmbe g, 2014). The Eu opean Cen e o he De elopmen o
Voca ional T aining in i s key policy p io i y “quali y o VET deli e y” also associa es quali y o lea ning di ec ly
wi h Technology-Enhanced Lea ning (CEDEFOP, 2016). In his con ex , LLL has been emphasized as a key policy
objec i e in he Educa ion & T aining 2020 s a egic amewo k (Eu opean Commission, 2016b).
T adi ional and eme ging aining p o ide s ha e u ilized dis ance educa ion in o de o o e li e-long
educa ional se ices o audiences a wide han hose app oached h ough adi ional class oom-based
me hod. Fu he mo e, online lea ning is conside ed as a c i ical componen o hei u u e long- e m
s a egies by 70,8% US uni e si ies (OLC, 2014). This p ocess could open as oppo uni ies o he e-c ea ion
o lexible, agile and cus omizable educa ional p og ammes in a cos -e ec i e way.
T aining p o ide s ace he mul i- ace ed challenge o ansi ion in o a new and o en unknown ope a ion
mode conside ing all aspec s ha in luence lea ning quali y, such as: i) p ope applica ion o adminis a i e
p ocedu es, ii) e ec i e ins uc ional and lea ning design, iii) sound use o media and ma e ials, i ) he
app op ia e choice and u iliza ion o echnological applica ions and pla o ms, ) he ce i ica ion o knowledge
and skills, i) he sma alen ec ui men and onboa ding, as well as ii) he op imal human esou ces
managemen .
Se e al highe and adul educa ion ins i u ions wi h aligning s a egic app oaches and expe ience ha e
unde aken he ask o b idge educa ion wi h LLL, con inuous p o essional de elopmen , co po a e aining
and oca ional educa ion and aining by applying dis ance and blended lea ning me hods. Nex he e is a
p esen a ion o he case s udy o he Educa ional Cen e o Li e-Long Lea ning (KEDIVIM) in he Uni e si y o
Pa as, Wes e n G eece along wi h i s ini ia i es o LLL p og ammes and s a egies. This pape is a
de elopmen o esea ch p esen ed in he P oceedings o he Eu opean Con e ence on e-Lea ning (Mys akidis
e al., 2018a).
5. Case s udy: The Uni e si y o Pa as dis ance li e-long lea ning s a egy
The Uni e si y o Pa as has a long ack eco d in he adop ion o inno a i e ac ion in educa ion and lea ning,
pa ly due o i s s ong echnological componen bu also because o he p og essi e educa ional cul u e i
emb aces. In 1995 he Uni e si y o Pa as ounded i s own Cen e o Voca ional Educa ion and T aining
(KEK). KEK no ably ope a ed in ields o excellence whe e he ins i u e’s pe sonnel had demons a ed ich
expe ience, na ional and in e na ional p esence h ough scien i ic knowledge, esea ch and p o essional
expe ise. The Cen e implemen ed subsidized, na ional and Eu opean p og ammes, as well as sel - inanced
ac ions along wi h open and ee aining cou ses. Following a new na ional highe educa ion legisla ion, in
2018, KEK was ans o med in o he Educa ional Cen e o Li e-Long Lea ning (KEDIVIM). Since 2014
KEK/KEDIVIM deployed he Uni e si y o Pa as’ s a egy p ojec o Dis ance Li e-Long Lea ning h ough he
de elopmen o e-Lea ning cou ses and p og ammes. Th ee pilla s ha e been selec ed as s a egy ounda ions:
Quali y; Deep and Meaning ul Lea ning; and Inno a ion.
S ylianos Mys akidis, Eleni Be ki and Ju i Val anen
www.ejel.o g 69 ISSN 1479-4403
Quali y is a a he ‘elusi e’ concep wi h mul iple dimensions and a ying de ini ions depending on ime,
geog aphical loca ion and con ex ual ac o s such as economy, policy and cul u e (Ha ey, 2009). While he e
is no single, unanimous de ini ion o quali y, in he con ex o his pape he au ho s adop he de ini ion o
quali y as he deg ee o which a sum o endogenous cha ac e is ics sa is ies a se o equi emen s
(In e na ional O ganiza ion o S anda diza ion, 2015) and is b oadly accep ed by (mos o ) he quali y
s akeholde s (Be ki, Geo giadou and Holcombe, 2004). In educa ion, speci ically, quali y is associa ed wi h
e ec i eness, e iciency, equali y, ela i i y and sus ainabili y (Ba e e al., 2006) and he way hese in luence
lea ne s, ins uc o s and o he s akeholde s.
Deep and Meaning ul Lea ning encompasses he me acogni i e le el achie emen o ans o ma ional
knowledge, meaning and ans e able skills (Ma on and Säljö, 1976). I is di ec ly linked o mani old hinking
which is a balanced combina ion o ca ing, c ea i e, c i ical and e lec i e hinking skills (Val anen e al., 2008).
Inno a ion (in he o m o c ea i i y and c i ical hinking) is a dynamic p io i y o cons an (bo h g adual and
dis up i e) change signals in dis ance educa ion. Along wi h e lec i e and ca ing hinking ha could poin o
he iden i ica ion, expe imen a ion, e alua ion and adop ion o no el me hods, en i onmen s and ools o
lea ning, quali y imp o emen and acili a ion o deep and meaning ul lea ning can be ealised in he ques o
pe sonalized li elong lea ning.
Acco ding o a ious esea ch s udies’ indings and e iews, dis ance educa ion when designed, planned and
implemen ed wi h an app op ia e blend o pedagogical app oaches, me hods and echnological means is
equally e ec i e and in some speci ic cases mo e e ec i e han class oom-based ins uc ion (Means e al.,
2010; Siemens, Gase ic and Dawson, 2015).
Fo he achie emen o he a o emen ioned h ee pilla s, he Uni e si y o Pa as’ e-Lea ning cou ses ha e
been deli e ed using he blended lea ning model. Thus, he cou ses combine wo o mo e o he ollowing
modes o lea ning: i) class oom ins uc ion, ii) asynch onous e-Lea ning ( lexible sel - and g oup s udy,
p oduc ion o indi idual and eam assignmen s and p ojec s), iii) synch onous e-Lea ning (li e mee ing(s) wi h
ins uc o s and co-pa icipan s in a i ual en i onmen ); i ) social eLea ning (in o mal, eme gen lea ning).
Mo e de ails a e p o ided in e.g. Val anen e al., 2013; Mys akidis, Be ki and Val anen, 2017; Mys akidis and
Be ki, 2018.
5.1 The Uni e si y o Pa as model - A blended s a egy o quali y dis ance educa ion
Re iewing quali y assu ance app oaches and s a egies in educa ion, one can iden i y app oaches ha ocus
on di e en aspec s o quali y. Some s a egies ocus on he sys em’s in e nal s uc u e conside ing in e nal
s akeholde s such as lea ne s and ins uc o s and examine whe he speci ic measu emen s a e consis en ly
me . O he app oaches assess he e ec (s) o he sys em in ques ion owa ds ex e io ecipien s (e.g.
cus ome s, ex e nal s akeholde s) and hei sa is ac ion. Finally, al e na i e s a egies co ela e quali y wi h
he achie emen o speci ic h eshold o s anda ds o excellence (Van Damme, 2000).
In he Uni e si y o Pa as’ KEDIVIM along wi h i s s a egic ocus on excellence, quali y is no seen as a s a ic
objec . I is pe cei ed as a li e, ib an p ocess ha is i s and o emos e alua ed h ough he eye o he
beholde (lea ne ). Fo he pu poses o quali y assu ance in educa ional o /and adminis a i e p ocesses we
ake in o accoun he inpu s, he ou pu s as well as he in ol ed ac o s’ eedback. Especially in he e-Lea ning
cou ses, quali y assu ance guidelines and policies a e shaped, in o med and upda ed by in e na ional schemes,
models, quali y labels, and good ield p ac ices. Also he LLL cou ses ope a ional li e-cycle has been o ganized
acco ding o he elabo a ed P ojec Managemen me hodology p oposed by he P ojec Managemen Ins i u e
– PMI (P ojec Managemen Ins i u e, 2008; Schwalbe, 2015).
In e na ional e-Lea ning Quali y ini ia i es such as ECBCheck, EFQUEL, E-xcellence and Epp oba e o e he
oppo uni y o he e-Lea ning p o ide s o assess in e nally o audi ex e nally all aspec s o e-Lea ning
cou ses’ p o ision and cou sewa e (Vlachopoulos, 2016) such as a) In o ma ion abou and o ganiza ion o he
p og amme, b) a ge audience o ien a ion, c) cou se design and me hodology, d) lea ne s’ mo i a ion, e)
collabo a i e lea ning, ) assignmen s & lea ning p og ess, g) assessmen & es s, h) quali y o con en , i) media
design, j) echnology, k) e alua ion & e iew.

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The Uni e si y o Pa as’ KEDIVIM blended s a egy o quali y e-Lea ning p og ammes is ealized h ough he
os e ing o a mixed cul u e o quali y a ibu es, sel -e alua ion and inno a ion componen s in he ollowing
ways: i) Ac i e commi men o quali y and excellence empowe men on and o all le els (execu i e/ op,
manage ial/middle, ope a ional/low), p ocesses and pe sonnel; ii) he es ablishmen o lexible/agile
amewo ks wi h clea p ocedu es o all he li e-cycle s ages o he p og ammes; iii) esolu ion o seek and
willingness o accep eedback o imp o emen om a ious in e nal and ex e nal ac o s/s akeholde s; i )
iden i ica ion and dissemina ion o good p ac ices, in e nally and ex e nally.
Mo e speci ically, he Uni e si y o Pa as’ blended quali y LLL p og ammes model inspi ed by Mo ison, Ross
and Kemp (2006) includes he ollowing p ocesses in i e s ages:
 S age I – Analysis, Ini ia ion & P epa a ion: In e es ed uni e si y acul y membe s o cou se leade s
ecei e empla es and guidelines o p epa e he applica ion o new LLL p og ammes in collabo a ion wi h
KEDIVIM’s pe sonnel. Each submi ed applica ion is examined and app o ed by KEDIVIM’s Council. One
essen ial e alua ion c i e ion is he p og amme’s sus ainabili y and co espondence o exis ing o
an icipa ed lea ning o ce i ica ion needs. Also, apa om subjec -ma e expe ise and expe ience, an
essen ial cou se leade selec ion c i e ion is expe ience in dis ance educa ion and ce i ica ion in
p o essional e-Lea ning.
 S age II – Design & De elopmen : In his phase, cou se leade s o ins uc o s wi hou expe ience in
p o essional e-Lea ning a e expec ed o p epa e hemsel es by expe iencing and pa icipa ing in an e-
Lea ning aine s’ c ash-cou se. One ou come o he cou se is he elabo a ed design o hei new LLL
p og amme. In his p ocess, one quali y measu e is sa egua ding he selec ion, o mula ion and
commi men o adequa e and achie able lea ning ou comes wi h an e ec i e mix o lea ning ac i i ies,
usually in a ious, blended modes o achie e deep and meaning ul lea ning. Simul aneously s a s he
lexible de elopmen o he lea ning en i onmen , ac i i ies and ma e ials o he new s udy p og amme.
This can be p oduced usually by he membe s o he cou se eaching eam wi h he guidance o KEDIVIM’s
p o essional s a o by ex e nal collabo a o s.
 S age III – Ma ke ing & Implemen a ion: KEDIVIM p epa es ela i e communica ion ma e ial and, upon
comple ion o S age II, s a s he ma ke ing campaign o he new e-Lea ning p og am using a a ie y o
media so as o each he iden i ied a ge audience. He e we highligh special conside a ions o sensi i e
popula ion g oups.
A e he minimum numbe o pa icipan s is eached, s a s he ealisa ion o each cou se’s i e a ion.
Pilo i e a ions o cou ses a e ea ly encou aged. Special a en ion is gi en o he de ailed p epa a ion o all
egis e ed cou se pa icipan s o ensu e smoo h pa icipa ion wi hou any echnological o emo ional
ba ie s.
 S age IV – E alua ion: In e nal o /and ex e nal assesso s e alua e he p og ams in a o ma i e and
summa i e way, based on he Con ex , Inpu , P ocess, P oduc (CIPP) model (S u lebeam, Madaus and
Kellaghan, 2006). Cou se leade s and KEDIVIM’s managemen ecei e he o ma i e and summa i e
e alua ion esul s o imp o e aspec s o cu en and subsequen cou se i e a ions.
5.2 P inciples o Deep and Meaning ul Dis ance Li e-Long Lea ning
The s a egic ocus on quali y, deep and meaning ul lea ning and inno a ion o med impo an aspec s o he
s ages o he model, as desc ibed abo e. Mo e in dep h in o ma ion is p o ided nex .
1. Analysis, Ini ia ion & P epa a ion: Ins uc o s, u o s and aine s in he Uni e si y o Pa as’ e-Lea ning
cou ses a e expec ed o exhibi ad anced echno-pedagogical compe ences in dis ance eaching and
lea ning acco ding o he TPACK model (Koehle and Mish a, 2009). They a e expec ed o iden i y he
lea ne s’ needs and in ol e hem in he cu iculum ocus o each cou se ins ance (B in haup and
Fishe , 2011). One basic goal is o combine elemen s and ac i e lea ning echniques om h ee
gene a ions in dis ance educa ion (Ande son and D on, 2011) o con ibu e o he o ma ion o a
i ual communi y o inqui y and p ac ice (Wenge , 1998). Cou se leade s and ins uc o s ha e he
choices o (a) pa icipa e in an expe ien ial 8-week c ash-cou se on e-Lea ning cou se design,
de elopmen and eaching (Figu e 1), (b) p epa e lea ning ac i i ies, lesson plans and lead synch onous
mee ings wi h he di ec collabo a i e in ol emen and p esence o a coach, and (c) young aine s can
seek suppo and in o mal guidance o imp o e lea ning om men o s, mo e expe ienced
p ac i ione s.
2. e-Lea ning Design & De elopmen : The i e p esc ip i e cha ac e is ics o meaning ul lea ning (ac i e,
cons uc i e, in en ional, au hen ic, and coope a i e) we e he o e a ching guidelines in S age II –
S ylianos Mys akidis, Eleni Be ki and Ju i Val anen
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Cou se Design & De elopmen . Mo e speci ic, ins uc o s a e encou aged o inco po a e hese
p inciples in he ins uc ional design o new p oposed dis ance li e-long lea ning p og ams. Fi s , he
achie emen o lea ning ou comes is s uc u ed a ound ela ed ac i e lea ning ac i i ies. Passi e
lea ning and he deli e y o knowledge in i s inal o m a e discou aged. Ac i e lea ning ac i i ies
model and enhance skills and beha io s ha pa icipan s a e expec ed o p ac ice and ans e o hei
wo kplace. Ano he conscious e o is o inco po a e spaced skills epe i ion so as o imp o e
e en ion (Lo us, 1985). These ac i i ies should ha e an open dimension ha allows he ee,
con e sa ional in e p e a ion o he s udied discipline and he subsequen cons uc ion o meaning ul
a i ac s o p oduc s ha ep esen lea ne s pe sonally. The ac i i ies can be indi idual o
collabo a i e. Collabo a ion and acili a ed communica ion among pee s a e ins umen al p ocesses
o he eme gence and o ma ion o a communi y o inqui y (Rou ke and Kanuka, 2009). Mo eo e ,
e ec i e e-Lea ning design o deep and meaning ul lea ning should con ain he elemen o choice.
Lea ne s should ha e some deg ee o eedom o choose in en ionally a lea ning s a egy combining
di e en ac i i ies ha e lec hei pe sonal in e es s and goals. Finally, a conscious e o is o enable
au hen ic, ealis ic con ex s in which hese ac i i ies ake place h ough echniques such as simula ions
and case s udies.
3. Ma ke ing & Implemen a ion: Each e-Lea ning p og amme has a p elimina y pe iod o he
pa icipan s’ onboa ding p ocess. Du ing his pe iod we ake all he necessa y s eps o help lea ne s’
con idence and luency wi h all lea ning ools, pla o ms and me hods; i s , hey ecei e de ailed
ins uc ions in ex and ideo; second hey a e in i ed p io o he s a o he p og am o a end o a
leas wo es online mee ings, whe e hey ha e he oppo uni y o use all he a ailable ools and
p epa e o all upcoming ac i i ies. In case o echnical p oblems in ha s age o du ing he cou se,
hey can con ac echnical suppo pe sonnel ia email, oice o e IP sys ems o elephone.
Du ing each LLL cou se i e a ion aine s a e encou aged o conside he emo ional aspec o deep
lea ning by inc easing pa icipan s’ mo i a ion in ways ha e lec hei pe sonali y and eaching s yle,
especially in hei w i en and o al communica ion.
4. E alua ion: An in eg al pa o he quali y assu ance p ocess is he sys ema ic inqui y o he
e ec i eness o he cou se, he e alua ion o dis ance LLL cou ses (Rossi, Lipsey and F eeman, 2004).
Fo he e alua ion we used he gene al quali y indica o s ca ego ies p oposed by he Eu opean Union,
ha a e: ele ance, syne gy, compa ibili y, e ec i eness, e iciency, sus ainabili y, impac , lexibili y
(Eu opean Commission, 1999). Acco ding o he CIPP model, we e alua e h ee axes, he suppo i e
amewo k o he cou se (in as uc u e, con en , suppo , coo dina ion), aine s ( eaching
pe o mance), and cou se implemen a ion (lea ning me hods, esul s). The e alua ion akes place
du ing and a e he end o cou ses. The p inciples o deep and meaning ul lea ning a e e isi ed a e
e alua ion da a a e a ailable o s ee a p og am’s upg ade. A he end o each cou se’s i e a ion a inal
cou se epo is p oduced ha cap u es all essen ial in o ma ion and e alua ion indings. The epo
con ains lessons lea ned du ing his cou se as desc ibed in he Closing p ocess g oup in PMI’s p ojec
managemen me hodology (P ojec Managemen Ins i u e, 2008). These lessons a e en e ed as
sepa a e agged en i ies in KEDIVIM’s digi al collabo a i e knowledge base, accessible o all pe sonnel.
6. E alua ion and Assessmen P ocedu e: Resea ch Ques ions and Me hodology
In o de o assess he pe o mance o he measu emen s owa ds excellence in KEDIVIM’s e-Lea ning cou se
design and deli e y, we conduc ed a mixed esea ch s udy. The s udy aimed a answe ing he ollowing
esea ch ques ion:
How we e he pa icipan s' pe cep ions and expe iences in he Uni e si y o Pa as Dis ance LLL p og ammes
while using a blended quali y s a egy o eaching and lea ning?
The esea ch was conduc ed in wo s ages. A he i s s age, we combined da a om he o ma i e and
summa i e e alua ion o he Uni e si y o Pa as’ LLL cou ses ha KEDIVIM deli e ed om No embe 2016 o
Decembe 2018. Da a collec ion ins umen s o each cou se’s e alua ion we e: (i) anonymous online
ques ionnai es ha pa icipan s comple ed olun a ily; he o ma i e in he middle o he cou se, and he
summa i e a e i s implemen a ion, (ii) s uc u ed and semi-s uc u ed obse a ions o i ual, synch onous
and ace- o- ace mee ings. The o ma i e and summa i e e alua ion ques ionnai es consis ed o closed and
open- ype ques ions, 82 and 41 i ems in o al, espec i ely. They ea u ed 39 and 27 quali y indica o s
espec i ely (66 in o al) on all aspec s o he cou se’s design and deli e y. The quali y indica o s we e
o mula ed ei he as an o e all cou se componen (e.g. assignmen eedback) o as an indi idual ai (e.g.
The Elec onic Jou nal o e-Lea ning Volume 17 Issue 2 2019
www.ejel.o g 72 ©ACPIL
mo i a ion p o ided by a speci ic aine ) o be a ed in a scale om 1 o 5 (none, low, mode a e, e y good,
excellen ). The o ma i e ques ionnai e included also a sec ion on pa icipan s’ demog aphic da a. The da a
was analyzed bo h quan i a i ely and quali a i ely. Closed ques ions we e analyzed s a is ically while open-
ended ques ions we e u he p ocessed u ilizing con en analysis’ echniques (Cohen, Manion and Mo ison,
2007).
We collec ed and combined da a om 20 e alua ed aine s’ aining cou ses in he ield o Educa ional
Sciences wi h 372 o al pa icipan s by 16 aining pe sonnel membe s in a ious oles and wi h dis inc o
sha ed esponsibili ies. Se en o hem had no p e ious expe ience as aine s in dis ance educa ion. Each
cou se ea u ed a leas 4 aine s and had a du a ion o 8 o 16 weeks. All cou ses we e deli e ed using
blended lea ning and had o e all a comple ion a e o 85.48%. In pa icula , we analyzed 202 esponses om
he o ma i e and 176 esponses om he summa i e assessmen ques ionnai e, espec i ely. The majo i y o
he pa icipan s in his s udy we e emale (70%). As a as age is conce ned, he wo main ca ego ies we e 25-
34 yea s (54%) and 35-44 (25%). Conce ning hei le el o educa ion, almos all held a highe educa ion deg ee
(97%) while 38% had an addi ional pos g adua e deg ee. The pa icipan s had a ious backg ounds, he
s onges ep esen a ion being Humani ies (22%), Economy & Managemen (21%) and Na u al Sciences (16%).
The majo i y a e a he beginning o hei p o essional li e, wi h ze o (13%) o less han en yea s o
p o essional expe ience (54%). In his con ex , 66% cu en ly wo k while 34% a e unemployed, seeking o
en e he job ma ke . Thei main mo i a ion is he imp o emen o hei place in he job ma ke (s a ing a job,
CV imp o emen , ex a income, p omo ion). The ull p o ile o he cou se pa icipan s a e p esen ed in Figu e
1.
Figu e 1: P o ile o pa icipan s in Uni e si y o Pa as KEDIVIM LLL cou ses
<
S ylianos Mys akidis, Eleni Be ki and Ju i Val anen
www.ejel.o g 73 ISSN 1479-4403
A he second s age, in collabo a ion wi h Hellenic Open Uni e si y, we pa icipa ed in an ongoing s udy on e-
Lea ning cou ses’ pa icipan s’ iews on pee communica ion and collabo a i e lea ning o lea ning quali y
(Ba sila, 2018). The s udy pos ula es ha pee communica ion among lea ne s and ac i e lea ning me hods
such as social, collabo a i e lea ning a e ac o s ha can ha e a posi i e e ec o he quali y o dis ance LLL
p og ammes (Ossiannilsson e al., 2015). The s udy used an anonymous online ques ionnai e consis ing o
h ee sec ions; (a) demog aphics, (b) gene al iews on communica ion and collabo a i e lea ning, (c) inhibi ing
ac o s o collabo a i e lea ning. I had a o al o 36 closed ype ques ions using mainly a i e-poin Like
scale on he deg ee o ag eemen . The s udy ook place be ween Janua y and Ap il 2018. KEDIVIM’s
pa icipan s om he abo e pas cou ses we e in i ed by email o pa icipa e in he su ey in Ap il 2018, i.e. 4
o 12 mon hs a e he end o he cou ses. 66 ou o KEDIVIM’s 318 con ac ed pa icipan s comple ed
anonymously and olun a ily he online ques ionnai e. The su ey ecei ed 157 esponses in o al. Ea ly da a
analysis led o ele an indings supplemen ing he i s s age. All ques ionnai es and esponses in bo h phases
we e w i en in G eek language. The ansla ion in o English was ca ied ou by one o he au ho s.
7. Resea ch E alua ion Ou comes
7.1 Fo ma i e and summa i e e alua ion esul s
7.1.1 S a is ical analysis
Key indings on pa icipan s’ sa is ac ion on quali y om he e alua ion p ocess we e he ollowing:
1. All 20 LLL cou ses me he o e all pa icipan s’ expec a ions (cumula i e Mean=4.39; SD=.753). Also
when pa icipan s we e in i ed o a e hei o e all lea ning expe ience in a scale om 0 o 10, hei
esponses we e qui e posi i e (cumula i e Mean=8.6; SD=1.339).
2. 34 o 35 quali y indica o s conce ning o e all aspec s o he cou se (Table 1) ecei ed e y a ou able
a ings wi h a e age a ings anging om 4.25 o 4.66. Aspec s wi h he highes sa is ac ion a es we e
li e mee ings, echnical suppo , con en , assignmen use ulness, o ganiza ion.
Table 1: Main quali y indica o s conce ning he o e all aspec s o all cou ses
Quali y indica o s
Mean
S . De .
KEDIVIM’s O ganiza ion
4.42
.648
Cou se S uc u e
4.30
.734
Lea ning Ma e ial
4.46
.681
Synch onous Lea ning
4.47
.683
Asynch onous Lea ning
4.32
.763
Assignmen s Use ulness
4.48
.631
Assignmen s Feedback
4.30
.882
Technical Suppo
4.47
.752
Adminis a i e Suppo
4.45
.724
The o e all quali y indica o ha ecei ed he lowes a ing was Time Alloca ion (Mean=3.69; SD=.941). The
quali a i e analysis o open ques ions e ealed de ails in dep h.
All 31 indi idual indica o s conce ning he aine s’ pe o mance (Table 2) e ealed e y high quali y wi h
means anging om 4.48 o 4.91.
Table 2: Main quali y indica o s on indi idual aspec s o eaching pe o mance in all cou ses
Quali y indica o s
Mean
S . De .
Synch onous Lea ning T aine (SLT) Knowledge
4.83
.400
SLT Ac i e Teaching
4.79
.504
SLT T us
4.78
.522
SLT Mo i a ion
4.68
.597
Asynch onous Lea ning T aine (ASLT) Knowledge
4.66
.592
ASLT Ac i e Teaching
4.56
.700
ASLT T us
4.54
.691
ASLT Mo i a ion
4.50
.720
Obse ing he p og ess o quan i a i e esul s ac oss ime, we eco ded a s eady g adual imp o emen o
me ics especially in aine s’ pe o mance indica o s and he co esponding o e all cou se quali y indica o s.
In hei i s e o s wi h dis ance educa ion, some aine s wi hou p io expe ience, aced some di icul ies,
especially in he synch onous mode. This was e iden also in he quali a i e da a. These aine s we en’
always success ul in hei ea ly e o s o es ablish a collabo a i e cul u e o ac i e lea ning. Ano he di icul y