3.2.7.1. e-learning
Tools Integration (Technology)
In line with the FU’s decentralist traditions, individual departments started to experiment with e-learning on their own. In 1990 the FU started to publish the central lectures catalogue online, and allowed for linking of the online course materials on individual websites. To various degrees, faculty made use of the internet and published and maintained their own websites depending on personal interest.

The scenario began to change in 1994 when an entrepreneurial employee (Dr. Apostolopoulus) began to develop the e-learning services of the economics department. He assessed e-learning to be a growth sector and one which might provide splendid opportunities. In the late nineties the e-learning team was transferred to the central administration which became the institutional predecessor of the CeDiS. In 2002 CeDiS became the official e-learning and multi-media competence centre.

After a normal procurement procedure [i], the FU has opted to invest in the e-learning suite of the market leader and the solution is being spread across most departments. To introduce the new opportunities, CeDiS has made the strategic choice (and has secured the funding) to embed ‘e-learning consultants’ directly in the departments. These consultants have the assignment to raise awareness, find appropriate applications for faculty to benefit from the platform (and CeDiS services in general) and work as facilitator of content production (FU administration 58). This approach is reported to be very successful, especially because the consultants are able to develop close relationships with their clients and are not perceived as ‘change enforcers’ but rather as helpers to explain and facilitate new practices.

With impulses of the e-learning consultants, who spur and support faculty ambitions, 199 e-learning projects [ii] (see Figure ) emerged under the auspice of CeDiS (FU web).

In accordance with the entrepreneurial spirit spear headed by CeDiS’ director, many e-learning projects have either partial or complete external funding [iii] (FU administration 50, FU web). For the purpose of developing competence and fostering the application of e-learning the FU has setup a special steering committee which decides on and finances the individual projects. From 2003 to 2006 more than 1,8 Million Euro have been invested and for the yea 2007 to 2009/2010 a yearly budget of 420’000 Euro has been allocated. The e-learning steering committee is also responsible for FU’s overall strategy.

These practices are thoroughly embedded in an understanding of the CeDiS as service department (pricing all output) rather than an academic institution. The authoritative lead-entrepreneur business style of CeDiS does repel academics from the computer science department, who generally report being un-integrated in university IT decisions (FU faculty 53).

Current Practices (Use Cases)
There is a special e-learning programme setup for FU freshmen, which consists of a selection of info-material about the administrative and communal services, about the process and procedures during the careers, as well as some tutorials for the FU’s e-learning platform and its functionalities. The “Working Group Market” (WGM) deserves special mention, because it provides an internet based knowledge opportunity to FU students. The WGM is an easy to use bulletin board, where students can post and search for peers who are studying the same subjects and are interested in creating a learning community. Usage is assessed to be only medium, but has potential to increase with the growing utilization of e-learning.

In the ‘normal’ educational practice some courses (especially in the new master programs) have up to 35% of the learning and assessment done through the e-learning suite (FU administration 44).

Biased-expectations regarding discipline characteristic usage patterns have not been fulfilled (See Figure 2). Very interesting is the very high percentage of social science courses (especially the Regional Institutes) using the e-learning platform. This result suggests that the natural sciences (except geography) like the computer sciences are still running independent solutions.

While all disciplines report to use the internet as an indispensable tool, philosophers in particular feel a revolution in basic email communication. They are also encouraged by the subsequent possibilities to tele-collaborate on a text and by thusly making their own works widely available (FU faculty 29.) Economics professors are making more extended use of the possibilities to structure courses, to provide reading lists and in some cases to have tests (FU faculty 30); and as described above, the computer sciences had already experimented with e-learning and have decided not to use the central platform. Instead, as within IT the study of hard- and software is their principal learning and research interest, the IT department experiment with various tailor-made solutions, many times on an individual basis (FU faculty 31).

From the many projects CeDiS implements in addition to the general e-learning platform the “Statistic Laboratory” (SL) is also mentioned, because it provides a highly successful innovative knowledge assessment practice. The SL is one of the first initiatives (1995) CeDiS got engaged in and was developed in a succession of several projects. It aims at developing a holistic e-learning software for statistics education and now a functioning suite has been provided including the provision for a computer based final exam (FU web).

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[i] The official version is an objective evaluation and bidding process (FU 69), while the un-official version tells that leadership had set clear preferences and the results were accordingly (FU 70).

[ii] The following data regarding the CeDiS is from May 2007

[iii] Mostly as part of one considerable big grant from the German Education and Research Ministry (FUeL) to foster e-learning at the FU.

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