‘e-stablishing a Learning Society’

The Use of the Internet to Attract Adults to Lifelong Learning in Wales

Sara Williams, Stephen Gorard and Neil Selwyn

Paper presented at the British Educational Research Association Annual Conference, Cardiff University, September 7-10 2000

Introduction

The Internet is currently being presented as a panacea to many of society’s problems; not least in the field of education. Alongside the rise of ‘e-commerce’, ‘e-health’ and even ‘e-democracy’, the Internet has recently been positioned as a potential saviour of lifelong learning and adult education (e.g. Harasim et al. 1995, Heppell & Ramondt 1998, Walker 1998). Moreover, in negating geographical barriers of proximity and distance, the Internet has been seen as especially relevant to lifelong learning in dispersed rural areas such as Wales. Indeed, some authors reason that the Internet is of particular utility in Wales given the country’s traditionally limited geographic and physical infrastructure:

“Such infrastructure is thus seen as a hindrance to, even the cause of, the fragmented culture that is Wales. But whereas newspaper distribution follows road and rail routes (and the vast majority of newspapers consumed in Wales are produced in England), with the Internet such physical links become irrelevant” (Mackay & Powell 1997, p.204)

In policy terms the educational role of the Internet, and information and communications technology (ICT) in general, has been reflected throughout the recent UK government drive to establish a ‘learning age’ (DfEE 1998). This has involved initiatives such as the ‘learndirect’ and ‘University for Industry’ programmes as well as more localised projects such as the Welsh ‘Coleg Digidol’ (Digital College). All these initiatives have been specifically established as technology-based brokers for increasing participation in adult learning; directing potential learners to existing provision and providing new learning opportunities via the Internet and other telecommunications technology (UfI 1998, Digital College 1998).

However, despite the rhetoric and enthusiasm surrounding such initiatives, the use of technology to attract adults to lifelong learning is only now beginning to be implemented on a widespread basis. Thus much of the technologically-based vision of the learning society remains, as yet, empirically unproven. This paper, therefore, focuses on the efforts being made in Wales to establish the Coleg Digidol (Digital College) as a gateway for learning opportunities; in particular, by examining the early use of the Internet in attracting adult learners in Wales and promoting the on-line learning of the Welsh language.

The Emergence of a ‘Digital College’ for Wales

Originating from two of the three dominant television broadcasters in Wales (BBC Wales and S4C - the Welsh Fourth Channel), the concept of an ICT-based adult learning programme in the principality was first considered in 1994. By 1997 it was then announced that a ‘Digital College’ would be established as a technologically-based centre for adult learning in Wales with an emphasis on extending learning opportunities through digital television broadcasts and the Internet (Digital College 1998). Indeed, reflecting its broadcasting origins, these proposals for a Digital College had a distinct emphasis on the use of telecommunications technology for the delivery of learning materials. Although other media such as the telephone and fax, paper-based materials and ‘learning centres’ were seen as integral parts of the programme, the use of new technologies such as digital television and the Internet were considered to be fundamental to the successful implementation of the Digital College:

“Anyone interested in learning new skills – vocational or non-vocational would be able to benefit and exciting and effective access procedures would be put in place to attract and support traditionally non-participating groups such as the young unemployed and adult returners” (Digital College 1998, p.15)

As this quote suggests, the fulcrum of the Coleg Digidol is the use of ‘exciting and effective’ technology-based access procedures to first attract learners and then provide continuing support. Although this technological thrust is envisaged to include the use of Digital Television, most initial development has focused on the use of the Internet. Thus, since 1998, Internet-based materials have been produced aiming to attract potential ‘recruits’ to the Digital College as well as providing a wider ‘teleprescence’ for the initiative.

To date the Coleg Digidol has been primarily a business concern, with most of the organisation’s initial efforts being directed towards securing financial and commercial backing (Digital College 1998). However, the Coleg Digidol has been active in developing its Welsh language provision, most notably via the associated Acen On-line for Welsh Learners project. Acen (translated as ‘Accent’) began in 1989 as a scheme within S4C to teach Welsh to adults through the production of a series of television programmes. With a mission statement of ‘Yn gwasanaethu dysgwyr y Gymraeg’/‘Serving Welsh learners’ Acen is now responsible for providing Welsh language learning provision through residential and workplace-based courses, conventional reading materials, television subtitles and the provision of Web services for Welsh language learners. Most significantly, the Acen web-site, Acen On-line for Welsh Learners, is the only Internet-based learning provider as yet supported by the Coleg Digidol; reflecting both parties’ close links with the Welsh television companies and Welsh language organisations.

Aims & Questions

Although the Coleg Digidol and the Acen on-line programme are still in early stages of implementation it is possible to begin to examine the role of the Internet in providing effective access procedures to adult learning and, moreover, gain a sense of who such methods are attracting and what learners are beginning to use the Internet for. Thus, in particular this paper now asks the following questions:

·  How is the ‘Acen On-line for Welsh Learners’ being presented on the Internet? What features of the Internet are being used to attract adult learners and what content is currently being made available?

·  When and what are learners using the ‘Acen On-line for Welsh Learners’ web-site for? How do patterns of usage correspond with existing patterns of Internet usage and reaching ‘non-traditional’ adult learners

·  Who is accessing Welsh language learning via the Internet and how does usage of the Acen site reflect the Digital College’s overall goals of extending participation beyond those social groups already engaged in learning?

Methods

Analysis of Internet usage can only ever claim to be transitory, since any study pertaining to measure Internet activity is invariably outdated as soon as it is completed. As Mitra & Cohen (1999, p.180) argue, “given the dynamic of WWW use, with its rapid changes and the on-going addition of innumerable users, any analysis of WWW yields conflicting results”. Nevertheless, in providing a ‘snapshot’ or even a longitudinal indication of learners’ use of the Acen on-line web-site we can go some way to identifying emerging patterns and trends. Moreover, in the case of ‘mapping’ educational use of the Internet we can begin to examine whether or not the Internet is beginning to be used in ways consistent with the claims and hopes of virtual educators.

As Mitra & Cohen (1999) point out, there are two broad approaches to analysing the world-wide web. Firstly, are the increasingly popular methods of examining the people who are using the web. Thus there are a burgeoning number of ‘rating’ studies attempting to empirically analyse levels of use and, to a lesser extent, the behaviour of users once on-line (e.g. Patrick & Black 1997). Secondly, there is also an emerging literature focusing on the content of the web (e.g. Stern 1999, Miller 1996, Chandler 1999). This approach is rooted in a textual or content analysis tradition and focuses more on the web as text rather than as human activity. Together both these approaches begin to form a more coherent picture of how the Internet is beginning to be used in society. Thus the present study adopts both a user-based and content-based analysis of the Coleg Digidol web-site.

Content-Based Methodology

In analysing the content of the world-wide web we are interested in the text of the Internet, referring to both the written word and the many other visual and aural multimedia features that the Internet offers. In doing so, we are therefore interested in both the content of the text and how the text presents information. However, as Mitra & Cohen (1999, p.198) reason, on-line content analysis poses additional challenges:

“The WWW text poses a unique analytical challenge because of its characteristics. An analyst is confronted with a textual form that has many elements of the traditional text and is thus open to analysis with time-tested tools … However, independent of the critical approach used, there is a set of fundamental concerns about the uniqueness of the text that needs to be addressed. These are issues related to the specificity of the text – its inherent intertextuality, its lack of centre, its volume, its multimedianess, its international scope, and the resulting altered sense of authorship”

As this quote suggests, any analysis of on-line text therefore requires consideration of its many features. To this end, Mitra & Cohen (1999) suggest a three-layered approach focusing on:

·  The formal aspects of the text, such as its semiotics and structure, thus uncovering the way it is constructed

·  The texts’ interconnectedness, thus recognising the intertextuality of hypertext

·  The role of the reader(s) in giving the text meaning, thus recognising the non-linearity of hypertext and the role of the reader as writer

User-Based Methodology

In attempting to measure the ‘popularity’ of a site, most studies offer analyses of the number of visits or ‘hits’ to sites as a surrogate method of citation. Although, indicative of web-site activity such data are, at best, ambiguous given the non-equability of hits or visits with different users. In other words, it is not possible to assess whether a large number of visits to a site are the result of numerous accesses from a small group of users or single accesses from a large group of users. Thus, although useful data, it can be misleading to solely equate the number of visits or hits with individual users. Nevertheless, it is possible to complement ‘hit’ data with other forms of cross-referential statistics. Firstly, many educational sites require regular users to officially register with sites in order to gain passwords and full access to the site. The nature of such registration data vary but may include location, status, age, gender and motivation for using the site. A third proxy measure of the popularity of a web-site is the number of ‘links’ to and from a site; thus how well ‘connected’ the site is within the world-wide web. As Mitra & Cohen (1999, p.193) reason, “WWW pages gain their meaning and purpose from the interconnectedness designated by the[ir] links”. Thus mapping out the connections between the pages of a web-site, both internally and externally, can provide another means of assessing the status of a web-site.

From this background, the following methods of inquiry were used for the user-based analysis of the Acen On-line Welsh Learning site.

·  A cumulative log file record for the Acen web-site covering an six month period from 1st August 1999 to the 1st February 2000. Such logs, maintained by Acen themselves, cover who was visiting the site (via individual Internet addresses); when they came (in terms of month/week/day/hour/minute/second level data); where they came from; what aspects of the site were being used and what software (and often hardware) they were using.

·  User registration data from the Acen web-site covering registered users’ location, occupation, age and motivations for using the site

·  The construction of a ‘web-map’ of the site providing a visual and numeric map of the connections between the texts

Results

The Content of the Acen On-line Welsh Learning Web-site

Just as any analysis of Internet usage is by its very nature transitory, so too is the analysis of the content of specific web-sites. It is therefore important to note that this section presents a content analysis of the ‘Acen On-line Welsh’ web-site at the time of writing. This point is of particular resonance in view of the fact that the Acen On-line Welsh web-site is in its infancy and is subject to ongoing development. Nevertheless, the Acen On-line Welsh learning web-pages are presented as a service that has been ‘especially established for adult Welsh learners who wish to actually study the modern Welsh language on-line through multi-media experiences’ (Acen 1999, emphasis added). This section there focuses upon the extent to which the web-site delivers its promise of providing learning opportunities through ‘multi-media experiences’, and how it differs to more traditional texts aimed at teaching Welsh.

i)  First steps – Registering with the Acen On-line Welsh course

In order to use the ‘Welsh On-line’ web-site, the individual learner must first register. Although during the first six months of the initiative learners could register free of charge, all new users are now required to supply either their credit card details or their company details if their employer is paying for their participation on the course. Those on low incomes may apply for an Acen trust grant upon presentation of written evidence of their low-income status. Thus from April 2000 a registration fee of £9.95 has been implemented, and users are thereon be charged a membership fee of £14.95 per month. When the user completes the course or chooses to terminate their membership, a further £9.95 is charged by way of a termination fee. Registrants must agree to Acen’s conditions, mainly concerned with the protection of on-line material and secrecy of passwords. Registration is dealt with in a series of pages in which the registration details are explained and an on-line proforma is completed by the applicant giving their personal and financial details. All these pages are sparsely presented with standard Windows text-boxes and minimum embellishment. Once registered, similar pages can then be accessed detailing the learners’ account. When a user terminates their account with Acen they are required to fill in another online proforma giving details such as their main reason for un-subscribing and suggestions for improving the service.

ii)  Units of Learning

Once registered as a learner the main body of the On-line Welsh course is structured into conversational topic areas or ‘units’. At the time of writing, although six units were listed, only four were fully operational. Nonetheless, Acen were aiming to extend the number of units offered to 72 by the end of 2000. The four working units covered the areas of ‘greeting and introducing yourself’; ‘discussing work and the workplace’; ‘discussing where you live’; and ‘discussing going places’. Each unit of learning is subdivided into ten separate sections: