This document summarizes a presentation by Dr. Narimane Hadj-Hamou on defining excellence in online education. The presentation discusses how excellence is defined, challenges to defining excellence, and frameworks for assessing excellence such as the MeLQ framework developed jointly by HBMEU and scil. It also covers how online education is redefining concepts like learning, universities, and learners' roles. Challenges to defining excellence include lack of standards, research, and awareness. Defining excellence requires long-term strategy, community engagement, and collaborative research across institutions.

1. Dr. Narimane Hadj-Hamou
Assistant Chancellor for Academic Development. HBMEU, Dubai
President of the Middle East e-LearningAssociation
The 6th EDENWorkshop: User Generated Content Assessment –
EnhancingTransparency and Quality
24th - 27th of October, 2010
Budapest, Hungary

2. This Presentation Covers:
 What is Excellence?
Who defines Excellence?
 Pillars of Excellence
Challenges and the Way Forward
 The MeLQ Framework
Defining Excellence in Online Education

3.  Excellence is the state or quality of excelling.
 It is superiority, or the state of being good to a high
degree.
 It describes the furthest end of the quality spectrum. When
we think of excellence, we think of an outstanding aspect, a
model of its kind - the very best there is
 Excellence is perceived to be a value.

4. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not
an act, but a habit.
Aristotle (384 – 322 BC)

5. Visioning
Planning
Executing
Impacting

7. A
O
I
S
D
I
R
E Assessing
Excellence
P
D
C
A
PDCA
Plan
Do
Check
Act
DIRE
Developing
Implementing
Renewing
Enhancing
AOIS
Adopting
Optimising
Innovating
Sustaining

8. Plan
Do
Check
Act
Developing
Renewing
Enhancing
Implementing
Adopting
Optimising
Innovating
Sustaining
DrivingQuality Improvement
Growing Quality Capability
Attaining Excellence Standards
Road to Excellence
TheTriple Loop Approach

9.  Governmental bodies (i.e. education
departments, MOE, MOHE)
 Academic Institutions (senior
management)
 Learners
 Parents
 Employers
 Faculty and Staff members

10.  Curriculum/ Content & Materials
 Virtual Learning Environments
 Learners’ Engagement
 Learners’ Assessment
 Learners’ Support
 Faculty and Staff Qualification
 Institutional Leadership
 Resources Allocations

11. Plan
DoCheck
Act
(Generic) approaches to
plan quality
Best- and
good practise
examples/guidelines
benchmarking
Quality certification
and accreditation
Meeting Excellence
(competitions)
Quality awards

12. Dieter Euler, 2010
Plan
DoCheck
Act
Holistic
Integrated
Specific
Unintegrated
TQM
Medida Prix
AACSB
EQUIS
A-MBA
ASTD
ISO 9001ff.
PAS 1032
Quality on
the line
Digita
Sloan-C™
Awards
ZfU
ODLQC
NIeL
Institute for
IT Training
ADEC
QAACEL

13. What is it Really About?

14. Re-defining the Shape of Institution

15. "Someday, in the distant future, our
grandchildren's grandchildren will
develop a new equivalent of our
classrooms. They will spend many hours
in front of boxes with fires glowing
within. May they have the wisdom to
know the difference between light and
knowledge."
(427-347 BC)Plato

16. An open system is a system that
regularly exchanges feedback
with its external environment.
Open systems are systems, so
inputs, processes, outputs,
goals, assessment and
evaluation, and learning are all
important.
Adapted from “Field Guide to Consulting and Organizational Development”

17. A modern university, or
"multiversity," has to operate as a
part of society, no longer as an
ivory tower apart from it.
1911-2003
Former UC Berkeley President Clark Kerr

18. Re-defining Learning itself

19. training is something that is
done to someone. learning is
something that one does

20. Being told
Deductive
(linear)
Don’t know:
won’t try
Discovery,
experimentation
Bricolage & judgment
(lateral)
Don’t know:
link, lurk, try
~John Seely Brown

21.  teaching
 delivering answers
 directed learning
 instruction
 conveying knowledge
 educating technical
problem-solver
 creating instructional media
 learning
 facilitating problem-solving
 self-regulated learning
 collaboration
 sharing ideas
 educating
reflective practioners
 creating social spaces
Traditional society … Knowledge society …

22. Source: Bransford, Brown & Cocking (1999)
Organized
knowledge
structure
Social
embeddedness
(learning
community)
Formative
assessment
(feedback)
Focus on
learner
(active
learning)

23. "If we don't focus on the experience
dimension of learning, we run the
risk of mistaking the publishing of
information for learning and
training"
Elliott Masie

24. Learner
Internet
Instructor
Classes
Learning
Communities
Library
Other
Universities
Companies
Chat Videoconference
Email Website
Online
Databases
Web
Email
Website
Resources
Chat
Email
Online
Databases
Web Site
Chat
New Learning Paradigm...

25. Re-defining the Learning Environment

26. Distance learning is a more
general term that includes e-
Learning.
It is any formal educational
process in which the majority of
instruction
and learning takes place with the
student and instructor physically
separate from one another. Distance Education in 1960s

27. Re-defining the Learning Environment
E-learning is not just
“e-Training – it is the synergy of
information-on demand,
multimedia communication,
instruction, the discovery and
exploration that interactively
engages the learner with
greater learning opportunity.
Richard Otto
Cognitive Design Solutions

30. Re-defining the Role of the Learner and
Instructor

31. “The illiterate of the 21st
century will not be those who
cannot read and write, but
those who cannot learn,
unlearn, and relearn.”
AlvinToffler
“The illiterate of the future
will not be the person who
cannot read. It will be the
person who does not know
how to learn .”

33. Re-defining How Learners are supported

35. Re-defining the Future ….

37. Shopping is
essential
Supermarkets
are not

38. Banking is
Essential –
Banks are
not

39. Healthcare is
Essential –
Hospitals are
not

40. Learning is
Essential –
Universities
and Schools
are not

41.  Lack of recognition of e-learning in many countries=
absence of standards
 Lack of differentiation between quality standards in e-
learning and conventional education
 Global versus contextualized standards
 Difficulties in selecting appropriate quality
approaches
 Lack of research and exchange of practices in some
regions of the world

42. Sometimes what counts
can't be counted and
what can be counted
doesn't count!

43.  Long term strategy and policy formulation
 Community interaction – raising awareness
 Effective practices organization and dissemination
 Institutional competency building
 Collaborative research work around e-learning quality
framework
 Partnerships and Special Interest Groups –
Communities of Inquiry

44. Jointly Developed by

45. A joint research project between HBMeU and scil.
It addresses the distinctive needs of HE and Corporate sector
It is built around quality improvement practices.
It considers various stakeholders’ views
It considers the particularities and the context of the MENA
region.
It is multi-dimensional approach that covers educational,
organisational, technological, and economic challenges that
arise when implementing e-learning.

47. StrategicDimension
Institutional Mission &
Strategy
Target Population
Faculty & Staff
Development
Learning&Teaching
Dimension
Teaching & Learning
Approaches
Learning Outcomes
Learners’ Interaction
Learners’ Assessment &
Feedback
Instructional design
Program/ Course
Review
Organizational
Dimensions
Information to prospect
learners’
Intuitional effectiveness
Responsiveness to
needs
Learners’ Services
ChangeDimension
Stakeholders’ perception
of change
Workload, compensation
matters
Ownership and IP
Philosophy of change
EconomicalDimension
Resources Availability
Cost Effectiveness/ROIs
Risk Management
Technological
Dimensions
E-Learning Tools and
Infrastructures
IT Strategies
Accessibility & Usability
Content Reusability
Information security &
data discovery

48. Narimane Hadj-
Hamou

50. MeLQ Governance Framework
Best Practices Board
Provide feedback on certification
process & quality framework
International Awarding
Body
Awards the quality certification
Supervisory Board
Setup the certification process and
monitors the progress of the quality
system
Research Unit
Conduct ResearchActivities to further
the development of the quality
framework
MeLQ Governance
Executive Office
Position & promote theQA framework
MeLQ and manage the day to day
operations of the office

51. Dr. Narimane Hadj-Hamou
Assistant Chancellor for Academic Development. HBMEU, Dubai
President of the Middle East e-Learning Association
n.hadjhamou@hbmeu.ac.ae