e-learning readiness - Asia Pacific Region - Open University Malaysia

addition, almost two-thirds of the organisations also claimed to recognisequalifications obtained via E-learning.TABLE 3. Policy Makers’ Perceptions of Management ReadinessDescriptionYesn(%)Non(%)Institution has avision/mission on E-learning74(72.5)26(25.5)Missingvaluen(%)2(2.0)TotalN(%)102(100)Institution has formulatedpolicies62(60.8)38(37.2)2(2.0)102(100)Institution recognisesqualifications obtained viaE-learning65(63.7)31(30.4)6(5.9)102(100)Although most of the policy makers feel that their organisations are readyat the management level, they were generally less optimistic about thereadiness of their personnel (see Table 4). Table 4 shows that almost 60percent of the organisations already have teams set up to implement E-learning, as opposed to 39.2 percent who do not. However, not all thoseteams appear to be supported by expertise in instructional design, as lessthan half (46.1 percent) of the institutions claimed to have teams ofdedicated instructional designers. Only about half (55.3 percent) theinstitutions have central units specifically for developing E-learninginitiatives; 41.7 percent have no such units. A similar division can beobserved between organisations with staff development plans for E-learning in place (56.9 percent) versus those without plans (41.2 percent)for E-learning. Concern over the lack of support for personnel issubstantiated by qualitative data in the form of policy makers’ responsesto the open-ended questionnaire items, in which they noted theunavailability of a central, focused source of support and the need forsomeone to spearhead and direct E-learning efforts at the organisationallevel.In terms of technical readiness, the data in Table 5 show that a largenumber of institutions are already using Intranet (85.3 percent) andInternet (91.2 percent) to run their daily operations. These institutions(77.5 percent) have also invested in broadband facilities. However, only37.3 percent use a Learning Management System (LMS) to deliver E-learning programmes.The data in Table 6 indicate the extent of environmental readiness for E-learning. According to two-thirds of the policy makers, governmentpolicies and mass media play a role in stimulating their interest inexploring E-learning. The majority (85.3 percent) of policy makersJoint Study by MEWC and OUM 17