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Advances in E-Learning:
Experiences and Methodologies

Francisco J. García Peñalvo

University of Salamanca, Spain

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Advances in e-learning : experiences and methodologies / Francisco José García-Peñalvo, editor.

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Summary: “This book explores the technical, pedagogical, methodological, tutorial, legal, and emotional aspects of e-learning, considering
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lifelong learning tool for scholars in both academic and professional spheres”--Provided by publisher.

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1. Internet in education. 2. Continuing education--Computer-assisted instruction. I. García-Peñalvo, Francisco José.

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Table of Contents

Preface . ............................................................................................................................................... xiv

Acknowledgment . ............................................................................................................................. xxii

Chapter I
RAPAD: A Reflective and Participatory Methodology for E-Learning and
Lifelong Learning .................................................................................................................................. 1
Ray Webster, Murdoch University, Australia

Chapter II
A Heideggerian View on E-Learning . .................................................................................................. 30
Sergio Vasquez Bronfman, ESCP-EAP (European School of Management), France

Chapter III
Philosophical and Epistemological Basis for Building a Quality Online Training
Methodology ......................................................................................................................................... 46
Antonio Miguel Seoane Pardo, Universidad de Salamanca, Spain
Francisco José García Peñalvo, Universidad de Salamanca, Spain

Chapter IV
E-Mentoring: An Extended Practice, An Emerging Discipline ........................................................... 61
Angélica Rísquez, University of Limerick, Ireland

Chapter V
Training Teachers for E-Learning, Beyond ICT Skills Towards Lifelong Learning
Requirements: A Case Study ................................................................................................................ 83
Olga Díez, CEAD Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain

Chapter VI
The Role of Institutional Factors in the Formation of E-Learning Practices . ..................................... 96
Ruth Halperin, London School of Economics, UK
Chapter VII
E-Learning Value and Student Experiences: A Case Study ................................................................ 112
Krassie Petrova, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand
Rowena Sinclair, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand

Chapter VIII
Integrating Technology and Research in Mathematics Education:
The Case of E-Learning ...................................................................................................................... 132
Giovannina Albano, Università di Salerno, Italy
Pier Luigi Ferrari, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Italy

Chapter IX
AI Techniques for Monitoring Student Learning Process .................................................................. 149
David Camacho, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Spain
Álvaro Ortigosa, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Spain
Estrella Pulido, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Spain
María D. R-Moreno, Universidad de Alcalá, Spain

Chapter X
Knowledge Discovery from E-Learning Activities............................................................................. 173
Addisson Salazar, Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Spain
Luis Vergara, Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Spain

Chapter XI
Swarm-Based Techniques in E-Learning: Methodologies and Experiences....................................... 199
Sergio Gutiérrez, University Carlos III of Madrid, Spain
Abelardo Pardo, University Carlos III of Madrid, Spain

Chapter XII
E-Learning 2.0: The Learning Community......................................................................................... 213
Luisa M. Regueras, University of Valladolid, Spain
Elena Verdú, University of Valladolid, Spain
María A. Pérez, University of Valladolid, Spain
Juan Pablo de Castro, University of Valladolid, Spain
María J. Verdú, University of Valladolid, Spain

Chapter XIII
Telematic Environments and Competition-Based Methodologies:
An Approach to Active Learning......................................................................................................... 232
Elena Verdú, University of Valladolid, Spain
Luisa M. Regueras, University of Valladolid, Spain
María J. Verdú, University of Valladolid, Spain
Juan Pablo de Castro, University of Valladolid, Spain
María A. Pérez, University of Valladolid, Spain
Chapter XIV
Open Source LMS Customization: A Moodle Statistical Control Application.................................... 250
Miguel Ángel Conde, Universidad de Salamanca, Spain
Carlos Muñoz Martín, CLAY Formación Internacional, Spain
Alberto Velasco Florines, CLAY Formación Internacional, Spain

Chapter XV
Evaluation and Effective Learning: Strategic Use of E-Portfolio as an Alternative
Assessment at University . .................................................................................................................. 264
Nuria Hernández, Universidad de Oviedo, Spain

Chapter XVI
Formative Online Assessment in E-Learning...................................................................................... 279
Izaskun Ibabe, University of the Basque Country, Spain
Joana Jauregizar, Quality Evaluation and Certification Agency of the Basque University System,
Spain

Chapter XVII
Designing an Online Assessment in E-Learning................................................................................. 301
María José Rodríguez-Conde, Universidad de Salamanca, Spain

Chapter XVIII
Quality Assessment of E-Facilitators................................................................................................... 318
Evelyn Gullett, U21Global Graduate School for Global Leaders, Singapore

Chapter XIX
E-QUAL: A Proposal to Measure the Quality of E-Learning Courses . ............................................. 329
Célio Gonçalo Marques, Instituto Politécnico de Tomar, Portugal
João Noivo, Universidade do Minho, Portugal

Compilation of References ............................................................................................................... 350

About the Contributors .................................................................................................................... 386

Index.................................................................................................................................................... 394
Detailed Table of Contents

Preface . ............................................................................................................................................... xiv

Acknowledgment . ............................................................................................................................. xxii

Chapter I
RAPAD: A Reflective and Participatory Methodology for E-Learning and
Lifelong Learning .................................................................................................................................. 1
Ray Webster, Murdoch University, Australia

This chapter introduces RAPAD, a reflective and participatory methodology for e-learning and lifelong
learning. It argues that by engaging in a reflective and participatory design process for a personalized e-
learning environment, individual students can attain a conceptual change in understanding the learning and
e-learning process, especially their own. Students use a framework provided by the concept of a personal
cognitive or learning profile and the design and development of a personalized e-learning environment
(PELE) to engage with key aspects of their learning. This results in Flexible Student Alignment, a process
by which students are better able to match their learning and e-learning characteristics and requirements
to the practices, resources, and structures of universities in the emerging knowledge society. The use
of Web-based technologies and personal reflection ensure that RAPAD is well-placed to be an adaptive
methodology which continues to enhance the process of lifelong learning.

Chapter II
A Heideggerian View on E-Learning . .................................................................................................. 30
Sergio Vasquez Bronfman, ESCP-EAP (European School of Management), France

This chapter introduces some ideas of the German philosopher Martin Heidegger and how they can be
applied to e-learning design. It argues that heideggerian thinking (in particular the interpretation done
by Hubert Dreyfus) can inspire innovations in e-learning design and implementation by putting practice
at the center of knowledge creation, which in the case of professional and corporate education are real
work situations. It also points out the limits of distance learning imposed by the nature of human beings.
Furthermore, the author hope that Heidegger ideas will not only inform researchers of a better design
for e-learning projects, but also illuminate practitioners on how to design e-learning courses aimed at
bridging the gap between “knowing” and “doing.”
Chapter III
Philosophical and Epistemological Basis for Building a Quality Online Training
Methodology ......................................................................................................................................... 46
Antonio Miguel Seoane Pardo, Universidad de Salamanca, Spain
Francisco José García Peñalvo, Universidad de Salamanca, Spain

This chapter outlines the problem of laying the groundwork for building a suitable online training
methodology. In the first place, it points out that most e-learning initiatives are developed without a
defined method or an appropriate strategy. It then critically analyzes the role of the constructivist model
in relation to this problem, affirming that this explanatory framework is not a method and describing
the problems to which this confusion gives rise. Finally, it proposes a theoretical and epistemological
framework of reference for building this methodology based on Greek paideía. The authors propose that
the search for a reference model such as the one developed in ancient Greece will allow us to develop
a method based on the importance of a teaching profile “different” from traditional academic roles and
which we call “tutor.” It has many similarities to the figures in charge of monitoring learning both in
Homeric epic and Classical Greece.

Chapter IV
E-Mentoring: An Extended Practice, An Emerging Discipline ........................................................... 61
Angélica Rísquez, University of Limerick, Ireland

This chapter integrates existing literature and developments on electronic mentoring to build a constructive
view of this modality of mentoring as a qualitatively different concept from its traditional face-to-face
version. The concept of e-mentoring is introduced by looking first into the evasive notion of mentoring.
Next, some salient e-mentoring experiences are identified. The chapter goes on to note the differences
between electronic and face-to-face mentoring, and how the relationship between mentor and mentee
is modified by technology in unique and definitive ways. Readers are also presented with a collection
of best practices on design, implementation, and evaluation of e-mentoring programs. Finally, some
practice and research trends are proposed. In conclusion, the author draws an elemental distinction
between both modalities of mentoring, which defines e-mentoring as more than the defective alternative
to face-to-face contact.

Chapter V
Training Teachers for E-Learning, Beyond ICT Skills Towards Lifelong Learning
Requirements: A Case Study ................................................................................................................ 83
Olga Díez, CEAD Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain

This chapter describes an experience in teacher training for e-learning in the field of adult education. It
takes into account the models offered by flexible life long learning as the proper way to develop training
for teachers in service, considering the advantages of blended learning for the target audience. The chapter
discusses the balance between mere ICT skills and pedagogical competences. In this context the learning
design should always allow that the teachers in training integrate in their work ICT solutions that fit to
the didactic objectives, renew teaching and learning methodology, facilitate communication, give place
to creativity, and allow pupils to learn at their own pace. By doing so, they will be closer to the profile
of a tutor online, as a practitioner that successfully takes advantages of the virtual environments for
collaborative work and learning communication

Chapter VI
The Role of Institutional Factors in the Formation of E-Learning Practices . ..................................... 96
Ruth Halperin, London School of Economics, UK6

This chapter explores institutional and socio-organisational factors that influence the adoption and use
of learning management systems (LMS) in the context of higher education. It relies on a longitudinal
case study to demonstrate the ways in which a set of institutional and organisational factors were drawn
into the formation and shaping of e-learning practices. Factors found to figure predominantly include
institutional conventions and standards, pre-existing activities and routines, existing resources available to
the institution, and, finally, the institution’s organisational culture. The analysis further shows that socio-
organisational factors may influence e-learning implementation in various ways, as they both facilitate
and hinder the adoption of technology and its consequent use. It is argued that institutional parameters
have particular relevance in the context of hybrid modes of e-learning implementation, as they illuminate
the tensions involved in integrating technological innovation into an established system.

Chapter VII
E-Learning Value and Student Experiences: A Case Study ................................................................ 112
Krassie Petrova, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand
Rowena Sinclair, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand

This chapter focuses on understanding how the value of student learning and the student learning
experience could be improved given pertinent environmental and academic constraints of an e-learning
case. Believing that a better understanding of student behaviour might help course design, the chapter
revisits the outcomes of two studies of e-learning and analyses them further using a framework which
conceptualises the value of e-learning from a stakeholder perspective. The main objective of the chapter
is to identify some of the important issues and trends related to the perceived e-learning value. The
analysis of the emerging and future trends indicates that in the future blending of e-learning and face-to-
face learning is likely to occur not only along the pedagogical, but also along the technological and the
organizational dimensions of e-learning. Therefore, new blended learning and teaching models should
emphasise further the alignment of learning with work/life balance.

Chapter VIII
Integrating Technology and Research in Mathematics Education:
The Case of E-Learning ...................................................................................................................... 132
Giovannina Albano, Università di Salerno, Italy
Pier Luigi Ferrari, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Italy

This chapter is concerned with the integration of research in mathematics education and e-learning. We
provide an overview of research on learning processes related to the use of technology and a sketch
of constructive and cooperative methods and their feasibility in an e-learning platform. Moreover, we
introduce a framework for dealing with language and representations to interpret students’ behaviours
and show examples of teaching activities. Finally some opportunities for future research are outlined.
We hope to contribute to overcome the current separation between technology and educational research,
as their joint use can provide matchless opportunities for dealing with most of the learning problems
related to mathematical concepts as well as to linguistic, metacognitive, and noncognitive factors.

Chapter IX
AI Techniques for Monitoring Student Learning Process .................................................................. 149
David Camacho, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Spain
Álvaro Ortigosa, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Spain
Estrella Pulido, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Spain
María D. R-Moreno, Universidad de Alcalá, Spain

The evolution of new information technologies has originated new possibilities to develop pedagogical
methodologies that provide the necessary knowledge and skills in the higher education environment.
These technologies are built around the use of Internet and other new technologies, such as virtual
education, distance learning, and long-life learning. This chapter focuses on several traditional artificial
intelligence (AI) techniques, such as automated planning and scheduling, and how they can be applied
to pedagogical and educational environments. The chapter describes both the main issues related to
AI techniques and e-learning technologies, and how long-life learning processes and problems can be
represented and managed by using an AI-based approach.

Chapter X
Knowledge Discovery from E-Learning Activities............................................................................. 173
Addisson Salazar, Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Spain
Luis Vergara, Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Spain

This chapter presents a study applied to the analysis of the utilization of learning Web-based resources
in a virtual campus. A huge amount of historical Web log data from e-learning activities, such as e-mail
exchange, content consulting, forum participation, and chats is processed using a knowledge discovery
approach. Data mining techniques as clustering, decision rules, independent component analysis, and
neural networks, are used to search for structures or patterns in the data. The results show the detection of
learning styles of the students based on a known educational framework, and useful knowledge of global
and specific content on academic performance success and failure. From the discovered knowledge, a
set of preliminary academic management strategies to improve the e-learning system is outlined.

Chapter XI
Swarm-Based Techniques in E-Learning: Methodologies and Experiences....................................... 199
Sergio Gutiérrez, University Carlos III of Madrid, Spain
Abelardo Pardo, University Carlos III of Madrid, Spain

This chapter provides an overview of the use of swarm-intelligence techniques in the field of e-learning.
Swarm intelligence is an artificial intelligence technique inspired by the behavior of social insects. Taking
into account that the Internet connects a high number of users with a negligible delay, some of those
techniques can be combined with sociology concepts and applied to e-learning. The chapter analyzes
several of such applications and exposes their strong and weak points. The authors hope that understanding
the concepts used in the applications described in the chapter will not only inform researchers about
an emerging trend, but also provide with interesting ideas that can be applied and combined with any
e-learning system.

Chapter XII
E-Learning 2.0: The Learning Community......................................................................................... 213
Luisa M. Regueras, University of Valladolid, Spain
Elena Verdú, University of Valladolid, Spain
María A. Pérez, University of Valladolid, Spain
Juan Pablo de Castro, University of Valladolid, Spain
María J. Verdú, University of Valladolid, Spain

Nowadays, most of electronic applications, including e-learning, are based on the Internet and the Web.
As the Web advances, applications should progress in accordance with it. People in the Internet world
have started to talk about Web 2.0. This chapter discusses how the concepts of Web 2.0 can be transferred
to e-learning. First, the new trends of the Web (Web 2.0) are introduced and the Web 2.0 technologies
are reviewed. Then, it is analysed how Web 2.0 can be transferred and applied to the learning process,
in terms of methodologies and tools, and taking into account different scenarios and roles. Next, some
good practices and recommendations for E-Learning 2.0 are described. Finally, we present our opinion,
conclusions, and proposals about the future trends driving the market.

Chapter XIII
Telematic Environments and Competition-Based Methodologies:
An Approach to Active Learning......................................................................................................... 232
Elena Verdú, University of Valladolid, Spain
Luisa M. Regueras, University of Valladolid, Spain
María J. Verdú, University of Valladolid, Spain
Juan Pablo de Castro, University of Valladolid, Spain
María A. Pérez, University of Valladolid, Spain

This chapter provides an overview of technology-based competitive active learning. It discusses

competitive and collaborative learning and analyzes how adequate the different strategies are for different
individual learning styles. First of all, some classifications of learning styles are reviewed. Then, the
chapter discusses competitive and collaborative strategies as active learning methodologies and analyzes
their effects on students’ outcomes and feelings, according to their learning styles. Next, it shows how
networking technology can mitigate the possible negative aspects. All the discussion is supported by
significant study cases from the literature. Finally, an innovative system for active competitive and
collaborative learning is presented as an example of a telematic versatile learning system.
Chapter XIV
Open Source LMS Customization: A Moodle Statistical Control Application.................................... 250
Miguel Ángel Conde, Universidad de Salamanca, Spain
Carlos Muñoz Martín, CLAY Formación Internacional, Spain
Alberto Velasco Florines, CLAY Formación Internacional, Spain

This paper reflects the possibility of doing adaptations on a learning management system (LMS) depending
on the necessities of a company or institution. In this case, ACEM allows the definition of course-level
and platform-level reports and the automatic generation of certificates and diplomas for Moodle LMS.
These adaptations are intended to complement all the different learning platforms by contributing
added-value features like the generation of customizable diplomas and certificates and reports, which
allow the obtaining information about both grades and participation in every activity of a course. All
this necessities are not provided by default.

Chapter XV
Evaluation and Effective Learning: Strategic Use of E-Portfolio as an Alternative
Assessment at University . .................................................................................................................. 264
Nuria Hernández, Universidad de Oviedo, Spain

This chapter analyses evaluation as a strategic instrument to promote active and significant learning
and how, in that strategy, the use of alternative assessment and technology-aided learning-and-teaching
processes could be of great help. There is an important margin to allow the teachers to design the
assessment in a strategic manner and modify the nature of the students’ learning activities. So, the central
question is analysing whether the use of an electronic portfolio as an assessment tool in the subject
“International Economic Relations,” has been used strategically. In other words, is the type of desired
learning really being achieved? Is significant and deep learning being stimulated? If not, what kind of
learning is being stimulated? How should the assessment be modified to achieve the desired results?
To help answer all these questions, we have analysed whether the activities and products which make
up the “International Economic Relations” portfolio fulfil the conditions that characterise a strategic
evaluation.

Chapter XVI
Formative Online Assessment in E-Learning...................................................................................... 279
Izaskun Ibabe, University of the Basque Country, Spain
Joana Jauregizar, Quality Evaluation and Certification Agency of the Basque University System,
Spain

This chapter provides an introduction to formative assessment, especially applied within an online or
e-learning environment. The characteristics of four strategies of online formative assessment currently
most widely used—online adaptive assessment, online self-assessment, online collaborative assessment,
and portfolio—are described. References are made throughout recent research about the effectiveness
of online formative assessment for optimizing students’ learning. A case study in which a computer-
assisted assessment tool was used to design and apply self-assessment exercises is presented. The
chapter emphasizes the idea that all type of assessment needs to be conceptualized as “assessment for
learning.” Practical advices are detailed for the planning, development, implementation, and review of
quality formative online assessment.

Chapter XVII
Designing an Online Assessment in E-Learning................................................................................. 301
María José Rodríguez-Conde, Universidad de Salamanca, Spain

In this chapter we carry out analysis of the term “assessment,” applied over all the elements which
constitute the environment of formation (evaluation), and also particularizing in the assessment of the
learning process, developed in the frame of what we call e-learning. The perspective guiding text is of
a methodological and pedagogical nature. We try to plan the assessment process in online formation
environments dealing in depth with the different elements which constitute it: objectives and functions
of assessment, assessment criteria and indicators, people involved and assessment agents, software
instruments and tools for the collection of data, and analysis of the information and reports. We raise a
discussion about institutional strategies for the incorporation of this e-assessment methodology in higher
educational institutions and come to the final conclusions about the validity and appropriateness of the
e-learning assessment processes.

Chapter XVIII
Quality Assessment of E-Facilitators................................................................................................... 318
Evelyn Gullett, U21Global Graduate School for Global Leaders, Singapore

Organizations, in particular HR/Training departments, strive to set forth good practices, quality assurance,
and improvement on a continuing basis. With the continuous growth of online university programs, it is
crucial for e-learning establishments to include service quality assessments along with mechanisms to
help e-facilitators consistently maintain the highest quality standard when lecturing, teaching, guiding,
administering, and supporting the online learner. This chapter discusses the application of an e-quality
assessment matrix (e-QAM) as part of a quality assessment model that promotes continuous improvement
of the e-learning environment. This model will serve as a tool for online universities and organizations to
achieve a base standard of consistent quality that is essential for program accreditation and satisfaction
of global customers.

Chapter XIX
E-QUAL: A Proposal to Measure the Quality of E-Learning Courses . ............................................. 329
Célio Gonçalo Marques, Instituto Politécnico de Tomar, Portugal
João Noivo, Universidade do Minho, Portugal

This chapter presents a method to measure the quality of e-learning courses. An introduction is first
presented on the problematics of quality in e-learning emphasizing the importance of considering the
learners’ needs in all the development and implementation stages. Next several projects are mentioned,
which are related to quality in e-learning, and some of the most important existing models are described.
Finally, a new proposal is presented, the e-Qual model, which is structured into four areas: learning
contents, learning contexts, processes, and results. With this chapter, the authors aim, not only to draw
the attention to this complicated issue but above all to contribute to a higher credibility of e-learning
proposing a new model that stands out for its simplicity and flexibility for analyzing different pedagogical
models.

Compilation of References ............................................................................................................... 350

About the Contributors .................................................................................................................... 386

Index.................................................................................................................................................... 394
xiv

Preface

IntroductIon

Web-based training, actually known as e-learning, has experienced a remarkable evolution and growth
in the last few years. This is certainly due to enormous advances in information and communication
technologies (ICT), and also to the increasing demands to make training compatible with the profes-
sional and personal lives of any citizen, and not just something created for young students looking for a
degree. Training must be available as a lifelong experience, both for academic studies and for nonformal
or informal situations. E-learning is supposed to be an excellent solution for the old problem of mass
education, beyond that of an impractical apprenticeship method, since there are far too many knowledge
seekers and not enough knowledge providers.
The initial increase and even euphoria associated with e-learning, due to the new possibilities it
seemed to offer, gave place to a generalized feeling of disillusionment, because results did not show
e-learning to be a tool for quality training, and ROI were not really satisfactory. This was contrary to
what we one could have thought initially (García-Peñalvo & López-Eire, 2007). There exists no single
reason that can explain the failure of so many e-learning initiatives. Perhaps lack of maturity could
be the most realistic and global cause. This situation was mainly caused, among other variables, by a
pre-eminence of technological factors above other methodological or didactical elements. E-learning
started as something mainly technological, not as an activity whose aim was human learning. In fact,
most books on the subject show this unbalance clearly because human aspects are considered as if they
were unnecessary or, in many cases, because the human factor in e-learning is considered different from
any other learning modality. Consequently, the inefficiency of e-learning seemed to be due to techno-
logical elements, because the responsibility of success or failure in e-learning processes depended on
the technological tools available. This was, of course, not true. Rosenberg (2006) points out very well
this situation presenting the evolution of e-learning field in three phases. The first concerns itself with
contents, that is, with the quantity of courses, and with the investment in technology needed to deliver
them. This effort is focused on technology itself, taking as criteria for success how much you do, how
quickly you do it, and how many courses you offer. A second stage is about quality and impact factors,
and in this way success is related to innovative instructional applications, learning by doing models,
and higher cost-benefit ratios. Finally, the third phase tackles business performance to design more
comprehensive solutions that include training, improved knowledge sharing, and offer more intelligent
ways of collaboration and interaction, all in the context of work. Business measures like productivity,
customer and employee satisfaction, organizational agility, and marketplace performance are the metrics
that matter here.
The real situation is that many organizations that are bogged down in the first stage. They have intro-
duced different kinds of technology artifacts in a variety of innovative ways, and have met widely vary-
ing levels of success. Unfortunately, there are too many examples that show a very disturbing situation:
 xv

these organizations do not get a reasonable relationship between investments in training and the results
they obtain. This situation presents us with “black and white” e-learning, as Martínez (2006) says.
In spite of everything, the growth of e-learning is unstoppable, and every important institution (aca-
demic, enterprise, or otherwise) knows about the necessity of creating and developing a department or
service specially devoted to this subject. E-learning deserves to be considered as real revolution, “The
Globalization of Training.” This is not only because this sort of training is given on the Internet, but also
because of the implication of entities very different from those traditionally “authorized” to do so, that
is, academic institutions. Any institution (not just academia) can plan its own training strategy, and so
learning is now possible anytime and anywhere.
Actual perspectives about e-learning initiatives are more realistic, and show a more mature concep-
tion of this field, but there is still a long way to go. The idea of “quality in e-learning” must guide us if
we want to meet successfully our educational challenges.
In order to show possibly successful ways to plan and carry out such a complex project, we are going
to study in depth the most relevant obstacles that hinder the e-learning process. After this, as a preface
to the practical knowledge and contrasted high-value experiences enclosed in the next chapters, we can
propose a complete e-learning perspective in keeping with the concept of quality in e-learning.

A FrAmework to AvoId e-LeArnIng PItFALLs

There exist quite a few works that describe a sad paradox in the deployment of e-learning systems. Many
of them are in institutions in which a learning platform is in place (more than one in many cases), but
only to be used by less than half of the teaching staff. This paradox is especially true in the context of
higher education institutions, that is to say, in universities. While it is true that some sectors demand
investments in teaching technology, trying to get equipment whose utility has been tested before it is
demanded, one can also find other institutional investments for which there is no clear need. If the teach-
ing community sees no need for these resources, it will resist using them. This is probably the cause of
the lack of interest one sees towards e-learning in the teaching staff: they do not appreciate any utility
in its use in the context of standard teaching, because institutions tend to think that “everybody knows”
what to do with these platforms. If bad comes to worse, there is a feeling that teachers will somehow
end up knowing how to use them.
Now even this is clearly something to worry about; it is by no means the only problem that precludes
a proper use of these resources. One could try to synthesize three categories in which one can group
other causes.

there is no real Intent in Institutions (“use the Platform or suffer”)

If no need has been created before deploying the e-learning platform, it is essential to do it as soon as
possible, and to do it properly. In most institutions there is a lack of a real policy as concerns ICT, and
more precisely about e-learning. Setting up a virtual campus is a much more radical change than the
incorporation of any other technology or means that has been added in a reasonable past. Using this vir-
tual campus means a real shift in the training paradigm. Hence, on must prepare for this change, and for
that it is necessary to develop specific policies about e-learning, with a clearly defined strategic model.
The proper policy concerning e-learning must be complemented with investments in human resources,
in technology, and in methodology. Without this trio of elements, the tool itself is pointless, which is
the worst possible outcome in training terms.
xvi

users are Alone

Any teacher that decides he or she is going to make use of an online training system, be it out of curiosity
or just as a personal challenge, is going to meet a whole range of problems when trying to work things
out just by himself. Which methodology should I use? Who will help me to create materials? How is this
evaluated? Who will solve technical problems for me? How could I make this platform supply this or
that need that I have in the subject I teach? Who will help me tutor if I have about 200 students? Many
of these questions find no answer. The teacher, who so far was able to handle his class and managed to
fulfill his duties, meets quite a few new tasks for which he has no training, and perhaps this lack is not
his or her fault. E-learning necessitates many support services for teaching; without them, the teacher’s
job is severely limited, and consequently any formative possibilities are lost.

there is no recognition for the teaching effort needed for any online Action

There are two rather common fallacies among those who know little about e-learning. One of them is that
e-learning is virtual, that is to say, that it is a subproduct of training and not “real” training like presential
teaching. The other is that any activity derived to an e-learning platform frees the teacher from a part
of his or her duties, thus reducing the teacher’s dedication. Nothing could be further from the truth, as
is well known to those who are dedicated to online teaching. Rather on the contrary, correctly helping a
group of students in the context of an e-learning methodology certainly enhances the trainee’s experience,
but it tends to increase remarkably the amount of time that the teacher must invest in teaching tasks, in
formative training, and in tutorial activity. Regrettably, as a consequence of these prejudices, teachers
(and this is especially true in university contexts) are “penalized” when using e-learning as a complement
to their teaching activity. If they opt for meeting the challenge, they will get exactly no recognition in
academic or economic terms. A large amount of time will have to be dedicated to this “silent” teaching
effort, and the rest of the community will take no notice. Since everything happens in a “virtual” context,
there will be no visible tracks left, no classroom or lab reservations. Any time dedicated to this job by
the teacher is considered “virtual” in all respects. But his time is all too real.
This type of situations, which have a most negative impact, should move any organizations that have
an interest in online teaching towards the adoption of a strategic policy that will fulfill the requirements
of a society that wants and needs information and knowledge in a flexible context. This society, however,
is fairly strict as concerns the quality of the product it is going to consume. The context in Europe is
expressed quite clearly in the definition of the European Higher Education Space (European Ministers
of Education, 1999) which is definitely in favor of a lifelong training, since this will contribute to the
improvement of the citizens’ opportunities according to their aspirations and abilities, and consequently
enhance their personal, social, and professional development (Cieza, 2006).
Any ad hoc solutions for this situation are bound to produce a small and not very positive return
on our investments. Any attempts to make serious use of e-learning should be strategic, in such a way
that the deployment of an e-learning platform must be one of the visible vertices in a polyedric set of
measures. These must constitute a whole strategic plan, which will affect training of course, but also
research, services, administration, and even the management and leadership of universities. If this is
not done in such a way, one will face the risk of having to redo part of the job if it was initiated in an
erratic way through lack of foresight, or one can reach a state of rigidity in the electronic “structure,”
thus producing a fragmentation that would be harmful since it would keep apart organs of the institu-
tions that should be perfectly well coordinated. The strategic foundations, which an institution must use
when trying to adopt a policy for the deployment of an e-learning structure, can and should be based on
the concept of “quality in e-learning.”
 xvii

QuALIty In e-LeArnIng

Before talking about quality in e-learning, one must define what we exactly mean when we refer to e-
learning. The application of Web-based tools for learning purposes could be considered a simple definition
of e-learning. However, a clearer e-learning definition, including a conceptualization of its modalities,
is the best starting point in order to understand the quality reference framework on which we would like
to develop this book. Hence, one could define e-learning as:
a teaching-to-learning process aimed to obtain a set of skills and competences from students, trying
to ensure the highest quality to the whole process, thanks to, mainly, the use of Web-based technologies,
a set of sequenced and structured contents based upon pre-defined but flexible strategies, the interaction
with the group of students and tutors, the appropriate evaluation procedures, both of learning results and
the whole learning process, a collaborative working environment with space-and-time deferred presence,
and finally a sum of value added technological services in order to achieve maximum interaction.
It is quite common to associate adjectives like “virtual” or “distance” to “learning,” in order to build
synonyms for “e-learning.” But it is important to clarify that we are not thinking about virtual learn-
ing or distance learning when we refer to e-learning, at least not necessarily. When we try to develop a
quality e-learning initiative, the development of skills and knowledge is easier to demonstrate than in a
traditional or presential context. So if we consider “virtual” as the opposite term of “real,” e-learning is
just real and not virtual learning. But, from a philosophical point of view, virtual is “all that can induce
an effect.” If we consider that e-learning is different from many other forms of “learning” because of
its active approach, it is clearly “virtual”; that is to say, it has the virtuality to “create” and not only to
“assume” knowledge and skills. Concerning distance learning, it’s a common mistake considering e-
learning as a form of distance learning, and applying its methods and categories to e-learning the results
will be really poor. This is because e-learning is not nonpresential like distance learning is. The actors
in this process are present, on a different time and a different place, but their presence is verifiable, and
they leave certain tracks. So e-learning is more than distance learning, and this is because of the human
presence behind the technology, the net, and the computers.
One of the main issues in e-learning (and of course in every learning experience, as for any product
or service), is the notion of “quality.” This concept, in fact, does not belong exclusively to the universe
of industry and economics. The academic world is fairly used to the need to measure certain items in
order to determine quality in their learning processes.
Quality in e-learning has a twofold significance. First, e-learning is associated in many discussion
papers and plans with an increase in the quality of educational opportunities, ensuring that the shift to
the information society is more successful. This context is named “quality through e-learning.” Second,
there is a separate but associated debate about ways of improving the quality of e-learning itself; this
context is called “quality for e-learning” (Ehlers, Goertz, Hildebrandt, & Pawlowski, 2005).
Learning outcomes are at the heart of respondents’ understanding of quality in the field of e-learning.
When we talk about quality in e-learning, we assume an implicit consensus about the term “quality.” The
ISO (ISO 8402, 1986, p. 3.1) defines quality as follows: “The totality of features and characteristics of a
product or service that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs.” In fact, however, “quality”
means very different things to most e-learning providers. García-Peñalvo (2006) points out five factors:
technology, services, evaluation/accreditation, contents, and human factor (tutoring). Harvey and Green
(2000) have suggested the following set of categories: exceptionality, perfection or consistency, fitness
for purpose, and adequate return. Ehlers (2004) adds a fifth category, transformation, which describes
the increase in competence or ability as a result of the learning process as transformation.
xviii

Matching these ideas, we can define quality in e-learning as:

the effective acquisition of a suit of skills, knowledge and competences by students, by means of
developing appropriate learning contents given with a sum of efficient Web tools supported via a net
of value-added services, whose process—from content developing to the acquisition of competences
and the analysis of the whole intervention—is ensured by an exhaustive and personalized evaluation
and certification process, and it is monitored by a human team practicing a strong and integral tutorial
presence through the whole teaching-to-learning process.

orgAnIzAtIon oF the Book

In a few words, the idea behind this book is that a quality e-learning process is much more than tech-
nology. Technical issues will have an important place in this book, of course, but the whole question
must be considered within other issues such as pedagogical, methodological, tutorial, evaluation, com-
munication, strategic, and so on.
Advances in E-Learning: Experiences and Methodologies is addressed to any scholar, technical,
academic, or manager that could play a role in the field of e-learning, so the public is extremely het-
erogeneous. In fact, it is difficult to determine a field of knowing or activity, because any field and any
professional role could be potentially interested on e-learning because of its enormous capabilities ap-
plicable to institutions, schools, universities, enterprises, associations, and so forth. Above all, it will
not give a restricted vision about e-learning, but a multidisciplinary, rich, and complete analysis of the
different issues involved, intending to become a reference on e-learning literature because the different
issues will not be studied as separate matters, but any question related to e-learning studied in this book
will be pointed to get the highest quality in e-learning activities.
In fact, the book is organized into nineteen chapters. A brief description of each of the chapters fol-
lows:
In Chapter I, Ray Webster presents RAPAD, a reflective and participatory methodology for e-learning
and lifelong learning. It is a proposal of an adaptive method where students can participate with peers,
developers, teachers, and trainers to think about their learning, discuss it, and apply their thoughts to
the design and development of Web sites which can serve as Personalized E-Learning Environments
(PELE), promoting a deep understanding of learning on a metacognitive and personal level.
Chapter II introduces some ideas of the German philosopher Martin Heidegger and how they can be
applied to e-learning design. This approach argues that practice must be the center of knowledge creation,
which in the case of professional and corporate education is a real work situation. The chapter has been
written by one of the most renowned e-learning consultants in the world, Dr. Sergio Vásquez.
Following with the philosophical approaches, Chapter III by professors Seoane-Pardo and García-Pe-
ñalvo, outlines the background concepts in order to construct a human-centered methodology for online
training. This chapter analyzes in a critical way the constructivism paradigm, stating that this framework
is not a method and explaining the problems that are derived from this confusion.
Chapter IV, by Angelica Rísquez, addresses the issue of mentoring in the online teaching as a quali-
tatively different concept from its traditional face-to-face version, and how the relationship between
mentor and mentee is modified by technology in unique and definitive ways. The chapter introduces a
set of best practices on design, implementation, and evaluation of e-mentoring programs.
In Chapter V, Dr. Olga Díez deals with the issue of lifelong learning and describes an experience in
teacher training for e-learning in the field of adult education. The chapter discusses the balance between
mere ICT skills and pedagogical competences. The author argues that the learning design should always
 xix

allow that the teachers in training integrate in their work ICT solutions that fit to the didactic objectives,
renew teaching and learning methodology, facilitate communication, give place to creativity and allow
pupils to learn at their own pace.
Chapter 6VI is about institutional and socio-organizational factors that influence the adoption and
use of Learning Management Systems in higher education institutions. Ruth Halperin presents a hybrid
e-learning case study to explore these factors, where institutional parameters have particular relevance
underlining the tensions involved in integrating technological innovation into an established system.
Krassie Petrova and Rowena Sinclair focus Chapter VII on understanding how the quality of student
learning and the student learning experience could be improved given the pertinent environmental and
academic constraints of an e-learning case. The main objective of the chapter is to identify some of the
important issues and trends related to the perceived e-learning value. They state that new blended learn-
ing and teaching models should emphasize further the alignment of learning with work/life balance.
Chapter VIII, by Giovannina Albano and Pier Luigi Ferrari, provides an overview of research on
learning processes related to the use of technology and a sketch of constructive and cooperative methods
and their feasibility in an e-learning platform in the Mathematics education context.
David Camacho et al. describe in Chapter IX both the main issues related with artificial intelligent
(AI) techniques and e-learning technologies, and how lifelong learning processes and problems can be
represented and managed by using an AI-based approach in order to implement a group-based adaptation
based on the actions not of an individual student but of a set of students who have accessed the system
along a period of time.
Chapter X shows a study applied to the analysis of the utilization of learning Web-based resources
in a virtual campus. The authors, Addisson Salazar and Luis Vergara, use this case study to detect of
learning styles of the students based on a known educational framework, and useful knowledge of global
and specific content on academic performance success and failure.
In one of most computationally-oriented chapters of this book, Sergio Gutiérrez and Abelardo Pardo
describe, in Chapter XI, the use of swarm-intelligence techniques in the field of e-learning, analyzing
several of such applications and expose their strong and weak points. Swarm intelligence is an AI tech-
nique inspired by the behavior of social insects. Taking into account that the Internet connects a high
number of users with a negligible delay, some of those techniques can be combined with sociology
concepts and applied to e-learning.
Chapter XII is devoted to Web 2.0 applied to the e-learning area. Luisa Mª Regueras et al. pres-
ent how this technology movement can be transferred and applied to the learning process, in terms of
methodologies and tools, and taking into account different scenarios and roles in order to emphasize
the collaborative way of learning.
As an example of the ideas expressed in the chapter before, in Chapter XIII Elena Verdú et al. discuss
about competitive and collaborative learning; they analyze how adequate the different strategies are for
different individual learning styles, all of them in an active learning context. The ideas are supported by
a case study and an active learning system.
Chapter XIV presents a report system plug-in for Moodle developed by Clay Formación Interna-
cional Team. It presents the possibility of doing adaptations on a LMS depending on the necessities of
an institution. This is an interesting example of how combine the Open Software ideas into a enterprise
context.
Nuria Hernández analyzes in Chapter XV evaluation as a strategic instrument to promote active and
significant learning. Inside of this strategy, the author argues that an electronic portfolio as assessment
element will be able to help the student to generate suitable learning.
xx

Chapter XVI presents a very valuable state of art of the formative assessment in e-learning-based
systems. Izaskun Ibabe and Joana Jauregizar describe the four most used strategies for online formative
assessment: online adaptive assessment, online self-assessment, online collaborative assessment, and
portfolio. Through a case study, they argue that all type of assessment needs to be conceptualized as
“assessment for learning.”
In Chapter XVII, which is related to the previous one, Dr. Mª José Rodríguez-Conde analyzes the as-
sessment term, applied over all the elements which constitute the environment of formation (evaluation),
and also particularizing in the assessment of the learning process, developed in the frame of e-learning.
The most interesting part of this chapter presents a high valuable discussion about institutional strategies
for the incorporation of this e-assessment methodology in higher educational organizations.
Dr. Evelyn Gullett discusses in Chapter XVIII the application of an e-quality assessment matrix
(e-QAM) as part of a quality assessment model that promotes continuous improvement of the e-learn-
ing environment. This model must be a reference tool for organizations to achieve a base standard of
consistent quality that is essential for program accreditation and satisfaction.
In the last chapter, Célio Gonçalo Marques and João Noivo introduce a method to measure the quality
of e-learning courses. They present a new quality reference model, e-Qual model, which is derived from
the analysis of reference frameworks developed through international projects. E-Qual is very flexible
in order to adapt itself to the evaluator’s perspective (learners, producers, and distributors) and to the
contents and contexts perspective.

reFerences

Cieza, J. A. (2006). E-learning factors. A lifelong learning challenge inside the European space for higher
education framework. In F. J. García, J. Lozano & F. Lamamie de Clairac (Eds.), Virtual campus 2006
post-proceedings. Selected and extended Papers–VC’2006, CEUR Workshop Proceedings. Retrieved
November 1, 2007, from http://CEUR-WS.org/Vol-186/
Ehlers, U. -D. (2004). Qualität im e-learning aus lernersicht: Grundlagen, empirie und modellkonzep-
tion subjektiver qualität. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag.
Ehlers, U. -D., Goertz, L., Hildebrandt, B., & Pawlowski, J. M. (2005). Quality in e-learning. Use and
dissemination of quality approaches in European e-learning. A study by the European Quality Obser-
vatory. Cedefop Panorama series, 116. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European
Communities.
European Ministers of Education. (1999, June 19). The European higher education area - Bologna
declaration, Bologna.
García-Peñalvo, F. J. (2006). Introducción al eLearning. In F. J. García-Peñalvo et al. (Eds.), Profesiones
emergentes: Especialista en eLearning. Salamanca, Spain: Clay Formación Internacional.
García-Peñalvo, F. J., & López-Eire, A. (2007). Successful e-learning case studies in Spanish University.
Journal of Cases on Information Technology (JCIT), 9(2), 1-3.
Harvey, L., & Green, D. (2000) Qualität definieren: fünf unterschiedliche ansätze. Zeitschrift für Päda-
gogik: Qualität und Qualitätssicherung im Bildungsbereich: Schule, Sozialpädagogik, Hochschule, 41,
17-39.
 xxi

ISO. (1986). Quality–Vocabulary. ISO 8402. Geneva: International Organization for Standardization.
Martínez, J. (2006). E-learning en blanco y negro. Learning Review, 14.
Rosenberg, M. J. (2006). Beyond e-learning. Approaches and technologies to enhance organizational
knowledge, learning, and performance. San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer.
xxii

Acknowledgment

It is imperative to begin these few lines with my special thanks to the authors and reviewers of every
chapter, whose labour and dedication where so remarkeable as to make it easy to complete this work.
I am equally grateful to those who helped with the blind review process, without whom it would be
impossible to achieve a book of this caliber. But my special thanks in reviewing go to my colleagues of
the Researching Group on InterAction and eLearning (GRIAL) who gave their time and effort to provide
constructive and comprehensive feedback extremely useful to finish this work. They include Valentina
Zangrando and Antonio Seoane, who helped me with the final revision of the entire book.
I would also like to thank the editor Jessica Thompson for her efficiency and generosity in working
with us, and the publishing team of IGI Global for their competence and expertise.
Finally, I express my gratitude to the Education and Science Ministry of Spain, National Program in
Technologies and Services for the Information Society, since this book has been developed inside the
KEOPS research project context (Ref.: TSI2005-00960) financed by the Govern of Spain.

Francisco José García Peñalvo

University of Salamanca
 

Chapter I
RAPAD:
A Reflective and Participatory Methodology
for E-learning and Lifelong Learning

Ray Webster
Murdoch University, Australia

ABstrAct

This chapter introduces RAPAD, a reflective and participatory methodology for e-learning and lifelong
learning. It argues that by engaging in a reflective and participatory design process for a personalized
e-learning environment, individual students can attain a conceptual change in understanding the learn-
ing and e-learning process, especially their own. Students use a framework provided by the concept of
a personal cognitive or learning profile and the design and development of a personalized e-learning
environment (PELE) to engage with key aspects of their learning. This results in Flexible Student Align-
ment, a process by which students are better able to match their learning and e-learning characteristics
and requirements to the practices, resources, and structures of universities in the emerging knowledge
society. The use of Web-based technologies and personal reflection ensure that RAPAD is well-placed
to be an adaptive methodology which continues to enhance the process of lifelong learning.

IntroductIon ing, discuss it, and apply their thoughts to the

design and development of Web sites which can
This chapter describes a reflective and participa- serve as personalized e-learning environments
tory methodology for the design of personalized (PELE). This process, RAPAD, is a methodology
virtual e-learning environments—reflective for enhancing e-learning and lifelong learning
and participatory approach to design (RAPAD) because it promotes a deep understanding of
(Webster, 2005). With RAPAD, students and us- learning on a metacognitive and personal level.
ers reflect and participate with peers, developers, The metacognitive and self-regulatory improve-
teachers, and trainers to think about their learn- ments brought about by using RAPAD causes a

Copyright © 2008, IGI Global, distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited.
 RAPAD

conceptual shift in the understanding and applica- chapter, are introduced. This is followed by a
tion of each individual’s attitudes to personalized background section which discusses the need for
learning. Enabling this conceptual shift is seen as new and personalised approaches for supporting e-
a necessary prerequisite for improving the qual- learning. The next sections consider the changing
ity of student learning (Vermetten, Vermunt, & conceptions of learning, discuss the complexity
Lodewijks, 2002). The quality of student learn- of learning, and, in order to provide a coherent
ing is of central importance in the transition to a overview of the work, offer a systems perspec-
knowledge-based economy. Because of the strong tive of the student, methodology, and PELE as
links between education, training, and the needs learning system. The concept of Flexible Student
of knowledge workers in industry and commerce, Alignment (Webster, 2005), which is partially
participatory methodologies like RAPAD can enabled by taking a systems perspective, is then
become very important mechanisms for devel- introduced before the need for human-centred
oping e-learners and lifelong learners for the e-learning systems design and participatory de-
Knowledge Society. sign (as an example of a human-centred design
As a reflective and participatory methodology, methodology) are outlined.
RAPAD provides a framework and set of proce- The development of RAPAD as a participatory
dures to enable each individual to understand his methodology is then summarized. This is followed
or her learning preferences and thus enhances by a broad description of the research phases and
e-learning and lifelong learning. Two core mecha- empirical work which comprised the development
nisms are used within RAPAD to strengthen the of RAPAD as an e-learning methodology. Future
reflective and participatory process. These are trends are then suggested before conclusions are
the cognitive profile and the personalised e-learn- drawn and the chapter is summarized.
ing environment (PELE). Using the concept of a
cognitive profile enables the personalisation of Definitions
the PELE by structured reflection on individual
learning related characteristics. The cognitive The reflective and participatory approach to
profile, as used here, consists of measures of design is an iterative process in which key ele-
each student’s cognitive style, learning style, and ments include the student as a codesigner in the
personality type. This reflects the assertion that it production of a system or PELE. The method is
is the combination of these three measures which used as a mechanism to help each student ac-
best reflects each “individual’s combination of quire the self-regulatory skills associated with
aptitude/trait strengths and weaknesses” in terms autonomous learning. The methodology provides
of learning (Jonassen & Grabowski, 1993, pxii). a conceptual framework of structure and process
Students undertake a series of profile associated for the student to function within.
tests at the start of the exercise and are given their The next section briefly introduces some key
results. They then discuss, reflect, and comment terms. The terms are defined with reference to RA-
on those results before using them in designing PAD and their use in that context is explained.
their PELE. Designing and developing the PELE
with specific reference to the personal learning Reflective
profile gives both a context and a focus to the
development of the e-learning support system The term “reflective” as used here derives from
that the PELE represents. Schön’s (1983, 1991) use of the term in both the
The structure of the chapter is as follows. phrase and the sense of “a reflective practitio-
Several definitions and key terms, as used in this ner.” Schön considered that many professionals


RAPAD

in fields such as law, engineering, architecture, centred approaches in that the user is a partner in
and medicine, developed and consolidated their the development process rather than the client of
learning by reflecting on their practice and also it, a key difference in terms of involvement. As
reflecting in the performance of their practice. the name suggests, a participatory approach is
Schön (1987) then applied the concept of learn- introduced to encourage deep user involvement
ing by doing and continuing to learn through in the design process (Preece et al., 2002). The
reflection and problem solving to education. It result is that both the system designer (or design
is considered that students need to develop as team) and the user(s) can benefit from and learn
reflective practitioners with respect to their own from each other.
learning. The purpose is to help them to function
and participate effectively in a systemically dif- Cognitive Profiles
ferent system of higher education.
The reflective and participatory approach was
design operationalized by the use of student cognitive
profiles, which were applied to the design of the
The term “design” comes before “participatory” PELE. This method of profiling gave the students
because the latter term is a subset of the concepts a framework in which to structure and apply their
encapsulated within the term “design.” Design is reflection. A cognitive profile is made up of three
used in the sense of Systems Analysis and De- core elements: measures of the student’s cogni-
sign which, at a conceptual level, derives from tive style, learning style, and personality type
systems theory (Checkland & Holwell, 1998) (Jonassen & Grabowski, 1993). The cognitive
and uses associated concepts to understand the style measure chosen was Riding’s Cognitive
activity of all types of systems. The term is most Styles Analysis—CSA, (Riding, 1991, 2001). This
often used in the context of information systems comprises a computer-based test which measures
design and development and has becomes almost personal preferences for representing and process-
synonymous with information and communica- ing information. The learning styles instrument
tions technology based systems design. It is used was the Approaches to Study Skills Inventory for
in a broader manner in this work, as the research Students—ASSIST, (Tait et al., 1998; Entwistle et
considers the design of learning environments al., 2000). This instrument measures deep, surface
from a systems perspective. The systemic per- and strategic approaches to learning, with each
spective can embrace and contain the systematic approach containing several sub-categories. The
and analytic methodology associated with much personality instrument was the Myers-Briggs
systems analysis and design, while the reverse Type Indicator—MBTI, (Myers et al., 1999) a
is rarely true. widely used instrument for measuring personality
type. As with most instruments in this area, there
Participatory is continuing debate concerning reliability and
validity (Bayne, 1995; Nowak, 1997; Peterson et
“Participatory design” is a phrase used in the al., 2003; Coffield et al., 2004). Although care was
information and technology design fields to taken to choose well tried, tested and widely used
indicate the very close and full participation of instruments, this was considered less critical for
the system users in the process of the design and the purposes of this project than for experimental
development (and testing and implementation research designs as the measures were being used
and review) of the system in question (Preece, as a framework for reflection and design rather
Rogers, & Sharp, 2002). It differs from other user- than for the purposes of category labeling. The


 RAPAD

students could disagree with the results but had A personalised e- learning environment (PELE)
to say why, explain which category and learning is a system which is designed to support the
traits they considered correct and use these new information retrieval, information handling,
criteria as part of the reflective design process. and learning support needs of the student. In its
The students took the three tests at the start of entirety, the PELE system which is developed as
the process. After some discussion of the ideas a mobile (laptop, server, organiser, phone, flash
and concepts involved, they were given the test drive) based Web site to replicate as many of the
results and asked to write about them in reflective Learning Resource Centre functions as possible.
journals. The involvement of the students in re- These functions can include: Learning Support,
flecting on their own responses and then applying Study Skills, Media Services, IT Support (Ad-
them to the learning environment design formed ministrative), IT Support (Academic), Learning
a central part of the application of RAPAD. Resources, and Career Services. The PELE should
allow the student to store, retrieve, and manipulate
Learning Environment information from internal sources (hard drives,
digital documents, and images, and so forth) and
A general definition of a learning environment external sources (Internet, WWW, etc.).
was provided by Wilson, who suggested that a
learning environment is “a place where people can The use of the three measures plus an itera-
draw upon resources to make sense out of things tive process of discussion, design, and feedback
and construct meaningful solutions to problems” provided a more holistic and systemic methodol-
(Wilson, 1996, p.3). ogy for the design and development of the PELE.
A more specific definition of the term “learn- The context and overview of the Reflective and
ing environment,” which was provided within the Participatory Approach to Design is shown in
context of the management of change in higher Figure 1.
education in general and universities in particular,
is “a learning environment is a community with
its own culture and values providing a variety of BAckground
learnplaces that support student learning” (Ford
et al., 1996, p.146). A personalized e-learning environment (PELE)
This second definition was adapted to describe is a virtual learning environment which acts as
the concept of the personalised e-learning envi- an interface to learning resources as well as to
ronment used in this research in the following other learning systems and environments. The
way: a personalised e-learning environment is process of developing the PELE is seen as a way
a Web-based virtual environment reflecting the of enabling students to develop as autonomous
culture and values of the individual student and learners in that it helps them to think about their
providing links to a variety of possible learning own learning in a structured manner. This is
communities and a learnplace that supports au- considered to be a prerequisite for students in
tonomous student learning. a system of mass higher education in which the
concept of e-learning as the basis for active and
Personalized e-Learning resource-based learning is often promoted but
Environment (PELE) not explained. The associated personal activi-
ties—how to function at an individual level and
The practical definition of the e-learning environ- as an active e-learner in a resource based e-learn-
ment as given to the students for design purposes ing environment—can remain something of a
was in the following form:


RAPAD

mystery to the new student. By using a reflec- perience, a large number of factors have changed
tive and participatory approach to design, the dramatically from even 10 and certainly 20 years
interface concept can be extended to encourage ago; especially in the OECD countries (many
students to contemplate how they interface with of these changes occurred earlier in the USA,
learning materials, learning processes, and learn- although the Web related changes are similar
ing environments, including the university and for all). The number of students has increased
its associated subsystems. As we move towards significantly. The number of academic staff has
the processes and practices of the Knowledge stayed largely the same resulting in increased
Society, using RAPAD and developing a PELE staff-student ratios and the need for online and
also helps develop the reflective, metacognitive, distributed learning resources (DfES, 2003). The
and self-regulatory skills necessary for Lifelong backgrounds of the students have become more
Learning. varied, with some universities having more than
50% mature students (Laurillard, 2002).
the need for new Approaches for A continuing problem with the current scenario
supporting e-Learning in higher education is that although there may
have been a much expanded student intake, with
Recent changes in higher education have produced the move to a mass system, many of the processes
a set of circumstances that need a new approach and practices in use are those developed for an
to supporting and enabling student learning. instruction-based elite system and the introduc-
The development methodologies for e-learning tion of e-learning systems and activities. While
systems, whether they be human centred or many of the traditional procedures and systems
techno-centred, will play a central role the new will remain useful and relevant, we have to ensure
approaches which emerge. Although learning that those in use are suitable for functioning ef-
remains central to all students’ educational ex- fectively within the resources and constraints of a

Figure 1. Overview: reflective and participatory approach to design (Webster, 2005)


 RAPAD

mass system. Some central processes and practices and teaching with e-learning environments plus
(forms of assessment, tutorials which functioned the drive towards personalized learning being
effectively with 8 participants but struggle with 16 experienced in OECD countries. This personaliza-
to 20, personal tutoring) are increasingly under- tion is reflected in the quotations directly below
resourced and under strain. from U.S. educationalists and UK and Australian
In addition, a perception has developed, espe- politicians. The key assertion is that education in
cially amongst higher education managers, that general and higher education in particular are mov-
the provision of information and communication ing into an era of personalized learning. Metros
technologies will, by themselves, provide useful and Bennett (2002), echoing Twigg (1994), also
and cost saving solutions. This approach often go further in identifying the central role of using
misses the point that the learning systems we cognitive profiles to enable this personalization.
are concerned with are social systems of which This is a central element RAPAD.
technology is only one aspect, often acting simply “Personalized learning can become a reality
as an information carrier or interaction enabler. when a learner’s profile, determined by prelimi-
The central and most important component nary assessment, is used to structure and sequence
remains the student. Laurillard (2002, p.145) the learning components” (USA—Metros &
quotes Carol Twigg’s suggestion that an increased Bennett, 2002).
understanding of how individuals learn has its “The key strategy is personalised learning”
corollary in that “increased individualization of (Australia—Bishop, 2006).
the learning process is the way to respond to the “A mission to realise the full potential of each
diverse learning styles brought by our students” young person through a system of education in-
(Twigg, 1994, p.1). creasingly personalised around the needs of each
Technology and e-learning systems offer inno- child, with a new concept of lifelong learning”
vative ways of reconceptualising our approaches (UK—Blair, 2004).
to learning and teaching delivery systems, but In this scenario, attempts are made to match
learning itself remains is the central and human the learning experience of the student with his
component of any e-learning system. One way or her learning needs on an individual basis.
of rethinking learning and e-learning support The Web, e-learning methodologies, and their
can be to develop the metacognitive skills of the integration as e-learning systems will play a key
individual student by using individual cognitive role in these developments.
profiles to help construct personal interfaces for
interacting with e-learning environments. The changing conceptions of Learning
need for students to become more actively involved and e-Learning
in the management of their own learning implies
an associated need for each student to be more Our conceptions and understandings of learning
aware of and to increasingly draw on his or her and the learning process have been steadily chang-
personal resources, including the components of ing over the past two or three decades. In this last
his or her cognitive profile. decade, the pace of change has perhaps increased
in response to the central facets of massification
the need for Personalized impacting more fully and more consistently on
E-Learning Environments university teaching. The second edition (2002) of
Laurillard’s influential text Rethinking University
The focus for this work comes from a combina- Teaching shows subtle changes of emphasis that
tion of observed personal experience of learning reflect the shift in focus within the sector. For


RAPAD

example, whereas Laurillard has Marton and teaching and, by inference, student learning.
Ramsden (1988) listing “teaching strategies” in the These tenets are that learning is active, social,
first edition (Laurillard, 1993, p. 82), in the second reflective, and occurs in a context. This concurs
edition they list “implications for the design of a with Goodyear (2001) who considers learning
learning session” (Laurillard, 2002, p. 69). The from a cognitive perspective through the lens of
subtitle of the second edition also shows a shift in Shuell’s (1992) work. In this framework, learn-
emphasis from the use of the phrase “educational ing can be conceptualised as passive reception,
technology” to “learning technologies.” discovery, knowledge deficit and accrual, guided
These changes, while minor in quotations instruction, with this last form fitting “best with
from a given text, represent a more substantial current scientific ideas about learning” (Goodyear,
shift in our thinking in the relationship between 2001, p.71). Within this model, the significant
teaching and learning and, as a subtext, the role elements of learning are then formulated as ac-
of learning technologies in that relationship. A tive, individual, cumulative, self-regulated, and
further requirement is presented by the need goal oriented.
to make sense of the plethora of terms used to A mode of implementation for these ap-
describe different “types” of learning—distance proaches is put forward by Simons et al. (2000,
learning, active learning, e-learning, resource p. 9), who suggest that “new instruction should be
based learning, student centred learning, self aiming for the new outcomes of learning through
regulated learning, networked learning. Unless the facilitation of the new learning processes
academics and university teachers have a clear and strategies in which a new balance between
appreciation of the form and content of the pro- guided learning, experiential learning and action
cess that constitutes student learning, it will be learning occurs.”
difficult for them to make sense of the variety A major consideration of these models and
of approaches to learning confronting them in perspectives is that each suggests that the design
their professional life. However, Laurillard (1999, of systems for learning needs to be a systemic
p. 113) did suggest that “it is difficult to find an as well as systematic process. The systemic per-
academic with a theory of learning. Or even one spective then logically holds for the individual,
who thinks it is his job to have one.” This point group, or organisational level and takes the fac-
and related issues were well explored in a paper tors into consideration. An example of elements
from the same conference (Banathy, 1999). With of this systemic and systematic approach is more
reference to systems thinking and change in fully contextualised and presented by Goodyear
higher education, this author used a hypothetical (2002, p.11). It is a point that has been made quite
conversation between “a subject-matter professor strongly by several authors in recent times (Ford
and a systems thinker” (Banathy, 1999, p.133). et al., 1996; Knight, 2001; Trowler, Saunders,
The paper, while illustrating Laurillard’s point, & Knight, 2003; Weil, 1999) and has resonance
also provided an accessible systems based com- with the writings on both organisational and
mentary and analysis on the differences between educational change of Argyris and Schön (1996)
learning and instruction focused approaches to and Checkland (1990).
higher education.
In considering the role of learning technologies Learning is complex
in the teaching and learning relationship, Driscoll
(2002) asserts that there are four basic tenets In the case of learning itself, dictionaries often
that need to be considered when we, as teachers, provide a simple definition of the phrase “to
think about the use of technology to support our learn.” For example, the Shorter Oxford English


 RAPAD

Dictionary (3rd ed.) offers: “To get knowledge of is commented on at greater length in another
(a subject) or skill in (an art, etc.) by study, experi- section. Within this context, a further definition
ence, or teaching” (Onions, 1983, p. 1191). emphasises that learning is also an active process
A more problematic issue, referred to by and one to which we are well suited: “Learning
Driscoll’s principles (Driscoll, 2002) is that of is a basic, adaptive function of humans. More
understanding how we learn, or in a more complex than any other species, people are designed to
way, how we move from gathering information be flexible learners and active agents in acquir-
about something to gaining an understanding of ing knowledge and skills” (Bransford, Brown, &
that information within our own social, affec- Cocking, 1999, p.45).
tive, and cognitive domains. The roles of oth- As with learning, there are many forms and
ers—parents, friends, peer groups and, especially, phrases to describe e-learning. If we accept that
teachers—are important here. Additionally, and the “learning” part of e-learning is effectively
within the framework of this discussion, it is seen encapsulated in the above quote, then we con-
as important that the individual student gains an sider that Goodyear (2005) provided an exten-
appreciation of how he or she learns or acquires sion and clarification of the term “e-learning”
that understanding. When, with reference to pro- which emphasises the learning aspects when he
fessional learning, Trowler and Knight (2000, p. suggested that:
37) state that “much professional learning is social, The terms e-learning, Web-based learning
provisional, situated, contingent, constructed and and online learning now have wide currency in
cultural in nature,” it follows that this is also true education. I use the term networked learning to
of student learning. It might not be necessary, mean a distinctive version of these approaches. I
possible, or even desirable to try to explain all define networked learning as: “learning in which
of these aspects to new university entrants, but ICT is used to promote connections: between one
some knowledge of an individual’s own learning learner and other learners; between learners and
processes and how to use them effectively has to tutors; between a learning community and its
be a useful resource for each student. learning resources.” (Goodyear, 2005)
One reason for this is that the types of learn-
ing engaged with in higher education are more
complex than those encountered at school (Knight, A systems PersPectIve oF
2001). This is true both of the types of learning rAPAd And PeLe
in themselves and the social and organisational
setting in which many undergraduates find them- This section comprises an overview of the sys-
selves as they emerge into adulthood. Comment- tems approach to the problem and how it affected
ing within the context of considering the process the development of RAPAD as a methodology
of curriculum-making, Knight states that “it is and PELE as a system. The systems paradigm
this complexity that especially distinguishes or systems inquiry is an approach which uses
university study from school study” (Knight, the elements and organisation of systems theory
2001, p. 369). (the core transformation at the conceptual level,
It is now widely accepted that an important part hierarchy, system boundary, environment, etc.)
of the learning process is that each of us builds as a lens for investigating student learning and
or constructs new knowledge on the basis of the e-learning system design in higher education.
existing knowledge (Goodyear, 2002; Knight The approach encourages us to be systemic as
& Trowler, 2001; Simons et al., 2000; Vermunt, well as systematic.
1998). This is the “constructivist” paradigm which


RAPAD

Ontologically, systems philosophy takes a temic and systematic viewpoints allows analysis
systems view of the world and thus provides a to be used as a useful tool rather than as an end in
holistic perspective. This holistic perspective itself. Researchers such as Schon (1991), Argyris
allows us to envisage the university as system (2004), Argyris and Schon (1996), Checkland
with the student as learning system (SLS) as (1981, 2000), Checkland and Hollwell (1998), and
subsystem (both with and without the individual Banathy (1996, 1999) have all worked to apply a
e-learning environment (ILE)). The university and systems approach and systems concepts to com-
SLS can also be conceptualised in terms of their plex social systems including higher education.
relationships with other systems and subsystems. By viewing the various scenarios systemically
Systems philosophy provides a process oriented and in terms of a hierarchy of related systems
view and the organisation of the relationships and and subsystems, an analytical approach can be
processes between relevant entities is central to adopted and used without losing sight of impor-
the emergence of the properties which help define tant systems relationships. Systems theory thus
a given system. In the case of this research, the provides tools and techniques for organising and
arrangements and relationships between the stu- understanding complexity. Properties such as
dent, the PELE subsystems and e-learning support hierarchy and emergence allow us to define the
processes and materials help define the emergent student and PELE within the context of the uni-
system. Different actors will view the system in a versity and related e-learning systems. Systems
range of ways. However, the framework provided methodology provides strategies and models for
by the cognitive profile helps ensure that the applying systems theory to complex systems and
viewpoint represented by the student and PELE problems. Systems methodology can be used in
as SLS is that of the student. two related but separate modes. The first is to
Epistemologically the systems approach takes use it as a way of organising and implement-
synthesis as both the starting point and objective ing enquiry about systems. The second is as a
of systems inquiry. The combination of the sys- framework for making sense of the system from

Figure 2. Student as reflective and participatory system designer for PELE


 RAPAD

within any events which might be taking place. suboptimally interfaced with many important
In this study, systems methodology was used systems. The student can be conceptualised as
in both these ways. The models, methods, and being tightly coupled to subject learning through
strategies were used to define and explore, for the provision of prescribed materials and pro-
example, the concept of the student and PELE cesses, the use of the transmission method of
as an e-learning system. In addition, the use of teaching and learning, and a lack of metacogni-
systems methodology was, in itself, an iterative tive awareness and learning autonomy. In terms
and self-reflexive process in which the methodol- of other subsystems, the student may be poorly
ogy was a tool that was refined and developed by interfaced because of some of these factors plus a
the process of being used. lack of process knowledge—for example, a poor
knowledge of administrative procedures or of how
The Student as a Reflective and to access information on those procedures.
Participatory system designer for The student and individual e-learning environ-
PeLe ment combine as SLS to produce a more effective
e-learning system. This new system produces a
From a systems perspective, the student can be tight coupling between the student and the PELE.
considered to be part of the university conceptu- This then allows a loose and flexible coupling
alised as a human activity system. This system with the subjects as e-learning systems and
then contains several related subsystems, each other university e-learning and learning support
made up of people, processes, and technology. systems. This is the concept of Flexible Student
We can also conceptualise the student as being Alignment (Webster, 2005). By enhancing each
part of an e-learning system and, consequently, student’s metacognitive skills and self-regulatory
as a system, being combined with and interacting awareness, the locus of control is shifted towards
with relevant processes (attending, studying, using the student. The more autonomous system that
the library) and technologies (books, television, emerges is better able to handle the demands
computers). As with all human activity systems, of active and independent e-learning. Figure 3
there can then be several different conceptualisa- presents an overview of this process.
tions and viewpoints of the component parts and The PELE is necessarily an open system de-
makeup of the student as learning system (aca- signed with the student in order to help to student to
demic, administrator, parent, peer, etc.). However, interact with all facets of his or her environment in
the perspective which is the most important is order to support and sustain the learning process.
that of the student him or herself. The initial interface of a prototype Individual E-
As suggested above, we can further consider Learning Environment is shown in Figure 3. It
the student as learning system (SLS) to be part is built around the personal learning activities of
of a larger learning system, the university. The the student and also allows for more personal ele-
SLS interfaces with many other subsystems which ments to be included. The student’s cognitive style
function as e-learning or e-learning support (Analytic-Imager) in this case impacts both the
systems. The interfaces between the SLS and design (e.g., structure) and content (e.g., balance
these other systems are of crucial importance in of text and graphics) of the page. The student’s
the functioning of the student as an active and learning styles affect the content (e.g., time man-
autonomous learner. agement, learning organisation procedures, and
From the perspective of a compliant student resources, resource links for identified areas of
functioning with the transmission model of e- study weakness). Personality type impacts the look
learning, the student can be considered to be and feel of the learning environment but also the

0
RAPAD

information related processes via the instrument’s their view of constructive alignment to consider
information based dimensions. the concept of “alignment to students” (McCune,
2003, p. 24). She also suggested that learning mea-
Flexible student Alignment (FsA) sures and questionnaires had their limitations in
providing descriptions of the complexity of align-
Flexible student alignment (FSA) is produced ment in any given situation and stated that:
by the student and PELE subsystems forming
an adaptive system for interfacing with the While a teaching-environment may seem well
subsystems of the university e-learning system. aligned in terms, for example, of the correspon-
Biggs (1996, 1999, 2003) proposed the use of the dence between the forms of learning encouraged
concept of “constructive alignment” and sees by the different aspects of the teaching and assess-
the process as “aligning curriculum objectives, ment, this does not mean that this environment will
teaching/learning activities and assessment tasks” be equally suitable for all of the students involved.
(Biggs, 1999, p. 65). This concept has become a (McCune, 2003, p. 24)
generally accepted approach to viewing the teach-
ing-learning process. It takes a constructivist per- We can paraphrase this to say that: while
spective on learning and aims to align objectives the e-learning systems and environments may
expressing the types of understanding required of seem well aligned in terms of, for example, the
the student with assessment tasks which help us correspondence between the forms of e-learning
to see that those objectives have been met. The required for the overall efficient functioning of
teaching context and the assessment tasks also their university, this does not mean that this sys-
help students to undertake suitable e-learning tems and environments will be equally suitable
activities and the assessments clearly articulate for all the students involved.
what the students need to do. This is a useful and What is need is a series of personalized sub-
productive approach. It does, however, consider systems which can interface with the university
alignment largely from the teacher and teaching e-learning systems and environments with the
enabled learning perspective. software processes, information, and learning
We can also adapt this to the idea of develop- objects arranged with and by the individual student
ing e-learning systems and environments—that for each student’s e-learning purposes.
is, most current systems and environments are The work reported here focused on the learner
developed from the organisation’s perspective. and consequently considered alignment from the
However, if we recognise the need for and ad- student perspective as well. There is a close fit
vantages of the personalization of learning and and tight-coupling between the student and the
e-learning for lifelong learning in the knowledge PELE as e-learning support system. This and the
society, then we need adaptive systems and en- facility for loose coupling and flexibility between
vironments. The RAPAD methodology allows the PELE and the university as an e-learning
us to develop personalized e-learning systems environment enables students to better align
and environments to promote Flexible Student themselves with the various teaching-learning
Alignment via the involvement of the student in environments they encounter. Flexible Student
the design and development process. Alignment allows the student to use the SLS-PELE
McCune (2003) recognised this when reporting system to exercise individual flexible alignment
extensive work on university teaching-learning with respect to the multiplicity of teaching-learn-
environments (Entwistle, 2003; Entwistle, Mc- ing environments and other university e-learning
Cune, & Hounsell, 2002). The team had modified support systems encountered.


 RAPAD

technology or human-centred is intended to demonstrate an acute case of the

e-Learning systems design? kind of reflection which Schön (1983) advocates
in ‘The Reflective Practitioner’” (Checkland &
Many of the changes in education and society Scholes, 1990, p. 276).
in recent years have been technology driven. The development of RAPAD then draws on
In most OECD countries (excluding the USA, the theoretical and applied work of both men—
where a mass or even universal system of higher separately and together. Separately because the
education has long been in place) there has also individual contributions included Schön’s “The
been a shift from and elite to a mass system of Reflective Practitioner: and Checkland’s “Soft
higher education (Trow, 1973). This shift has Systems Methodology.” Together, in that they
meant an increase in participation rates from 10- both draw extensively on systems theory and
15% to 30-40% of the 18-21 age group alongside Vickers’ concept of “appreciative systems” to help
wider participation from the population in general gain an understanding of the operations of both
(DfES, 2003). This combination of changes (and individuals and organisations. This is the basis of
reductions in student per capita funding) has Checkland’s “Human Activity Systems” (Check-
meant that new methods of teaching and learning land, 1981, 2000). The learning system produced
have become necessary. Technology is seen as a by the integration of the students, RAPAD, PELE,
major enabler, but the learning is still done by the and supporting technologies is considered to be
student, aided by good teaching. This means we an example of such a system.
need student-centred learning systems rather than
technology-centred systems. The changes have Information systems methodologies
been placed in a broad context above and will be and user-centred and Participatory
focused on at the individual level with reference design
to learning and to organisations in general and
universities in particular. The user-centred design In the development of RAPAD, several informa-
perspective and systems approach adopted is set tion systems methodologies were drawn on at
within a systems theory framework and much different times. These include Checkland’s Soft
of the theoretical thrust comes from an integra- Systems Methodology, Vora’s Human Factors
tion of the ideas of Donald Schön (1971, 1983, Methodology for developing Web sites (1998) and
1987, 1991) and Peter Checkland and co-workers the Human Factors for Information Technology
(Checkland, 1981, 2000; Checkland & Holwell, methodology and tool kit, HUFIT (HUSAT, 1990),
1998; Checkland & Scholes, 1990). Schön and which was used for the interface design guidance.
Checkland were concerned with change in society There are an enormous number of methodologies
and organisations. Schön is perhaps most closely for the development of information systems. Most,
identified with education and learning; Checkland fundamentally, are products in the market place
with organisational change and information sys- so each has its own tools and techniques, all of
tems. Checkland acknowledges the strong links which are claimed to be superior to all the others
between the central theses of the two authors for doing essentially the same things—conduct-
(Schön and The Reflective Practitioner, Checkland ing the activities of the systems development life
and Soft Systems Methodology) in the second cycle. Some authors (Avison & Fitzgerald, 2003;
of his major texts, Soft Systems Methodology Avison & Wood-Harper, 1990; El Louadi, Gal-
in Action (Checkland & Scholes, 1990). In the letta, & Sampler, 1998) have suggested using a
final chapter, entitled Gathering and Learning the “contingency approach” to system development.
Lessons, Checkland comments that “this chapter This allows for the selection of different sets of


RAPAD

methods and techniques according to criteria such The participatory approach in this study was
as the complexity of the system under develop- operationalized by the use of cognitive profiles
ment, the role of the user in the system and the and the involvement of students in reflecting on
expertise of the system developer. RAPAD can their own responses and then applying them to
also be considered to be a contingency methodol- learning environment design. Using the three
ogy drawing, as it does, on a range of tools and measures plus an iterative process of discussion,
techniques which can be adapted for a variety of design, and feedback gave a more holistic and
circumstances. systemic approach to the design of the PELEs.
This flexibility can be useful in dealing with In the information systems arena, there is a
complex scenarios where an innovative approach central statement indicating that you cannot design
might be useful. This is often the case in higher a better or improved system without fully under-
education where there are additional reasons for standing how the current system works—and no
complexity. As well as the different cultural and one understands the day to day working of a system
social norms encountered learning support sys- like the users. As with many well-worn sayings,
tems have to have sound pedagogic aims, objec- it is uttered frequently but followed rarely. Giving
tives, and achievements. Consequently, it can be students the relatively comprehensive information
argued that the implementation of such systems concerning their approaches to learning and their
can be more difficult than “normal” business information processing preferences (with refer-
information systems. ence to the layout and structure of learning materi-
Participatory design was pioneered in Scandi- als and, by inference, interfaces) allows them to
navia in the 1960s and 1970s (Preece et al., 2002). reflect and comment on both the accuracy of the
As its name suggests, it is designed to encourage measures and their applicability to the tasks in
user involvement in the design process and, along hand—including thoughts on how and why they
with contextual design, is one of the user-centred learn. The use of the additional learning style
approaches to interaction design. Whereas contex- and personality elements of the cognitive profile
tual design aims to use an ethnographic approach also allows comparison between the measures
to help the designer to understand the user in his and an extension of the individual differences
or her social, work and cultural context, participa- being considered
tory design encourages the active involvement of
the user in the design process. We can consider Why Use a Reflective and
the similarities between contextual design and Participatory methodology?
participatory design. Contextual design has seven
activities: contextual inquiry, work modeling, The overall process for the individual student is
consolidation, work redesign, user environment one of reflecting on the elements of a personal
design, mockup, and test with customers (Preece cognitive profile and then, after discussion and
et al., 2002, p. 296). One form of participatory consideration, applying the results of those reflec-
design, as used here, is to broadly follow these tions to the development of a Web technology-
activities, but to ensure that the user (or learner in based personalised e-learning environment.
this case) is dynamically and iteratively involved This approach taken has several key features
in the full design and development process. This that contribute to its effectiveness. These include
involvement is not always an easy task to ensure, the following:
although the participation of students studying a
human computer interaction unit in the first and • Participation in the process helps students
main iteration of this study greatly facilitated to develop metacognitive awareness and
the process.


 RAPAD

Figure 3. RAPAD provides the guiding methodology but the cognitive profile and PELE are key compo-
nents to help reconceptualize learning and e-learning

RAPAD:
The methodology
provides the
overall process
and framework

Cognitive Profile: PELE:

Enables learner Provides design
focused reflection and development
on learning context and focus
characteristics

self-regulatory skills and to explore their • As a product of the process, students get a
attitudes to learning and e-learning in a resource which works in several ways and
manner which promotes Lifelong Learn- on several levels—an information organiser,
ing. a e-learnplace, a virtual/physical interface,
• Students produce a personalised Web site a cognitive interface, and an organisational
or Personalized E-Learning Environment interface.
(PELE) which provides a personalized • The design process helps give participants
access to learning materials and support a better understanding of students learning
systems. and e-learning systems design.
• The student is a major contributor to and
participator in the design and development student engagement with rAPAd
process, but it is not assumed that the student
can do this alone—the instructional designer In terms of student engagement with RAPAD and
and teacher have key roles in facilitating the the process of reconceptualizing their understand-
process. ing of personalized learning, the following are
• A framework is provided that affords both key steps in the application of the methodology
a structure to work within and a process to (several of these tasks are performed iteratively or
follow. in parallel over the life cycle of the process):
• Participation in the process helps students to
learn about user-centred, learned-centred, 1. Continuous reflection and comment on all
and participatory approaches to technology aspects of the process via mechanisms such
based e-learning environment design as discussion, reflective journals, tutorial
and assessment tasks, and learning related
design task.


RAPAD

2. An introduction to learning and the possible knowledge and PELE into all learning ac-
variations in and impact of cognitive styles, tivities.
learning styles, and learning preferences on
the learning process A version of the above scenario is presented
3. Taking the cognitive profile tests, consider- in Table 1 as implemented for the Learning at
ing personal results (and being allowed to University course.
disagree with them—with the proviso of To summarize, a reflective and participatory
explaining why), discussing the results and approach to design is a developmental method-
commenting on them within the context of ology which encourages reflection within the
current individual conceptions of personal context of a participatory approach to design. In
learning. this case it is reflection by students on aspects of
4. Producing a basic learning/personal Web site their own learning and participation in the process
as part of the first assessment task (along with of the design and development of personalised
a written version of the previous activity). e-learning environments. It is not assumed that
5. Engagement with online learning resources students can easily or naturally contribute to the
from a variety of sources to consider personal design and development process, so the concept of
preferences for learning tasks and activities the cognitive profile has been introduced to help
(structure and form of educational materi- the process. A cognitive profile is considered to
als, doing assignments, individual and col- consist of measures of an individual’s cognitive
laborative learning, information retention, style, learning style, and personality type. In
revising, etc.). terms of the design of a personalised e-learning
6. Doing a series of tutorial-based profile and environment, the term “reflective” is used as
design related tasks and producing an initial in Schön’s phrase “the reflective practitioner”
design document and series of draft screens (Schön, 1983).
for the PELE (second assessment task). Participatory design is an approach to design
7. Discussing tutor feedback on the design which is not only user-centred (or learner-centred),
document in group and individual sce- but actively involves the user (student) in the design
narios. process. This is especially important where there
8. Developing a series of personalised learning is a large element of interaction between the user
strategies for the degree course, the current and the system being designed. One mechanism
year, a semester, a unit, an assignment, and for doing this is student or user involvement in
considering how they might be integrated the design process, that is, a form of participatory
into the PELE. These strategies are seen as design where students can draw on and develop
flexible and dynamic, to be adjusted accord- their knowledge and understanding of how they
ing to varying constraints. learn within a framework and discourse provided
9. Developing, documenting (i.e., explaining by academic staff, university teachers, and stu-
the design with reference to one’s personal dent peers.
learning profile as part of the final assessment
task), presenting, and receiving feedback on
the actual Personalized E-Learning Envi- the deveLoPment oF rAPAd
ronment.
10. Reflecting on the overall process, changing There were four main phases in the development
personal conceptions of individual learning, of RAPAD:
and integrating the new learning related


 RAPAD

1. The initial development and formulation of episodes occurred against the backdrop of a series
ideas from observed teaching practice of university reorganizations. The reorganizations
2. A structured research study with Level 3 reflected both social and technological changes
Human Computer Interaction students in higher education and responses to government
3. The development and reformulation of ideas policy and suggested a need to rethink student
from 1 and 2 with post-graduate conversion learning support resources at a personal level.
students taking several iterations of an In- I explored some of these ideas in several of the
formation Systems Development course courses I taught over the next few years. These
4. The fourth phase saw RAPAD developed, included courses in Human Computer Interaction
restructured for less technologically ex- and Information Systems Design. One newly
perienced students, and used as the major developed course allowed me to explore more
part and focus of a unit entitled “Learning of the cognitive and interface issues emerging
at University” for over 400 pre-university with Internet and Web developments—Intelligent
students. Interfaces for the Internet.

The four main phases are discussed in more Phase 2: Formal research Program
detail. As with all dynamic user-centred meth-
odologies, further use brings new developments A formal research program was designed to
and refinements. explore several of the questions raised by the
experiences of the students and myself in the first
Phase 1: Initial Formulation of the phase. Curriculum and syllabus changes allowed
need for Personalised e-Learning the redesign of a human computer interaction
Environments course to integrate the cognitive and interface is-
sues into the course material and assessment. The
The roots of the development of RAPAD lie in stated aim of the research was “to consider how
the period following the advent of the World cognitive profiles and a reflective and participa-
Wide Web in the UK. In the mid 1990s, the Web tory approach to the design and development of
and associated work-related factors initiated a a Web-based learning environment can be used
process of thinking in a more structured manner to enable autonomous learning and help students
about emerging themes and problems. The first interface with learning processes, materials, and
of these was when I observed a personalized and environments” (Webster, 2005, p.3).
individual interface (for a partially sighted student) Three well known and reliable measures,
in practice. The second was a concurrent period Riding’s Cognitive Styles Analysis (Riding &
of major organizational change, not uncommon Rayner, 1998), Entwistle’s Approaches and Study
in modern higher education, which had a nega- Skills Inventory for Students (Tait, Entwistle,
tive impact on the student using the personalized & McCune, 1998), and the Myers-Briggs Type
interface. Ideas concerning information overload Indicator (Myers, McCaulley, Quenk, & Hammer,
and attempts to enable students to handle the 1999) were used to develop the cognitive profile.
ever-increasing availability of masses of relatively Computer-based and self-report tests for each of
unstructured information were initially devel- the above measures were administered to a group
oped. Thoughts on interface preferences were of 64 students participating in a human computer
further prompted when I supervised the above interaction unit. The results of the tests were made
student taking a written exam with the specially available to the students within one week of each
constructed interface. Both of these reflective measure being administered. The students were


RAPAD

then asked to reflect on and write about their emergent Issues

thoughts on the accuracy and relevance of the
measures. Later in the unit, each student had to The initial period of analysis involved using the
develop a Web-based personalized e-learning quantitative data to provide a broad overview
environment (PELE) to a series of e-learning of the profiles, responses, and attitudes of the
related information resources. This required the respondents. This was done using the data from
application of elements of the cognitive profile to each of the cognitive profile measures plus the
the design and development process. In addition, quantitative data from the survey. However, as
the students were asked to document the reasons would be expected and as suggested by Sum-
for their design. A range of qualitative and quanti- merville (1999), the qualitative data provided
tative measures was collected. Student reflections much greater insights into the individual aspects
on and responses to the process were considered of e-learning.
via the use of a questionnaire, reflective journal The student comments and associated qualita-
and interviews. The comments on the form and tive data indicated that engaging in the process
content of the Web sites created contained in the of reflecting on the characteristics of one’s own
documentation were also analysed. individual cognitive profile did have an effect
Two related metaphors were used to help on the design, development, and content of the
the students to conceptualise the design of the individual e-learning environment. Several
PELE. The first was that of the Learning Re- students queried their prior lack of knowledge
source Centre (LRC) which is basically a modern of this type of information and commented that
university library integrating digital information they would have preferred to have access to this
management and learning support services. One type of metacognitive information in their high
definition used was: school (or even their university) careers.
The Learning Resource Centre (LRC) is a The participants often had a vague awareness
meeting place for all those who wish to learn. and sketchy understanding of their preferences
It is the electronic hub of the university and our for information handling, but this remained in
surrounding communities, linking us to the wider an unstructured and unfocused form. The infor-
global community. It harnesses new technologies mation from their cognitive profile gave them
effectively to make learning more adaptable and an opportunity to look at this scenario and their
flexible and more widely available. The LRC is preferences in a much more informed and struc-
at the centre of the university’s concept of a new tured manner. This then helped inform the PELE
learning environment. This environment focuses design, from the perspective of an impact on both
all our available resources into a teaching and the structure and form of the environment. Feed-
learning strategy based on our understanding of back and comments indicated that the CSA and
the changing trends in the learning community. its dimensions provided the most useful data and
The second metaphor was that of the PELE criteria in terms of developing the “look and feel”
conceptualised as a small personal house which of the PELE. The MBTI and ASSIST measures
the student could enter and find the personalized also provided personal learning and information
learning resources in a set of rooms design to processing preference details and these, while hav-
support each specific learning activity. This is a ing less impact on the design and construction of
similar, but more personal and individual use of the PELE, proved useful with specific reference to
the “house” metaphor to that used in the “Book- the learning process. This then impacted on the
house” (Pejtersen, 1989). PELE in terms of materials accessed to support
e-learning preferences.


 RAPAD

More important, however, was the manner in To improve the quality of student learn-
which several students commented on broader ing, instructional measures should address the
aspects of their learning experiences and ap- conceptual domain of learning conceptions and
proaches to learning and sometimes identified beliefs, of which students have to become aware,
key incidents which affected their learning de- and which they have to develop, for example by
velopment. Others commented on the difficulties means of critical reflection. (Vermetten et al.,
they had in adjusting to the different demands of 2002, p. 263)
studying at university. They also pointed out that In addition, the responses suggested that both
the way they studied in the later parts of their the range of issues students considered as affecting
time at university was very different from that their learning and the manner in which these issues
adopted in the earlier stages. The manner of this interacted was very wide yet produced an individual
transition appeared to be a random one, often mix for each student. This outcome appeared to sup-
enabled by personal recognition of the problem port the comments of Summerville (1999) and Pillay
and self-help or the requested intervention of a (1998) on the need for a more process based approach
lecturer, tutor, or counsellor. comprising the collection of qualitative data.
Consideration of these and other examples from In addition, social issues such as the intervention
the difference types of data sources, especially the of others or the need to make sense of a process which
reflective journals, process documentation, survey students felt they should understand (how to study
comments, and interviews indicated several emer- effectively at university) yet clearly didn’t, indicated a
gent issues. need for a revision and extension of the methodology
The first issue to emerge was that the real impact and e-learning system.
of the cognitive profile measures was in enabling
students to reflect on their e-learning habits and Phase three: the Introduction of
processes in a structured manner. The actual scores ssm techniques
were less important than providing each student with
a set of relevant learner categories and characteris- The third phase saw the development and refor-
tics—whether imager or analytic, extraversion or in- mulation of ideas from the first two phases with
tuition, “interest in ideas” or “fear of failure”—which post-graduate conversion students taking several
could be used to think about their own e-learning iterations of an information systems development
experiences. The measures and activities provided course. A major outcome of this phase was the
a framework and a structured set of processes with introduction of specific techniques from Checkland’s
which the participants could engage reflectively with Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) (Checkland, 1981,
important features of the own learning. By critically 2000), especially Rich Pictures, in the process and
assessing their own learning needs and applying their research. The use of Rich Pictures at the student mod-
assumptions and conclusions to an iterative design elling phase was introduced after the initial research
process aimed at supporting their personal learning and Human Computer Interaction unit iteration. The
requirements, the students could effectively engage purpose of its introduction was to see if it could be
with understanding how they learn at an individual used to draw out issues relating to the social and
level. This leads to a much needed “conceptual interactive elements of learning. It then provided the
shift” in students understanding of individual (and basis for the “organisational interface” by allowing
thus collaborative) learning, the need for which was the student to place him or herself at the centre of the
suggested by Vermetten et al. (2002). university as organisation in a pictorial format. An
example Rich Picture is shown in Figure 4.


RAPAD

Figure 4. A rich picture to help clarify learning support needs and PELE design

The Rich Picture has been described as a “tool for Phase Four: the “Learning at
reasoning about work context” (Monk & Howard, University” Unit
1998) and both the technique and the methodology
have been applied to educational scenarios by several For the fourth phase of RAPAD’s development
authors and practitioners in addition to Checkland, saw the methodology developed and restructured
its originator (Briggs, 2003; Kassabova & Trounson, for less technologically experienced students. The
2000; Patel, 1995). In the systems development unit, reflective and participatory model developed in
the students were asked to reflect and comment on the the previous three phases—including the cog-
perceived learning support needs of different types of nitive profile, Rich Pictures, and personalised
student (undergraduate, pos-graduate, part-time, full- e-learning environment—was introduced as a
time, etc.). After various exercises and discussion in pre-university unit that formed the central unit
the context of systems development they were asked of a university preparation course for more than
to produce a Rich Picture of their own situation with 400 pre-university students.
respect to learning support resources and systems. This development represented an attempt to
Again, the concept of the Learning Resource Centre change the unit or course from one format—study
was used to illustrate and aid this exercise. The ex- skills based, nonelectronically supported—to a
amples produced illustrated a variety of individual format which is supported by Blackboard Learner
perspectives of how different students see themselves Management System. The course syllabus (see Table
acting and interacting within the context of the 1) adapted and used the model presented above to
university as e-learning environment––very much develop the metacognitive and self-regulatory skills
a personalized viewpoint. The students then used of the students about to enter university life and to
their Rich Pictures to define the PELE as a system help enable e-learning and lifelong learning.
in systems development terms (see below). The differences between 64 predominantly third
year students doing a Level 3 unit in “Human Com-
puter Interaction” and more than 400 pre-university


 RAPAD

students completing a “Learning at University” unit with the redevelopment of a series of university
are significant. However, the exercise proved very preparation units to integrate the material into a
successful and by the second iteration of the course keystone unit for a university preparation course.
the methodology as unit was successfully integrated This unit, Learning at University, was aimed at
with Blackboard and the unit assessment practices. helping students to understand their own learning
This phase also provided additional data and material more full and thus to help provide the individual
for consideration in the development of the RAPAD as metacognitive skills and strategies necessary for
a methodology to enable students to reconceptualize each student to more fully benefit from the other
their learning within e-learning environments. units comprising the course.
The methodology and the unit can also be
“Learning at University”: seen as parts of a learning system designed and
Participatory methodology and developed to help the student to develop as an
unit as a Learning system autonomous learner. This is within the context
of the different systemic demands of mass higher
The research has a practical focus. It was always education (educational and social). In Banathy’s
intended that the research and methodology (1999) terms of key entity, key function, and or-
would provide the basis of several short courses ganising the education for learning outcomes (i.e.,
and also longer units if possible. The main target of the learning system), we have the following:
group were first year students and it was hoped
that short courses could be provided in the first • The key entity is the student
semester, although it was recognised that the • The key function is to enable autonomous
best time could be before commencing university e-learning
study. A variety of courses, including one half-day, • How to “organize the education for attain-
one day, and one week courses were designed for ing the best possible learning outcomes?"
students (and staff in one case), but there were dif- is achieved via the current and proposed
ficulties with fitting into the current diet of study implementation of the “Learning at Uni-
skills courses. However, an opportunity did arise versity” unit

Figure 5. Conceptual model of “Learning at University” as a learning system

0
RAPAD

Again using techniques from the Soft Systems focused on producing a design document for a
Methodology (Checkland, 1981, 2000), we can PELE with specific reference to their profiles.
define the elements of the systems as shown below. Following feedback and further exercises and
These are followed by a Root Definition, which discussion, the final assessment had several com-
draws the elements together and a Conceptual ponents. These were: to produce a final version
Model which presents the minimum subsystems of the e-learning environment (PELE), describe
needed to allow the system defined in the Root and critically analyse the structure of the PELE
Definition to function. according to each individual’s cognitive profile,
and finally, to orally and visual present and
• Client: The individual student demonstrate their e-learning environments to the
• Actors: The individual student, other respective workshop groups.
students, university staff (academics and The integration of the processes and materials
administrative) into the unit as a set of lectures, tutorials, and
• Transformation: Identification and satis- workshops is shown in Table 1.
faction of the individual students needs to
develop as an autonomous e-learner and life
long learning concLusIon
• Worldview: Autonomous e-learning is a
desirable learner attribute in mass higher This chapter has covered a lot of ground and
education and the knowledge society summarized the development work of much of the
• Owner: The university past decade. More detailed information, data, and
• Environment: Social and educational results concerning the formal research program
change, university as e-learning environ- and other developments can be found in several
ment, peer group, work opportunities related publications (Webster, 2002, 2003, 2004,
2005). With reference to the information provided
Root Definition by the three measures comprising the cognitive
profile, this allowed students to reflect on their
The “Learning at University” unit and associated learning related characteristics and preferences
personnel and resources comprise a system, owned in a much more structured and informed man-
by the university and operated by the student and ner. The outcome of applying the results of this
university staff, which identifies and satisfies the reflection was enhanced metacognitive skills
individual student’s need for autonomous e-learn- and knowledge. The design of the personalized
ing capabilities. It operates in an environment e-learning environment was an iterative process
enhanced and constrained by the academic and which both enabled the reflection and was affected
social resources and relationships. by the user profile in terms of structure and con-
In practical terms, this meant the integration tent. Many found that the dimensions of the CSA
of the framework, processes, and activities of gave them the most directly useful information
RAPAD into the Learning at University unit. in terms of the format and content of the PELE
The unit was assessed by a series of linked and and interface design. In contrast, the MBTI and
integrated assessments. The first required the ASSIST measures provided personal e-learning
students to produce a simple Web site, following and information preference details which were
lab material provided, plus an initial cognitive informative and had greater relevance to the e-
or learning profile based on their results, tutorial learning process. These details could then be either
discussions, and reflection. The second assessment integrated into the ‘look and feel’ of the PELE


 RAPAD

Table 1. RAPAD implemented as the “Learning at University” unit

WEEK
LECTURE TUTORIAL WORKSHOP/LAB.

1 University learning and you: indi- Introduction to the unit Introduction to the lab.
vidual differences and indepen- Logging on.
dent learning ASSIST questionnaire Accessing Blackboard
2 Student cognitive and learning University learning and you: indi- Introduction to Web design for e-
profiles vidual differences and indepen- learning environment development
dent learning
3 Learning styles and learning Student cognitive and learning Web design for e-learning environ-
strategies profiles ment development (continued)
4 Cognitive styles and individual Learning styles and learning Cognitive styles and e-learning
preferences in layout and content strategies environment development
5 Personality types—how your per- Cognitive styles and individual Learning styles and learning envi-
sonality can affect your learning preferences in layout and content ronment development ASSIGN-
MENT 1 DUE
6 Learning Resource Centres Personality types—how your per- Learning communities and e-learn-
(LRC), Web sites, and Personal- sonality can affect your learning ing environment development
ized E-Learning Environments
(PELE)
7 Online learning and Web us- Learning Resource Centres Learning strategy features for e-
ability—tips on good learning (LRC), Web sites, and Personal- learning environment development
environment design ized E-Learning Environments
(PELE)
8 Rich Pictures and you—seeing Online learning and Web us- Learning support features for e-
yourself in the context of your ability—tips on good learning learning environment development
learning environment design ASSIGNMENT 2 DUE
9 Ideas for your PELE content—the Rich Pictures and you—seeing PELE development
BookHouse and the LearnHouse yourself in the context of your
learning
10 Developing learning strategies— Ideas for your PELE content—the PELE development
units & assessment BookHouse and the LearnHouse
11 Developing learning strategies— Developing learning strategies— PELE development
semester, year and course units & assessment
12 Unit review Presentations Presentations
ASSIGNMENT 3 DUE
13 Feedback sessions Feedback sessions Feedback sessions

or used more directly to suggest the inclusion of a taught unit, can be seen as an e-learning system
specific e-learning related features. which helps the student to produce a series of
Later iterations of the process and methodol- interfaces for integrating with learning environ-
ogy introduced further elements such as the Rich ments at the same time as aiding the development
Picture to enable students to consider additional of the student as an autonomous e-learner. There
aspects of how they might interface with both was a considerable difference between developing
online learning environments and the university the methodology with a cohort of 64 second and
as e-learning environment. In this way, the meth- third year Human Computer Interaction students
odology and techniques, as applied in the form of and a much larger number of students taking a


 Another Random Document on
Scribd Without Any Related Topics
 Borrow writes me word that his life is nearly ready, and that it will run
the Bible hull down. If he tells truth, it will be a queer thing. I shall review
it for the Edinburgh. There is nothing new here; the harvest has been
splendid, and there is cider enough to make the country drunk. The farmers
are in better spirits; if the Government did but know their strength and act,
all would go well, but the house is on fire in many places, and not a bucket
moved: Vaya! vaya! il faut cultiver son jardin.
Heavitree, Dec. 28th, 1843.
We are all here, pursuing the same uniform vegetable existence for
which Devonians are renowned, and none the worse for the routine. It has
been somewhat varied by my bringing out two Daughters, which, in point
of satin slips, ball flounces, and trimmed nightcaps, is nearly equivalent to a
marriage trousseau. The bills, combined with those of Eton, have reduced
my Irish 5 per cents. to almost an unknown quantity. Such is the perverse
tendency of expenditure to advance in a more rapid ratio than increase of
income. Ireland just now seems quiet; so is Vesuvius. If Dan carries the day,
I shall be shot up, or rather be shot down, light as the scoriæ by which
Pompeii was covered over; but I have no fears whatever.
Handbook is about to be printed. All these civil wars in Spain are not
very attractive to the wayfaring man, who purchases in Albemarle Street;
but I dare swear that ere April the goodly tomes—now two—will decorate
Murray’s shop. The task has indeed been severe, yet a serious pleasure, a
great occupation,—somewhat indeed too much, as the mind ought not to be
kept on a perpetual strain. I shall “couper mon bâton” and pen; when it is
done, his artem cestumque repono.
Asi va el mundo. I am lamenting over the silent and rapid flight, and the
desengaño of all things. It is lucky that there is no San Yuste in this
Protestant land, or (as one, now en la gloria esta, used to say) I might be
tempted to turn hermit and count my beads. What a charming place after all
Sⁿ Yuste was! and what capital trout fishing!
Oulton Hall, Lowestoft, 26 Jan. /44.
Handbook goes forthwith to press.
I am here on a visit to El Gitano; two “rum coves,” in a queer country.
This is a regular Patmos, an ultima Thule; placed in an angle of the most
unvisited, out-of-the-way portion of England. His house hangs over a lonely
lake covered with wild fowl, and is girt with dark firs, through which the
wind sighs sadly; however, we defy the elements, and chat over las cosas
de España, and he tells me portions of his life, more strange even than his
book. We scamper by day over the country in a sort of gig, which reminds
me of Mr. Weare on his trip with Mr. Thurtell (Borrow’s old preceptor);
“Sidi Habismilk” is in the stable, and a Zamarra [sheepskin coat] now
before me, writing as I am in a sort of summer-house called La Mezquita, in
which El Gitano concocts his lucubrations, and paints his pictures, for his
object is to colour up and poetise his adventures.
Writing to Ford from Oulton Hall, February 9th, 1844, Borrow says:
Almost as soon as I got back from Norwich the weather became very
disagreeable, a strange jumble of frost, fog, and wet. I am glad that during
your stay here it has been a little more favourable. I still keep up, but not
exactly the thing. You can’t think how I miss you and our chats by the
fireside. The wine, now I am alone, has lost its flavour, and the cigars make
me ill. I am very frequently in my valley of the shadows, and had I not my
summer jaunt to look forward to, I am afraid it would be all up with your
friend and Batushka [little father]. I still go on with my Life, but slowly and
lazily. What I write, however, is good. I feel it is good, strange and wild as
it is.
Ford’s correspondence with Addington is resumed.
Heavitree, May 23, 1844.
As your Excellency is naturally a studier of human character, I think you
will be edified by beholding me in a new phase, that of Church-building
and drawing up reports thereanent; so I enclose you the particulars.
Mrs. Ford and myself are about to quit these bemyrtled bowers on
Monday next: we proceed to Eton, where my son and heir is to figure in the
Montem Saturnalia, in a red coat, cocked hat and sword, and to be brought
back,—oh sight painful to parents! drunk in a wheelbarrow. There is
nothing like spending £250 a year in giving one’s boy a liberal good
education. Hawtrey has bidden us to the feastings which he gives to sundry
Papas and Mamas.
Handbook is slowly printing. The Mañana of Spain has infected even
Albemarle Street; but we have got well to page 264 of Vol. I.
 The rail is now open, and Exeter is 7-1/2 hours from London. We hope
some day that you and mi Señora (c.p.b.) may be tempted to come and see
us and the New Church.
I have been suffering from influenza in common with almost everybody.
The bright sun and cold north-east winds remind me of Madrid.
But Ford was not at the end of his labours. The first edition of the
Handbook was cancelled, in deference to Addington’s advice, at a cost to
Ford of £500 and the toil of re-writing a considerable portion of the work.
Sept. 26, 1844.
Visions of Joinville, Narvaez, and the Pope breaking Murray’s presses
and écrase-ing my head have haunted me since your letter. Alas! alas! the
Preface which you condemn is drawn very mild, and was written purposely
to soften more severe castigations on events, historians, and nationalities.
What is a man to do who wishes to write the truth, when, at every step in
Spain, he meets a French ruin, and, at every page in a Spanish or French
book, a libel against us?
I have told the truth. I wish I had not. I have, however, said nothing
more than Southey, Napier, Schepeler[50], and the Duke. But I am quite
averse to getting into hot water or ill words, and must reconsider the
subject, and either cancel much, or make complimentary amendes
honorables in the subsequent sheets.
My spouse thinks with you, and I have such a high opinion of you as a
man of the world and of sound judgment, and know you to be so kind, true,
and good a friend, that I am now going to write to Murray.
At first Ford hoped that he could substitute for the objectionable
passages artistic or antiquarian information. In December 1844 he writes to
Addington that already four sheets (i.e. 64 pages) had been cancelled. He
adds that “we are all in a snowy surplice.” This description of a snowstorm
was suggested by the attempt of the Bishop of Exeter to do away with the
black gown, and by the excitement which the step had created in Exeter. He
refers to the subject in a letter dated January 20th, 1845.
Heavitree, Jan. 26, /45.
I enclose you a very characteristic letter from Don Jorge [Borrow],
which please to return. It would be well if he could allay the evil spirit that
is broken loose here; the flocks are rising against the shepherds, more like
wolves than lambs. The thing is much more serious, and lies deeper than
many imagine; it is no mob affair. The entire mass of the middling classes
and rich tradesmen are the leaders; the lower and better classes stand aloof.
The disquieted are not only urged by a violent, no-popery, protestant
feeling, but by a democratic element, probably unknown to themselves,
which resists dignities and anything, even a surplice, being dictated to them.
The mob, the real [Greek: polykephalon], is quiet, having work and cheap
food. The gentry attach no importance to the black or white vesture, nor do
their clergy ever, in fact, rule them. But with the middling, and a numerous,
class, these clerical crotchets are not shadows, but realities and dangers. The
church coach will be upset, unless great temper and management be shown
(and that will not be shown); the dissentients are ripe for a free church.
Philpotti has been considerably in the wrong; he would have made a
splendid Hildebrand or Loyola, but the age of railroads and steam will
smash mitres and tracts. The war of opinions which has been now raged for
ten years is coming to a crisis. I take our tradesmen in Exeter to be types of
those throughout England, and Foolometers; and as they have acted, so will
all their like. The train is laid, and a spark may ignite it.
Eventually Ford found that his wisest course was to withdraw the first
edition of the Handbook. He writes from London, where he was laid up by
somewhat serious illness, February 19th, 1845: “I have quite determined on
cancelling Handbook, and reprinting it minus political, military, and
religious discussions, and to omit mention of disagreeables, and only make
it smooth and charming.” On these lines the book was recast.
April 30, 1845.
I am leading the life of a true Devoto á la Santissima Hygeia. I sleep at
Exmouth, rise at six, walk on the beach, listening to the ripple of the waves,
and inhaling the morning sea-impregnated breezes. I come home to
breakfast at seven; at half-past mount my steed, and come clipping over
here, ganando horas, in about an hour, nine miles, and such hills! then,
while hot as a horseshoe, I hiss under a shower-bath, and occupy the
morning until two in Handbooky and gentle exercise of the mind. At two I
dine, en famille, on rôti and a pint of Bordeaux; after dinner is dedicated to
sauntering on the terrace and listening to the gentle discourse of Mrs. Ford,
when in a sweet disposition, and at other times to lectures, à la Mrs.
Caudle, on gastronomic excesses and consequent pains and penalties. At
five I remount, and jog leisurely back again through sweet, shady, and
verdurous lanes. A butter-and-egg pace favours meditation and sentiment
which is akin to the season, when Nature puts on her new livery of spring,
which we can’t. Arrived at Exmouth, I again wander on the lonely shore
and watch the sunsets, which are transcendental, the heaven and the earth
all crimson; then I count the pretty stars as they come out coyly one by one
for their evening’s pleasure, tomando el fresco. All this air and belles
pensées naturally conduce to hunger and thirst, and at eight I sit down to
two mutton chops, nada más, ni menos, and another pint of claret. Then I
peruse the Morning Post of the day, and soon the gentle, oblivious style and
absence of thought steal over my senses, and then to bed, to sleep sound
and short, and then up again: asi gira la vida. The most pendulous uvula
yields to such a bracing winding-up system: hominem sic erigo. I will duly
advise you whether Don Jorge will meet me in London.
The Handbook was published in the summer of 1845. Released from his
labour, Ford was preparing to spend a holiday abroad, when Exeter was
convulsed by a famous trial, which took place at the July assizes.
In February 1845 a Brazilian schooner named the Felicidade was
captured in the Bight of Benin by H.M. Wasp. Though fitted for the slave
trade, she had no slaves on board. In charge of a prize crew she was making
for Sierra Leone, when she met the Echo, a brigantine full of slaves. She
captured the Echo, took on board some of the crew as prisoners, and
resumed her course. The prisoners from the Echo overpowered and killed
the prize crew of Felicidade, seized the schooner, and made off. The
Felicidade, however, was recaptured by H.M. Star. Suspicions were
aroused, and ten of the prisoners were sent home to be tried for murder on
the high seas. Mr. Baron Platt overruled the objections that the slave trade
was not piracy by Brazilian law, and that the Felicidade, being wrongfully
taken, was not a British ship. The jury found seven of the men guilty, and
they were sentenced to death. An appeal was however allowed on the legal
points; Platt’s decision was reversed and the prisoners released. Ford
describes the trial to Addington in an undated letter of July 1845.
I will secure the Western Times. Nothing can have been so bad as Platt,
or his vulgar platitudes. The defence too, was miserable. Manning, un Burro
cargado de leyes, broke down, and Collier, a young advocate, proved his
clients’ guilt, by over-examination; and what think you of a peroration like
this—“Will you hang up these foreigners like ropes of onions (? ajos) and
cast them then as carrion to the crows?” Mr. Godson, who came down
special, made sad hash or ash with the Queen’s Alphabet: “Suppose this
case Hay and B. on the ’igh seas,” etc. The facts were too clear to admit of a
doubt, and seven have been found guilty. It is a sad thing for our peaceable,
unslave-dealing city to be horrified with such a wholesale execution, and
they ought to be hung on the African coast. If they are not hung, the
exasperation of the cruising Jacks is so great that they will Pelissier the next
slave prize to avenge their murdered comrades. A Frenchman on the jury
did all he could to save the prisoners from la perfide Albion. An attaché
also of the Brazilian Mission was down here, abusing the witnesses in their
vernacular until stopt. What think you of the Spanish and Portuguese
Government refusing to pay for more than one counsel, who was chosen
because a nephew of the Portuguese Consul? Thus ten men’s lives were
risked to put 5 guineas in a relation’s pocket. Vaya! un empeño! Drewe was
so annoyed that he retained Manning (who understands Spanish) at his own
cost.
I forgot to say that these Spaniards were made a regular show of by the
magistrates, who gave orders by hundreds to see them in the jail, until
Drewe, the High Sheriff, stopt the spectacle. The pirates thought that they
had been tried, and came here expecting to be hung. One was a monstrous
handsome fellow, and all the ladies are interested for him, as he realised the
Corsair, while his bronzed cheek, raven locks and flashing eyes contrasted
with the pudding-headed, clotted-cream, commonfaced Devonians. Another
culprit was the facsimile of a monk of Zurbaran; the rest were a savage
South America set. Of course nothing has occupied people here but Cosas
de España, and your humble servant, quasi one of the gang, was at a
premium and a sort of lion.
 CHAPTER VII

HEAVITREE AND LONDON

(1845-1858)
Success of the Handbook—Gatherings from Spain—Illness and
Death of his Wife—Marriage with Miss Mary Molesworth—
Telbin’s “Diorama of the Duke of Wellington’s Campaigns”—
Francis Clare Ford and the Diplomatic Service—Death of Sir
William Molesworth—Failing Health—Marriage of Clare Ford—
Last Article in the Quarterly Review, and Last Letter to
Addington—Death at Heavitree, August 31st, 1858.
“Since July” (Ford writes to Don Pascual Gayangos at Madrid, November
27th, 1845) “I have been wandering with my son in Germany, and have
visited those mighty rivers, the Rhine and the Danube, and beheld the
temples and frescoes of Munich.”
He returned to England to find that the Handbook was succeeding
beyond his own or his publisher’s expectations. In spite of its price, print,
and double columns, 1389 copies were sold in three months, and a second
edition was already talked of. The book had, in fact, created a sensation.
Under its unpretending title it gave a description of Spain, past and present,
which no other man living, foreigner or native, could have produced. Men
who knew the country intimately, such as Lord Clarendon, Prescott, George
Borrow, and Washington Irving, were as enthusiastic as they were
unanimous in its praise. “Surely never was there,” wrote Prescott, “since
Humboldt’s book on Mexico, such an amount of information, historical,
critical, topographical, brought together in one view, and that in the
unpretending form of a Manuel du Voyageur.” Lockhart saw in the
Handbook “the work of a most superior workman,—master of more tools
than almost anyone in these days pretends to handle,” and he found in its
pages “the combination of keen observation and sterling sense with learning
à la Burton and pleasantry à la Montaigne.” The book, in fact, took, and
still holds, its place among the best books of travel in the English language.
Few writers even now can touch on Spanish subjects without owing or
acknowledging a deep debt to Ford. Nor was his work merely a guidebook
to a particular country; it is a guidebook to all travellers, wherever they
might be, from its infectious capacity for enjoyment and the richness and
variety of its interests.
The letter to Gayangos, quoted above, was written on Ford’s way back
from Oxford, where that learned Spaniard had once hoped to obtain a
Professorship.
I am but just returned from Oxford, where I spent ten days. The minds of
the young men are perplexed with Puseyismo y la Santa Iglesia Catholica y
Romana. That evil, and a tremendous habit of smoking cigars, seem to be
the features of the place, and perplex the tutors and heads of colleges.
Among the Addington correspondence is a letter, written November
25th, 1845, from Oxford itself:—
Oxford, Nov. 25, /45.
I propose leaving this learned city on Monday, and am about to spend a
week in Park Street, to settle some law matters for my mother. This is the
moment which is big with fate for the Montanches Porkers, and I am about
to write to Don Juan to forward to me my annual adventure of Jamones.
How do you feel disposed?
This Oxford is indeed changed since my time. The youths drink toast
and water and fast on Wednesdays and Fridays. They have somewhat of a
priggish, macerated look; der Puseyismus has spread far among the rising
generation of fellows of colleges. Pusey, the arch-heretic, has indeed the
true Jesuit look. I sang an anthem out of his book and with him last Sunday,
having been placed in a stall at Christ Church between him and Gaisford of
Greek fame; but I have not yet joined Rome, being still rather of the school
of the æsthetics than of the ascetics.
Literary work was resumed. A second edition of the Handbook had to be
prepared. Articles were written for the Quarterly Review on such varied
subjects as “Spanish Architecture,” “Spanish Painting,” “The Horse’s Foot,”
“Spanish Lady’s Love.” In 1846 appeared his Gatherings from Spain,
consisting partly of the introductory essays to the Handbook, partly of new
material. The book was brought out at lightning speed.
 I am glad (he writes to Addington, December 1846) that Gatherings
have been deemed worthy of your perusal. The first part has indeed been
knocked off currente calamo, and almost without my ever seeing the pages
in revise. They were written against time, composed, printed, and type
distributed in three weeks. This is not fair on the Author, as slips in style
must inevitably occur. I have almost written a new book as to half of it.
The success of the book was great.
The Gatherings have taken wonderfully. All the critics praise without
exception. So I have sacked £210 by two months’ work, and not damaged
my literary reputation.
Lockhart congratulated him warmly on the achievement. “You may,” he
says (January 5th, 1847), “live fifty years without turning out any more
delightful thing” than the Gatherings. Tho’ I had read the Handbook pretty
well, I found the full zest of novelty in these Essays, and such, I think, is the
nearly universal feeling. Fergusson was at Lord Clarendon’s in Herts at
Christmas. Lord Clarendon said that he had had a Spanish party a few days
before—all highly pleased. One said it would take, to get together the
knowledge of this book, four of the most accomplished of Spaniards. ‘Ah!’
said another, ‘but where could you get one that could put it all together in a
form so readable?’ I forget their names; but they were men of mark.”
From 1846 onwards Mrs. Ford’s health became a cause of ever-
increasing anxiety. Changes of climate were tried without permanent
benefit. For months together Ford was separated from his library. He still
wrote articles for the Quarterly Review, but he attempted no larger work.
Addington had apparently urged him to write a life of the Duke of Alva. His
answer shows that he felt that a different standard of historical writing was
forming, and that he had neither the youth nor the freedom from other
duties to satisfy the new canons of criticism.
As for Alva (he writes, December 14th, 1848), I imagine that iron Duke
will form a prominent figure in Prescott’s Philip II., on which he is hard at
work. To write a new and real history, State-paper offices, archives, and
family documents must be consulted all over the world. Neither eyes nor
domestic businesses permit a sufficient lucid interval. It is something for a
man who has idled away the best part of life to have put forth two red
tomes, and be acknowledged as competent. Claudite jam rivos pueri, sat
prata biberunt.
Mrs. Ford died January 23rd, 1849. Six months later his mother, Lady
Ford, died at the age of eighty-two (July 13th, 1849). Business crowded
upon him, so that he describes himself as “hung, drawn, and quartered by
attorneys.” Solitary, depressed in spirits, worried by executorships and
trusteeships, he wrote nothing, and went nowhere. But gradually his life
resumed its usual course, though he made London, not Heavitree, his home.
His pen was once more busy. The marriage of his two elder daughters
interested and excited him.
“Great events” (he writes to Addington from 123, Park Street, December
1850) “have taken place here. My humble dwelling has become a perfect
temple of Hymen. Cupid scatters orange blossoms plenis manibus. Both my
girls are going to be married. Georgy,[51]—you know,—to Mowbray, son of
our old friend, Henry Northcote; Minnie[52] to Edmund Tyrwhitt, next
brother to Sir Henry, and cousin
 R.R.Reinagle R.A.S. Pinx Emery Walker Ph Sc.
Lady Ford
b.1767 d.1949

to my little Meta. So I shall be left, high and dry, to console myself with
Jamones y seco. Not but what a lady told me yesterday that she heard as
positive that I was booked also. The ardent imaginations of the best half of
creation rush at conclusions, and underrate the difficulties of fifty-four.
After this, let no man despair. Instead of making love, I have been pursuing
a more becoming task of writing articles.”
In the summer of 1851, Ford married Mary, only daughter of Sir Arscott
Ourry Molesworth, Bart., of Pencarrow, near Bodmin, sister of Sir William
Molesworth, who had succeeded his father as eighth Baronet in 1823, and
was at this time, and to the date of his death (1845-October 1855), M.P. for
Southwark. Politically Ford was little in sympathy with his brother-in-law,
who was an advanced Liberal, and for many years the leader of the
“Philosophical Radicals.” Writing to the Dowager Lady Molesworth,
August 18th, 1851, Ford says:—
The pen seems to have passed from the fingers of the late literary Mr.
Ford into those of Mrs. Ford. She is now with her nose in her blotting-book,
diligently, dutifully, and no doubt delicately inditing to you. I generally
leave her to the monopoly of the inkstand, and take refuge in my paint-box,
having begun a series of Spanish views to decorate her room, in the hopes
of keeping her out of Spain by bringing the Peninsula to Park Street.
Meanwhile we rub on pleasantly and much enjoy the repose of London
“out of town.” We vary existence by suburban trips of an approved cockney
and connubial character. One day we steam down to Greenwich,
champagne and whitebait; another, we float down the beautiful Thames at
Twickenham, to the disturbance of swans and punters.
You will have heard from Mary of all our sayings and doings. Nothing
could be kinder or more hospitable than Miss Molesworth[53] was. She is a
very superior and a right honest woman. We fraternised and sisterised
greatly. I suppose I have some old hankering and a predilection for the
name of “Miss Molesworth.” Assuredly we shall repeat our visit, which our
hostess so repeatedly and really pressed.
The lady of the Lodge gave me lessons in the cultivation and concoction
of flax, which she conducts with great profit, and I hope I may do no worse
when an Irish proprietor. I shall grow a small plot of hemp for Cardinals
and Co. By the way, what an excellent politician Miss M. is!
In the spring of 1852 the most popular sight of London was Telbin’s
“Diorama of the Campaigns of Wellington.” On the battlefields themselves,
with Napier’s History of the Peninsular War in his hand, Ford had traced
each move in the struggle between the English and French in Spain. He had
read every book which bore upon the subject; from the lips of men who
themselves had seen or taken part in the contest, he had gathered details
unknown to the historians; and he adored the Duke as the greatest of
Englishmen. From many of the places which the war had made famous he
had brought away his own sketches, and four of the pictures (“The Night of
the Battle of Talavera,” “The Capture of Ciudad Rodrigo,” “The Victory of
Salamanca,” “The Victory of Vitoria”) were painted from his drawings. He
also contributed the descriptive letterpress, which was printed as A Guide to
the Diorama of the Campaigns of the Duke of Wellington (London, 1852).
His lively descriptions of the battlefields are so vigorous that the following
extract from a rare book may be read with interest. It explains a picture of
“A Convoy intercepted by Partizans.”
The predatory system of Napoleon, in forcing the countries he invaded
to nourish his armies, necessarily sapped the foundations of military
discipline and good conduct. This increased the French difficulties of
subduing the Peninsula, which cannot be done with a small army, and
where a large one must starve i Polf separated from magazines. The
Massenas, who trusted to gaining their ends by impetuous advances, did not
or would not attend to organised supplies, the sinews of war. Strong only
when in position, and with no hold on the soil or hearts of the nation, their
convoys, few and far between, were always exposed to be cut off by roving
bands who waged a guerilla, or little war, which, congenial to their country
—broken and rugged, and to their character—warlike but not military, was
conducted with infinite perseverance, energy, skill, daring, valour, and
success. Lord Wellington, who knew by experience the impossibility of any
Spanish army, “in want of everything at the critical moment,” carrying on a
regular war, pronounced their partizanship the real and best national power.
Unparalleled in a contest of shifts and devices, and without discipline or
drill, the Guerilleros waged a war to the knife; and circumventing the
invader by fair means and foul, avenged in his heart’s blood wrongs too
many ever to be forgotten, too great ever to be forgiven. These hornets
swarmed around every movement, and displaced a force equal to 30,000
men, who were required to patrol roads and keep communications open.
The success of these irregulars sustained the flame of Spain’s patriotism,
amid the disgrace and defeats of her regular armies. The French, who
smarted, executed them as robbers, because, forsooth, they wore no
uniform. Can a Marshal’s embroidery transform spoilers of church and
cottage into heroes, or its want degrade the honest defender of altar and
hearth into a bandit? Throughout the war, the surprises of French convoys
afforded scenes no less frequent than picturesque. Down Alpine defiles and
amid aromatic brushwood, the long lines of laden mules, cars, and mounted
escorts tracked their tangled way, now concealed in rocks and thickets, now
glittering in the sun and giving life to the loneliness; then, in the most
perilous point of passage and behind loosened crags lurked the partizans;
every blunderbuss loaded and cocked, every finger on the trigger, every
knife unclasped, each breathlessly awaiting the signal; nor ever was priest
or monk wanting to shrive the souls, and hold out immediate paradise to
these humble crusaders, who fell gloriously in the holy war for God, King
and country. Honour eternal to these noble sons of Spain! However wild,
undisciplined and oriental their resistance, it rises grandly, an example to
the world, now the crimes and follies of their unworthy leaders in cabinet
and camp have sunk into deserved oblivion.
Just now (Ford writes to Addington, May 7th, 1852) the old Tory’s Duke
of Wellington’s Campaign Libretto is much talked of at the Palace. Think of
the F.M. going there in personâ, pulling out his shilling, and buying a book,
and carrying it off.
The old Duke (he adds, May 11th) has been to the Diorama, and was
much pleased, especially with Lisbon, Salamanca, Vitoria, and Sorauren.
When the squares at the concluding Waterloo began to move, he quite
fought his battles over again.
The Queen is illustrating the Diorama, the guide in hand.
Ford also notes that a large-paper copy had been bought by Lord
Malmesbury, then the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. He was
especially pleased with this purchase, because he was endeavouring to
obtain, through Addington, a nomination to the Diplomatic Service for his
only son, Francis Clare Ford. On leaving Eton, Clare Ford had entered the
4th Light Dragoons. But military life was not to his taste: he had sold out of
the Army in June 1851, and was now studying in France. By Addington’s
advice a formal letter was written for submission to the Foreign Secretary.
I am most anxious (wrote Ford) to start my only son in diplomacy, to be
followed up as his profession. You know the youth. He was at Eton, has
learnt the world in the course of soldiering, speaks and writes French
excellently, is a clever artist, gentlemanlike and good-looking, can keep a
secret, and is aged twenty-three. Hereafter he will have an independent
fortune.
I am fully aware that I have no right to apply to Lord Malmesbury on
private or public grounds; but, at least, I have always been, and in the worst
of times, a good Tory with pen and by mouth.
 Across the letter which Addington wrote recommending Clare Ford,
Lord Malmesbury scribbled in pencil: “If the son is as clever as the father,
he deserves advancement. I have put him down, and hope to name him.” In
due course the nomination came. Writing to Addington, July 10th, 1852,
Ford says:
I really hardly know how to thank you enough. But I do feel it greatly,
and hope you believe that. Nothing could be more gentlemanlike than Lord
Malmesbury. In the middle of dinner—I sat next to him—he said: “Let’s
have a glass of champagne together and drink your son’s health, whom I
have just appointed an attaché to Naples.”
Before taking up his appointment abroad, Clare Ford was summoned
home, and began work at the Foreign Office in London. “The young
diplomat,” says his father, August 13th, 1852, “works hard at the desk, and
is, I am sure, in real and right earnest, and I hope by 1882 will be G.C.B.”
The hope was realised in the spirit, if not in the actual date. Sir Clare Ford
became a G.C.B. April 29th, 1889.
Hopeful of his son’s career and gratified by Lord Malmesbury’s
recognition of the young man as one of his “cleverest youngsters,” easy in
his own circumstances, established in his literary reputation, preserving
much of his extraordinary capacity for enjoyment, retaining the freshness of
his varied interests, a welcome guest everywhere in society, counting his
friends by the hundred, Ford seemed to have before him many years of
happiness. His pen was not idle. He wrote frequently in the Athenæum on
subjects connected with art. He contributed several articles to the Quarterly
Review, notably that on “Apsley House” (March 1853), in which he paid a
fine tribute to the Duke of Wellington.[54] He prepared a third edition of the
Handbook, which was in great part rewritten. He also was again busy with
bricks and mortar at Heavitree.
We have been (he writes to Addington, September 14th, 1854) ruralising
and rusticating ever since we fled from the thick-pent, pestilence-stricken
city. The days and weeks flit past with wings, and fast as my ducats, for, to
the raw material of ruin (farming), I have in my dotage superadded
building, and towers and domes are rising while the bankers’ balance comes
down. We are great in pigs and pears, but only so-so in potatoes, which are
cruelly diseased; all my fond hopes of getting home by these tubers are
dissipated.
I am pretty well, barring pocket;—early to bed and early to rise, without,
however, being wealthy or wise. Handbook is at a standstill; in fact, it is
impossible to dip in the inkstand, or remain indoors, when there is so much
going on out of doors, and, as I never admit either architects or nursery
gardeners, there is plenty for the master’s head to devise and eye to
superintend.
In the autumn of 1855 Ford and his wife were hastily summoned to
London by the dangerous illness of her only brother. Sir William
Molesworth had won for himself a brilliant position in English politics. To
his advocacy had been mainly due the abolition of transportation, and his
speeches on colonial questions were marked by profound knowledge of the
subject and a statesmanlike breadth of view. In January 1853 he was
appointed First Commissioner of Works, with a seat in Lord Aberdeen’s
Cabinet. Two years later (July 1855), when he succeeded Lord John Russell
as Colonial Secretary, he had gained the legitimate object of his ambition,
and held an office for which he was acknowledged to be peculiarly
qualified. But his health, always weak, broke down under the strain.
His system (writes Ford to Addington, October 21st, 1855), never very
strong, has succumbed to a long and late session, to which the overwork of
a new office was added just at the moment when repose and the country
were most wanting. He is in a very critical state; but I do not quite despair,
and I hope to-morrow to be able to report progress.
I have no heart now to enter on those matters which would have filled
my pages. Oh the vanity of vanities! Look at poor Sir William, a young
man, stretched on his bed and wrestling with death with the heart of a lion,
and this just at the moment when all his honours were budding thick and the
object of a life’s honourable ambition gained.
Sir William Molesworth died October 22nd, 1855. Ford’s own health
was now rapidly breaking down. His eyesight began to fail. He slept badly.
The fatal malady which ultimately caused his death—Bright’s disease—was
already developed in his system, and affected his nervous condition. His
letters lost their gaiety. A visit to Paris in September 1856, where his son
was now an attaché, did not revive his spirits. Writing to Addington, he
says:
One line from the most palatial Paris, the capital and centre of general
civilisation, where gold and gastric juice and the insolence of health and
intellect seem to be the things wanting, and where the lust of the eye is
indeed gratified. To those who have not seen it for many years, the
transformations are magical, and the slaves of the lamp are at work day and
night. Diruit—edificat is the imperial mandate.
We, I fear, must mark No. 2 in many things, not only in political matters.
Our prestige has sadly fallen on the Continent, and the French, who claim
all the glory of the Crimea, almost fancy we exist at their sufferance, and
that by saving us at Inkerman, etc., they have wiped out Waterloo. Not a
few call the English medal which figures on the breast of many a Zouave
La Medaille de sauvetage, and compare it to that given by the Humane
Society to those who have rescued others from death and danger.
My son is alive and busy. He has now an idea of what work is, and this
mission at Paris is of a very different stamp from Otiosa Neapolis.
However, work is good for the young. The time will arrive, and how
rapidly! when we must all say tempus abire, and happy those who are en
règle, and are blessed besides, like you, with a strong and philosophic mind,
—both of which are wanting to me, who would gladly prefer them to gold
and gastric juice.
In December 1856 Ford accepted the appointment to serve, with Lord
Broughton, the Dean of St. Paul’s, Michael Faraday, George Richmond, and
Charles Robert Cockerel, on a Royal Commission “to determine the site of
the National Gallery, and to report on the desirableness of combining with it
the Fine Art and Archæological Collection of the British Museum.” But
eight days after the announcement had appeared in the London Gazette
(December 15th, 1856), he was obliged to withdraw his consent to act, as
he found that his health incapacitated him from discharging the duties of the
commission. The newspapers of the day bore witness to the regret that was
felt at his inability to serve. “We expressed a fortnight ago,” says the
Illustrated London News for January 3rd, 1857, “the general satisfaction
that was felt in Mr. Ford’s appointment. His place is not easily to be
supplied. His practical good sense, and the general esteem in which he is
held, peculiarly fitted him for the appointment.”
 Ill though Ford was, he was able to enjoy the promise of his son’s
success in the diplomatic service. Promoted to be a paid attaché in March
1857, Clare Ford passed an examination which, as his father proudly reports
to Addington, was “the most brilliant ever passed in international law.” In
the summer of the same year (June 22nd, 1857) he married Annie, second
daughter of the Marquis Garofalo, the head of a family distinguished in the
history of Naples. Ford was at his son’s wedding; but after that date he went
less and less into society. His last article in the Quarterly Review, “Rugby
Reminiscences,” which appeared in October 1857, was a review of Tom
Brown’s Schooldays. For him

Velasquez Pinx. Emery Walker Ph. Sc.

Dona Margarita Mariana of Austria
wife of Philip IV. of Spain.
the subject had two special attractions. Arnold was an old schoolfellow at
Winchester, and ‘Tom’ Hughes had married Ford’s niece, the daughter of
his brother James. It is interesting to learn that Arnold had not impressed his
contemporaries at school with any “great promise of future excellence,”
though his “love for history rather than for poetry, and for truth and facts in
preference to fiction,” was already conspicuous. But Ford traces Arnold’s
encouragement of games and attention to the supply of proper food at
Rugby, to his own experience of “the cheerless condition of Commoners,”
and “the ‘Do-the-boys’ dietary” which had prevailed at Winchester.
Ford’s last letter to Addington, dated December 20th, 1857, is written
from 123, Park Street:—
Dear Addington,
Many thanks for your old-friendlike and most seasonable letter, and,
indeed, I most sincerely reciprocate in wishing you and your dear wife
every possible happiness, and in these wishes Mrs. Ford most entirely joins.
May the season be pleasant to you both, nay, even “merry.” May you both
enjoy that good old epithet associated to the auspicious moment, to which
your sound health and right cheery mind so fairly entitle you.
We dined last night with the Marshalls, and the turkey was indeed most
orthodox and succulent. Spring Rice dined there with Bessy, and my son
Clare with his Bene. They are preparing for Lisbon, and will start in about a
fortnight. Bon voyage!
The Indian news is well-timed. The worst is now past, and the difficult
task of reconstruction has begun. Your friend, Lord Canning, seems to have
done right well. Things seem to be bettering in the City; but I fear that there
will be much distress among our industrious operatives. The next three
months will be a terrible trial for the poor.
God bless you, dear Addington!
Ever yours most truly,
Richard Ford.
During the next few months the two old friends met frequently; but in
July 1858 Ford’s health had become so precarious that his son was
summoned home from Lisbon, where he now was an attaché. Richard Ford
died at Heavitree, August 31st, 1858.
 INDEX
A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z
Abadia, General, 129
Abadía, Palace at, 88, 92
Aberdeen, Lord, 82
Absolutists, the, 5
Abu Abdullah, 59ⁿ
Addington, Henry Unwin—Plenipotentiary at Madrid (1829-33), 1, 73;
leaves Madrid, 124, 126, 127;
his pension, 135;
his criticism of Ford, 137, 141-4, 159, 163, 164, 193, 194;
his advice as to Clare Ford’s future, 212
Advertising, Hayward’s article on, 186
Agriculture in Morocco, 120
Agustina, “La Artillera,” the Maid of Zaragoça, 55
Airecillo, the, at the Alhambra, 41, 44, 47
Alagon, 134
Alameda Vieja, the, at Seville, 12, 18, 23, 128
Albaicin, the, 41
Albemarle Street, 182, 187, 190, 192
Alcantara, 88, 89, 92
Alcaravan (bittern), 69
Alcazar, the, 100, 105
Alcolea, 109
Alexander VI., Pope, 55
Alforjas (saddle bags), 124
las Alfujarras, jamon de, 139
Algeciras, Torrijos lands at, 19; 84, 86
Algiers, 120
Albania, 114, 117
Alhambra, the, 32, 34, 36, 37, 38, 39, 41, 51, 59ⁿ, 65, 72, 102, 108, 112,
114, 126, 146, 148, 161
Alicante, 54, 56, 57
Allan, Sir William, R.A., 170
“Ally Croaker,” 39
Althorp, Lord, 111
Alva, the Duke of, 89, 92;
life of, 205
Alva, Duke of, 122, 134
las Amarillas, Marques de, 10, 13, 98, 106, 108, 110;
the first man in Spain, 136, 137
Andalusia, rising in, 19
los Andes, Conde de, 77, 80, 81
Andujar, 35, 40, 42, 45, 49, 56, 65
Antequera, 117
Apsley House, article on, 214
Aqueduct at Merida, 32
Aranjuez, 131, 139
Arapiles, 91
Architecture, Spanish, article on, 204
Argamasilla de Alba, 30
Arjona, the Assistente, 13, 14, 15, 43, 87, 107
Armament, the, for Portuguese expedition, 83
Armeria, the, 70
Arnold, Dr. Thomas, 134ⁿ, 219
Arrests for sketching, 57
Ass, the, 7, 56
Asses’ milk, 71
Athenæum, the, 214
Athenæum, the, at Exeter, 155
Ay de mi, Alhama, 117
Azulejos, 82, 83, 148

Babylon, walls of, 156

Bacalao (dried fish), 107
Badajoz, 32, 77, 79;
artillery ordered to, 80; 81, 88, 91
Bara, 46
Barbate, the, 20
Barbary, travelling in, 117
Barcelona, 54, 55, 57, 59, 60;
 description of, 61; 110;
Llauder expelled from, 136
Baring, 90
Barings, the Miss, 171
Barranco de San Juan, the, 128
Bassetlaw job, the, 53
Batushka (Borrow), 192
Baylen, 49
Benalua, 66
Benavente, 92
“Bene” (Mrs. Clare Ford), 220
Benin, Bight of, 197
Berja, lead mines at, 37
Bermudez, Cea (or Zea), 1, 2, 114
de Berry, la Duchesse, 99ⁿ
“Bessy,” 219
Best, Mr., 167
Bible in Spain, the, quoted, 20, 21; 180-4
Bigge, Captain, 27, 31
Bilbao, 88, 93
Boabdila, 59ⁿ
Boars, wild, 18
Bodleian Library, the, 146
Bodmin, 207
Borgia, Cæsar, 35, 55
Borrow, George, on Quesada, 20;
Zincali, 179;
Bible in Spain, 180-4;
his Greek servant, 180; 185;
his biography, 185, 189;
at Oulton Hall, 190, 191, 192; 194, 202
Bory de Saint Vincent, 143
Botiga, the, 40, 67
Bowring, Dr., 147, 149
Boyd, Robert, 73, 74, 75, 76, 93
Brackenbury, Sir John, Consul at Cadiz, 31, 72, 76, 83, 112, 115, 128, 138
Brasero, the, 12, 16
Brazilian Slave Trade, the, 198, 199
British and Foreign Review, the, 179
“Brook, Master,” 40
Brougham, Lord, 17ⁿ
Broughton, Lord, 217
la Bruyère, quoted, 151
Bull fights, 102, 103;
in honour of Princess Isabella, 122;
Ford’s article on, 122ⁿ, 163, 165, 166, 167
Buller, Colonel, 102, 103, 107, 110
Bulteel, Mr., 149
Bunyan, John, 181, 183
Burdett, Sir Francis, 24, 52
Burgos, 59, 61, 93, 109, 110
Burra, 56
Burton, Professor Edward, his Antiquities of Rome (1821), 171
Burton, Robert (author of the Anatomy of Melancholy), 202
Bustard, the, 18, 69
Byron, Ada (Lady Lovelace), 151
Byron, Lord, 95, 117ⁿ, 151, 152;
The Corsair, 199

Cadiz, the Cortes at, in 1812, 3;

free trading at, 10, 27, 52;
riots at, in 1831, 20, 27, 41;
assassination of governor, 20, 26;
the Malabar at, 116;
cholera at, 127, 128, 138
Cain, the originator of cob walls, 156
Ça ira of the Spanish Revolution, the, 4
Cajeput oil, 62
Caldero, 31
Calle de Alcala, in Madrid, 21, 41, 45, 54
Calle de Genoa, at Seville, 11
Calle de los Monsalvos, at Seville, 68
Calomarde, 97, 98
Campillo de la Arena, 47, 49, 65, 66
Candide, 153
Canning, Lord, 220
Canning, Lady Stratford, 111
Canning system, the, 25
Capara, 92
Cardenas, the Venta de, 30
Cardenio, 30
Cardinals & Co., 208
Cardona, the salt mines at, 55, 61, 63, 64
Carlos, Don, 4;
retires to Portugal, 5, 98; 74, 96, 97;
his wife, 97; 121, 159
“Carlos, Don:” see Downie
Carlota, Princess, of Naples, 97, 99ⁿ, 100
Carmen Convent, the, at Malaga, 73
Carnarvon, Lord, 17, 181
Cartuja Convent, the, near Burgos, 109
Casa de los Expositos, the, 114
Casa Sanchez, the, in the Alhambra, 146
Cassiobury, 43
Castlereagh, Lord, 17
Cavallero, Juan, 76
Ceca, La, 39
Cemetery at Malaga, the, 73, 74
Charles IV., and the Salic Law, 96;
his wife, 99ⁿ
Charles V. at the Alhambra, 36, 72;
at San Yuste, 88, 92;
founder of the Maestranza, 103ⁿ
Charlotte, Princess, 114
Château Margaux, 186
Cheffhttinschkwi, 70
Cherbourg, 170
Chico, el Rey, 59ⁿ
Cholera, the, 61, 67, 89, 99, 103, 113;
at Lisbon, 116; 125, 127;
precautions against, 129-32
Chorizo (sausage), 139, 183
Chorlito (curlew), 69
Christina, Queen, 2, 4, 5;
degrades Moreno, 73; 74, 97, 99ⁿ, 107, 136ⁿ
Ciudad Rodrigo, 89, 91, 92;
capture of, Ford’s picture, 209
Clarendon, Lord, 202, 205;
and see George Villiers
Cob walls, 147, 151, 152, 155, 156, 159
Coche de colleras, the, 35, 49, 134
Cockerel, Charles Robert, 218
Colburn, Mr., 117
Collier, Mr., 198
Compostella, 93
Conder, Josiah, his “Italy” (1831), 171
“Constantine the Great” (Lord Normanby), 169
Constitution, the, 3;
rejected by Ferdinand VII., 4;
and Pedro IV., 74
Constitutionalists, return of the, 4
Consuls, English, 112, 114
Cook, Samuel Edward (afterwards Widdrington), 31ⁿ, 38ⁿ, 77, 83, 88, 90,
139, 140, 141, 142
Cordova, 39
Coria, 92
Corpus, el Dia de, 121
Corral de Conde, at Seville, 12
Cortijo del Puche, the, 54
Coto del Rey, the, 14, 16, 18
Couskousu, 120
Cowper, Lady, 16
Cranstoun, Lord, 160, 162
Cranstoun, the Hon. Eliza (second wife of Richard Ford), 160
Crawford, Oswald John Frederick, 186ⁿ
Cuarto, the, 100ⁿ, 107
de Custine, Marquis (Author of L’Espagne sous Ferdinand VII.), 33, 43, 53,
66
Danube, the, 201
Dart, the, 161, 165
Daubeny, Professor, 31ⁿ
Dennis, G., his Summer in Andalusia, 28ⁿ
Despeña-perros, 30
Diario, the, 107
Dickens, Charles, 167, 170
Diligences in Spain, 28, 29;
stopped on account of cholera, 129, 130, 131
“Dionysia” (Mrs. O’Lawlor), 37, 58, 67, 80, 87, 102, 113, 126
Dionysio, bookseller at Seville, 11
Diorama of the Campaigns of the Duke of Wellington, Guide to the, 209-12
Dog-days, at the Alhambra, 52
Dolorosita, (niece of Francisca de Molina), 72
Domestic appliances, at Seville, 71, 77
Don, General Sir George, 9, 21, 44
Downie (“Don Carlos”), the commandante at Jaen, 40, 45, 50, 65, 67, 69,
87
Dress, in Spain, 6, 7;
in Morocco, 118;
at state funerals, 134
Drewe, Mr., High Sheriff of Devon, 199
Drummond-Hay, Edward William Auriol, H.B.M. Consul at Tangier, 112,
119, 124
Dudley, Lord, 2, 14, 17, 43
Dulcinea, 30

Ebrington, Lord, 149

Echo, the, 197, 198
Ecija, 39
Eden, Sir William, 66, 70, 71, 75, 77, 78, 79, 81, 88, 90, 116
Edinburgh Review, the, 183, 184, 185, 186, 189, 214ⁿ
El Bravo (Sancho IV.), 84
El Bueno (Guzman), 85, 103, 138
El Feroz (Heaphy), 90
El Galib (Mohammed I.), 59;
 (Mark), 114
El Gitano (Borrow), 190
El Majadero (gawk), 90
El Pilar, 55, 62, 64
El Rey Chico, 59ⁿ
El Santo Rostro, 66ⁿ
El Toboso, 30
Elche, the city of palms, 54, 57
Election, parliamentary, for South Devon, 148 seq.
Ephesus of Mariolatry, the (Zaragoça), 55
Escribano, the, at Manzanares, 131
Escurial, the, 53
de España, the Conde, 61, 98;
replaced by Llauder, 136ⁿ
Essex, Lord, 43, 160
Estcourt, T. G. Bucknall, M.P., 154
Estcourt, Eleanor Anne (Mrs. Addington), 154
Estefa, José Maria retires to, 99
Estremadura, 92
Eton, school bills at, 189;
Montem, 192; 212
Exeter, 134, 135, 136;
its library, 135, 140; 144, 145, 146;
old furniture from, 146;
railway to, 192;
July (1846) assizes at, 197
Exmouth, 175, 196, 197

Falmouth, 138
Faraday, Michael, 218
Faure, 143
Felicidade, the, 197, 198
Ferdinand VII., 1, 4;
his restoration, 4;
his marriage, 4;
his character, 5;
his health, 74, 79, 98, 114;
 his children, 97;
restores the Salic law, 97;
winters at Seville, 103;
his letter to the Captains General, 114;
his patronage of art, 140, 141;
his death and funeral, 133, 134, 188
Ferdinand and Isabella (Prescott’s), reviewed by Ford, 166, 168
Ferdinand the Catholic, 109
Fergusson, 205
Fez, 120
Flax, cultivation of, 208
Flegras, General, 87
Florida Blanca, court of, 122
Foote, Samuel, 39ⁿ
Ford, Frances (wife of Thomas Hughes), 134ⁿ, 219
Ford, Francis Clare, 155, 212, 213, 214;
his examination in international law, 218;
his marriage, 218;
G.C.B., 213, 214;
at Naples (1852), 213;
at Paris (1856), 216, 217;
at Lisbon (1857), 220
Ford, Georgina (wife of Mowbray Northcote), 206
Ford, James, 134, 137, 219.
Ford, Mary Jane (wife of Edmund Tyrwhitt), 206
Ford, Meta (wife of O. J. F. Crawford), 186ⁿ, 207
Ford, Richard, as a sportsman, 18, 19;
birth of a son, 25;
his son’s death, 98;
birth of a daughter, 104;
his return to England, 125, 133;
at Park Street, 133, 166, 203, 206, 207, 208, 219;
at Southernhay, 135, 137;
his pocketbooks, 137, 138;
illness of his son, 155;
his second marriage, 160, 161;
his daughters, 185, 189;
 their marriages, 206;
his church building, 192, 193;
his third marriage, 207;
Bright’s disease, 216;
visits his son in Paris, 216;
Commissioner on the site of the National Gallery, 218;
his death, 220;
and see Reviews
Ford, Lady, her death, 206
Ford, Mrs. (the first), her Pajez guitar, 53;
her health, 15, 70, 74, 76, 78, 82, 83, 88, 93, 98, 104, 106, 110, 123, 125;
her riding habit, 108, 135;
her silver box, 111, 113, 115, 116;
her death, 156, 157
Ford, Mrs. (the second), 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 188, 192, 196;
her health, 205;
her death, 206
Ford, Mrs. (the third), 207, 208
Fords, the five Miss, 137
Fowling-pieces, 18, 19
Francisco de Paula, 97, 99, 102, 103ⁿ
Frias, Duke of, 122
Fulford, Mr. Baldwin, jun., 149

“Gaffer George,” 55
Gaisford, Dr., 203
Galignani’s newspaper, 15, 26, 52, 57, 93, 94, 99, 127
Game, at Seville, 18, 19
Garofalo, Marquis, 218
Garofalo, Annie (wife of Clare Ford), 218
Gaspacho (soup), 100
Gatherings from Spain, 138, 204
Gayangos, Don Pascual, 201, 202
Gazette de France, the, 136
Generalife, the, 41, 48, 109, 110
George III., 188
George IV., 114
Germany, 201
Geronimo, church of, in Madrid, 121
de Gersdorf, Mr., 43
Gibraltar, 9;
Torrijos at, 19; 23;
officers kidnapped at, 75; 85, 121, 138
Gil Blas, 181, 183
Gipsies in Spain, the (Borrow), 179, 183ⁿ
Giralda, the, 23
Giron, General, 10, 13;
see Marques de las Amarillas
Godoy, 99ⁿ
Godson, Mr., 198
Gorro, the, 130
Granada, the Duke of Wellington on, 3;
climate, etc., 34, 35; 40, 49, 51, 90, 99, 108, 109, 110, 116, 117, 121, 124,
125, 129, 166
Grant, 134, 135
Grazalema, 86
Greenwich, whitebait at, 208
Greville Memoirs, the, 17ⁿ, 101ⁿ, 124
Grey, Lord, his ministry, 17
Griffiths’, at Gibraltar, 138
Grimaldi, 119
Guadairo, the, 85
Guadalete, the, 85
Guadalquivir, the, 18
Guarroman, 130
Guerilleros, 210, 211
Guisado de Perdices, 49
Gurwood, Lt.-Col., his Wellington Dispatches, 166
Gutierez, 103
de Guzman, Alonzo Perez (El Bueno), 84, 85, 103, 138
Guzman, Don Rafael, 103

Haliburton, Thomas Chandler, author of Sam Slick, 167

Handbook for Travellers in Spain, the (1845), 66ⁿ, 138, 173-9, 184, 186,
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