NZARE / AARE JOINT CONFERENCE 1992 SYMPOSIUM ON THE ACCREDITATION OF PRIOR LEARNING Spreading the Word: An On-Line Database of Resources for the Assessment, Recognition and Accrediting of Prior Learning Richard Benton & James Swindells New Zealand Council for Educational Research ABSTRACT In 1990 the Maori research section of NZCER made the recognition of prior learning a major focus of its research and information activities. In the following three years it has directly explored the implications of this process in the areas of social service education and training and the education of teachers and others involved in pre-school Maori language centres, while assembling information on the approaches to assessment, recognition and accrediting of prior experiential learning internationally. With the help of funding from the NZ Qualifications Authority, a database of resources and information on the recognition of prior learning likely to be relevant to the New Zealand situation is being developed. The database includes an annotated bibliography of written materials (from theoretical articles to guidelines and handbooks used in various tertiary institutions in the U.S. and elsewhere), and information on projects and practices planned or implemented by New Zealand providers. The information is available on-line through the Te Wahapu electronic bulletin board, a facility set up in 1991 with sponsorship from IBM (NZ) Ltd to promote the exchange of information relevant to Maori language and education. This presentation will outline the structure and content of the database, and will discuss the advantages of this method of making information on RPL available to educators, administrators and potential beneficiaries of the process. (The written version of the presentation is by Richard Benton; the oral presentation at the Conference will be made by James Swindells.) NZARE / AARE JOINT CONFERENCE 1992 SYMPOSIUM ON THE ACCREDITATION OF PRIOR LEARNING Spreading the Word: An On-Line Database of Resources for the Assessment, Recognition and Accrediting of Prior Learning Richard Benton New Zealand Council for Educational Research Many academics, classroom teachers, students and parents alike are not yet fully aware that developments in telecommunications and computer technology over the last decade have placed inestimably rich resources of information and ideas literally at their fingertips and under their noses. Last year, while in the United States, I became curious about the origin of fish and chips: the first fish and chip shop in Los Angeles was about to be opened, amid great hoopla and excitement. When I got back to Hawaii, where I was based, I did an on-line search of the University of California system's library holdings, and discovered that there was in fact a book on this subject in the University of California at San Diego's library. I didn't have time to interloan it through the University of Hawaii library, and lost the piece of paper I wrote the details on. About a year later I was listening to a radio programme on Expo 1992, during which it was revealed that fish and chips originated in Seville (where they are still prepared and consumed con mucho gusto), and were introduced from there into Britain by sailors. So one Saturday morning, when I should have been writing this paper, I dialled into the Wellington City Council's mainframe, to which I have access as an external user, and selected the international library catalogue service. I was connected within a few seconds to the University of California's library database, typed in "FIND TITLE FISH CHIPS", and within about 15 seconds had the information I needed -- the history I had previously encountered, "Frying Tonight: The Saga of Fish and Chips", by Gerald Priestland, published in London by Gentry Books in 1972, and also a recently published, and highly acclaimed social history, John K. Walton's "Fish and Chips and the British Working Class, 1870- 1940" (Leicester University Press, 1992). There are over 6 million books in the catalogue I was searching, and had I wanted to, I could have searched also the contents of millions more issues of various periodicals for references to matters weightier (or lighter) than fish and chips -- and extended my search to the holdings of dozens of other libraries all round the world. All this without even having to leave the house to go across town to my office. The library catalogue searches reveal, in the main, published information. But the same principles apply to any kind of information, and not just titles and locations. The actual data and documents can be stored in a computer, and be made available to anyone who needs them. Computer files can of course also be updated constantly, without the need to print an expensive second or third edition of the work in question, and this new information can be made available without any delay at all to those who need it. This aspect of computerised databases accessible through the ordinary telephone system is potentially of tremendous value to people working in a fast growing field, where new information is becoming available daily. Furthermore, because constant revision is possible, people can be given information which is useful, although incomplete, and then come back later for the rest of the story, rather than having to wait around until all the "i"s have been dotted and the "t"s crossed. Widening Access to Information about the Recognition of Prior LearningPL In New Zealand at the present time, the recognition, assessment, and accreditation of prior learning is one field of educational endeavour which is in this expansionary mode. It is becoming an increasingly important part of the new approach to tertiary education and training, and is seen as an important instrument of social justice, improving both access and the quality of participation in tertiary education for people who have until now bben shut out of the formal system, or whose learning achievements have been ignored. There is accordingly great interest on the part of educational administrators, faculty members, and potential students for information about the integration of prior learning into the tertiary curriculum. This interest is both practical and theoretical: people want to know more about both the how and the why of the accreditation of prior learning. They also want to know what is going on in New Zealand in the various pilot schemes which have been started in polytechnics, universities and other tertiary institutions. Freely accessible electronic media offer an ideal way to make this information available. They save the database organizer the trouble and expense of printing newsletters, frequently printing new editions of updated bibliographies, and so on, and they help to ensure that the latest information is always on tap. It was with this in mind that Te Wahanga Kaupapa Maori of NZCER, in partnership with the Kohanga Reo Trust and the New Zealand Qualifications Authority, began to construct an on-line bibliography of materials on prior learning likely to be useful (theoretically or practically) in the New Zealand context, and also a database of information on projects designed to facilitate the recognition of prior learning within nationally-recognized tertiary qualifications. The RPL databases can be consulted through the Te Wahapu electronic bulletin board. This facility operates on hardware donated in 1990 by IBM (NZ) Ltd, and is a forum for the exchange of information concerning Maori language and Maori education. There is no charge for access (although donations to help defray the running costs are appreciated). The menus, however, are all in Maori, although users have the option of French for background prompts, and all help screens are either bilingual (English and Maori) or trilingual (English, French and Maori). Anyone with a computer, a modem, a phone line and the willingness to learn a few computer terms in Maori (no more difficult than learning them in English) can search the RPL databases to their heart's content. The Structure of the RPL Bibliographic Database The main database at present is the bibliographic one. This is a collection of references to books, papers and documents likely to be useful to people in New Zealand who are interested or involved in the recognition, assessment or accreditation of prior learning. At the end of November 1992, this database had 158 entries, ranging from philosophical and theoretical works to manuals and guidelines for the implementation of RPL and APL programmes in several countries. Each entry is arranged in nine sections (these are separate fields in the database program which generates the on-line display, but at present each record is treated as a single field for searches by modem). These are: Author; Year of publication or preparation; Title of document; Publication details (or location); Priority; Key words; Annotation (a brief summary of the contents); Abstract (or extended commentary); Date of last revision. All entries contain the first four sections, and most have also been assigned key words. The "priority" section contains a recommendation for people who would like to range more or less widely over the material available. At present, there are three priorities identified: "essential reading", "important", and "additional reading". About half the entries have been tagged in this way; eventually, all will be, although a few more subdivisions may be added. It is also planned to include a brief annotation for each entry, to give people an idea of what the item is about (especially when this is not obvious from the title). The longer abstracts and commentaries, however, will be confined to what constitute, in the compilers' judgements, the most significant works. An example of a "complete" entry (like all others, subject to revision at any time) is given in Figure 1. > MASTERS, Geofferey N. and McCURRY, Doug. > (1990). > Competency-Based Assessment in the Professions > (National Office of Overseas Skills Recognition Research Paper No. 2). Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra. /Important Reading {AUSTRALIA {ASSESSMENT {PROFESSIONS {COMPETENCY An examination of assessment in professional occupations, that discusses what assessment techniques are available and what they are based on. A clear link is established between the competency standards of professions and the assessment technique most appropriate for those competency standards. Masters and McCurry develop the agenda of their book quickly: "to assist professions to develop ... suitable methods of assessing individuals against national competency standards; ... to provide advice on assessment methods likely to be practical and useful (p1). They proceed through a number of steps as they make their case. Initially, there is a need to examine the concept of`national competency standards'. It is argued that these should be developed by professional experienced in a field, with an explicit statement of anticipated work outcomes. Standards are the "minimum acceptable level of candidate performance" (p18). The development of assessment techniques, it is concluded, will be linked to the competency standards of each profession. Various assessments models are outlined, and the authors recognize that no one method, in isolation, is able to provide an accurate reflection of ability. However, it is stated that: "a greater emphasis on the assessment of workplace skills rather than theoretical knowledge will imply a greater use of more direct assessment models based on realistic professional tasks" (p2). A panel assessment is recommended, involving a group of professionals observing and assessing candidates, and then meeting to develop a common result. The need for stringent assessment standards is emphasized, to ensure reliability. The same result should emerge from similar assessments, by different professionals, in different circumstances. According to the authors, assessment should not be seen as an end result, but as part of a process. Assessment should allow the demonstration of existing competence, decide whether this level meets the pre-determined, explicit standards, and provide diagnosis for future professional development. draft to 20/10/92 (js) Figure 1: Sample RPL database entry Searching for Information Getting to the database requires the user to log on to Te Wahapu, giving their name and password (new users have to answer a few extra questions, and do not receive full access to the system until their identities are verified), and selecting the "database section" command at the main menu. This brings up a menu of databases, two of which relate directly to the recognition of prior learning. For each database there are two options -- an "on-line" search, which brings up the results of the search in attractively arranged, colour-coded segments, and an "offline" search, which produces an ASCII text file (without page-breaks or other special formatting features) for downloading to your own computer, where you can peruse it at leisure. The database is searched by selecting the appropriate command (for on-line or offline reading), and then at the prompt entering a sequence of letters or numerals corresponding to a word or part of a word to be searched for (see Figure 2). The search program currently used in the database operates on strings of characters within each record. However, special characters are used which make it possible to confine the search to either of two fields (priority or key words). The priority ratings are preceded by a readings, the sequence "/essential" could be entered at the prompt. Recognition of Prior Learning Database Display for On-line Reading // Awhina (Help) Patopatohia te kupu e kimi ai koe: /essential Searching for '/essential' in 'd:\opus\test\dbase03.txt' Figure 2. Prompt for search of RPL database This would produce at least 16 entries. Similarly, "/important" would produce 30 or so entries tagged in that manner (including the sample in Figure 1), and "/additional" over 40 others. The "additional" category is likely to be the future growth area; for the convenience of users other categories will probably be added, for example "/background" (for entries which do not deal directly with the recognition of prior learning, but which contain important background material for people wishing to understand this process, particularly in the New Zealand context). Individual items are likely to go up and down the scale as the needs of users of the database change. As is noted at the prompt itself, typing in the string "//" will summon a comprehensive help file, which contains instructions on how to do a search (with examples), and information on how the entries are structured, the "priority" tags, key words (and how to use them), the way the database is amended and updated, what to do if you cannot find some information that you need, and the difference between the on-line reading and downloadable file options. The other tagged field is that for key words. Each key word is preceeded by a left brace ("{"), and an up-to-date list of key words may be obtained by searching for the string "{key". The key words are intended to help people locate significant discussions of topics of concern within the field of prior experiential learning, and materials relating to particular occupations, courses of study, types of institution or national education systems. There are over 40 of these already, with the "top ten" being, in order, assessment, U.S.A., N.Z., accreditation, recognition, competency, U.K., Maori, Australia, and empowerment. The key word "{NZ" will bring up materials which relate specifically to New Zealand, regardless of where they were actually written. However, a wider search, using just the string "NZ" (without the left brace), or the word "Zealand", would bring in a number of papers published in New Zealand but not focussed directly on the New Zealand scene -- for example, Sir Christopher Ball's address on "Ladders and Links", presented in Wellington in January 1992. A search for {Australia, with or without the key word tag, would (in November 1992) have hauled in about a dozen papers focussed on that country, including one written in New Zealand. Since the search program simply matches the sequence of letters or numbers entered at the prompt, it is possible, by exercising a little ingenuity, to locate almost any entry related to the topic you are interested in, regardless of whether or not it has been tagged with a key word or identified explicitly in some other way. For example, if you were interested in anything written about or published by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority, what "NZQA" failed to reveal would be brought to light by "Authority". This would include papers given at the 1992 conference mentioned above. One of these, by Gilbert Jessup, might attract your attention. A search for "Jessup" (or even "Gilbert") would reveal several more works by this author, including an article mentioned in the abstract of another book, but not included as a separate entry in the database. Fragments of words can be located as easily as complete terms, so it is usually possible to make a successful search for an author whose name one is a little unsure of. For example, papers by Sally Davis could be located in a single search by someone who did not know her first name, and was unsure as to whether her surname was "Davis" or "Davies" simply by specifying "Davi" as the string to search for. In a large database this technique might result in a mountain of possible names to sift through, but in this one the relevant papers will quickly be located, among those by two or three "Davids". A combination of all three techniques, key words, untagged words, and word fragments can be used advantageously to narrow or expand a search. The use of the key word "{assessment", for example, will net a substantial number of references. About half a dozen more will be found, however, by just asking for "assessment" (untagged) or simply "assess". These would include contributions to books with a major focus on assessment, or wide-ranging reviews which touch on assessment (which has been noted in the abstract for the item), but do not have this topic as their major theme. The key word "{accreditation" will yield about the same number of entries as its untagged counterpart, and about four times as many as {credit as a key word (signifying the giving of course credit in a global way, either because of an equivalence established between different kinds of formal qualifications, or for experiential learning which is assumed rather than explicitly demonstrated). However, a search for any mention of the sequence "credit" will bring in entries covering the full range of possible uses of "credit", "accreditation", and related words, about twice as many as with the two key words combined. Numerals are valid characters, so searches for recent (or older) materials are easy; in effect, the date field is directly accessed through the use of numerals (although of course dates embedded elsewhere in an entry will also be located during a search). Over half the materials listed in the database in November 1992 were written or published after 1988. However, a search for earlier materials will reveal some of the seminal books and papers underpinning subsequent developments in the theory and practice of the recognition of experiential learning. All the 1970s material, for example, can be summoned by typing in "197", revealing such classics as the California State Postsecondary Education Commission's 1976 publication Another Time, Another Place, Morris Keeton's collection Experiential Learning: Rationale, Characteristics and Assessment, published the same year, and Paulo Freire's influential work Cultural Action for Freedom in the 1972 English edition. The oldest work included so far is Sir Peter Buck's The Coming of the Maori, which contains important background material for New Zealand researchers. The Project Database A second RPL database is also under development. This consists of descriptions and reports of New Zealand projects aimed at implementing the recognition of prior learning in the context of university, polytechnic, college of education and other tertiary qualifications. This database is searched in the same way as its bibliographic counterpart. Each entry contains a project title, some descriptors (e.g. "Action research", "Social Work") tagged for easy retrieval, a brief description, more detailed notes on the project or activity, notes on available documentation, a brief comment on the significance of the project, and the name and address of a contact person. The purpose of this database is not only to make information about these local projects more freely available to people with a general interest in the recognition and accrediting of prior learning, but also to enable researchers and practitioners to keep in touch with each other. (A portion of one entry in this database is illustrated in Figure 4.) Christchurch College of Education and Christchurch Polytechnic RPL trial 1992 /Action research /comparative study Lecturer Dale C. Sheehan of the Advanced Studies Department, Christchurch College of Education, trialled an RPL model derived from the Broadmeadows TAFE example in two tertiary institutions among two groups of students: catering students from the Polytechnic and Primary Teacher Trainees from the College of Education. ... Contact: Dale C. Sheehan, Lecturer, Department of Advanced Studies, Christchurch College of Education, Dovedale Avenue, Christchurch js/tk 7/92 Figure 4. Portion of entry in RPL project database Advantages, Enhancements and Caveats The most obvious advantage of having a database on-line is its potential for being up to date. This of course is not automatically assured, as someone has to do the updating. Nevertheless, the on-line database will generally be much more up to date than any paper-based one. Costs of distributing information are also significantly reduced, as the receiver of the information is the one who will provide the paper for the "hard copy" version of the material. Transfer of data by modem is comparatively fast. At 2400 baud, now a standard transfer rate, the equivalent of about 6 typed pages can be transmitted in a minute -- much faster than by fax -- or about 20 pages in compressed form. Te Wahapu will eventually be using a 14400 baud modem, which will enable a transfer rate equivalent to around a hundred pages of text a minute. At these higher speeds, even long distance calls may cost less than surface postage, especially for users who program "offline readers" to log on to the system and collect mail and files automatically. Wa~hi 12: Nga Pa~tai Rangahau Na: Hoani Mete Ma: Te Kaiwhakahaere Kupu #9, Nov-04-92 11:08:20 Kaupapa: RPL MSGID: 3:771/210.0 2af73ea4 Kia ora I noticed a reference to a book about the recognition of prior learning, "From Hegemony to Symphony", in the RPL database. Could you tell me how much it costs and where I could get a copy, please. %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% Na: Te Kaiwhakahaere Ma: Hoani Mete Kupu #10, Nov-04-92 15:16:44 Kaupapa: RPL MSGID: 3:771/210.0 2af7409c REPLY: 3:771/210.0 2af73ea4 Kia ora Hoani. The book can be ordered from NZCETSS (the Council for Education and Training in the Social Services), Department of Social Welfare, Private Bag 21, Wellington. They're sometimes a bit slow off the mark, so follow it up by phone if you think they're taking too long to reply! As far as we know, the price is $15 per copy. Figure 5: Exchange of follow-up messages Access to a system like Te Wahapu is also much more easily achieved by many students and most parents and classroom teachers than mainframe-based systems like the one mentioned at the beginning of this paper. Furthermore, practically any computer can be used to communicate with the system (mainframes are generally more exacting in their requirements), although an IBM- compatible system with a VGA colour monitor (or better) will reveal the system's capacities more fully than most alternatives. Smaller systems like Te Wahapu are also generally more personal and user-friendly. Although their range of operation is much more limited in some ways, it is also international in scope (see Benton 1992). Furthermore, if the information you seek is not in the database, you can "ask the librarian", and expect a reasonably prompt, and usually helpful response. This is rarely an option on larger systems. Users of the RPL database, for example, are encouraged to follow-up items of interest to them by leaving messages to the system operator, or to fellow users, in the "research messages" section of the bulletin board -- an example of such an exchange is given in Figure 5. It is also possible to scan both the message and file areas of the bulletin board for further information about the recognition of prior learning (or any other topic), and, again, leave a query if the search did not give satisfactory results. There will always be room for improvement in this or any other system. We are well aware of the current limitations of our search program, for example. There are much more sophisticated programs available (including the one which searches the message areas on Te Wahapu itself). However, we have not yet found any text-oriented database program which is simple, inexpensive (we have no money for software!), user-friendly, can operate with Maori-only prompts and commands, can easily be adapted to a variety of source-files (we run half a dozen other databases through Te Wahapu besides the RPL ones) and can be accessed remotely as a read-only facility through a computer bulletin board without compromising the security of the system. A colleague in India is giving his graduate students the job of writing such a program for us, which will enable the RPL and other databases to be searched in such a way that terms can be combined to expand or limit the scope of a search (e.g., allowing a search for all combinations of "polytech" or "university" with "credit" and "Australia" in a single pass). If we can also get it to highlight the selected terms in context while retaining our elaborate colour coding, and allow searches on specific fields as well, we will have a better search program than most mainframe systems. In this quest for perfection, however, we have to avoid the temptation of being too clever for our own good. The more sophisticated and complex our programs become, the harder it will be for potential users less sophisticated in the ways of computers to gain the confidence to use productively the facilities we wish to provide for them. "User-friendliness" and "simplicity" must remain paramount criteria. So must open access and minimal cost. Crawford's Law of Telecommunications should never be forgotten: If it costs anything at all -- if there are ANY online fees or long distance charges involved -- 90% of potential users won't even consider buying a modem, 6% will use it only sparingly, and the remaining 4% will be charging it to someone else. (Crawford 1990, p.2) Thanks to IBM and the generosity of many corporate and individual donors who have underwritten the running expenses, Te Wahapu can operate as an open access, no cost computer-based communications system for anyone interested in Maori language and Maori education. When the New Zealand Qualifications Authority decided to fund the development of the on-line database on the recognition of prior learning, it stipulated that there must be free public access to the information. This is a very encouraging development at a time when the "user pays" philosophy has so often resulted in the restriction rather than the expansion of a citizen's opportunities to know. REFERENCES Benton, Richard (1992). "Combining Medium and Message: An Electronic Communications Network for Maori Language and Education". (Paper presented to the Maori Education Symposium, AARE/NZARE Joint Conference, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, November.) Crawford, Jack (1990). "The Vision of K12net" (Briefing paper). Stanley, NY: Wayne-Finger Lakes Area Teacher Resource Centre.