Triangle Project

Project acronym: TRIANGLE

Objectives:

The overall project aim is to contribute to the quality of e-learning in Europe by building a sustainable environment that can express leadership in this domain. The main objectives are

• to promote the European diversity of quality approaches and services in the field of learning, education and training,
• to connect results and concepts on European e-learning quality developed in three successful projects
•  to broaden the discussion and discourse on ELearning quality
•  to provide a sustainable infrastructure as a single entry point for ELearning quality.

The project is based on work which has previously been done in the frame of three European e-learning quality projects: SEEL, EQO and SEEQUEL. The projects were complementary in nature and addressed the subject of quality from different perspectives. They all have done thorough research in the field of quality in e-learning, established each a network of European actors and developed tools and concepts on each of their fields of practice.

In particular they focussed on the following activities:

• European Quality Observatory (EQO): Development of a quality observatory in the frame of a European portal for quality (www.eqo.info),
• Supporting Excellence in E-Learning (SEEL): Development of a set of guidelines and benchmarks for elearning- regions as well as a network of Excellence Centres,
• Sustainable Evaluation Environment for Quality in E-Learning (SEEQUEL): Development of the European E-Learning Quality Forum for dialogue and exchange in connection with the Quality Laboratory, an environment able to transform quality needs into plans for action.

Approach:

The Triangle project aims at further development and broader and sustainable dissemination of project results which have been successfully developed within three projects and which belonged to the e-learning quality project cluster. The main approach for achieving this objective is to develop conceptual frameworks which are capable of integrating three different perspectives on quality development and thus lead to comprehensive tools and approaches for quality development which follows the paradigm of promoting European diversity and which enables a richer and better analysis. The project will take actions which are directed at dissemination, building and moderating large networks and which will lead to sustainable organisations like the European Foundation for Quality in E-Learning.

Expected results:

The project will provide the environment for successfully establishing the European Foundation for Quality in E-Learning (EFQEL) which was launched at Online Educa 2004 in Berlin. The Foundation will provide guidance and leadership in these fields by involving all relevant actors in a comprehensive network. An integral purpose of the Foundation is to identify the actors involved with quality in European elearning and involve them in a European community of users and experts to share experiences how e-learning can be used to strengthen individual, organisational, local and regional development, digital and learning literacy and promote social cohesion and personal development. The Foundation will be a self sustainable platform for the dissemination of the second deliverable of TRIANGLE, the European E-Learning Quality Mark for ELearning (EQM). The EQM will combine the service portfolio of expertise which has been developed in the frame of the three projects into an consulting, accreditation and certification model for different educational sectors. The European E-Learning Quality Service Portal (EQUAS) will serve as a single sign-on access point to resources related to quality, amongst them services for searching, comparing and analysing quality approaches and recommendation as well as profiling mechanisms which will support users in their search for quality approaches. All services will be tested, improved and validated before being disseminated to a greater public in the frame of the EQUAS portal.

Overall TRIANGLE will enhance the quality of European e-learning by providing quality services in terms of recent information, search, and adaptation mechanisms for quality strategies, enabling dialogue between researchers, organisations, and users (such as learners, teachers, decision, policy makers) and creating and supporting a community of users, developers, researchers, and organisations to improve the exchange of expertise, knowledge, and experiences in the field of e-learning quality.

Co-ordinating organisation:

University of Duisburg-Essen, Information Systems for Production and Operations Management

Contact details:

Ulf-Daniel Ehlers Universitaetststr. 9, 45141 Essen, Germany, +40-201-1834403, uehlers@wiinf.

uni-essen.de

Partner organisations:

European Schoolnet (Brussels, Belgium), MENON Network EEIG (Brussles, Belgium), FIM-New Learning (Erlangen, Germany), European Institute for E-Learning (Champlost, France), University of Reading (Reading, UK).