Variable level of prescription

There are clear differences from country to country. They range from the ‘single regional model’ (Andalusia, GLOW in Scotland) to the flexible framework (the United Kingdom, where there are two major models, themselves subject to variations) through intermediate situations which combine homogeneity of the platform models developed with allowances for teachers’ preferences (Denmark, which integrates stakeholder involvement at the base, and Catalonia, which adapts to user demand).

At first sight, Denmark could be seen as having a relatively high level of prescription, given that the overwhelming majority of state schools in compulsory education use the same platform. That would be to overlook that this platform has received the spontaneous support of many teachers, in particular because it was designed by two teachers and, moreover, within a participatory process that continuously gives users the opportunity to add to a blog their suggestions for further improvements.

The situation in Catalonia is in a way similar to that of Denmark. Although a specific version of the MOODLE platform (AGORA) was chosen by the Catalan educational authorities for obvious reasons of good management of resources and to avoid dispersion of effort, it was the interest and commitment expressed by Catalan teachers for this type of platform that lay behind this decision and led the region of Catalonia to contribute its technical and pedagogical support and its anticipation of future needs to the AGORA platform.

The situation is different in the United Kingdom, where a flexible prescriptive framework has been established. Schools are free to adopt it or not; if they do not, they receive no support. A list of accredited platform providers has been drawn up, and a framework of features, some mandatory, some optional, has been defined. The current result is that two major models are in force: a centralised platform model, funded and implemented by the local authorities 17, and an “institutional” model (typically based on MOODLE), funded and developed for itself by the educational institution concerned. These two models can coexist within the same geographical area. The centralised model is more attractive to primary schools (with limited technical resources) whereas the “institutional” model has found more favour with secondary schools, which appreciate the opportunity to customise their platforms. Overall therefore, the landscape of the United Kingdom in terms of virtual learning platforms is much more heterogeneous than in Denmark, Catalonia and Andalusia.

Andalusia has opted for a model opposite to that of the UK, developing a specific platform model applicable to all institutions of the Autonomous Community. This model is de facto imposed on institutions since it is the only one to receive substantial support from the regional education authorities, including free equipment, teacher and school training, and up-to-the-minute technical and pedagogic support.

17 GLOW in Scotland, for example, but also the London Grid, Birmingham Grid, Northern Grid, South-Western Grid.