This article and the book around which it based [Collis & Moonen (2001) Flexible Learning in a Digital World: experiences and expectations (London, Kogan Page)] is about changes in learning, teaching, the support and enterprise of education, and the role of technology in those changes. It considers these changes in a broad and integrated way using exible learning as the integrating concept.

A major change has occurred in the way Web technology is being used in society. The change is grounded in user empowerment using Web 2.0 tools and processes. Students are already sophisticated users of these tools and processes, but outside of the mainstream instructional practices in higher education. In this reflection, the educational potential of Web 2.0 tools and processes is discussed, followed by three sets of perspectives relating to the potential quality of such practices in higher education course settings. For each perspective an analysis of key factors affecting the perceived value of Web 2.0 tools and processes is given, followed by suggestions for overcoming predictable barriers to uptake in mainstream instructional practice. Les outils et les processus d'Internet 2.0 dans l'enseignement supérieur : une perspective de qualitéUn changement très important s'est produit dans la façon d'utiliser les technologies du Web dans la société. Ce changement repose sur la capacité qu'ont les utilisateurs d'employer les outils et les processus de Web 2.0. Les étudiants sont déjà des utilisateurs avertis de ces outils et processus, mais cela, en dehors des pratiques éducatives habituelles dans l'enseignement supérieur. La réflexion menée ici examine le potentiel éducatif des outils et processus d'Internet 2, le tout accompagné de trois ensembles de perspectives liées à la qualité potentielle de ces pratiques dans le cadre de cours universitaires. Dans chacune de ces perspectives on offre une analyse des facteurs principaux qui affectent la perception de la valeur des outils et processus du Web 2.0, le tout suivi de suggestions pour surmonter les obstacles prévisibles à l'adoption dans la pratique éducative courante. Web 2.0 Hilfsprogramme und Prozesse in der Hochschulbildung: Qualitäts-Aspekte Ein bedeutender Wandel ist in der Art erfolgt, wie die Webtechnologie in der Gesellschaft benutzt wird. Dieser Wandel beruht darauf, dass die Nutzer höhere Handlungskompetenz für Web 2.0 Hilfsprogramme und Prozesse besitzen. Studenten sind schon fortgeschrittene Anwender dieser Werkzeuge und Prozesse, allerdings außerhalb der gängigen Lehrpraktiken im Hochschulbereich. In dieser Betrachtung werden die pädagogischen Möglichkeiten von Web 2.0 Programmen und Prozessen diskutiert, gefolgt von drei Anlagen mit Perspektiven der potentiellen Qualitäten dieser Techniken in Hochschulkursen. Für jede Perspektive wird eine Analyse von Schlüsselfaktoren bezüglich der erwarteten Werte von Web 2.0 Werkzeugen und Prozessen angeboten, gekoppelt mit Vorschlägen zur Überwindung von Denkhindernissen bei der Umsetzung in die durchschnittliche Lehrpraxis.Las herramientas y los procesos de Internet 2.0 en la enseñanza superior: una perspectiva de calidad

Culture is a critical influence on the acceptance, use of, and impact of learning resources. WWW-based course-support sites are becoming an increasingly familiar type of learning resource in higher education. How might different aspects of culture be predicted to affect the institution's, instructor's, and student's reactions to WWW-based course-support sites? How can such sites be designed to adapt to different expectations and learner preferences, especially those related to culture? This article analyses various of these cultural aspects, and argues that WWW-based course-support sites should be designed to be adaptable to different types of cultural differences through the application of a set of ten design guidelines. An example illustrating the design guidelines, the TeleTOP Method from the University of Twente, is described and evaluated relative to the design guidelines. Important considerations related to feasibility as well as to conceptual and strategic choices are included in the scope of the guidelines; the instructor's cultural ecology requires particular attention. But WWW sites and guidelines in themselves are not enough for cultural flexibility; sensitivity and appropriate responsiveness remain human activities. Introduction: Culture and the design of WWW-based course-support sitesCulture, "the beliefs, value systems, norms, mores, myths, and structural elements of a given organisation, tribe, or society" (Watson, Ho and Raman, 1994, p. 45) manifests itself in the shared and identifiable ways in which a group interprets and reacts to its environment. The behaviour of individuals and collectively of institutions "is affected by the values and attitudes that they hold and the societal norms that surround them.

Increasing the options available to the learner as to when, how, where, with what materials, and what he or she learns is becoming increasingly important, not only for personal and educational reasons but also for economic motivations. Increasing the flexibility of training for persons already in the work force is seen as particularly appropriate, and telematics applications are expected to have particular value in facilitating more-flexible course delivery in training and workplace contexts. In this analysis we consider the concept "flexibility of training" in more detail, decomposing it into a series of, sometimes incompatible, dimensions and presenting some propositions as to likelihood of the different flexibility dimensions becoming implemented in practice. The study of flexibility relative to trans-national tele-learning is illustrated through its central role in the research component of the TeleScopia Project, sponsored by the Commission of the European Community. Introduction: toward more-flexible training and educationAlthough interest in "open and flexible learning" is by no means a new phenomenon, there are a number of new impulses stimulating a renewed cycle of interest. As an example, the concept of workplace-based, "just-in-time learning, when and where you need it" (Arnett, 1993) is being called a "paradigm shift for the Year 2000" by a major international corporation which is turning toward the concept as its standard in-house training model. Just-in-time learning, as a form of flexible training, is seen as access to integrated learning materials, information banks, communication channels, and tools, so that the learner, at his desktop and with varying degrees of coaching, can call up an appropriate amount, content and type of learning material when it is necessary and useful for his or her work performance (Barker and Banerji, 1993). The appropriate amount may be a full course or a short module; the appropriate content may be partly or completely determined by the learner; and the appropriate type of learning material may be the learner's choice of a simulation program, a tutorial program, a book

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