Over 2000 and 2001 the Flexible Learning Advisory Group (FLAG) funded a program of 9 research projects related to the implementation and use of online learning and delivery. This research has been managed by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research, the principal research and evaluation organisation for the VET sector in Australia.
A wide range of issues has been researched which will be of interest to many in the VET sector, whether they be new to online approaches or experienced practitioners. The projects centre on a number of themes which will be of particular interest to members of the Community, including:
A common theme running across a number of projects is that of barriers to achieving quality online learning. These include:
- Technology barriers such as bandwidth, fast, affordable access to the Internet, speed of software and access to up-to-date equipment.
Barriers for students can be their literacy and IT skills whilst for teachers the barriers relate to their ability to use the technology in ways that support a student-centred approach to teaching.
- Institutional barriers for teachers may well be related to the institutional structures within which they work. Many structures and policies are still based on an assumption of face-to-face delivery. In particular, counting student contact hours does not adequately reflect the scope of teacher’s work in an online environment.
Moreover, changes to management structures, casualisation of the teaching workforce as well as changes related to new course content, learning resources and technology also have an impact on teacher take-up of online approaches.
- Other barriers include students who lack the self-direction, confidence or motivation to interact with teachers and peers through e-mail, chat rooms or discussion groups.
Lack of teacher responsiveness, lack of support and poorly designed learning materials also impact on the quality of the student experience of online learning.
- Formative assessment is the most common online assessment approach. Creative use of summative assessment is far less common due, in part, to fears about plagiarism.
The majority of the projects have been completed and the reports are being published progressively. Other projects are not yet complete and so the findings reported are interim.
Over the next nine weeks, the VLC will publish one project summary per week in the following order:
Researching online usage in the VET sector (R Hill, V Leggett, P Malone, S Markham, L Nicholson, R Sharma, J Sheared, R Tunbridge, M Watson & G Young)
Online delivery in the VET sector: Improving cost effectiveness (R Curtain)
‘The secret is the teacher’: quality in online learning: the learner’s view (J Cashion & P Palmieri)
Learner expectations and experiences: An examination of student views of support in online learning (S Choy, C McNickle & B Clayton)
One size doesn’t fit all: Pedagogy in the online environment (R Brennan)
E-business and online learning: Connections and opportunities for VET (J Mitchell)
The development of quality online assessment in VET (R Booth, B Clayton, P Hyde, R Hartcher & S Hungar)
Learning online: Benefits and barriers in regional Australia (S Kilpatrick & H Bound)
Where to with online learning in regional Australia? (C Horton, R Brennan, C McNickle, J Osborne & K Scholten)
Further information and, as they are published, full reports for each of these national strategy projects are available at:http://www.ncver.edu.au/online.htm
This topic page also allows you to:
- Access other work published by NCVER in relation to on-line learning
- Conduct a search on published material in the field using VOCED, the UNESCO/NCVER international database for technical and vocational education and training research
- Link to other sites related to on-line learning
NCVER will be running a series of face-to-face forums on this research in all states in November and December 2002. Watch their site for details at
http://www.ncver.edu.au
