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.

Summaries of this research are being published in the LearnScope Virtual Learning Community once a week between 4 September 2002 and 6 November beginning with the article What the FLAG research says about online learning pubished on September 4.

This week we look at Summary 1 - The Size and Scope of Online Activity. This study concluded that the extent of online learning activity is difficult to gauge because of the variation in what is offered among providers and what is understood by the term 'flexible and online delivery'. Furthermore, there is a lack of consistent and comparable information on provision. Better definitions and more detailed information at the provider enrolment level are required. Read the full summary below.

The Size and Scope of Online Learning

Project title and authors:  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).

Project outline:  Robyn Hill and her colleagues have investigated the size and the scope of online delivery.
This study therefore focuses both on what the spectrum that is online delivery involves, as well as how much of it there is. The study used a mixture of quantitative and qualitative approaches, including a literature review: surveys of VET public and private providers, interviews with practitioners (147 respondents) and four case studies.

The report is in final draft form.

What the research has found

Definitions
There is a range of definitions of what online learning is and little consistency in information about its full scope. Online is seen as a convenient and flexible way to provide learning which is student-centred and collaborative and can be outside, or within, a physical classroom, or involve other approaches to delivery. About half of the online learning was found, from the survey, to be totally stand-alone.

Difficulties in collecting information
There appears to be little consistency in the collection and storage of data and other information regarding the number and type of students learning online, or the industry and occupational groupings in which they are studying. In addition little information is available on the modules and courses using online approaches, even within individual providers themselves. This makes it difficult, if not impossible, to establish the amount of online learning occurring and the numbers of learners involved.

The amount of online learning and market size
Anecdotal and other evidence suggests that there is extensive and rapidly growing take-up and use of online learning, although there appears to be variation across industry categories. Categories with relatively low levels of online provision are Wholesale Trade; Electrical Gas and Water; Manufacture and Mining. Higher levels are in Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing; Accommodation, Cafes and Restaurants; Communication services; Property and business; Education and Health and Community Services.

Some 68 providers, and over 700 modules involved online delivery. The numbers of students located was relatively small; however, there were at least 24,000. (Evidence cited in Cashion and Palmieri’s study suggests that, in Victoria alone, 79 providers were offering 1200 modules to at least 15 400 learners). Numbers studying online reported through the NCVER’s student outcomes survey were very low. Determining the size of online delivery requires better definitions of what it constitutes and then more detailed information being gathered at the provider level. Trying to gather information about online approaches has proved very difficult.

The development of online learning is not being driven by market research and the size of the market is unknown. Providers may also have difficulty in defining the target population(s) and market segments for their programs. Nevertheless its development is receiving significant support through grant and project monies drawn from both national and state-based programs. However over half of those interviewed had only partial or no funding for their
online subject or course.

Mixed mode versus stand alone
In about half the cases online learning was blended to a greater or lesser extent with other approaches (including face-to-face classroom-based delivery) and other technologies. Nevertheless it was reported that it was not uncommon for those modules reported to be delivered totally online to use other technologies or modes of delivery that were campus-based and even face to face.

Professional development

• There is a need to evaluate the effectiveness of online programs to assist their further development, impact and cost. Staff need professional development in conducting such evaluations.
  
• Interview respondents noted the need for professional development of teaching staff
  in areas such as resource development.

Other issues
Other issues emerging from their research were:

• Most respondents to the survey used email (96.4%), newsgroups and bulletin boards (86.9%) as means of communication with and between students. Lesser but still significant use was made of online portfolio and assignment submission (78.1%) and chatrooms (68.8%).
  
• It is suggested that potential students should be able to undertake a taster program prior to enrolment to determine if the approach being adopted suits their learning styles and levels of computing skills and is compatible with their available hard and software.
  
• There is no clear evidence from this study if online delivery is having any effect on access and equity, whether positively or negatively. This is an area where further information or research is needed.

Further information and, as they are published, a full report on this national strategy project is 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