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 13 November beginning with the article What the FLAG research says about online learning published on September 4.

This week we look at Summary 8 - Online in Regional Areas (a).  This study examines the issue of online delivery in regional and rural Australia with a particular focus on the benefits and barriers.

The study shows that online delivery attracts a broad cross-section of students in terms of gender, age and employment status. This diversity is also mirrored in the range of locations of students who are geographically scattered in relation to the location of the provider campus.

Students value flexibility, quality induction programs and resources, responsive teaching and technical support staff and program design that facilitated communication between staff and students.

Barriers cited from student point of view included cost of home computers, IT and bandwidth problems, poor instructional design of learning materials and a lack of responsive teaching staff.

Teachers’ need for support was particularly evident in a lack of recognition in their terms and conditions of the new demands placed upon them by online learning.

Adequate resourcing was also cited as critical in terms of time, professional development, reward systems and the provision of structures and systems to facilitate online delivery.

The study also found that funding structures also place constraints on the development of effective online learning experiences. Appropriately targeted national funding in relation to IT infrastructure, online materials development and the purchase of appropriate hardware and software is currently lacking.

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Online in Regional Areas (a)

Project title and authors: Learning Online:  Benefits and Barriers in regional Australia(S Kilpatrick & H Bound)

Project Outline: This study by Kilpatrick and Bound is one of two examining the issue of online delivery in regional and rural Australia. The study has involved a review of the literature, analysis of enrolment data from eight providers drawn from four States, case studies of nine selected courses and interviews with 14 teachers, 115 students and 11 other key stakeholders in the selected online programs.

What the research has found so far (work still in progress)

Difficulty in accessing data

There is variation between providers in what they offer online, and it is hard to obtain consistent and compatible information on provision.

Type of students attracted to studying online

Online delivery attracts a wide cross-section of students in terms of gender, age and employment status. Student online enrolment patterns vary, but many enrol in only one or two units/modules with an online component.

Student location and use of online

• Online students are geographically scattered in relation to the location of the provider campus. Many online students reside in the locality of their provider’s campus(es) and attend face-to-face for other units/modules.

• Residential location does appear to have some impact on the quality of the learning experience. The study found that the further away students are from their provider, the less likely their experience of online learning is to be positive

• The data suggest that online learning is a choice for some students in metropolitan locations who are not prevented by distance from attending face-to-face classes. Inother cases students said they were not able to exercise a choice in whether or not tostudy online. Some of the units offered just had to be studied that way, so students could not exercise a choice

Attraction of online

• The provision of online delivery and learning included study opportunities leading to careers and employment that would have otherwise required students to travel or move away from home

• The lower cost of online study for them, compared to face-to-face delivery, increasedaccess opportunities for some students

• The use of online approaches was relevant to the way some of them would work when employed, for example in the training of staff for call centres

• Mature-aged students, in particular, who had little or no computer literacy developed their skills in using a range of computer programs, particularly the internet and a range of electronic communication skills. It also led to increased information literacy and improved self-confidence

Features of online valued by students

As with all efficient learning, students need to be motivated and have an approach to learning which suits the medium. Students value:

• flexibility
  
• good induction programs
  
• good quality resources
  
• responsive teaching staff
  
• responsive technical support staff
  
• program design which promoted active communication between staff and students and the students themselves

Barriers

Students identified the following as barriers:

• the cost of home computers
  
• IT and bandwidth problems
  
• poor instructional design and learning materials
  
• a lack of responsive teaching staff

Teachers needs for support

• Teachers who undertake multiple forms of delivery reported that management in their institution has a poor grasp on the time required to effectively deliver online. In this study many teachers spoke of their time for the delivery of online learning being allocated to duties other than teaching (DOT) time, so teachers were considered not to be ‘taking a class’, but even where time was allowed it was inadequate.

• The application of terms and conditions for teachers developed for face-to-face delivery to the delivery of online learning is frequently inappropriate and inequitable. As a result providers do not have the necessary cultural attributes in place (e.g. using teams encompassing technical, pedagogical and content expertise to develop online materials; time and space for exchange of experiences, thus developing a climate of mutual support) to adequately support online learning.

• Teachers require adequate support to develop, deliver and support quality learning experiences. This requires the provision of adequate resources in the form of time, professional development, reward systems, team development of materials and formal and informal dialogue, exchange and reflection of all staff involved in online delivery. In addition, as other studies have reported, the provision of structures and systems (such as reward systems) to facilitate online delivery and learning, an environment which encourages participation, a sense of inclusion, informal exchange and sharing of experiences is also needed.

Resourcing implications

This study found that the development, maintenance and support of effective online learning experiences are hampered by lack of appropriately targeted national funding in relation to IT infrastructure, particularly bandwidth, development of online materials, the purchase of appropriate hardware and software enabling high levels of participation and tracking of students. Funding structures which encourage providers to ensure both formal and informal professional development and dialogue are also not in place. It was also found that that providers do not properly recognise the ways in which teachers and other staff involved in online and other flexible approaches need to work to meet client expectations and achieve the outcomes desired.

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