The impact of information and communications technology on teaching and design of flexible, online and distance education courses at Deakin University

This paper describes the use of an online learning environment which has been established for postgraduate students studying at Master’s level in Professional Education and Training Deakin University. A detailed evaluation of the use of computer conferences in an Open and Distance Education specialism was undertaken during 2000 as part of a CUTSD funded project, Learner Centred Evaluation of Computer Facilitated Learning Projects in Higher Education. As the Open and Distance Education specialism is being revised and new units are written, the information gathered in this evaluation is being integrated into the pedagogical planning and the technological decisions being made about the design of the new master’s program.
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Enhancing instructional development processes for e-learning

This paper presents an extended instructional design model in which the development cycle for online teaching and learning materials uses a scaffolding strategy in order to cater for learner-centred activities and to maximise scarce developer and academic resources.

River pilots for time`s flow: identifying factors to guide on-line distance education students in the use of their learning time

This research draws on recent studies of student time perception and use.
Case studies are used contrast the time use experiences of tertiary distance
education (on-line) students with tertiary students studying in traditional faceto-face classes with an online component. Previous studies and experience highlight a mismatch between the measurable and hence ”real” amount of time students spend at their computer and online, with the perceived” (and resented) time spent in online learning. This study uses investigates the recognition and application of factors affecting student perception of time spent in studying and learning online. It also compares the effectiveness of these factors when applied to distance education based wholly online classes, and face-to-face classes with an online component.
Some of the factors were measurably successful in reducing students’
perceptions of time “wasted” online, while others produced considerable
insight into face-to-face students perceptions of time used in study. The
factors included much greater focus on the person who was a student and
their expectations and time/life experiences while learning; the support and
use of alternative technologies such as mobile phones as learning and
communication too; a higher level of administrative and academic technical
support for the students; convergence of delivery methods; and strategic
involvement of teaching staff in design and delivery of learner management
systems.

An investigation into the adoption of CDIO in distance education

The Conceive, Design, Implement and Operate Initiative (CDIO) uses integrated learning to develop deep learning of the disciplinary knowledge base whilst simultaneously developing personal, interpersonal, product, process and system building skills. This is achieved through active and experiential learning methods that expose students to experiences engineers will encounter in their profession. These are incorporated not only in the design-build-test experiences that form a crucial part of a CDIO programme but also in disciplinefocused studies. Active and experiential learning methods are, of course, more difficult to incorporate into distance education. This paper investigates these difficulties and the implications in providing a programme that best achieves the goals of the CDIO approach through contemporary distance education methods.

First, the key issues of adopting the CDIO approach in conventional oncampus courses are considered with reference to the development of the CDIO engineering programmes at the University of Liverpool. The different models of distance based delivery of engineering programmes provided by the Open University in the UK, and Deakin University and the University of Southern Queensland in Australia are then presented and issues that may present obstacles to the future adoption of the CDIO approach in these programmes are discussed.

The effectiveness and suitability of various solutions to foreseen difficulties in delivering CDIO programmes through distance education are then considered. These include the further development, increased use and interinstitutional sharing of technology based facilities such as Internet facilitated access to laboratory facilities and computer aided learning (CAL) laboratory simulations, oncampus workshops, and the development of a virtual engineering enterprise.

Use and cost effectiveness of computer based training in the insurance industry

Training is essential to the growth and economic well-being of a nation. This need for training pervades all levels of industry, from a national level where a country’s well being is enhanced by training, to each company where productivity is improved, down to the individual whose skills are enhanced and as a result improve their position in the employment marketplace. The Australian Bureau of Statistics report ‘Training and Education Experience –Australia’ (ABS 1993) indicates that training in Australia is undertaken at a significant level with some 86% of employers undertaking some form of training. This is slightly higher in the Finance industry at a little over 89%. On the job training is undertaken by 82% of employers and off the job training is used by 47% of employers. In 80% of the off the job cases these courses were conducted in a conventional manner using an instructor. The remaining 20% of cases were either self paced (14%) or instructor based (6%). These latter cases could involve Computer Based Training (CBT). The report, referred to in the last paragraph, also indicates that a significant aspect of business in Australia is that 95% of businesses have less than 20 staff. This poses significant problems in that the ability to deliver effective training is limited. With businesses as small as these their size does not permit them to carry specialist training personnel so this role falls to the senior staff. These people already have a full workload and their ability to be able to take on training duties is limited. In addition these people were employed for their technical skills, not training. It may be that their ability to fill the role of a trainer is not good and as a result the training may not be very effective. In addition, small business has difficulty in releasing staff for training, The difficulties faced by small business were recognised by the Australian National Training Authority in their 1995 report which indicated that there was a need to develop a ‘training culture’ among small business employers. The authority made a commitment to provide flexible delivery strategies. This includes Computer Based Training (CBT). CBT has existed since the 1970’s. It came on to the scene with a flourish and tended to provide ‘page turning’ programs or ‘drill and practice programs’. In limited areas this form of training became popular but its popularity waned in the 80’s. With the advent of better graphical displays, larger and faster memory, and improved programs in the 1990’s the quality of CBT today is superior to those offered in the 70’s and has greater appeal. Today, still photographs and video clips can be displayed and made interactive. Because of this CBT is making a comeback and starting to have a greater impact. The insurance industry covers a wide range of companies in Australia, these companies vary in size from companies with employees in the thousands to companies with less than five staff. While the needs of the employees of each are similar the ability of these companies to deliver the training varies significantly. Any training can be divided into two parts. Internal or on the job training and external. External training deals with those aspects that concern the industry as a whole whereas internal training affects the individual company. Internal training would deal with matters like company procedures, company products and the like. External training deals with matters such as legislation, products generally, and the like. In the insurance industry the major problem arises with the small companies. Insurance companies would tend to be large in size and able to cover their training costs but the insurance brokers who would make up, numerically, the major number of companies would have a significant number of companies that fall into the 20 staffer less category. In fact many would have a staff of less than 5. While CBT can benefit all companies it is these small companies that could benefit from it the most. This thesis examines: • The place of CBT in training, its cost and effectiveness. • The incidence of CBT in the insurance industry and how the industry determines its effectiveness. • If a program that meets an industry need is able to be produced at a realistic price?

Mercantilist Cinderella : Deakin University and the distance education student in the postmodern world

This is a thesis presented on the position of the distance education student at a distance education university in the present era. Traditionally, the distance education student has been a sort of Cinderella: marginalised, being constructed as some form of lesser version of the on campus one. A largely invisible part of the higher education system in Australia since 1911, the distance education student has really only come to be foregrounded in university education discourses from 1983 onwards. It was not until then that the distance education student emerged from ‘hidden pools’ identified by Karmel (1975), and since then the construction of this student has undergone a number of modifications, mapped in this thesis. At the same time university education itself has undergone a series of modifications, not least of which has been its taking on mercantilist overtones as investments made by students in their own careers and professional development. The modifications, also mapped in this thesis, have progressed to the stage where the construction of the old distance education student is now one of a flexible learner in a mercantilist system of university education. The notion of distance education and the distance education student has undergone significant shifts, redefinitions and constructions, which are tracked in this thesis. My research has focussed on a number of pertinent questions, based on a study of Deakin University and its practice since its establishment. The thesis draws on a number of works which have been informed by those of Foucault, and I have framed my research questions accordingly. I have asked why and how Deakin University came into being as a distance education provider at tertiary level. What were the conditions of its establishment and progression in relation to the political events, economic practices and communication technology in use over time? To consider such questions, I needed to analyse the changes that I had seen occurring in the context of wider restructurings in university education. These had occurred in the context of government forging a closer interconnectedness between education and national economic aims and objectives at the same time as it demanded greater productivity in the face of commercial and industrial sector pushes for applied knowledge. Poststructuralist philosophical developments offer tools to explore not only questions of power, but the practical outcomes of questions of power, and how the complicity of individuals is established. This thesis explores ways in which such considerations helped to shape the changing constructions of the distance education student from a marginalised, disadvantaged and under-represented participant in higher education to a privileged, well catered for and advantaged learner. These same considerations are used to explore ways in which they have helped to shape university distance education courses from a perceived second-rate form of higher education to a prototype that better captures the essential elements of learning for what has been styled in a postmodern world as the Information Age. Overlaid on these considerations is a changing view of the economics of such provision of higher education. It is anticipated that this thesis will contribute to developing new understandings of the construction of subjectivities in relation to the distance education university student specifically, and to the university student generally, in the postmodern world. The implications of this examination are not inconsiderable for students and academics in a self-styled Information Society.

Factors impacting on the effectiveness of computer-assisted courseware

The level of satisfaction of computer-assisted tutorial courseware that is used as part of the undergraduate property and construction course at the University of Melbourne. It is important to determine if the computer-assisted teaching model improves the learning experience for students. This research examines the levels of satisfaction with a courseware model for teaching construction cost planning. The conclusions suggest that the advantages of the use of the model must be identified and actively supported throughout the whole course. In addition, further development of computer-based courseware is pointless unless the problems associated with their use can be minimized.

Why should I present my thesis on computer assisted ndjébbana on dvd?

This paper justifies the presentation of a Phd thesis about Computer Assisted NdjTbbana on a Digital Video Disc (DVD). NdjTbbana is a language spoken by 200 Kunibfdji who are the traditional indigenous Australian landowners of Maningrida in Arnhem Land, Australia. The tools of this study are simple digital talking books that were created in NdjTbbana and then presented on touch screens computers. The data was the interaction around the touch screens that was recorded on digital video. Using DVD technology, the NdjTbbana talking books and the digital video can be integrated into a scholarly text for academics and NdjTbbana narrated report for the Kunibfdji, which can be combined to present a thesis. From a theoretical perspective, a thesis on a DVD can be located in the centre of critical literacy, a critical theory of technology and critical research methodologies. There are also logistical, semiotic and ideological reasons for presenting a thesis on about computer assisted NdjTbbana on DVD. Presenting Computer Assisted NdjTbbana on DVD will link the tools and data of the research with academic discourse to enhance the examination process and will also support the empowerment of the Kunibfdji as they are more informed about the research process.

The emergence of an online learning community in first year tertiary studies in psychology

The introduction of an online supported, resource based learning environment into a large, multi-modal first year psychology unit led to the spontaneous development of a small, but active, learning community. While off campus students were more active online contributors, many other students "observed" these interactions, not actively contributing but finding the discussion postings valuable to their learning. Overall, use and perceived value of the online communication facilities were related to how confident students were that they had an appropriate study strategy, with off campus and older students reporting greater confidence in their study approach. The results highlight that the nature and function of learning communities for large, multi-modal foundation units are quite different to those typically articulated in the literature and are worth further investigation.

The history of distance education in Australia

This article presents a history of distance education in Australia. Australia's large distances and widely distributed population has meant that distance education has been an important part of its history. From the earliest provision of schooling by mail through a series of correspondence schools, both state and federal governments have provided a sound infrastructure to support distance education. Innovative uses of technologies to provide communication and interaction and ease the isolation of distance have also been a feature of Australia's distance education history. The impact of this history is particularly relevant as the Internet and information and communication technologies are changing this field and making distance educators of all institutions and sectors.

Learning how to engage students online in hard times

In a context of financial restraint and enterprising university managers, teacher-researchers have reason to be sceptical about the trend towards online teaching and away from learning for its own sake. This article departs from both economic and technological determinism and turns instead to ideas about technology embedded in social and political institutions. Activity theory offers a useful means of analysing such embeddedness. Its Marxian assumptions about human nature specify a non-deterministic approach to technology. Its dynamic model of the subjects, tools, and objects of activity within a context of rules, a community, and a division of labour helps to specify aspects of the authors process of learning how to use electronic conferencing effectively. A full deployment of activity theory would also analyse the activity of students. Here the evidence comes mainly from the activity of researcher-teachers engaging greater activity among students. The numbers of students involved precludes reliable quantitative analysis but qualitative evidence from students does support conclusions about researcher-teachers learning how to make best use of electronic conferencing.