Professional development online : showcasing good practice to support open, distance and flexible learning

Designing Electronic Learning and Teaching Approaches (DELTA) is an online professional development initiative to support pedagogically-appropriate teaching with technology by showcasing examples of good practice in e-learning. The site aims to increase appreciation of e-learning possibilities for teaching staff through an easy-to-access, just-in-time resource. This paper describes the site and introduces the modular evaluation approach which is being implemented to examine it from different stakeholder perspectives. It then focuses on the first evaluation module which investigates how users perceive and engage with DELTA. The paper provides the initial evaluation findings which will contribute to the ongoing improvement of DELTA as a professional development resource that supports open, distance and flexible learning.

Technology advances : transforming university teaching through professional development

Increasing use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in universities is a global trend. However, many teaching academics are unfamiliar with the possibilities of ICTs and have limited understanding of how to integrate them into their teaching in pedagogically appropriate ways. Th is highlights a need for universities to provide professional development opportunities to assist staff to better understand their teaching practices, and the theoretical perspectives underpinning them, in order to exploit current educational technologies for the benefi t of student learning. This paper introduces the broad trends infl uencing the advancement of technology in higher education before considering the opportunities that the new context off ers for pushing the boundaries of theory and practice relating to learning and teaching in higher education. It then describes an online professional development initiative which responds to these opportunities. Th is is an exemplars website entitled Designing Electronic Learning and Teaching Approaches (DELTA) which has been introduced at Monash University to support pedagogically appropriate teaching with technology.

Interpreting the public interest : A survey of professional accountants

The accounting profession, like all professions, has a commitment to advance the interests of the general community, as well as those they are contractually bound to serve. Providing services altruistically, at times without compensation, is a salient feature of the public interest ideal. A review of the literature indicates that the profession has abandoned its public interest role so that serving self-interest now appears to have primacy ( Bédard 2001 ; Canning and O'Dwyer 2001 ; Parker 1994 ; Saravanamuthu 2004 ). The aim of this paper is to examine members' interpretation of the public interest ideal and to elicit their perceptions on issues arising from the literature. The results of a survey to members of CPA Australia indicate that members can iterate the formal definition of the public interest, but their application of the public interest in conflict of interest situations is inconsistent with this definition.