How E-business can provide a sustainable framework for online learning in the vocational education and training arena

The author undertook a major national study of e-business for the Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) from November 1999 - February 2000, resulting in the report E-competent Australia: The Impact of E-commerce on the National Training Framework (ANTA, 2000; available at http;://www.anta.gov.au). This ANTA study and other research by the author show that e-business will eventually have a significant impact on the Australian economy, on industries, organisations, occupations and education and training organisations. From April-May 2000, the author is undertaking a major study for the Commonwealth Government (DETYA): a scoping study of e-commerce in the education and training sector (higher education, VET, schools) of Australia.

This paper starts where the ANTA study (Mitchell 2000a) and the DETYA study stop, by exploring the implications of e-business for online learning systems. E-business will eventually impact not only on the organisations providing online education but on their online learning systems.

The paper is based also on research by the author for a Doctorate in Education within the Faculty of Education at Deakin University that commenced in 1997 and is continuing. The research for this paper involved a review of national and international developments in ebusiness, relating them to online learning systems.

This paper traces the origins, definitions and drivers of both e-business and online learning systems in the 1990s, showing how e-business principles and strategies in the future will have a beneficial impact on online learning systems, even if online learning systems eventually lose their identities as separate from the rest of the organisation.

An e-business focus for online learning systems would start with an understanding of the customers' needs; would find a customer-centric solution, not a technology-centric solution; would empower the customer; would provide sufficient and multiple types of support for the customer; would provide quality and skilled input; and would provide cost effective, reliable and accessible technology.

This vision of an e-business approach to training varies greatly from the traditional business model for the delivery of training, particularly by VET Registered Training Organisations (RTOs). The traditional business model includes real estate prices dictating location of campuses; architecture dictating class sizes; industrial relations dictating the number and length of sessions and prescribing tight role descriptions; queues of students enrolling in February and July each year; and students seated in teacher-dominated classrooms. In contrast, an e-business basis for RTOs would involve the use of electronic communication to improve business performance, improve the use of existing resources, enhance existing services and increase market reach.

An e-business model for RTOs would include the following features: the development of new relationships with customers, using electronic communication to strengthen the relationship; the pursuit of new student markets; and the development of new relationships and alliances between providers. In this new arena of potential and threat, of disintermediation and reintermediation, there will be new roles for new intermediaries; and there will emerge new ways of supporting teaching and learning. Progressive education and training organisations will realize the potential offered by e-business and enjoy the fruits of reintermediation.

Researching effective teaching and learning in science : The science in schools research project

In 2000 a consortium headed by Deakin University was funded by the Victorian Department of Education, Employment and Training to develop a model of effective teaching and learning for science in schools from P-10. Initially working with 27 study schools, the Project has continued in 2001 with 126 participating schools. This paper will discuss the model for school and classroom change that we have been developing, with a particular focus on the change strategies being used by the research team and in the participating schools. Central to the model has been the appointment in each school of a SiS (Science in Schools) coordinator with time release and additional funding for resources. The Coordinator has used strategies including mapping each participating teacher against the eight components of effective teaching and learning (the SiS components); student preferences surveying; auditing of curriculum, resources and school policy; and team planning of priorities, actions, implementation and monitoring strategies. The emphasis has been on school ownership of the change process and the school leadership has been identified as central to its success. As well as focusing on actions in schools the paper will also discuss the research process from the research team's perspective.

Partnerships for effective teacher renewal

The Quality Teacher Program (QTP) recently introduced by the Commonwealth Government is a three year program that provides funding to strengthen the skills and understanding of those in the teaching profession.

In Victoria, The Association of Independent Schools of Victoria (AISV) in response to this initiative, has developed a project entitled ‘School-based Teacher Renewal’ involving three independent sector specific strategies and one cross-sectoral strategy.

One of these strategies, ‘Teacher Renewal Through Partnerships’ is a strategy which focuses on schools establishing a teacher renewal coordinating team being assisted by a university facilitator to address issues of teacher renewal. Schools were required to develop a Quality Teacher Strategic Plan associated with target curriculum area/s. Integral to this strategy is the provision of an external facilitator to support the teacher renewal coordinating team in each school

Approximately 46 academic staff from Faculties of Education at Deakin University and The University of Melbourne are working in partnership with AISV across 50 schools on this three year project.

This project builds on successful teacher professional development outcomes learned from the previous Commonwealth project, the Innovative Links Between Universities and Schools under the National Professional Development Program (NPDP) from 1994 to 1996.

This paper, presented by the Project Directors from Melbourne University and Deakin University will describe outcomes of the ‘Teacher Renewal Through Partnerships’ program and discuss findings gathered from experiences to date of those involved in this partnership program.

The summer games

As part of a nationally funded project, we have developed and used 'games' as student centred teaching resources to enrich the capacity for design in beginning students in architecture, landscape architecture and urban design. Students are encouraged to learn inter-actively in a milieu characterised by self-directed play in a low-risk computer modelling environment. Recently thirteen upper year design students, six from Adelaide University (Adelaide, South Australia, Australia), five from Deakin University (Geelong, Victoria, Australia), and two from Victoria University, (Wellington, New Zealand) were commissioned over a ten-week period of the 2000-2001 Australian summer to construct a new series of games. This paper discusses the process behind constructing these games.

This paper discusses six topical areas:

– what is a game;
– specific goals of the summer games;
– the structure of a game;
– the game-making process;
– key findings from the production unit; and
– future directions.

Shaping a more inclusive learning environment

This Project began as a Higher Education Equity Program Funding Application in March 1999, titled 'Electronic Provision of Information Resources to Students who have a Print Disability.'
Since 1999, mainstreaming of the project objectives has enhanced the access to higher education at Deakin University by students who have a print disability. Our objectives were and are:
• to integrate the provision of information resources to students who have a print disability with procedures already in place for providing information resources to other students
• to provide teaching materials electronically to empower independent learning
• to make information resources on reading lists more accessible to university students who have a print disability
• to establish a mechanism to obtain materials electronically from publishers
A growing number of people who have a print disability use computer technology to access electronic information. This paper will describe the policies, workflows, and procedures that have been implemented at Deakin University, specifically within the Learning Services area, to shape a more inclusive learning environment.

Issues arising from the implementation of a comprehensive assessment approach in a large, multi-modal Bachelor of Commerce Unit

Recent literature in higher education argues university assessment has been too narrow and hasn’t adequately reflected the quality, breadth and depth of students’ learning. Research shows students often prioritise and learn what they need to know for formal, graded assessment and disregard other academic content seen as less relevant to those requirements. The predominance of essays and examinations has therefore tended to constrain learning. The case for a more comprehensive approach has been clearly articulated. So what happens when staff take up the unique challenge of designing fair and uniform assessment for a large, core, multi-modal, multi-campus unit offered nationally and internationally?
When developing an undergraduate Bachelor of Commerce unit at Deakin University, staff considered the most appropriate ways to assess a range of conceptual understandings and communication skills. This resulted in the mapping and adoption of a comprehensive approach incorporating teacher, peer, and self-assessment aspects, individual and group work, oral and written presentations, and the use of portfolios and journals. Particular practices were adopted to control workloads, ensure fairness in marking, and overcome some problems generally associated with group work. When implementing the approach, practical issues arose that demanded adjustments. This paper details the approach taken, outlines research activities, and discusses the practical implications of issues that arose.

So what do customer value propositions and strategic planning have to do with teaching and learning?

Within most universities there are central areas that assist with teaching and learning and, in the case of universities offering programs through distance education or flexible learning, there are also units that develop and or manufacture course material. As budget constraints squeeze universities and, with a plethora of choices in online and integrated learning, the usefulness of centralised learning resource units can be called into question. To ensure these units remain vital and can justify their budgets to their parent organisations they need to demonstrate delivery of customer value. What do faculty staff value from a central unit? What irritates students about their course materials? What are the most important services from the point of view of a head of school? This paper outlines the process followed by Learning Services at Deakin University to discover its customers’ value model. Customer value propositions and the removal of what irritates the customer are then used to drive strategic planning, service offerings and continuous process improvement.

Implementing an online audio lecture streaming facility

This paper describes our experiences in implementing an audio lecture streaming facility for Deakin University. For many years Deakin students have benefited from some of the most comprehensive printed study notes of any university in Australia. In 2002, portable digital audio recorders were utilised by academic staff to capture lecture presentations in order to supplement existing unit learning materials and teaching delivery methods. Audio recordings were processed to enable streamed access via the web browser interface using QuickTime. A trial of incorporating PowerPoint presentations was conducted on a limited basis. 68 undergraduate and postgraduate units implemented lecture streaming. This represented over1700 lecture recordings and 20000 audio streams. Evaluation findings indicate that students find this facility highly valuable to their studies and regularly access the audio recordings throughout semester. Benefits include; access to lecture presentations for off-campus enrolled students, the ability to revisit lecture presentations, and the ability to study at a place and time of convenience. Future enhancement to the audio lecture streaming may include implementing a hard-wired audio capture system into lecture theatres and providing for a more rapid turn around of audio processing.

Reuse of learning objects? why, how and when?

This paper describes the rationale behind the specification and acquisition of a Digital Objects Management System (DOMS) at Deakin University. Key drivers are: compliance with the provisions of the Digital Agenda Act for the communication of copyright works; improved management of Deakin’s intellectual property, and reduction in costs of delivering online content via a learning management system.

Details of the desired functionality and potential integration issues are addressed. During the specification stage, additional uses for a digital object management system were identified that relate to the broader notion of knowledge management, and these will be discussed.

At the time of writing, no decision has been made as to which vendor(s) will be successful in gaining the University’s contract for the management of digital learning objects.