e-Chatter : breaking down the languge barrier

The e-Chatter environment will provide a transformative bilingual environment that aims to facilitate the development of mother-tongue and bilingual expertise through its ability to do simultaneous bi-directional translation.

Working in online groups-the challenges of virtually integrated learning environments

Universities continue to struggle with the need to combine the pedagogical benefits of collaborative learning with large scale, interactive and technologically sophisticated learning and teaching arrproaches and support systems. This challenge requires imaginative approaches if the outcome is not to the 'worst of both worlds' that results in confusion and disillusionism amongst students. This paper presents three case studies that use online technologies to provide collaborative teaching solutions arguably much superior to that possible without an online intervention.

Informed learning in online environments : supporting the higher education curriculum beyond Web 2.0

As boundaries between physical and online learning spaces become increasingly blurred in higher education, how can students gain full benefit of Web 2.0 social media and mobile technologies for learning? How can we, as information professionals and educators, best support the information literacy learning needs of students who are universally mobile and Google-focused? This chapter presents informed learning (Bruce, 2008) as a pedagogical construct with potential to support learning across the higher education curriculum, for Web 2.0 and beyond. After outlining the principles of informed learning and how they may enrich the higher education curriculum, we explain the role of library and information professionals in promoting informed learning for Web 2.0 and beyond. Then, by way of illustration, we describe recent experience at an American university where librarians simultaneously learned about and applied informed learning principles in reshaping the information literacy program.

Student interactivity and teacher participation: An application of legitimate peripheral participation in higher education online learning environments

Lave and Wenger’s legitimate peripheral participation is an important aspect of online learning environments. It is common for teachers to scaffold varying levels of online participation in Web 2.0 contexts, such as online discussion forums and blogs. This study argues that legitimate peripheral participation needs to be redefined in response to students’ decentralised multiple interactions and non-linear engagement in hyperlinked learning environments. The study examines students’ levels of participation in online learning through theories of interactivity, distinguishing between five levels of student participation in the context of a first-year university course delivered via a learning management system. The data collection was implemented through two instruments: i) a questionnaire about students’ interactivity perception in the online reflective learning (n = 238) and then ii) an open discussion on the reason for the diverse perceptions of interactivity (n = 34). The study findings indicate that student participants, other than those who were active, need high levels of teacher or moderator intervention, which better enables legitimate peripheral participation to occur in online learning contexts.

Usability and learning in online environments : a case of interactive encounters

This paper proposes a set of strategies to maximise learner-content and learner-learner interactions in on-line learning environments. Extrapolating the outcomes of a research study that investigated the ways in which users responded to the interactive constructs embedded within interactive multimedia applications, the concept of encounter theory is introduced. Using observation and interview techniques, participants in the study identified a range of options by which learnercomputer interactions might be enhanced. The implications of these findings for online and desktop environments are considered, specifically in terms of the independent learner's encounter with content material and other learners. Developing a comprehensive understanding of the interactive phenomenon will not only lead to more effective useability and learning in on-line environments, but also to their working better for the learner.

Evidence for sustainable e-learning in quality online learning environments: a purposive approach to content analysis

This paper examines a methodology for establishing quality in online learning environments. For e-learning to be sustainable in flexible, open and distance learning, its value in learning must be able to be analysed. In the case of computer conferencing, one way to do this is with content analysis. This methodology is discussed with a review of current frameworks. These indicate that while some researchers and evaluators either use or modify existing frameworks, most researchers develop new ones, generally through the adaptation of existing theories, concepts or model, but in some cases through grounded theory approaches. The development and implementation of two frameworks are then discussed in detail. Both were developed to investigate and evaluate both collaborative learning and deep and surface learning as evidenced in computer conferences. Evidence of such learning attributes are precisely the elements of value in e-learning that can be shown through such a methodology. These attributes can then be integrated into courses developed for quality online learning environments.

Communication dynamics : discussion boards, weblogs and the development of communities of inquiry in online learning environments

Online learning environments (OLEs) are now critical to teaching and learning across Australian higher education. Their influence impacts on the availability of content, the design of courses and, perhaps most pedagogically significantly, the nature of communication. The discussion board is the ubiquitous communication tool within these OLEs and hence significantly shapes the kind of communication that takes place. In light of this, the degree to which a successful community of inquiry can be facilitated through the use of discussion boards is examined and compared to the possibilities afforded by weblogs in the same role. Weblogs, it is argued, offer new opportunities in the development of social, cognitive and teacher presence online and should be considered in the development of or alongside established OLEs.

Discomfort at the coalface : issues for sessional tutors teaching in online enhanced learning environments

Higher education institutions are undergoing a period of rapid change during which time a number of strategic professional development efforts have been made to improve teaching in order to improve students’ learning outcomes. Sessional tutors, who are consistently at the coalface and have close contact with students, have often been excluded from formal opportunities for professional development offered to more permanent staff. This anomaly is now being recognised and more efforts are being made across the sector to ensure that tutors are better equipped to teach in contemporary learning environments. This paper discusses issues of concern to tutors that arose from recent professional development workshops and suggests that some of the major issues currently confronting sessional staff relate to the need to be able to teach effectively in online enhanced learning environments.

Tipping points in online-mediated learning environments

Teacher/Student engagement enriches learning experiences beyond the specifics of communicated information by encouraging connectivity and the fostering of learning communities. This paper is an analysis of student engagement in a postgraduate online-mediated learning environment, and considers how engagement may be an important factor in building communities of learning in conjunction with improved learning outcomes. This paper is informed by the conceptual framework for effective e-learning outlined by Garrison and Anderson (2003) as necessary for higher order knowledge building by students as part of skills development for participation in knowledge economies. Data collected through a pilot study infers that a correlation exists between the development of small groups of significantly contributing students within wider online student cohorts and the learning outcomes of all students within the cohort. The findings indicate that a number of small events have increased student engagement and motivation, and resulted in improved learning outcomes.

Online learning environments : same place; different demographic space?

This paper presents a large scale, quantitative investigation of the impact of demographic differences on the student experience of using an online learning environment (OLE). Female respondents generally gave higher ratings than males, and gave significantly higher ratings in both importance and satisfaction to a group of OLE elements related to online interaction and community. Postgraduate respondents generally gave lower satisfaction ratings than undergraduate students, though significant differences were few. Results on the basis of mode of enrolment were mixed. The discovery of significant differences between demographic groups highlights the importance of up-to-date and on-going research-based surveys of student perceptions of the OLE. The finding that elements of the institutional OLE are not universally perceived the same way by all students groups also challenges the value of standard, one-size-fits-all institutional policies and templates relating to the use of the OLE.

Blended learning in finance : comparing student perceptions of lectures, tutorials and online learning environments across different year levels

In modern pedagogy, a blended approach is used comprising both face-to-face and online learning. This study investigates how undergraduate students majoring in finance view the different learning environments, and evaluates the changes in perception over the three years of the degree after controlling for gender, age, international/domestic student and English as a first language. Using a purpose designed survey instrument, students across the three years of undergraduate study rated the importance of lectures, tutorials and web-based learning environments in a blended learning model. The results indicate that there is still a strong preference for face-to-face learning. Additionally, there were significant differences in attitudes and perception by year level.

Leading the evaluation of institutional online learning environments for quality enhancement in times of change

This paper reports on findings from a nationally funded project which aims to design and implement a quality management framework for online learning environments (OLEs). Evaluation is a key component of any quality management system and it is this aspect of the framework that is the focus of this paper. In developing the framework initial focus groups were conducted at the five participating institutions. These revealed that, although regarded as important, there did not appear to be a shared understanding of the nature and purpose of evaluation. A second series of focus groups revealed there were multiple perspectives arising from those with a vested interest in online learning. These perspectives will be outlined. Overall, how evaluation was undertaken was highly variable within and across the five institutions reflecting where they were at in relation to the development of their OLE.

Leading the quality management of online learning environments in Australian higher education

The paper presents the findings of the first year of a nationally funded Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) project on the quality management of online learning environments by and through distributed leadership. The project is being undertaken by five Australian universities with major commitments to online and distance education. Each university, however, has a distinctive location, history and profile in the sector. The first year of the project has seen the development of a quality management framework with six interrelated elements. The framework is being applied, refined and validated in the second year of the project. Allied with the development of the framework, was the conduct of focus groups at each of the five partner institutions in the middle of the first year. These focus groups composed a range of staff involved collectively in the leadership of the organisation's online learning environment. Prominence was given to the nature and value of strategic planning, due diligence conducted in selecting and mainstreaming technologies, evaluation approaches informing decision making, and the various relationships between different leadership levels and domains. A number of key issues which emerged relating to the elements identified in the framework are examined.