Getting to grips with online delivery

During the last 30 years many changes in the level of use of technology have influenced the delivery of education and training programs. As a simple progression, when I was a student, lecturers used 'chalk and talk'. Then when I began working in TAFE, I discovered that pictures and sound were aids to the blackboard, and classrooms and lecture theatres were fitted out with facilities to display TV programs and video recordings. More recently, computer systems and (generally) stand-alone packages were included in the suite of delivery methods. The latest development has been loosely labelled 'online delivery' and includes the Internet and the World Wide Web (WWW) as teaching and learning platforms.

Internet: 'the global communications network providing interconnections between thousands of smaller networks throughout the world'.

World Wide Web: 'its outstanding features include an easy-to-use point-and-click interface for the transmission of graphics, sound, animation and video, and ready access to a vast range of communication and information services'. (Wheeler 1996, p.1)

At the 1997 Networking97 conference, Ian Reinecke presented the thesis 'that the Internet will be the development that triggers a transformation of vocational education (and) will become the catalyst for transformation of organisations (including education). The wide range of purposes to which it is being put, its geographical reach and the rapid growth in the number of users around the world are reasons for regarding the Internet as more than usually important. It has the considerable advantage of being available both to providers and users of services at relatively low cost and its appeal shows no signs of waning' (Reinecke 1997, p.6).

These technological changes have been accompanied by educational paradigm shifts, including notably, for the vocational education and training (VET) sector, the influence of flexible delivery methodologies. The results include:

• constructivist principles of teaching and learning replacing conventional instructivist philosophies
• students becoming more responsible for specifying and managing their own learning activities
• teaching and learning resources accessed globally
• an increasing use of information communications technology as a platform for educational delivery — or the use of online delivery technology (Barker 1999, pp.3–4)

Resource

The global context of online delivery or 'the virtual institution' is outlined in a recent Commonwealth of Learning report The development of virtual education: A global perspective (Farrell 1999).

Forces driving the development of online delivery include:

• increasing capacity, flexibility and suitability of information and communications technologies in educational applications
• decreasing cost of technology
• growth of knowledge and increasing rate of obsolescence of knowledge
• people seeking opportunities for lifelong learning and greater flexibility in how they learn
• opportunities to enhance learning experiences
• overcoming the tyranny of distance
• increasing market share in a competitive environment
• expectation that costs will be reduced

Forces opposing the development of online delivery include:

• no or limited access to technology and networks
• high start-up costs for the institution and learner copyright restrictions
• inappropriate learner and teacher support systems
• inability of teachers and learners to embrace the technology
• the educational philosophy of the institution

This booklet is not actually a handbook of 'how to deliver online courses'. Based on a survey of recent literature, it is an overview of some of the basic issues of online delivery — why get involved, some of the advantages and limitations, how to get started, and providing support for students and teachers. I hope it will answer some of the questions you may have about online delivery such as:

• How will using communications technology improve my institution's teaching and learning strategies?
• How will communications technology enhance student learning?
• What are the outcomes for students in an online environment?
• What impact will the World Wide Web have on my institution's educational strategies?
• Will using communications technology as an instructional medium replace conventional strategies?
• What is the role of the teacher in online delivery?
• How do I get started?
• What resources will I need?

What this booklet stresses is that 'the learner is central'. Online delivery is not used just because 'everyone else is using it', or because of apparent economic reasons, or because it will provide the institution with a 'high-tech' image. (Lambert & Williams 1999, p.1). Throughout the text useful resources are listed which will help you with the answers to these questions and to become informed about the key issues related to online delivery. Further reading is given at the end of the booklet.