Quality assurance and e‐learning: blue skies and pragmatism

This paper considers the role of quality assurance in e‐learning; reflecting on the conditions necessary for successful e‐learning. It reviews some of the current international work on quality assurance in this area and goes on to consider the ways in which the quality of a process or activity can be assessed—focusing on the use of benchmarking and specification of standards

A technology-facilitated Learning Design Supporting Quality Assurance for Off-Campus and Off-Shore Course

This paper describes a teaching approach that uses technology to support and encourage student learning in a first year university unit. At the same time, the technology provides a powerful support for quality assuring the delivery of the unit in off-campus mode and offshore modes. The paper describes the online system and its supports for learning. It also discusses the opportunities that this and similar applications of technology can afford the quality-assurance processes associated with teaching

Learning objects: supporting flexible delivery of flexible learning

There are now many educational organizations and institutions that have decided on flexible delivery and online learning as strategies that they are keen to pursue. While many educators value online delivery of programs for the flexibility and opportunities offered, the environment offers far more than these outcomes alone. Online delivery supports and encourages very powerful learning environments and has the prospect to transform education if approached in the correct fashion. Across the world, conventional approaches to the design and development of online learning environments in higher education frequently result in many lost opportunities for both teachers and learners. These losses often arise as a consequence of a failure of many teachers to see the “big picture” when creating their own learning settings. This paper seeks to explore this big picture by examining the notion of reuse and recycling in online learning. It explores the concept of learning objects and how these can and should be considered in the design and development stages of online learning. The paper discusses outcomes and presents findings in the context of the Australian Flexible Learning Framework Online Product Development, Review and Evaluation project, a large Australian project seeking to develop world-class online learning products

Using technology supported inquiry learning to engage first year students in large classes

This paper describes a study that explored the promotion of learner engagement among first year students through a technology facilitated inquiry learning approach. Students were given a series of authentic inquiry tasks supported by a raft of learning scaffolds. The technology-facilitated system supported timely feedback and support and administrative efficiencies for the tutors and teacher. This paper describes the web based system and reports aspects of an inquiry exploring the factors seen to influence students\u27 levels of engagement and achievement. Recommendations are drawn from the study for further instantiations of the approach with appropriate revisions and changes

Ronline: mediating artefacts to support technology facilitated learning

This paper describes a suite of tools designed to provide teachers with generic content-free online learning activities that support interactive and engaging learning. The paper describes the tools and the results from a survey conducted among users that sought to explore the utility of the system and their perceptions of the learning opportunities afforded by the tools. Feedback revealed a number of learning advantages were gained from use of the tools as mediating artefacts. In particular the teachers appreciated the minimal effort required to create customised technology-based settings for their students

Reusing and sharing learning designs in higher education

This paper discusses the emerging need and opportunities for the development of representations and forms for learning designs, the activities a teacher plans to engage learners in learning settings. The paper argues that effective teaching practice, especially that involving ICT, should be able to be described and represented in ways that facilitate sharing and reuse. The paper discusses the ways in which descriptions of learning activities and practices can be described and stored so that they might be accessed and used by others. It describes a Carrick Institute project which seeks to develop strategies and resources that will provide answers to these questions and goals for the sharing and reuse of quality ICT-based learning settings

Developing e-learning environments that support knowledge construction in higher education

Much of the conventional development of Web-based learning environments the creation of electronic forms of existing print-based materials. In such instances the Web-based courses have tended to display limited evidence of an underpinning learning design and varying degrees of use of the opportunities and affordances of the new technologies. This paper provides an overview of instructional design principles that can guide the creation of Web-based learning materials that support learner engagement and knowledge construction. The paper describes the attributes of constructivist learning settings and provides some examples of explicit learning designs that can be applied in the design of Web-based learning environments. It describes strategies that are currently underway that are looking to provide ways to mainstream effective Web-based learning designs

Assuring the quality of online learning in Australian higher education

This paper discusses the major issues confronting the successful adoption and sustained use of online learning in higher education within the Australian context. The paper argues that four main issues which universities must deal with to achieve maximum potential from online learning technologies are: the establishment of cost-effective practices; the achievement and maintenance of quality in online learning delivery; ensuring access and equity in the delivery of programs; and establishing practices which can enable online learning to be sustained and to grow as a mainstream activity in university teaching and learning. While these issues are suggested as discrete entities, it is recognised that there is considerable overlap in the influencing factors and in the strategies and processes by which they can be overcome. The paper describes and proves exemplars of a number of strategies for dealing with the issues in ways which provide the means to support and sustain quality online learning programs within universities and in the broader educational context. These include: the development of proactive programs to improve teacher expertise in the design, development and delivery of online teaching; the use of programs to support and maintain student readiness; the need to provide adequate technology infrastructure to support the programs; and the use of strategies supporting the design and development of online programs based on the customisation and reuse of learning objects