About:
This Guide provides an introduction to e-learning: what it is and what it looks like. It comprises short, one-page summaries of e-learning topics, with links to key external resources (articles, examples, etc).
This Guide is a dynamic document; it is updated on a regular basis.
Table of contents as at 23/12/03
e-Learning in the Workplace
e-Learning in Higher Education
Online courses and tutorials
e-Presentations and streaming learning
Live e-learning
e-Books and e-textbooks
Learning by email
Collaborative learning
Games and simulations in e-learning
Mobile learning
Blogging for learning
Informal learning solutions
Blended learning
Keeping up to date with e-learning
Readiness Checklist
"Before you embark on your multimedia/web project there are some basic things that must be in place including, existing content, a vision, and resources. Go through the 5 items one-by-one in order to lay a solid foundation for the rest of your project. This step is crucial to your future success so let’s get started..."
Overview
New software programs make life much easier for developers and facilitators of online learning! Interactive exercises, testing, collaboration, and content development are greatly simplified. What used to take days/weeks can now often be done in much less time - with little or no coding/programming skills needed.
The resources listed on this page are some of the most common (and useful) tools used for elearning development and implementation. Most are free, or offer a trial version.
This site was developed to assist instructors who are new to using technology in the classroom by creating a reflective document to assist in planning the use of technology in your teaching.
This tool will ask you a series of questions regarding you, your course, and your students. At the end, you will have the option to view or print an analysis.
By Anne Bartlett-Bragg (UTS)
"Have you considered using blogs within your pedagogical practice? Do you know what a blog is? This excellent article makes a significant contribution to the flexible learning debate. Anne Bartlett-Bragg describes the phenomena of blogging, the process of blogging and how it can be used to enhance learning. The theoretical underpinnings of blogging are discussed and an explanation is given of how blogs can be used to enhance learning, so that learners may progress beyond surface learning to self directed deep learning. It is only when learners achieve deep learning will they seek out connections between concepts and be able to contextualise meaning.
...
Anne provides a 5 Stage Blogging Process and explains how blogs can be incorporated into pedagogical practice"
By: Robin 'Roblimo' Miller
"...One big barrier I foresee in teaching teachers -- and school and school district administrators -- about free software is their natural reluctance to teach students to use software that isn't "mainstream...."
Course Specification for MGT 8033
1 credit point
SYNOPSIS:
One of the major contemporary issues facing virtually all organisations is the fast-changing and highly complex and dynamic environments they operate in - both externally and internally. There is a constant drive for organisational change - not only to survive but to be able to compete and be successful and sustainable. It is essential for managers and leaders to be familiar with and have competence in the area of change management and leadership. More than ever before, managers and professionals need to focus on the continuous renewal of their organisations on various fronts. They not only need to know how to go about leading and managing change for improved organisational performance and sustainability, but also be more sensitive to their own ability to change themselves. In this course students will be required to: show an understanding of the complex nature of change as well as those factors that affect and enhance prospects for planned organisational change; achieve a perspective on the contextual and conceptual foundations of organisational change; show an understanding of the processes and many of the strategies and techniques which can be applied to lead, manage and facilitate organisational change; appreciate the necessity for organisational change which is aimed at sustainability; and demonstrate their ability to take part in or evaluate some
Course Specification for MGT 8038
1 credit point
SYNOPSIS:
We live in a world where the breadth of local, national and international issues confronting our global community is both increasingly complex and diverse; this creates a great need around the world to find new and improved ways of doing business. Leaders and potential leaders need to ensure they have or can develop the necessary skills to lead successfully in this complex environment. This course exposes you to the dynamics related to leadership, being a leader and developing the leadership capability of yourself, other people and organisations in a changing world. The course is designed to allow leaders and managers to reflect on the topics of leadership and the development of leadership capability in a systemic way. It is designed as the first in a four unit leadership specialisation series, although it can be studied as a stand-alone course. It focuses on you as a leader who aims to understand and exercise leadership as it is construed in your own workplace or organization as well as on the peculiar needs of any organization to develop its leadership capability. As such this course lays the foundation for leadership development across a number of different contexts. You will be challenged to consider the level, types and quality of leadership in real-life organisation(s) and to develop appropriate strategy(ies) for developing the leaders
Course Specification for MGT 8022
1 credit point
SYNOPSIS:
This course combines planning, organisation and control techniques with information technology to develop strong theoretical and practical skills in project management. It addresses the fundamental difference between project and general management. It highlights the importance of project planning and discusses the processes of networking, scheduling and resource allocation. It also includes discussions on project monitoring and performance measurement, cost/schedule control systems, risk assessment and analysis and human resource management in the project environment. The use of management information systems to assist in planning and controlling project activities is emphasised. Students are required to use a personal computer based project management software package and may also use other software such as spreadsheets and data bases or graphics software in a project management system application. The course addresses all nine courses of the nationally accredited National Competency Standards for Project Management.
Course Specification for FET 5502
1 credit point
SYNOPSIS:
This course will provide an introduction to organisational theory and organisational change as a basis from which to explore the concept of the 'learning organisation'. Learners will analyse the characteristics of their organisations in terms of the 'disciplines' of the 'learning organisation'. Tools to assist organisations in becoming learning organisations will be examined and applied, including strategic planning, project management, teamwork, performance management and learning strategies. Learners will assess their organisation's capacity to become a learning organisation and plan action that will move their organisation towards that goal. Emphasis will be placed on relating theory to practice through online discussions of the learner's own research and experiences. NOTE: Students enrolling in this course will be required to have Internet access.
Course Specification for FET 5660
1 credit point
This course is designed as a supervised independent study. This means that students working with a member of the academic staff are able to design a course of study appropriate to their particular learning needs and interests. In this course students may undertake one or two types of academic activities: (i) completing an independent reading program in an approved area of interest which leads to the preparation and development of a 2,000 to 5,000 word academic paper, or (ii) completing and documenting a significant project of value in their workplaces and preparing separately a 3,000 to 4,000 word paper that both discusses the relationship of relevant theories to the project processes and outcomes, and reflects on the learning they have achieved through completing the project. This course will operate on the basis of frequent individual consultation and feedback between the student and the staff member nominated as the study supervisor. Before enrolling in the course, students are advised to discuss the nature, processes and anticipated outcomes of the proposed study topic or activity with a Faculty member, who might act as their study supervisor.
Course Specification for FET 8661
2credit points
SYNOPSIS:
Learners will, with guidance from a member of Faculty staff, plan and execute an independent project which is clearly related to their overall program of study. This two-unit project is intended to meet the needs of learners who wish to include a research or evaluation component in their Masters program by providing a venue in which a research or evaluation project can be undertaken to apply and/or extend knowledge developed in their program of study. The project should lead to the preparation of a substantial written report presented at an appropriately scholarly standard. This report may be presented in the format of a research-based paper for publication in an approved academic or professional journal. Project reports must reflect mastery of the content of current literature and of knowledge and skills developed by the learner in his/her prior program. This course will operate on the basis of frequent individual consultation and feedback between the student and the staff member nominated as the study supervisor. Before enrolling the course, students are advised to discuss the nature, processes and anticipated outcomes of the proposed study topic or activity with a Faculty member who might act as study supervisor. NOTE: Before enrolling in the course, learners should have successfully completed a course in methods for research and/or evaluation or be
[oss watch] Open Source Advisory Service
OSS Watch provides the UK further and higher education community with neutral and authoritative guidance about free and open source software, and about related open standards. Specifically, it offers:
A web-based clearing-house for up to date information;
conferences and workshops;
focussed assistance for institutions and software projects considering open source;
investigative reports.
Curtin's IBL Guide Web: Ideas for using email for teaching and learning
"Here are some ideas from the University of NSW for using email in your teaching; some refer to email lists; others are about the more individual uses of email. They tend to share an underlying commitment to using computer-mediated communication (CMC) to promote student-student interaction"
"To the best of our ability to discern, we have included only links to electronic journals that are scholarly, peer-reviewed, full text and accessible without cost. We have excluded professional magazines that are largely not refereed, and commercial journals that may only allow access to a very limited number of articles as an enticement to buy. By restricting membership in this way on the list that follows, we hope to do what little we can to promote free access world wide to scholarship in education."
ERIC Digest no. 252
by Bettina Lankard Brown
2003
"Work-based learning represents the integration of workplace experiences and career and technical education (CTE) curriculum. It involves students in the construction of knowledge by engaging them in authentic tasks of the workplace that "create a context for creative decision making in uncertain situations" (Harnish and Wilke-Schnaufer 1998, p. 22). It engages students in reflective practices that help them develop both personally and professionally (Kinman and Kinman 1997).
Work-based learning (WBL) includes a range of activities that extend beyond traditional cooperative education, such as job shadowing, service learning, internships, and apprenticeships—all of which provide CTE students with valuable experience in the world of work. This Digest reviews the approaches used to provide work-based learning, issues involved in structuring meaningful worksite learning experiences, and benefits that CTE students realize through participation in those experiences. "
By:
Geraldine Lefoe, University of Wollongong
Cathy Gunn, University of Auckland
John Hedberg, University of Wollongong
Abstract: "The University of Wollongong opened a new campus and two new access centres on the
south coast of NSW, Australia, in 2000. The combination of distance with limited funding,
after seed funding was expended, has provided opportunities to rethink teaching and learning strategies. Competition from traditional distance education providers in the area meant that, strategically, Wollongong had to "think differently". This paper provides an overview of issues identified by students through an evaluation of the inaugural year of a flexibly delivered Arts degree in a distributed learning environment. Actions taken by the University to resolve the issues are outlined and recommendations for implementation from the students' perspective are proposed."
Various bits and pieces, including links to articles...
abnd his book with Jan Herrington "Teaching and Learning Online: a beginner's guide to e-learning and e-teaching in higher education" - large pdf file http://elrond.scam.ecu.edu.au/oliver/2002/TALO2.pdf
link to website
By Uche Ogbuji
"The education technology field is leading the way with some very interesting uses of XML metadata in practice. A wide range of specifications, standards, and developments exist in the area, but at the center of things is the IEEE Learning Objects Metadata (LOM) specification. In this article, Uche Ogbuji introduces LOM and shows how it can be of interest even to those who have no direct connections with education techology."
by Clayton R. Wright
"The criteria presented in this guide are based on the national and international experiences of staff in the Instructional Media and Design department at Grant MacEwan College. Although they were developed to assist educators in evaluating the effectiveness of online courses, they may also be used as guidelines for course developers."
"Shaping Our Future is government and industry's collective strategy to ensure: industry will have a highly skilled workforce to support strong performance in the global economy; employers and individuals will be at the centre of VET; communities and regions will be strengthened economically and socially through learning and employment; and that Indigenous Australians will have skills for viable jobs and their learning culture will be shared. "
By Kristine Peters & Carolyn Lloyd
Introduction
"Much research into issues relating to online training has been undertaken from a supply perspective (the developer and delivery perspective), but little formal work has been done on the demand perspective (the customer perspective). The Australian Flexible Learning Framework Research Program commissioned this research into ‘factors influencing demand for online delivery’ to address this gap.
The research team took a market research approach to the task of defining demand. Key trends were identified in the existing literature and these were tested using customer surveys of individuals and employers. The survey findings were further refined with focus groups. The result is a ‘big picture’ view of online vocational education and training (VET) in Australia from the customer perspective. This report identifies demand features that apply to the mass online VET market as well as features that apply to specific market segments."
By Phoebe Palmieri
"This project set out to determine how practices have or need to be changed to accommodate
flexible delivery and the changing roles and patterns of work that are entailed for technical and further education (TAFE) staff. Key messages to emerge relate to organisational culture, job design, workload and performance management, professional development and planning of the workforce. "
Updates: Networking 2003 Archives