Learning online: Benefits and barriers in regional Australia - Volume 1

Online learning has the potential to expand the range of choices available to regional and rural Australia, but little is understood about how opportunities can be promoted and managed in regional communities, just as knowledge of the extent of the uptake of online delivery in regional and metropolitan Australia is uncertain. In regional Australia there are particular challenges to online delivery. Given that so little is known about the uptake and reach of online delivery, policy development in this area is problematic. The literature shows that there is some evidence that suggests that learning that is planned and negotiated with the involvement of local communities produces more successful outcomes, including building social capital in communities.

It is these questions of the extent of uptake of online learning of formal vocational education and training (VET) in regional and metropolitan Australia, the identification of the benefits of, and barriers to online learning for regional Australians, and how online learning and arrangements for its delivery may benefit regional communities, that are at the heart of this study.

For the purposes of this study a clear distinction is made between delivery and learning. Online delivery refers to a range of delivery modes, where being online (for example, email, using WebCT, Blackboard and so on) is a component of, or all of the processes designed for learning. Online learning is defined as learning processes which use online delivery. In addition, it is important to remember that learning occurs in a social context.

This study focusses on 'what' is happening in relation to online delivery in regional Australia and 'why' it is happening. Data on recent and current enrolments in online courses/modules were gathered from eight providers across four states. One provider in each state had its main campus in a regional location. From the quantitative data collected, nine courses were selected for more detailed analysis, one from each provider. Interviews with teachers in these courses supplemented interviews with current and recent students to gain a picture of benefits and barriers related to online learning. Stakeholders in eight communities with one or more students studying the selected courses were interviewed to provide information about the benefits and barriers related to online learning in regional communities.

Summary of findings

There is a lack of consistent, comparable enrolment data which can be used as a basis for resourcing allocation decisions. However, our research highlighted the following characteristics of online learning/learners in regional Australia:

• There is variation between providers in what they offer online.

• Online delivery attracts a wide cross-section of students in terms of gender, age and employment status.

• Student online enrolment patterns vary, but many enrol in only one or two units/modules with an online component.

• Online students are geographically scattered in relation to the location of the provider campus.

• Many online students reside in the locality of their provider's campus(es) and attend face-to-face classes for other units/modules.

• Students in regional areas do not have the luxury of choice from alternative delivery methods to match their preferred learning style (unlike students in metropolitan locations who are not prevented by distance from attending face-to-face classes).

Benefits, barriers and promoters of online learning

Benefits from the provision of online delivery and learning:

• Study opportunities are provided leading to careers and employment that would have otherwise required students to travel or move away from home, or were otherwise unaffordable.

• Mature-aged students who previously had little or no computer literacy developed their skills while using a range of computer programs and the internet.

• For those students who responded well to online learning, skills in problem-solving and greater self-reliance were further developed. These new skills increased confidence.

Barriers to online delivery and learning:

• Factors limiting access to online learning, such as the cost of hardware and software, a lack of adequate infrastructure in regional areas, poor design and layout of web platforms and inadequate instructions and induction procedures were issues for many students.

• Learning processes were hindered by subject content difficult to explain online; errors to online material; inadequate or lack of support for students; and confusion surrounding assessment requirements.

• Lack of interaction with peers (other learners) and insufficient interaction with teachers were perceived as substantial barriers.

• Learning is also hindered when there is limited support and professional development for teachers and a lack of an institutional learning culture.

Promoters of online delivery and learning:

• Access is promoted by having good induction processes, preferably some face-to-face contact; students who are self-motivated and have a problem-solving orientation; and encouraging community/industry links to ensure relevance.

• Learning processes are promoted when there is face-to-face peer and teacher interaction, and teachers are skilled in facilitating bulletin board use.

• For online learning to be efficient and responsive to the needs of students, adequate resources need to be allocated to professional development for teachers, appropriate industrial arrangements put in place and the practices in registered training organisations should take account of the time teachers spend supporting students.

Online delivery and learning highlights tensions and contradictions in existing systems as well as between the boundaries of stakeholders in the Australian VET system such as registered training organisations, state training authorities, the Australian National Training Authority, policy-makers, funding bodies, teachers and students. In this context the suggestions for further action resulting from this study point to changes to quality assurance systems and the resourcing of online delivery and professional development practices. Online delivery and learning requires not only appropriate resourcing but good change management.