An obvious way to use the internet in higher education is to deliver complete modules or courses. Here students can enter and enrol at a degree or at a subject from anywhere in the world, as lectures, tutorials, assessment and course related contact happens on the internet. A number of sites now act as clearing houses, listing courses available over the internet from institutions around the world. One example of this is the World Lecture Hall who list hundreds of courses available on the internet.
According to Ryan et al (2000) institutions can now enter credit sharing and other arrangements to offer courses not taught on a particular campus. “The joint development of courses, which reduces costs, is now a reality,�? (Ryan et al, 2000, p 23).
Canole and Oliver (1998) offer a framework for working through considerations relating to delivery of courses using internet and media sources. They identified a number of factors, including;
These requirements are two-sided as they do not just apply for the university developing the online course program. For the students enrolling on online courses, similar requirements apply. They would need time, facilities (equipment and access), though location is of course not needed as online courses is addressing this exact aspect of education delivery.
Canole and Oliver (1998) argue that lectures are time dependent as they only happen when scheduled, and the same applies for synchronous conferencing using either audio or video links. They argue further that lectures and video conferencing are also location dependent when large room based systems are used.
This indicates that the delivery of courses is more complex than a simple division between campus-bases and internet-based courses.
The role of the teacher (Ryan et al, 2000) delivering educational content online is also changed by the new technologies. The teacher developing and providing an online course find themselves as part of a team with instructional designers, courseware developers and others. Roles and responsibilities are negotiated in and new ways of working managed.
Ryan, S. Scott, B. Freeman, F. Patel, D. (2000) The Virtual University, The Internet and Resource-Based Learning. Kogan Page, London
Canole, G. Oliver, M. (1998) A Pedagogical framawork for embedding C&IT in the Curriculum, The Association for Learning Journal, 6, 2
Kjetil Joa 16:44, 27 Oct 2005 (EST)
