Students' attitudes to using forms of online learning support

The groups are stage two and three students in an in-service BEd program designed for adult educators and tertiary teachers. Most are already employed, mainly in polytechnics and private training establishments (PTEs). The program delivery is part time, though a few people study full time in their final year. Because students are spread throughout New Zealand, a mix of delivery modes is used, including face to face groups, paper based distance study materials, and some online facilities. Some face to face groups work with the main paper coordinators in Wellington, while others (for Maori PTE trainers) meet in locations around the country, with local tutors and/or visits from the Wellington based coordinators.

In 1997 three papers experimented with including some Internet elements, especially class email lists and web based pages with message boards and some supplementary learning materials. Only one course was fully Internet based, but most of the students downloaded its materials to their own computers, and many printed out all the pages to work from. At the end of the year students were surveyed for their opinions, and also their range of available facilities, to assist planning as staff considered extending the facilities to more papers. Results were mixed: individual distance students were understandably more enthusiastic about online communications than those in face to face groups; most still preferred reading from paper, not from screens; and the actual rate of usage of the provided email and message board facilities was very low.

The survey has recently been repeated with a similar cohort, ie stage two and three students who were enrolled in 1999. The mix is slightly different, in that numbers have grown, with the main increase being in the off campus face to face groups for Maori PTE trainers. Because of the nature of the program, which encourages participation, discussion and shared activities, it appears there are still some reservations about what and how much should be done with online learning.

The latest data is still being collated and analysed: results and conclusions will be reported in the final conference paper.