Julie Gibson, Open Training & Education Network, 51 Wentworth Road, Strathfield, NSW 2135, Australia. Phone +61 2 97158514 Fax +61 2 97158522 jgibson@vc.tafensw.edu.au
World Wide Web, Education, Internet, Vocational Education, Distance Education
This paper describes the evaluation of a trial of teaching a module using the World Wide Web (WWW) for students enrolled in a NSW TAFE course by distance education. The purpose of the trial was to evaluate WWW-based course delivery for distance education in TAFE, in terms of practical functionality, student acceptance and educational outcomes. A complete module of an existing course was developed for WWW delivery.
Teachers and administrative staff contributed feedback on the methods used, student responses were solicited and results examined. The module was offered only by WWW delivery so no comparative studies were made, the evaluation is anecdotal and the primary usefulness of the results is in examining the methods and techniques used.
Overall the student acceptance of the WWW-based method was very high and results were better than usual in distance education, judged by rate of completions. However functional problems were uncovered with the methods used in terms of the amount of administrative work required. The methodology for assessments duplicated existing mail based methods, a new approach is needed for WWW based delivery.