Greg Webb, Information Technology, Sydney Institute of Technology (TAFE NSW), Mary Anne Street, Ultimo NSW 2007, Australia. Phone +612-9217-3736 Fax: +612- 9217-3897 gregw@sit.edu.au
World Wide Web, WWW, Internet, Training, Teaching and Learning, Learning and Teaching, VET, TAFE, Australia
This paper describes the work done at the Information Technology teaching section at Sydney Institute of Technology in creating a theoretical model of Internet-based training and a plan for its implementation within a TAFE NSW context.
The model examines what it means to use the Internet as a substitute for the classroom in learning and teaching without sacrificing all the advantages of face-to-face teaching.
The model is discipline independent and is sufficiently general that it is applicable to the support of partial subjects, whole subjects and whole courses taught via the Internet.
The role of educational administration is examined as Internet-based training also provides the potential for learners and teachers to interact with administrative data.
Finally, compelling reasons are given for introducing the new technology.
There are now many examples of the use of the Internet in education. A lot of these examples stem from the efforts of individuals who have used the Internet to supplement or totally take over the teaching of their own subjects. The approaches have been largely bottom-up.
At Sydney Institute, the Information Technology section is aiming to introduce Internet-based training across all its subjects and courses. To do this, a top-down approach has been taken.
The first two sections of this paper, Internet-Based Training and Pedagogy for Internet-Based Training, deal with the theoretical basis of our approach.
The third section, Application of Internet-Based Training to College Programmes, justifies the introduction of Internet-based training.
The fourth section, Role of Central Administration in Internet-Based Training, examines the role of administration with a view to its interface to Internet-based training and the fifth section, Building an Internet Learning Environment, is a suggested implementation plan for the TAFE NSW context.
Internet-based training is training conducted on the Internet. The Internet is seen as a medium for bringing learners and teachers together - a learning environment.
The traditional approach to teaching in a college puts students and teachers together in a classroom where learning takes place. I call this the classroom learning environment (Figure 1).
Figure 1: The Classroom Learning Environment
In this learning environment, teachers explain new ideas and concepts and students get the opportunity to question the teacher. All participants in the class benefit from questions asked by individuals. Table 1 shows some of the advantages and disadvantages of the classroom learning environment.
Table 1: Advantages and Disadvantages of the Classroom Learning Environment
In distance education, teachers and students are brought together by the postal service. Hence the learning environment for distance education is the postal system. I call this the postal system learning environment (Figure 2).
Figure 2: The Postal System Learning Environment
In this environment students communicate with teachers through assignments and teachers promote learning by annotating assignments with comments that encourage and stimulate thinking. Table 2 shows some of the advantages and disadvantages of the postal system learning environment.
Table 2: Advantages and Disadvantages of the Postal System Learning Environment
The Internet represents a new form of learning environment which is different from both the classroom and the postal system environments. Figure 3 shows the Internet learning environment.
Figure 3: The Internet Learning Environment
Learners learn from resource-based materials that are delivered from a computer (a server). In addition learners and teachers communicate through e-mail.
The Internet as a learning environment brings together the best of classroom and postal service learning environments. It gives the learner the choice of where to study and when to study, and at the same time permits interactions with the teacher and other learners as well as participation in 'classroom' discussions. Table 3 shows some of the advantages and disadvantages of the Internet learning environment.
Table 3: Advantages and Disadvantages of the Internet Learning Environment
There is nothing in the model of the Internet learning environment to suggest that it applies to specific disciplines. On the contrary, it is applicable to all academic disciplines.
It is true that some subjects will lend themselves more to delivery in this fashion and others less. For example, theoretical subjects are more suited to this treatment than practical subjects but new approaches to teaching practical subjects at a distance could make even these possible.
Both classroom and postal system learning environments permit interaction between learner and teacher. Interaction is an essential part of TAFE teaching practice - asking questions and group work.
One basic premise of our work has been that Internet-based training must not forsake the advantages of classroom-based training.
While the early examples of Internet-based training incorporated little or no interaction between teachers and learners and amongst learners, there is a growing number that do. Two examples in Australia are OTEN's Information Technology virtual campus [HREF1] and the Open Training Service WWW site at Box Hill Institute of TAFE [HREF2].
In the classroom-learning environment, students use a variety of learning strategies including those presented in Table 4.
Table 4: Classroom Learning Strategies
In distance education, some of these learning strategies are incorporated into print-based materials (OTEN, 1991).
Internet-based training can incorporate all the learning strategies listed Table 4. Table 5 shows the Internet equivalents of classroom learning strategies.
Table 5: Internet-Based Training Equivalents of Classroom Learning Strategies
Table 5: (Continued)
The following Mayer key competencies are addressed when learners use the Internet learning environment.
Just by participating in this type of learning these key competencies are achieved.
In colleges, Internet-based training could be used for the following educational programmes.
All uses of the Internet can be categorised into three primary usage types (Table 6).
Table 6: Taxonomy of Uses of the Internet
Much of today's educational use is in fact publishing (Use 1).
Internet-based training incorporating the principles of classroom-based teaching is a combination of publishing (Use 1) and communication (Use 2).
Submission of assignments and online tests are transactional (Use 3).
Alexander (1995) says that adopting new educational technologies for their own sake almost always leads to failure. The Internet learning environment should not be used as a replacement for traditional classrooms unless there are clear cut, measurable benefits to the college or to the learner.
New opportunities for colleges using the Internet learning environment fall into two categories:
Here are some of the ways in which a college could increase its market for business.
The Internet learning environment clearly has a role to play for distance education but it could also improve the quality of education delivered in colleges. Some of the ways in which Internet-based training in colleges could improve learning are:
So far, this paper has focused on learning and teaching in Internet-based training but the role of the central administration is just as important. The term 'central administration' is used here to refer to all functional areas outside teaching areas which in some way provide administrative services that contribute to the lifecycle of learners entering, consuming and leaving our educational system.
During the learner's lifecycle at TAFE, there are a number of specific events which result in interactions between learners, teachers and the central administration. An interaction is a transaction between any two such as a learner paying fees to the central administration, a learner submitting an assignment to a teacher or a teacher submitting assessment results to the central administration. Table 7 shows the significant events over the life-cycle of a learner's study.
Table 7: Major Events in the Lifecycle of a Learner's Time at TAFE Resulting in Interactions Between Central Administration, Learner and Teachers
There are three distinct phases in the lifecycle. Phase 1 is the period in which a learner gets a place at TAFE. Phase 2 is the period in which the learner enrols and studies. This phase is repeated a number of times in the lifecycle. Within this second phase there is a sub-phase of enrolment and a sub-phase of learning and teaching. Phase 3 is the period in which the learner completes their study and collects an award.
Table 7 is a simplification of the lifecycle but serves to show where interactions occur between major players (see next section) in the Internet learning environment. A later stage of this project will be to investigate how interactions are handled in Internet-based training and to incorporate services such as counselling, disabilities and student union that are omitted from the current model.
This view of interactions between learner and the educational institution provides a starting point for designing administrative systems around the learner - learner-centred administrative systems.
An Internet learning environment consists of eight components which may be broken down into four major players and four major items of equipment. These components are:
Figure 4 shows the all the components (except the central administration) of the Internet learning environment.
Figure 4: The Components of the Internet Learning Environment (Central Administration Not Included)
The teacher and the learner are self evident. The technical support officer sets-up, maintains and supports the server.
The central administration (not shown in Figure 4) provide services which contribute to the total education product. It includes advertising, enrolments, recording and reporting of results, and issuance of awards.
The Internet learning environment requires a server to store information and to provide both distributional (Use 1) and transactional (Use 3) functions. It is highly desirable that it provides a communications function (Use 2) but this is not essential as the communications may be handled by other servers.
The teacher's workstation may be provided by the TAFE college or by the teacher. The teacher could do 'Internet-teaching' from either the college or from home. Under current employment practices, full-time and part-time teachers are provided with facilities to use within the college. As 'Internet teaching' may require teachers to adopt quite new and radical working arrangements, they may be required to teach from home.
The learner's workstation may be provided by the college or by the learner or by the learner's employer. Learners working in a distance learning programme will, by current expectations, have their own workstation. Learner's participating in an Internet-based training programme as part of their college-based course will expect the college to provide the workstation. In addition, if the learner is also employed then they may also be able to use their employer's equipment. Some college-based learners will have a workstation at home in any case.
The fourth equipment component is Internet access. The server's access must:
Teachers and learners also need Internet access. This may be from the college if using college facilities or through an Internet Service Provider (ISP) if working from home.
The usual way of providing Internet access from a section within an organisation is to use the organisation's backbone to reach the organisation's external access to the Internet. Figure 5 shows a teaching section's facilities linked to the Internet via the educational institution's network. This provides the server, the teachers and the college-based learners with access to the Internet. It also works in reverse. Teachers and learners can reach the teaching section's server through the same link but coming the other way.
Figure 5: Usual Solution for Connecting a Teaching Section's Facilities to the Internet Using the Institution's Backbone and Internet Access
The access suggested in Figure 5 is not presently possible in TAFE NSW. The question of this kind of access being available through the existing TAFE network is being considered but may take some time to resolve. Some of the issues relate to capacity of the state-wide TAFE network, capacity of the external link to the Internet, who pays for the external network traffic, protection of corporate data, maintenance of present level of service to administrative system users and privacy.
Figure 6 shows an alternative solution to Internet access from a teaching section. It is based on an independent high speed connection to the Internet. The teaching section network is isolated from the TAFE NSW network and therefore does not pose any threat to the corporate network security or capacity.
Figure 6: Solution for Connecting a Teaching Section's Facilities to the Internet Using a Private High Speed Connection
The server connects to an external Internet service provider (ISP) such as Telstra which provides access to the Internet 24-hours a day.
The capacity of the connection must be sufficient to meet the requirements of the server. (A server providing services based on e-mail and WWW pages with modest graphics will need a lot less capacity than a server that is offering a large library of downloadable software and videoconferencing.) The suggested minimum line capacity is 1 basic rate ISDN line which will provide 128Kbps bandwidth.
Figure 7 shows teachers and learners accessing the Internet from home.
Figure 7: Internet Access from Home
Learners will negotiate Internet access from home with private providers (ISPs). Teachers can negotiate access from home with a private provider or, if it is at the specific request of the teaching section, may be provided with an account by the section.
Another way of giving teachers access from home is to provide remote access facilities on the server (not shown on Figure 7).
Figure 8 shows how all equipment and major players (except the central administration) fit together.
Figure 8: The Complete System Showing How College-Based and Home-Based Teachers and Learners Come Together Through the Server
Further details about the functional requirements of the eight components of the Internet learning environment are provided in Appendix A. Of particular note is the requirements of the teachers and the learners.
It is suggested that teachers need special skills to be able to perform effectively as online teachers. These skills include computer literacy, Internet competency, electronic communication competency and distance eduction teaching competency.
Learners will also need to posses special skills. They must be able to study independently and they must have Internet and electronic communication skills. They must also be able to set up their computer before commencing their first Internet-based training subject.
This paper has examined what is meant by Internet-based training in the context of information technology at Sydney Institute of Technology. It presents an approach that retains the best elements from the classroom teaching environment and at the same time empowers the learner to choose the time and place of learning.
Although developed within an IT context, the Internet learning environment is discipline independent and therefore can be used for a wide range of applications.
In this paper, the Internet learning environment has been described at the subject delivery level, however it scales down to part subjects and scales up to courses and multi-course delivery levels.
In a time of fiscal constraint and pressure to do more with less, Internet-based training offers colleges opportunities to increase the market for their products and to improve the quality of their traditional classroom-delivered education.
Access to the Internet is a critical issue in TAFE today. Presented here, is a solution to providing access to those teaching sections that are ready to utilise the Internet but are currently unable to. The cost has not been examined here as the circumstances of each teaching section is different. Delays in providing access risks colleges falling further behind in their ability to compete in this new educational environment.
This work on the component structure of the Internet learning environment provides the basis for the formulation of a detailed implementation plan. The success of any trial of Internet-based training will be dependent on the thoroughness of the preparation and understanding of the requirements. This should not be underestimated as not only is equipment needed but staff and students must be skilled-up to work effectively in this new environment.
While most of this paper has concentrated on the learning and teaching aspect of Internet-based training, consideration has been given to the administrative support role, and the challenge of 'learner-centred' administrative systems issued.
The current activity at Sydney Institute is the development of a working model of an Internet-based delivery system built on WWW software which incorporates the principles of the Internet learning environment described in this paper.
For the interested reader, a list of online eduction sites is provided in the Bibliography of WWW Training Sites section.
This work has been made possible through funding from ANTA and is part of the ANTA funded project for delivery of IT programmes via the Internet. Two Institutes, Sydney and North Coast, and the Open Training and Education Network have been working on different aspects of the project.
The author gratefully acknowledges the helpful contributions made by Julie Gibson and Philip Rutherford, OTEN and from John Brownsberger, North Coast Institute.
The project was monitored at Sydney by a reference group comprising Diane Shore, Andrea Russell and Leo Darby to whom the author is also grateful for its support and encouragement.
This work has benefited from working as a part-time contract teacher to OTEN where an understanding of external teaching techniques has been gained.
The functional requirements of each component of the Internet learning environment follows. The details are meant to be a guide rather than a prescriptive list.
Greg Webb ©, 1997. The author assigns to Southern Cross University and other educational and non-profit institutions a non-exclusive licence to use this document for personal use and in courses of instruction provided that the article is used in full and this copyright statement is reproduced. The author also grants a non-exclusive licence to Southern Cross University to publish this document in full on the World Wide Web and on CD-ROM and in printed form with the conference papers, and for the document to be published on mirrors on the World Wide Web. Any other usage is prohibited without the express permission of the author.
[Presentation] [All Papers and Posters]