Life-long learning and hypermedia:
What are the stakeholders learning?

Stewart Adam, Senior Lecturer in Marketing, RMIT BUSINESS, Melbourne stewarta@rmit.edu.au

David Wilson, Senior Lecturer, Department of Information Systems, Monash University, Melbourne david.wilson@is.monash.edu.au

Keywords

Information age, learning organisations, intelligent organisations, intelligent enterprise, occupational excellence, life-long learning, core competencies, teaching and learning innovation, hypermedia, world wide web, stakeholders, marketing, case study, focus groups, interactive, Open Learning Australia, services marketing, computer managed learning, intellectual property.

Abstract

This paper seeks to contribute to the increasing body of knowledge concerning the use of hypermedia, notably the World Wide Web (W3), in on-campus and off-campus / open learning situations. It is argued that facing global competition, Australian educational institutions recognise they are learning organisations where the focus is on developing and using intellectual resources. At issue, arising from global competition, technological convergence and funding cutbacks, is how Australian educational institutions can maintain involvement in the life-long education of their students, but with less available resources. Hypermedia usage features in the strategies of many such organisations. Have educators the will to learn to use the available technologies, and will students be satisfied with such technological solutions? In providing a part answer to these questions, the paper firstly presents selected findings from a qualitative study exploring business students perceptions of their educational needs. Secondly, selected findings are presented from a longtitudinal study carried out among academics at tertiary level education organisations (University, and TAFE / VET / Polytechnics) in Australia and New Zealand on hypermedia use and intended use. Lastly, some issues arising from development of the first Open Learning Australia study unit delivered entirely over the W3 are discussed.

Introduction

Change is a constant, and nowhere is this more evident than in the continuing impact of the information age on all manner of organisations. An illustration of this change is presented in the timeline covering the development and dissemination of knowledge by Adam and Wilson [HREF 1]. The timeline referred to depicts the lead-up to, and the onset of, the Information Age some twenty-five years ago. One observable change stemming from the paradigm shift that has occurred in the time interval alluded to is the way information is stored, retrieved and presented. This in turn, has led to the notion of the learning organisation; a notion which has entered both academic and popular literature (Senge, 1990). Put simply, this latter development has seen a number of changes in the way organisations view, and act within, their internal environment as well as their external environment. Examining the internal environment commentators report changes in organisational culture, careers, and the importance of employees being able to access and use the organisation's knowledge base. Even the form of organisations in the information age is changed such that they have "minimal or no physical real estate or property" (Pattinson & Brown 1996, p.13.). It has long been the case that responsibility for the choice of initial career and initial learning that enables the individual to meet professional requirements, is the responsibility of the individual. Due to technological change and other factors, individuals have found that over their lifetimes, they need to learn a second, third or more set of skills and /or professional competencies in order to maintain their workplace value. Commentators point out that the responsibility for career development and professional certification is seen to lie with the individual. It is argued by Arthur, Claman & DeFillipo (1995) that under this new paradigm, the individual pursues occupational excellence as opposed to working for a single somewhat paternalistic organisation that was previously perceived as leading them through their lifetime career development; their life-long learning. Thus, the employing organisation gets its intelligence from employees who must take the initiative in self-development.

LEARNING ORGANISATIONS AND COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

Organisations, whether profit and cash driven or driven by some notion of meeting a societal need, today focus more attention "on the development and deployment of intellectual resources rather than on the management of physical assets" (Arthur et al 1995, p.7.). Quinn (1992) and others articulated the concept of the intelligent enterprise and the related notion of core competencies, which lie at the heart of corporate, strategic business unit (SBU) and functional strategy development today. That is, organisations are in a constant quest to develop and implement strategies that will enable them to use flexibility, competition / partnering and product / service delivery innovation, to quickly gain competitive advantage in established and developing markets (Hamel and Prahalad, 1994). This is evident in the actions of such companies as Intel Corporation, [HREF2] where innovations such as the Pentium Pro chip (5.5 million transistors) and the Pentium MMX with multimedia capabilities augmented the Pentium chip (3.5 million transistors). These products were quickly commercialised so as to gain competitive advantage over such rivals as AMD [HREF 3], Cyrix [HREF4] and the Apple-Motorola [HREF 5-HREF 6] alliance. The notion of alliance strategies is also a development stemming from the technological development and convergence of technologies that marks the information age. When implementing strategic alliance strategies, the corporate equivalent of warlords come together, sometimes digitally - sometimes enjoining their foot soldiers and weapons - to do battle with similarly configured alliance blocks. The global communications strategy of News Corporation [HREF 7] entails alliances with many 'local' telecommunications and television companies. The satellite television service primarily covering Britain, BSKYB, and ZEE-TV in India follow from the implementation of Newscorp's strategy aimed at gaining advantage in each and every market entered (Reuters 1996). Newscorp and Australia's first telecommunications company Telstra Corporation also have formed a similar alliance by jointly forming the Pay-TV company Foxtel [HREF 8].

LEARNING ORGANISATIONS AND EDUCATING ORGANISATIONS

Like their commercial brethren, many educational institutions have been quick to see the benefits in adopting a range of technologies that may serve to add value, internal consistency (one measure of quality) or to enhance learning for both campus-based and globally 'distributed' patrons [HREF 9]. Such technologies may also be used with the aim of reducing operating costs at such institutions. The technologies in use or under trial are widely reported on, mainly by individual champions of teaching and learning innovations, keen to share their experiences. The latest of these technologies and increasingly being adopted is the World Wide Web (W3). In Australia, the educational institutions, as opposed to the educators and researchers, were until quite recently more circumspect in their pronouncements on such matters as technology use, so as to maintain competitive advantage. Coinciding with announcements of Federal government funding cutbacks, more recent announcements by the Australian Vice-Chancellors have made it clear that 'more is to be done with less', and that the hypermedia capabilities of the W3 are to be embraced like no other distribution technology with the possible exception of television. In this respect there is little apparent difference between the contemporary Australian higher education scene and the situation at the University of Maryland System in 1995. At that time it was put forward that " the University of Maryland System is supposed to accommodate 20 percent more students by the year 2002 with the present level of resources, or with even less than is expended today." [HREF 10]

The most pervasive of the technologies used thus far in enhancing the spoken (lecture, seminar, tutorial or workshop, or laboratory class) and written (distance education, off-campus studies, or open learning) word is a common household technology; television. This technology includes replayed videocassettes of persons, events and other matters of educational significance. It is therefore no surprise that first year higher education study units offered under the auspices of Open Learning Australia [HREF 11] incorporate television broadcasts by the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) [HREF 12]. Another 'co-operative' venture between Australian higher education institutions, PAIGE, also employs television broadcasts by the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) [HREF 13]. Commenting on the use of television, Russell reports that while educationists should never stop researching the benefits of using media, such as slickly produced television programs, his review of 248 research reports forces the conclusion that "today's hi-tech systems are no more effective than low-tech alternatives such as correspondence courses or the VideoClass System" (Russell, 1997). Russell cites Clark's salutary comment made over a decade earlier in 1983 that "The best current evidence is that media are mere vehicles that deliver instruction but do not influence achievement any more than the truck that delivers our groceries causes changes in nutrition …. Only the content of the vehicle can influence achievement".

The question arises as to whether the situation has changed since 1983. There has been much published of a 'show and tell' nature concerning the production of hypermedia instructional materials and methodologies dependent the W3. This is not surprising, as a visual medium demands display. And it is also not surprising that many of the earliest work has been undertaken by the computer literate [HREF 14]. In particular the information technologists have been keen to adopt the technology that will see many current school children employed in jobs that do not presently exist. However while there is growing interest in undertaking research on learning outcomes associated with use of hypermedia, adoption by educational institutions is far outpacing knowledge on the subject. This in turn makes the task of convincing those who are not au fait with the educational possibilities of hypermedia all the more difficult. It is to these educators that the educational institutions will next turn. And if not convinced of the educational benefits of hypermedia, these educators will not assume the responsibility for preparing themselves for the task.

ON STUDENTS, EDUCATORS and HYPERMEDIA ISSUES

This paper seeks to contribute to the body of knowledge on hypermedia use in higher education, by examining to two research studies and a recent educational product development using the W3. Firstly, selected findings from a qualitative study among business students by one of the authors are presented. Secondly, selected findings from a longtitudinal study carried out among academics at tertiary level education organisations (university and TAFE / VET / Polytechnics) in Australia and New Zealand are discussed. Additionally, some issues arising from development of the first Open Learning Australia W3 delivered study unit are detailed.

Some students have their say

The tertiary education stakeholder base includes current students, their carers as well as past educators and, most importantly for the student, future employers. Additionally, government is involved in resource deployment.

Australian and international students are well aware of the fact that they are responsible for choice of career and the relevant course relating to that career. The matter of payment for education services, which arises in this context, has long been a vexing issue. This matter will not be debated here. The current situation is that the user pays. But what do they pay for? And what do they want? Lastly, can hypermedia and W3 delivery assist in meeting student needs? The answers to such questions involve discussion of the perceptions held by the students.

In second semester, 1996, a study was undertaken among second year on-campus business degree students studying a marketing subject at RMIT University. A core subject for business students undertaking a marketing degree, MK208: Marketing Concepts and Applications, was selected because it aimed to integrate first year studies in marketing, statistics and computing and in the process utilised information technology, notably the use of spreadsheeting, the Internet and the W3. Each week, a one hour lecture is followed by a two hour tutorial wherein the co-ordinating lecturer and tutors combine marketing concepts, case study materials and computer usage for 160 students; 60 in second semester. In week 10, the researcher Adam, met the students for the first time and presented all lectures and facilitated all workshops on the topic of 'pricing strategies and implementation'. For the first time, this cohort was exposed to a teaching methodology that entailed projecting onto twin screens scene-setting computer generated slides and images of a retail scene for the product category involved, followed by interactive use of a spreadsheet. Students had been reminded a week ahead to read a new case study concerning a category of consumer product, written by the researcher. In two lectures of approximately thirty students, each class was asked to assist the lecturer to build a pricing spreadsheet model. Students were advised that it would not be possible to complete the spreadsheet, and thus answer the questions contained in the case study, in the one hour allotted. They were advised that the incomplete spreadsheet would be placed on the Faculty Web (Unix) server and would be available for downloading to diskette at the commencement of each two-hour workshop. Workshops for this week entailed working, singly or in groups, to answer a series of questions commencing with setting retail selling prices in accordance with a selected marketing strategy for the product, and then working through to calculate break-even point for two pack sizes, both on and off promotion. One syndicate in each group had the additional responsibility of leading discussion and making a presentation on the case study in workshops held one week later. This latter aspect was in accordance with teaching methodology used in this subject throughout the semester.

Focus groups were conducted on a Sunday afternoon, some two weeks after the presentations by syndicates in each workshop. The focus groups were led by a marketing researcher not associated with the University. Three focus groups were conducted comprised of a total of 19 full-time students. The focus groups discussed such matters as their approaches to study, use of technology, experiences with lectures involving multimedia presentations and their expectations of university study and whether these expectations had been met. Students were also asked to discuss the approach taken in the MK208 marketing subject and the approach taken when dealing with the pricing topic in particular. Respondents were united in the view that first year subjects were not engaging. This is perhaps no surprise since a first year intake of 150 RMIT business students planning to major in marketing are outnumbered by over 1,000 on-campus students from other Faculties (engineering and visual communications to name two) or majoring in other business disciplines, notably management. They were also of the view that instead of interaction in lectures, they simply took notes. The consensus was that tutorials were similarly not as engaging as expected even though they were now in their second year of study. Respondents noted the greater interaction made possible by smaller class sizes in their second year, and the efforts made to engage them in the marketing subject under scrutiny. Even so, the respondents expressed the view that overall, the use of computer technology in the test study unit was less than they had expected. They attributed this outcome to poor infrastructure coupled with too little class time devoted to use of spreadsheets and other packages.

It is significant that this particular cohort of marketing students at this University was not required to have completed any mathematics at the VCE, and that some had completed a TAFE qualification in marketing prior to University entry. Both groups agreed they lacked numeracy skills, to the point of fear. Despite this background and expressed fear, there was general agreement that the approach taken assisted the students. It is reiterated that the approach taken by the researcher involved use of a marketing case study and interactive use of multimedia materials and spreadsheet software in the main lecture and then student access of the Internet (W3) to locate and download the spreadsheet in workshops. The interactive approach continued in the 2-hour workshops on this topic. The researcher Adam also led each workshop group. While students had experienced this approach to some extent in business computing subjects, and while they had previously used Microsoft Excel spreadsheet software, they were united in the view summarised by the following statements by respondents:

Student A: " [The lecturer] explained the tables up on the big screen. I would never have been able to do that by myself. Figures are difficult for marketing students."

Student B: "Any quantitative figures are hard to grasp, but he linked the figures with the theory."

Clearly teaching experience and styles and a number of uncontrollable variables might explain some of the favourable comments concerning the use of technology on an interactive basis. Clark (1983) would however be satisfied in that the research was focused on teaching-learning methods, and not on the media involved. Regardless, such information has been invaluable in instructional design whereby a hypermedia lecture (explorer/browser-based) on the pricing topic has now been designed that integrates Microsoft Powerpoint images, photo images, video and a spreadsheet model. In this instance the study has assisted both the educators and educational institution to adopt an appropriate use of teaching methodologies and pedagogies. The follow-on from this research, it is suggested, will be to investigate the interactive use of hypermedia materials in larger classes, with the aim of gaining greater teaching effectiveness and efficiency.

Is hypermedia usage increasing in education?

In their 1996 paper on the impact of technological convergence on educators, Adam and Wilson presented results of a survey carried out among educators in the higher education sector who "make the decision, or who influence the decision, to adopt textbooks and other educational materials" [HREF 1]. In the 1995 study, 750 questionnaires were posted to educators in Chemistry, Marketing and Psychology as well as to TAFE (Business) instructors who are involved in first year curriculum decisions. These disciplines were chosen because publishers advised that these were high among the disciplines with large first year student numbers. Publishers advised that it is in these subjects where it might be expected to see the commercial publication and widespread distribution of interactive hypermedia educational materials begin. (For example, Dryden Press' CD-ROM based product: John H. Lindgren and Terence A. Shimp, 1995 Marketing: An Interactive Learning System, Dryden Press, Orlando.)

Complete responses were received from 145, or 19.3 percent of the population surveyed. The second stage of this longtitudinal study was carried out in June - August, 1996 among an expanded population of educators. Surveys were posted using a commercial database to 366 university management educators, 408 university marketing educators, 175 university chemistry educators, 306 university psychology educators, 273 TAFE / VET / Polytechnic educators in business studies - a total of 1528 educators. Completed responses were received from 273 or 18 percent of this population. However, there are variations in the response rate by discipline (See Table 1). It might be said that those replying to the survey are more technologically literate and better understand the terms used in the questionnaire resulting in a low response rate among those less sure of the terms and technologies. It might also be said that those replying for the second time, such as Chemistry lecturers, were more familiar with the questionnaire and that this might have had some effect on the proportion completing the survey. Follow-up is in progress to ascertain the reasons for the response rate.

It is to be seen from Table 2 that the respondents who replied to the 1995 and 1996 surveys reported a decrease in the proportion reporting use of electronic mail but an increase in the proportion using Internet E-mail. There is either confusion in respondent understanding of the terms, or more are using Internet E-mail (E-mail through their Web browser) as opposed to Electronic Mail using a simple mail transport protocol (SMTP) mailer by such as Eudora, Pegasus or Lotus Development Corporation. Almost the same proportion of new respondents in 1996 report weekly usage of Internet E-mail (65.5%) as those responding in 1995 (69.0%). Table 2 indicates that web browser usage is significantly higher for both new (45.8%) and previous respondents (53.9%) in 1996 than reported in 1995 (10.7%). The proportion of respondents reporting CD-ROM usage has fallen between surveys, and the proportion of new respondents reporting usage of CD-ROM (5.0%) is lower than the proportion of 1995 respondents reporting CD-ROM usage (17.9%).

Usage of electronic mail, W3 and CD-ROM educational software is shown in Table 3. The reported increased usage by academics of W3 software in 1996 over 1995 is quite dramatic. Almost the same proportion of 1995 respondents report using an Internet browser (10.7% in Table 2) and World Wide Web browser software (11.0% in Table 2). However there is a wide discrepancy between the results shown in Table 2 and Table 3 for 1995 respondents replying in 1996 (53.9% in Table 2 and 76.3% in Table 3). There is also a discrepancy reported between the Tables for those replying for the first time in 1996 on browser usage (45.8% and 61.8%). A possible explanation relates to respondent understanding of the terms. The responses relating to software usage are felt to more accurately reflect the usage patterns of the three technologies involved given the comments made concerning Table 2 results. It is acknowledged that an artificial distinction is made herein between 'technology' and 'software'. Software is itself a technology as Gee (1993) points out. Technology may include technical knowledge taking many forms including computer code.

In both the 1995 and 1996 studies, educators were asked to nominate how they believed their students were using computers. Table 4 presents (in rows) the findings for the 1995 group of respondents, those replying to both surveys and those replying for the first time in 1996 across five broad categories: CD-ROM books; CD-I (Interactive) books; Examination software; and Library access software. Librarians might be heartened to see that as far as educators are aware, some 75 percent of educators believed that between a quarter and all students were using computers for library access. Information services management in educational institutions may not be so heartened to see that 60 percent of educators believed that a quarter to all of their students were using computers to access the W3, depending on the institution's information technology resources (current and planned) devoted to this area.

In both studies (1995 and 1996), educators were also asked to indicate what they would recommend their students buy. The full list of 19 items is shown in HREF 1. The intent was to obtain information on future usage of hypermedia in courses of study. Again, information is reported for each of the aforementioned three groups. There was a noticeable increase in the proportion who see that it is likely or very likely that their students will be asked to access textbooks on CD-ROM (between 44.0 and 47.7 percent in 1996) or CD-I (between 51.0 and 52.5 percent in 1996). Likewise, student purchases of e-mail software was likely or very likely to be recommended by over one third of educators. There is a noticeable increase in the proportion of educators who anticipate their students accessing the W3 - up from 15.9 percent in 1995 to between 30.5 and 37.3 percent in 1996. The proportion of educators likely or very likely to recommend library access hardware or software has also increased.

Demographic details are set out in Tables 6 to 8. It is instructive to examine which discipline areas are using hypermedia technologies, notably the World Wide Web. Tables 9 to 11 present usage details on two related W3 technologies: Web browser / communicator / navigator software; and HTML code. Additionally, the likelihood of recommending that students use W3 software is presented by discipline.

It can be seen from Table 9 that educators in Chemistry (55.6%) marketing and management (54.6%) use Web browsers and are also the most frequent users of Web browser software (38.9% and 43.7% respectively use on a weekly basis). TAFE /VET /Polytechnic educators are the lowest users in that only 27.5% use the Web and only 19.8 percent use it on a weekly basis. Table 10 indicates a similar usage level of HTML code across disciplines by university educators but that this is not the situation within the TAFE sector. This could be explained if educators did not see themselves as needing to use HTML, but rather the task was given to support staff. Further research into this aspect is warranted.

Again it is university educators in marketing and management who indicated they were likely or very likely to recommend their students buy W3 software. The interest in electronic commerce, particularly by marketing educators, is reflected in the fact that over one third of marketing and management educators indicated the likelihood of such a recommendation. The implications on the resources deployment in education institutions are significant in light of the increased interest shown in the 1996 study.

Issues in hypermedia use

During the second half of 1996, a project team at RMIT produced the first on-line study unit to be delivered by Open Learning Australia. A team of twelve authors from academia and industry in Australia and the United States, led by two senior lecturers in marketing (Rod McColl and Stewart Adam), produced an on-line study unit MAR28: Services Marketing comprised of thirteen study modules [HREF 15]. The subject was completed within budget and on time with an on-line launch in March 1997. A number of issues arose during the development process that may impact on similar developments in the future. They are presented here in the interests of fostering debate and aiding further educational developments using hypermedia.

The approach taken involved selection of an international textbook and preparing study guides (modules) that would not only assist the remote learner by guiding their reading, but also provide a degree of enrichment - similar value-adding to that provided by a face-to-face encounter with an instructor. Additional facilitation features included links to companies, on-line testing and an electronic whiteboard. Supplementary tutorials / workshops are available from the professional body - the Australian Marketing Institute (AMI) - as well as at RMIT. The on-line testing could be classified as computer managed learning as opposed to computer aided learning. The intent was to assist students to manage their self-paced absorption and use of their readings. A service diary and a major invigilated examination complete the assessment methodology used.

Issue 1: Textbook dependency.

There is a view held by some educational institutions that study units can be textbook independent. While this may be satisfactory in some instances, to take an across-the-board approach may be unwise. This paper does not take a position on this issue. Rather it is left to instructional designers to argue for or against such an approach in particular circumstances. The following extract from a mailing by Stephen Downes to a list server (WWWDEV) is indicative of one extreme view on the continuum of positions held by those working in this area:

March 6, 1997.

The co-producers elected to use an internationally recognised textbook in this study unit.

Issue 2: A Standard Template for use across all disciplines / subjects / study units?

There are similarly many views on the use of a standard template covering hypermedia usage across all courses and all disciplines. Adopting such a solution for seemingly bureaucratic simplicity may not be in the best educational interests of students. Where educational organisations take a cost-driven approach to the problem they may be tempted to adopt such a template on a universal basis.

Issue 3: Intellectual Property.

The matter of intellectual property looms large over W3 delivered study units. In this instance authors were instructed to proceed as if preparing a textbook for resale. That is, permission would be needed to reproduce the works of others. Rather than simply reproduce significant papers, the authors were instructed to write their own. The following question required answering:

This issue was overcome by requiring authors to provide a non-exclusive two-year licence for RMIT to use the authors' works in a single application. Modification of the works and / or extension would therefore earn the author additional income. This helped provide motivation for initial accuracy and motivation to maintain currency of the materials. Additionally, payment is staggered with a 'bonus' payable for updates during the two-year life cycle of the materials. The issue of intellectual property is very real. In a situation where such a module might later form the basis of a book chapter or a journal article, authors might be unwilling to give intellectual copyright to their employer should the latter claim ownership.

Issue 4: Refereed Works?

The following comments are indicative of a further issue in getting salaried academics to write materials for hypermedia delivery:

But under what circumstances might such a module be considered a 'refereed paper'? Does refereeing by two recognised authors in the discipline constitute adequate refereeing? This remains an unresolved issue.

CONCLUSION

The hypermedia adoption rate continues to increase among educators with much research on learning outcomes still to be undertaken. Interactivity is an issue students wish addressed, particularly in large first year classes. The task for those wishing to use hypermedia in such large class situations is to provide such interactivity, among other outcomes. On the other hand, educational institutions face reductions in the funds they receive over the next triennium from government, and might therefore be tempted to succumb to the use of hypermedia technologies such as the W3 to cut their recurrent costs, rather than to genuinely add value and improve teaching and learning. Educators themselves show they are increasingly willing to adopt hypermedia technologies such as the W3. The comparison of 1995 and 1996 educator intentions shows a remarkable increase in such interest. The management of educational institutions can take heart at this shift in intentions. Lastly, there are many new developments led by the Services Marketing unit being offered through Open Learning Australia. The challenge remains to overcome the issues in such as way as to ensure a win-win outcome for the education organisations and the lifelong learners who make up the asset base of these organisations.

References

Arthur, M.B., Claman, P.H., and DeFillippi, 1995 "Intelligent enterprise, Intelligent careers," Academy of Management Executive, Vol.9, No.4. pp.7-22.

Clark, R.E. 1983 "Reconsidering research on learning from the media. Review of Educational Research, (Winter), Vol.53 No.4. pp.445-459.

Gee, R.E., 1993 "Technology transfer effectiveness in university-industry co-operative research," International Journal of Technology Management, 8(6/7/8), pp.652-668.

Hamel, G., and Prahalad, C.K., 1994 Competing for the Future, Harvard University Press, Boston, MA.

Pattinson, H., and Brown, L., 1996 "Chameleons in marketspace: Industry transformation in the new electronic marketing environment," Journal of Marketing Practice: Applied Marketing Science, Vol.2, No. 1, pp.7-21.

Quinn, 1992 "The Intelligent Enterprise: A New Paradigm," Academy of Management Executive, Vol.6. No.4.

Reuters, 1996 "BSkyB to offer Internet access via home TV sets in UK." The Australian Financial Review, August 27, p.31.

Russell, T.L. 1997 "The 'No Significant Difference' Phenomenon as reported in 248 Research Reports, Summaries, and Papers," Office of Instructional Telecommunications, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC.

Senge, P., 1990 The Fifth Discipline, Doubleday, New York.

Hypertext References

HREF 1. See Figure 1 in Adam, S., and Wilson, D., "Technological Convergence in Higher Education: Are the Educators Ready?" AusWeb96 Conference Proceedings, Gold Coast, July 1996. http:/elmo.scu.edu.au/sponsored/ausweb/ausweb96/educn/adam/

HREF 2. See Intel Coporation. http://www.intel.com/

HREF 3. See American Micro Devices. http://www.amd.com/

HREF 4. See Cyrix Corporation. http://www.cyrix.com/

HREF 5. See Apple Corporation. http://www.apple.com/

HREF 6. See Motorola Corporation. http://www.motorola.com/

HREF 7. See News Corporation. http://www.newscorp.com/

HREF 8. See Foxtel. http://www foxtel.com.au/

HREF 9. See The SCU home location for Adam, S., (1995) "Distributed Higher Education: Strategic Alliances in Hypemedia Publishing." AUSWEB95, Southern Cross University, Lismore. http://www.scu.edu.au/ausweb95/papers/publishing/adam/ - Also see an update reprinted in Campus Review, February, 1996 at http://www.bf.rmit.edu.au/~stewarta/disthed3.html.

HREF 10. See Open Learning Australia. http://www.ola.edu.au/

HREF 11. See Al Bento, "New Technologies and Higher Education." http://worf.ubalt.edu/~abento/techighed.html

HREF 12. See the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. http://www.abc.net.au/

HREF 13. See the Special Broadcasting System. http://www.sbs.net.au/

HREF 14. See Butler, B., Personal Home Page. http://www.gasia.cmu.edu/bb26/#publications; also see education papers in AusWeb95 and AusWeb96 conference proceedings.

HREF 15. See details of MAR28: Services Marketing. http://www.bf.rmit.edu.au/~stewarta/mlp/gomar28.html

Copyright

Stewart Adam, David Wilson ©, 1997. The authors 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 authors 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 authors.

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