Subject: [IFETS-DISCUSS] Measuring isolation
From: Maree Bentley (bentleym@BIGPOND.NET.AU)
Date: Fri 16 May 2003 - 09:05:13 MEST
Date: Fri, 16 May 2003 17:05:13 +1000 From: Maree Bentley <bentleym@BIGPOND.NET.AU> Subject: [IFETS-DISCUSS] Measuring isolation
Jim is correct about Australians feeling comfortable with virtual
learning. I think, however, it is more to do with the history of
distance learning in this country than with access and isolation. It is
true that Australia has a very long history of distance learning because
of isolation, from the time of schooling for remotely located students
by two-way radio, early last century. But the most important factor, in
my view, has been our methods of assessment. At the tertiary level, from
our early "external" courses, students had to sit the same exams and
meet the same assessment requirements as on-campus students doing the
same course. This has meant that the degree awarded has not had to be
labelled specifically "by distance" or "by correspondence". A result of
this early approach is that learning at a distance has not been regarded
as second-rate in the way it is in many countries.
Today, there is a great convergence of virtual and on-campus learning.
In many universities, modes of learning are quite blurred with students
having a choice about ways of tackling their courses. Our students
embrace the choice whole heartedly - many who opt for non face-to-face
approaches are in fact inner city dwellers.
Regards
Maree Bentley
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