Studying Online for Fun
ONLINE COURSES AS A LEISURE PURSUIT
by John Mason FPLA, FAIH Principal Australian Correspondence Schools
www.acseduonline.com
- Learning new things is a wonderful way of re-creating yourself.
- A leisure course traditionally gives you
- new ideas - interaction with other people
- motivation and skills, to pursue other activities
- diversion: removes attention from other issues
- A leisure course traditionally gives you
- cost - distance or time - disabilities
- Online courses can provide everything that traditional courses provide, and with vastly improved accessibility.
Global Changes in Education
- Technology allows new options for marketing, delivery and administration.
- Globalisation opens services worldwide.
- Funding Pressures – more people want to do courses (fewer resources per student).
- Increased Bureaucracy – greater compliance costs, more legislation (More resources go to administration and assessment and less to delivery).
- Increased specialisation leads to Decreased Diversity – colleges cannot offer everything everywhere in a classroom
- Polarisation of Legitimate educators – funding & bureaucratic pressures force either rebellion or closer alliance to funding sources.
- Changes in Student Profiles – increasing diversity in demand.
The ACS Model
- Be objective: step away from influences like government & bureaucracy. Focus on what student outcomes should be.
- Generic course content – relevant world wide.
- Embrace technology at the optimum time – for improved service and cost minimisation.
- Optimise flexibility through procedures and technology.
- Continual change – a continuous flow planning model.
APPLYING TECHNOLOGY
ACS increases the diversity of content delivery by embracing electronic and internet technologies. Some of the features our students enjoy are:
- Online course delivery
- Interactive testing
- Streaming video
- Online forums
- The online Careers Guide website
-
The online library
Benefits of Technology to Education
- Increased Diversity and Scope of Content.
- Increased Accessibility. Anyone may participate, any time, anywhere, irrespective of disability or other limitation.
- Development of a “Virtual” Community. Students contacting other students and teaching staff via email, chat, phone, mail, and even in person.
- Better and More Student Support Services. Online courses can be quickly and easily updated or adapted to reflect changing needs.
- Larger Numbers of Possible Students. A course developed for online delivery can be accessed by a virtually unlimited number of students, at little additional cost per student. Course access is not restricted by time or location.
- Viability of Specialist Courses
- More Varied and Cost-Effective Promotion Opportunities.
- Quicker, Easier Course Changes To Meet Changing Needs. Online courses can be quickly and easily updated or adapted to reflect changing needs.
- Better Learning and Retention of Interest Through a Diversity of Learning Modes. Internet, video and other technology provides information in different ways.
- Impetus to Form Strategic Partnerships.
Disadvantages Do Have Solutions
- Risk of decrease in Human Contact - Courses can encourage personal contact through research and site visits; inter student contact, social events and even workshops.
-
Physical Wellbeing may deteriorate with too much computer time - Stretch regularly, avoid EMR, encourage good posture, build non computer activities into courses.
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