Search results

This study compares the relative costs and effectiveness of online learning with traditional face-to-face teaching methods in the vocational education and training (VET) sector. It does not aim to provide a definitive answer to whether online learning is cost effective or not because the range of different types and institutional settings in which online delivery takes place makes a definitive answer impossible. The study is based on six case studies of two different types of online learning. One mode of online learning is the mixed-mode delivery using the computer and the Internet in a classroom setting. The other mode is the use of online delivery for distance learning for students in remote locations. The six case studies, from New South Wales (NSW), Victoria (VIC) and South Australia (SA) and from a variety of institutional settings in the VET sector, offer different contexts for identifying cost effective outcomes. This publication contains the first part of the report, describing the scope of the study, the methodology used and the main findings and including a literature review. The study identifies two broad models of cost effectiveness. In relation to classroom based mixed-mode delivery, where there is low interactivity and heavy reliance on content, courses tend to be high in cost compared with traditional classroom instruction and low on effectiveness in terms of student satisfaction. Where there are high levels of interactivity using the Internet and the use of pre-existing web-based resources, the costs are often lower or at least not greater than traditional classroom instruction and students rate effectiveness more highly. In relation to distance delivery, the contrast is between the traditional correspondence model with its low interactivity and heavy reliance on content, and online delivery with its potential for high levels of interactivity.