ASCILITE ’98 191 Staff Development Reponses to the Demand for Online Teaching and Learning STAFF DEVELOPMENT RESPONSES TO THE DEMAND FOR ONLINE TEACHING AND LEARNING

Australian universities are coming under increasing demand to deliver online courses. This demand is driven by four main factors; 1) the increasing availability of multimedia capable computers, fast modems and Internet access; 2) the emergence of online technologies such as the WWW that provides a cross-platform, non-proprietary multimedia delivery system; 3) the promise of enhancements to the quality of the teaching and learning experience; and 4) being part of the global education market. The academic who teaches successfully online now needs a knowledge of both pedagogy as it applies to the online environment and a knowledge of current appropriate software, hardware and network technology. Since the traditional skills of most university staff don’t fit them for these new demands, staff development has a critical role to play in the success of online teaching and learning within the university environment. To explore how this staff development need is being catered for, a Web-based survey was distributed to the Head of the Staff Development Unit or equivalent in each Australian university. 20 responses (48%) were received and analysed, and a follow up phone survey conducted of non-respondents. Staff development activities undertaken during 1997 and those planned for 1998 were reported b