Helen Bound

increases access to education and training for people in non-metropolitan Australia. However, access in non-metropolitan Australia brings with it its own barriers, including cost, physical provision of reliable equipment and infrastructure, long down-load times, and the difficulties of accessing technical support. There is limited knowledge about the extent of participation in online learning. This National Research Evaluation Committee (NREC) funded study is undertaken in two stages. The first stage, reported on in this paper, investigates the extent of uptake of online delivery in regional areas compared to metropolitan areas using quantitative data from providers in four States. Stage two will investigate the benefits and barriers of online delivery and learning for those living in regional areas and the benefits to regional communities that online learning may deliver by interviewing students, teachers and community members