ONLINE LEARNING IN HIGHER EDUCATION ― THE ACADEMICs' PERSPECTIVES, EXPERIENCES AND RECOMMENDATIONS

摘要

ICT use in higher education has been on the rise for some time and it has brought with it more flexible approaches to content delivery and student interaction. The growing importance of e-learning can be gauged by the launch of ventures such as the e-university in Britain and its international counterparts, and the creation of world-wide consortia, such as Universitas 21 and the Worldwide Universities Network. Academics and other staff in higher education have begun to explore the potential of the new technologies with regard to their own professional practice. While there are numerous case studies available on such new approaches, few of them focus their attention on the experiences that academic staff have with such innovation in their teaching. Even less reported is the relationship between the individual academic's experience and the existing organisational system of his or her university. How can the experiences of academics affect the approaches that universities take in order to adapt to the new demands of online learning? What changes are required to the university's organisational system?