Improving Learning Outcomes

Studies on learning effectiveness have been done which illustrate that use of technology in learning has moved on from the 'no significant difference' minimum standard for learning outcomes which was originally used to compare traditional learning with distance education. This includes recent studies that show student learning improves in e-learning courses.

Further related resources

• Relationship between learning outcomes and online accesses
• Innovations in Online Learning: Moving Beyond No Significant Difference
• The National Center for Academic Transformation
• If there is no significant difference, then why should we care?

At a local level there is further evidence that online learning technologies and methodologies can improve learning outcomes. It has been identified that the student learning outcomes provided by an online Civil and Environmental Engineering course at the University of Adelaide have addressed significant needs in engineering education that are difficult to meet in a traditional classroom setting. The Mekong e-Sim is an online roleplay simulation which addresses a number of the generic engineering graduate attributes set down by Engineers Australia. It does this by the creation of a collaborative learning environment that crosses discipline boundaries, engaging students in authentic learning environments and providing cross-cultural and international dimensions. Students develop an understanding of the multiple perspectives (eg economic, social, environmental, cultural, ethical, technical, political) surrounding proposed developments within the Mekong region.

The online learning environment gives students access to a centralised set of information resources and provides communication tools for collaboration, interaction, reflection and, ultimately, the sharing of perspectives. Indepth evaluations of the Mekong e-Sim discussion board activity over a two year period using a Community of Inquiry framework have identified that higher order learning has been promoted. It has further been identified that teaching the difficult task of sustainability principles to engineering students, has been successfully achieved using the online roleplay simulation Mekong e-Sim.

Further Mekong e-Sim resources

• A Community of Inquiry Evaluation of Mekong e-Sim: an online collaborative simulation
• 25/5/04 The Mekong e-Sim : A computer supported roleplay simulation.

Other Resources

• Developing 21st Century Teaching and Learning: Dialogic Literacy
• Blackboard
• Improving Learning and Reducing Costs: New Models for Online Learning
• Evaluating (and Improving) Benefits of Educational Uses of Technology
• Technology Changes Quickly But Education Changes Slowly: A Counter-Intuitive Strategy for Using IT to Improve The Outcomes of Higher Education