What this means in ACE

ACE organisations define flexible learning in the ways that relate to their ethos and culture. ACE sees its approaches as inherently flexible - providing what the learners need when they need , i.e. “creating a whole program that is flexible, with an increasing use of technology to support this”.

There was a marked difference in emphasis between metropolitan and non-metropolitan ACE on the role of ICT in the support of course delivery. For metropolitan ACE flexible learning did not include any distance components whilst it did for regional and rural ACE. ICT in metropolitan ACE seems to be more about the expectation of both teacher and learner that ICTs are embedded in most courses, whether accredited or not. In regional Victoria, ICT is still being seen as a way of breaking down barriers of time, distance and access. Whilst none of these are mutually exclusive, it has lead to two quite polarised views on the use of ICT and flexible learning generally.

This dichotomy opens up possibilities for metropolitan and regional ACE to look at collaborating across projects which are ICT enabled. Metropolitan organisations would benefit greatly by thinking about ICT as a way of widening their learner base and meeting the varying needs of traditionally non-ACE learners. On the other hand, regional organisations would benefit from thinking about how to incorporate some elements of ICT in all their offerings – both accredited and non-accredited, as a matter of course.

By adding the dimension of information communication technology to the discussion around flexible learning, we found that centres or individuals who had experienced the use of carefully selected ICT tools for their program delivery reported that it:

• Provided clients with greater choice and control over where, what and how they learn;
• Enhanced their learner centered and client focused repertoire with carefully chosen ICT tools;
• Provided a blended learning experience as far as their infrastructure, connectivity and human resource capacity allowed;
• Overcame distance and time issues as well as a range of other barriers – specifically in the rural and regional centres.

Participants felt that flexible learning was a way of encouraging learners to become independent lifelong learners – in the classroom or at home using computers. This included offering them opportunities to work in their own time and at home should the circumstances dictate whilst still allowing them to enter and exit learning programs as required. As one participant described it… “flexible learning is more than just ICTs”. Another remarked that ”flexible learning is a learner centered hands-on approach”.

Online learning is certainly happening is ACE – there were many examples of how organisations have integrated online learning in course delivery. Merinda Park Community Centre is delivering its Certificate IV in Assessment & Workplace Training with a significant online component, delivered through a learner management system. RecruitNet Inc is also meeting the needs of very specific community groups through courses on the TAFE Virtual Campus (VC). Olympic Adult Education has set up a teacher’s hub on the TAFE VC which operates as their intranet. MACE in Mansfield is using a very different delivery platform with significant outcomes for participants working in more inaccessible areas such as Mt Buller.

It was interesting to note that rural and regional participants initially equated flexible learning with online learning. In fact the term online – and specifically as it equates to online delivery platforms - is not well understood in many regions of ACFE. The majority agreed that online learning was a term that did not sit well in ACE – there was still resistance from many teachers in taking up anything online. This would specifically include online management systems such as the TAFE VC.

Knowledge of, and expertise in, accessing the range and depth of courseware available to ACE on the TAFE VC was patchy. Rural ACE managers and teachers did not seem familiar with the range and depth of what it has to offer, and neither were they particularly convinced of its application or even benefits in ACE program delivery. Questions around specific learner management systems currently in operation in ACE was not part of our brief, but the focus groups identified that the learning curve in becoming conversant with a Learner Management System such as TAFE VC was beyond the time allocation of the sessional ACE teacher, or often outside the reach of regional and rural ACE, due to connectivity problems.

However, our investigations revealed that the use of web based tools such as email, discussion forums, internet for research and even chat is absolutely ubiquitous in ACE program delivery. Their use of the Victorian My Connected Community (mc² ) community tools was particularly inspiring. Many felt that sustaining online activity over a period of time is problematic. Language and literacy teachers are particularly interested in the collaborative potential of the net. Organisations in the Northern Metropolitan ACFE region are currently working on a collaborative project for their language and literacy students.

It is interesting to note that in a recent publication on emerging issues and key trends in e-learning in Australia a similar observation was made about elearning in the VET sector:
Collaborative activities, sites where students can use e-mail, forums, bulletin boards and share and edit documents online arise as alternatives to the more rigid Learner Management Systems, like WebCT. Jasinski (2001) argues that collaboration with students renews the teacher/learner relationship, while maintaining immediacy and minimising the need for technical expertise.
Dr John Eklund, et al. Sep 2003. E-learning: Emerging Issues and Key Trends . Australian National Training Authority

Our research confirms that this is currently the trend in ACE. Ultimately flexible learning in ACE can be summarized as embodying responsiveness - a desire to create the learning students want.