Computers in Teaching and Learning: An Interpretation of Current Practices and Suggestions for Future Directions

This chapter analyses the history of, and future directions for, higher education studies undertaken through Open Universities Australia (OUA), Australia’s unique higher education conduit. Founded to provide open access to units that allow individuals to undertake individual units or achieve qualifications from leading Australian universities, and supported by a federal government student loans scheme, OUA’s experience and future plans provide significant insight into the potential and pitfalls of the technological innovation in both higher education distance, and increasingly, on-campus, teaching and learning. The need for an ongoing emphasis on innovation, adaptability, and cooperation in an extraordinarily rapidly changing environment is highlighted.

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Open Universities Australia

Open Source Technology ◽

10.4018/978-1-4666-7230-7.ch019 ◽

2015 ◽

pp. 320-335

Author(s):

Michael Crock ◽

Janet Baker ◽

Skye Turner-Walker

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Open Access ◽

Federal Government ◽

Technological Innovation ◽

Teaching And Learning ◽

Student Loans ◽

Future Directions ◽

History Of ◽

Insight Into ◽

Future Plans

This chapter analyses the history of, and future directions for, higher education studies undertaken through Open Universities Australia (OUA), Australia's unique higher education conduit. Founded to provide open access to units that allow individuals to undertake individual units or achieve qualifications from leading Australian universities, and supported by a federal government student loans scheme, OUA's experience and future plans provide significant insight into the potential and pitfalls of the technological innovation in both higher education distance, and increasingly, on-campus, teaching and learning. The need for an ongoing emphasis on innovation, adaptability, and cooperation in an extraordinarily rapidly changing environment is highlighted.

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Future Directions of Course Management Systems

Course Management Systems for Learning ◽

10.4018/978-1-59140-512-2.ch019 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 307-330

Author(s):

David Mills

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Teaching And Learning ◽

Data Exchange ◽

Evolutionary Process ◽

Management Systems ◽

Course Management Systems ◽

Course Management ◽

Future Directions ◽

The Core ◽

Core Mission

Course management systems will unquestionably become one of the most critical enterprise systems in higher education. This is because these systems are more closely aligned with the core mission of teaching and learning than any others. Although these systems have already undergone extraordinary transformation in just a few short years, we are at only the very beginning of the evolutionary process. It is critical that CMS vendors look to the students, educators, and administrators that interact with these systems to identify what new tools and features they need. Consequently, the next stage of innovation in course management systems should therefore focus more on features specifically related to promoting better and more efficient processes for teaching and learning online. More flexible administration options should make these systems easier to maintain. Emerging standards will continue to simplify communications and data exchange with other systems. Finally, the infusion of sound principles of instructional design and learning theory into the tools themselves promises to transform today’s course management systems into tomorrow’s expert systems for teaching and learning.

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