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1、1Assisting Students to study online - the Deakin Learning Toolkit ABSTRACTThe Deakin Learning Toolkit (DTL) is an innovation that provides students and staff with the tools, skills and information to participate fully in the Universitys online learning community. Now in its third year, it has demons
2、trable value and impact and has been enthusiastically adopted within the University (and copied by other universities). In 1998 it won the Vice-Chancellors award for Outstanding Support Services. Physically, the DLT is a CD-ROM, which operates like a web browser, containing information, training pro
3、grams and software. It is a resource to orient students to Deakin and its online environment and services, to provide them with the tools (including learning resources and software) they need to work in that learning environment, to teach them how to use the tools and services that are available and
4、 to lead them from the CD-ROM to the online world of Deakin University. KEYWORDS Deakin University; Deakin Learning Toolkit; distance education students; off-campus students; online learning; online services; library services; student services; information technology services; student support1. Intr
5、oduction Deakin University is a metropolitan and regionally based university with six campuses in the Australian State of Victoria. Its 2000 student population totalled 28,192 people, with 13,661 studying on-campus, 12,110 studying off-campus and a further 2,421 in mixed on and off-campus mode. In a
6、ddition, a further 40,000 students study through the Universitys commercial arm, Deakin Australia, which provides training and higher education opportunities to staff of corporations and government departments and to members of professional associations. Since its inception, Deakin University has be
7、en renowned for its excellent distance education programs, providing higher education opportunities to people who, for reasons of remoteness or inability to attend traditional on-campus universities, chose to study remotely. The student population is drawn principally from Victoria, but also from ot
8、her parts of Australia and overseas. Students have a choice of enrolling as on-campus students, distance education students, or in a combination of on and off-campus mode. In recent years, Deakin University, along with many other universities in Australia and overseas, increased its enrolment of ove
9、rseas students who study in their home country. 2Deakin University is committed to providing students with a quality education that is delivered to them when, where and how the student desires. This involves a greater degree of choice for students, who may elect to enrol in units that are taught fac
10、e-to- face, via a video-link, through computer mediated instruction, through print, audio and video learning resources, or a combination of technologies and styles. 2. What is the Deakin Learning Toolkit? The DLT, first produced in 1998 with an annual edition since, is a CD-ROM that is distributed t
11、o all Deakin University students and staff for use on their private computers. It is mailed to all off-campus students and staff, together with a printed information booklet, and is distributed on campus during enrolment, orientation and training sessions, in computer laboratories, and at Informatio
12、n Technology Services Division desks, libraries and student union offices at each campus. It is a resource to orient students (and staff) to Deakin University and its online environment and services, to provide them with tools (including learning resources and software) they need to work in that env
13、ironment, to teach them how to use the tools and services that are available and to lead them from the CD-ROM to the online world at Deakin University. From a technical perspective, the DLT may be used on both Windows and Macintosh computers. Users access the contents of the DLT through a browser ei
14、ther from one already installed on the personal computer or, if no web browser is detected on loading the CD-ROM, from Netscape Communicator on the DLT itself. The CD-ROM is designed to run automatically when placed in the CD drive of a computer. The DLT is divided into seven sections: Welcome, Conn
15、ect, Software, Faculties, Library, Services and Courses. With the browser interface, it is easy to navigate and, if the user is connected to a computer network, provides the added bonus of linking to live Internet resources, either within the Deakin domain or elsewhere, that have been listed in the
16、DLT. The DLT also acts as a portal into the Deakin and external Internet web sites with links to relevant web pages if the student is using the DLT whilst connected to the Internet.i For those who do not have Internet access, advice on internet service providers is given, thus encouraging students to take advantage of the online teaching, learning and support services available through Deakin University. 3. Rationale Deakin Univers
