There certainly is a lot of interest in e-learning at the moment and this community was founded as a result of this interest.
We began little more than a few months ago and our first challenge was define e-learning (I bet your smiling to yourself right now and rightly so).
Finding a common definition that is widely accepted was no easy feat, however eCoP has defined e-learning as
"e-learning is the use of electronic media and devices for teaching and learning"
But before we launch out into a post about e-learning we should attempt to understand the impact technology has in our everyday lives. I think it is really helpful to explore its growth and take-up relating to personal use, education and training and work related use.
I am sure you will agree that the internet has made significant changes to way we acquire information, communicate with each other, carry out business and undertake training and education.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) at the end of June 2013 there were 12,358,000 internet subscribers, representing an annual growth of 3%.
As you would expect users connecting via dial up is vastly in decline; 98% of all internet connections are now via broadband.
At the same time the ABS reported that there were 6.2 million mobile broadband connections in Australia and declared that wireless broadband is the most prevalent internet technology in Australia. It accounts for half of all connections. Of these 6.2 million connections people are connecting via dongles, tablets, DSL, satellite and dial-up.
That is amazing don’t you think!
To form a clearer picture of the role technology might play in Australians participating in education and training activities it is interesting to consider how we are using technology such as the internet in our personal
lives and working lives.
First, let’s look at who is using the internet.
The ABS found in 2012-2013 that the largest group of internet users were in the 15-17 years age group. Ninety seven percent of people in this age bracket were internet users. Close behind them were the ages 18-24 and 25-34, this continued to drop down (surprisingly not by much though until we get to age 55-64 where approximately 78% were internet users. In 65 and over age bracket this figure dropped down to approximately 42%.
The ABS also found that persons with higher incomes had a higher proportion of internet users. For example, there were 97% of internet users in the wage bracket of more than $120,000 annually while only 77% of people earning less than $40,000 were internet users.
Not surprisingly the ABS found that the higher a person’s education level the more likely they were to use the internet. For the Vocational Education and Training Sector this could be a serious consideration. Only 75% of people
with an educational level of Year 12 or below were internet users. Approximately 85% of those with a certificate level qualification were internet users while 96% of people with a Bachelor degree or above were internet users.
I recommend you continue reading the findings online by the ABS to see how and when we use the internet at home and in the workplace (particularly the patterns of home internet use by age group).
You are welcome to keep this discussion going by sharing the post with your personal networks and also commenting on the impact this might have on our educational programs.
Guest Blogger: Gail Smith, NSW E-Learning Advisor, National VET E-Learning Strategy
We began little more than a few months ago and our first challenge was define e-learning (I bet your smiling to yourself right now and rightly so).
Finding a common definition that is widely accepted was no easy feat, however eCoP has defined e-learning as
"e-learning is the use of electronic media and devices for teaching and learning"
But before we launch out into a post about e-learning we should attempt to understand the impact technology has in our everyday lives. I think it is really helpful to explore its growth and take-up relating to personal use, education and training and work related use.
I am sure you will agree that the internet has made significant changes to way we acquire information, communicate with each other, carry out business and undertake training and education.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) at the end of June 2013 there were 12,358,000 internet subscribers, representing an annual growth of 3%.
As you would expect users connecting via dial up is vastly in decline; 98% of all internet connections are now via broadband.
At the same time the ABS reported that there were 6.2 million mobile broadband connections in Australia and declared that wireless broadband is the most prevalent internet technology in Australia. It accounts for half of all connections. Of these 6.2 million connections people are connecting via dongles, tablets, DSL, satellite and dial-up.
That is amazing don’t you think!
To form a clearer picture of the role technology might play in Australians participating in education and training activities it is interesting to consider how we are using technology such as the internet in our personal
lives and working lives.
First, let’s look at who is using the internet.
The ABS found in 2012-2013 that the largest group of internet users were in the 15-17 years age group. Ninety seven percent of people in this age bracket were internet users. Close behind them were the ages 18-24 and 25-34, this continued to drop down (surprisingly not by much though until we get to age 55-64 where approximately 78% were internet users. In 65 and over age bracket this figure dropped down to approximately 42%.
The ABS also found that persons with higher incomes had a higher proportion of internet users. For example, there were 97% of internet users in the wage bracket of more than $120,000 annually while only 77% of people earning less than $40,000 were internet users.
Not surprisingly the ABS found that the higher a person’s education level the more likely they were to use the internet. For the Vocational Education and Training Sector this could be a serious consideration. Only 75% of people
with an educational level of Year 12 or below were internet users. Approximately 85% of those with a certificate level qualification were internet users while 96% of people with a Bachelor degree or above were internet users.
I recommend you continue reading the findings online by the ABS to see how and when we use the internet at home and in the workplace (particularly the patterns of home internet use by age group).
You are welcome to keep this discussion going by sharing the post with your personal networks and also commenting on the impact this might have on our educational programs.
Guest Blogger: Gail Smith, NSW E-Learning Advisor, National VET E-Learning Strategy