ABSTRACT

One of the benefits of an online course is the ease with which different types of technology and media can be integrated into the material. Unlike in traditional distance education courses, these do not need to be separated out as distinct elements, such as audio and videotapes, printed units and CD ROMs. The user can access them as required and does not need to break off from a current activity to engage in something else. Even with face to face courses, there is an element of division between components, so experimentation (in the form of laboratory work) is spatially and temporally separated from the theory (in the form of the lecture), which is then separated from discussion in tutorials, and so on. In fairness, there is also a strong element of continuity in face to face courses, as the students will be working within the same group, with the same lecturers and with a strong thematic thread between the theoretical and laboratory based work. The divisions arise partly because of the different requirements of physical space, and the need for scheduling classes in those spaces, which does not hold for a virtual space.