S1.4.1

=Demand for and effectiveness of the technical support provided to students is monitored regularly. =

Evidence
To improve e-learning outcomes it is important to learn from past mistakes, according to Ehrmann (2002), who argues that tracking progress is not only necessary to stay on course but also to identify solvable problems that can attract fresh resources (p. 55). The results of monitoring should be used to inform ongoing and new development, and to support resources and strategy. Information on performance can be used as a tool for improving quality, but only if the information is disseminated. Such validation of e-learning practices and resources is a significant stage in the full cycle of organisational learning that describes success in terms of ‘student performance, student satisfaction, staff experience, and cost effectiveness, as judged in relation to the original intentions’ (Salmon, 2000, p. 236). Salmon discusses validating as one of six activities in the iterative process of creating an effective learning organisation infrastructure that enables ‘the system to learn about itself’ (p. 237).

Resources
According to Kirschner et al., (2004), there can be significant difference between intentions for support and users perceptions of them. They describe an iterative model for designing for e-learning that attends to six steps, including learner competencies, interactions, and tasks, towards ‘determining how computer support can be best applied’ (p. 31). The model pays close attention to actual and particular learner needs, including: how best to address and support those needs, the learner’s perceptions of the support provided, how the support is actually used, and how effective the support is for actual learning achievement: ‘We might be tempted to say that this is “the proof of the pudding”’ (p. 30).