O7.2.3

=E–learning skills practice sessions or tutorials organised and provided to all students as part of the course.=

Evidence
Students’ capability for effective e-learning is a combination of their skills as learners and their abilities to make effective use of the various information sources and technologies provided by institutions generally, and specifically in particular courses and programmes. Like any skill, this must be practiced. Some degree of technical aptitude and experience can now be generally assumed although this does not mean that students are effective online learners (Hrabe et al., 2005).

Visser and Visser (2005) highlight the insight that student communication process capability development necessarily precedes technological skill development.

Several studies show that people devote a great amount of time to learning new skills that they must possess to be successful in the online learning environment (Davidson-Shrivers et al. 2000; Richards & Ridley 1997; Warschauer 1998; Wells 2000).

Tallent-Runnels et al. (2006) reviewed the literature on online teaching and found that people with more prior experience and training in computer-related activities felt more satisfied and comfortable with their experience in an online environment.

Resources
Students must have the chance to practice with technologies before they are used in assessments. However, the link between exercises with novel technologies and their ultimate use may not be obvious and students may be discouraged if they don’t see the point of the exercise. It may be that ‘live’, organic, participation scenarios are more useful in some instances.