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=Staff are provided with a researched evidence base of effective learning objectives and associated e-learning activities.=

Evidence
Professional development is a natural and continuous process that requires everyone in an organization. The e-learning discussion report ‘Highways and Pathways’ (Butterworth et al. 2002) noted that priority be given to professional development in the tertiary sector so that teachers can support and encourage student learning. Part of the professional development process is providing staff with resources so that they can undertake evidence-based good practice.

Mansvelt et al. (2009) have found that professional development was believed to be important by the vast majority of teaching staff, but that low uptake rates suggested that it was not seen as intrinsic to their job. Informal e-learning professional development was seen as effective by staff, but this is not quality assured. New and/or reluctant e-learning users most often benefited from formal professional development courses. One great benefit of attending workshops and technical courses are the ongoing relationships formed with staff developers.

Resources
Options for professional development in e-learning include not just centrally run courses, but also decentralised systems of mentors, self-tuition and online exploration. All but the most experienced staff surveyed by Mansvelt et al. (2009) wanted readily available ‘just-in-time’ support options and access to exemplars and examples of good practice (this must include examples of effective learning objectives and activities). In all institutions surveyed staff wanted a range of face-to-face and online opportunities as well as personalised help on a just-in-time basis.

Leem & Lim (2007) conducted a survey of all 201 universities in Korea. They found that 85% had investigated offering e-learning. However, meaningful supports and policies were lacking. They recommend creating ‘Knowledge Servers’ to accumulate e-learning knowledge and content stored by a university.