Materials and Methods: For the purpose of this study an Action Research method was used, conducted through the following three evaluation processes. Questionnaires were used to collect contextual data from the students taking the course. The questionnaire focused on eliciting attitudes towards the course as well as the educational setting and also the e-learning innovations applied. In addition, a student led parallel nominal group method was used to collect group data from the participants of the course. A non-participant observer method was used to record the context in which certain group and individual behaviours occurred.
Results: From the questionnaires almost 90% of the students believed that the course had added to their skills. The online environment of the iCT Portal was perceived by 65% of the students as a useful resource. The nominal groups reported that the main area of concern was the need to stream the students based on their previous IT skills. The non-participant observer method highlighted that the students were working collaboratively online despite frequently being in a face to face environment.
Conclusions: This evaluation has been the first in a longitudinal and incremental study to assess the effectiveness of e-learning to support existing face to face courses. It has so far revealed:
- online collaborative learning can occur even when students frequently meet face to face.
- the large difference in IT skills of the students requires a more differentiated approach.