If a blended approach is going to work, you need to make sure students can get access to online materials. Some students who are expected to work from home may never have used computers or the internet before:

‘I’ve realised that a few of my students are still struggling with the basics, like getting onto the [course] site. Next time, I’ll hand out some simple, step-by-step notes covering things like logging on and moving around the site in the introductory session.’
‘Sometimes, people who are new to computers get stuck on the most simple things. I had one person who couldn’t get the internet to work. When I went to her place, she was putting the web address in the wrong place, and getting very frustrated!’

Even if they can use computers, there may be access challenges, particularly if students are studying at a rural centre:

‘You notice people’s frustration at times. We’re working in a networked lab with only modem access to the internet, so sites can take an age to open and to move through. I’m hoping this is about to change. Hopefully this whole area will improve, but access speed is a big issue in all rural areas.’

While many access issues go well beyond what you, as an individual teacher, can do, it helps to understand the basic access challenges, and to ask yourself questions such as:

  • how are your students going to use computers-in the classroom, in the library, from home or work? And, in each case, are they relying on modem access or are they using (the much faster) broadband access?

‘One reason that the ANTA Toolbox was not well received initially [was that] at the time, we didn’t have proper space with access to computers, something we’ve now arranged with the help of the library.’
  • if students have only limited access, is it appropriate to provide hard copies of material so that they won’t have to download and print at home?
  • will students or staff face difficulties because of institutional firewalls?

‘Some of the people I’ve been networking with have tried to do it from a TAFE computer system, but that can present problems. There are strong firewalls, so you may not be able to upload the chat. It also means that the teacher in a TAFE setting can’t always see what the student sees.’
  • if students are working from home, will you also need to talk with them while they’re online? (The fact that many students will only have one phone-line can limit the scope for online tutorial support at a distance.)

Many of the Exemplars deal with students who’ve only got limited computer skills. As a result, they can sometimes run into access and technical problems. It helps if you can organise on-call technical support.

Like students, staff may have had very little exposure to computers. The sudden expectation of doing some of the teaching online can be very threatening. Technical support staff can play a vital role in helping teachers get over their anxieties and learn the necessary skills:

‘The Institute’s online facilitator [has] been great. He’s given us one-to-one coaching, shown us examples, and provided a lot of time to help us develop the materials. He got us online, and encouraged us to play. For example, we took part in a chat session, just playing around and exploring. Having someone like that was really helpful. It meant that if you got stuck, you could call him and get instant help.’

Several of the Exemplars also acknowledge the important role that can be played by library staff, and the value of letting library staff know about online courses and their requirements:

‘We’ve had a lot of help from our library, to help students access the computers. In return, we try to keep the library informed. For example, we’ve registered the library as a proxy student, so they get copies of our newsletter and other announcements. If they’re better informed, it helps them guide students through things like library searches.’