The Relative utility of different online learning modes - the students' perspective

As part of a student questionnaire relating to students perceptions of an online IT course at Macquarie University, students from four semesters were surveyed regarding their preferences for different learning technologies. The purpose of this paper is to share and interpret those findings with a view to providing empirical data upon which educational developers and academics can base their online learning design decisions. The principle outcome of the analysis was the general preference for more active rather than transmissive approaches. As well, there was a wide variety of perceived utilities for each technology, implying the need for designers to provide students with a range of modes with which students can chose to learn.