UTS course code: C07096
Testamur title: Graduate Diploma in e-Learning
Abbreviation: GradDipE-Learning
Course Coordinator: Associate Professor Lynette Schaverien
Course fee: $233.33–$250 per cp (local); $6,900 per semester (international)
Total credit points: 36

Overview
Course aims
Admission requirements
Advanced standing
Attendance
Course duration
Course structure
Course program
Assessment
Articulation and progression

Overview

The Graduate Diploma in e-Learning recognises the emergence of electronically mediated learning as a new force in Education. The Web is now increasingly utilised by a technologically literate population, that lives and works in an information society, expects access to lifelong learning, and leads a lifestyle in which flexible delivery is essential for formal learning to take place. Electronically mediated teaching and learning are now central to contemporary education and training delivery methods. This course is designed to provide a rapidly growing graduate group with the capacity to enhance learning, in their diverse workplaces, through new technologies, specifically, but not exclusively, web based. The course has been collaboratively developed and is jointly taught by academic staff from the Faculty of Education and the Institute for Interactive Media and Learning.

For more information, refer to the entry for Master of Arts in e-Learning (C04188).

Course aims

Over the duration of the Graduate Diploma, you are expected to:

• develop your understanding of the structures, functions and dynamics of a variety of e-Learning systems, both locally and internationally
• become familiar, as learners, designers and teachers, with a range of e-Learning environments in different disciplines, designed for different educational purposes and with different underlying values
• gain confidence in describing and analysing learning and recognising it when it occurs in e-Learning contexts
• develop the ability to detect implicit educational principles in e-Learning contexts and become more discerning critics of e-Learning
• gain insights into e-Learning design and development, from concept to prototype, including basic familiarity with a range of technical solutions to particular educational problems
• deepen your understanding of the educational support required in e-Learning, including how to nurture individual learners and learning communities
• explore the value bases of obstacles to e-Learning, together with any ethical implications and consequences for the sustainability of e-Learning initiatives, and devise possible ways of addressing these in your organisations
• deepen your understandings of the multimedia industry within which e-Learning is developing, and of the interplay between it and the embryonic field of e-Learning itself, and
• develop your appreciation of a specific education-, technology- or workplace-related field, through a relevant, approved elective subject of your choice.

Admission requirements

For entry into this course, you need to have completed an undergraduate degree, or equivalent qualification. If you do not have an undergraduate degree, you may be able to apply for special entry into the Graduate Certificate, provided you have workplace experience that is equivalent to an undergraduate degree and you may subsequently be able to proceed to the Graduate Diploma on merit. The Graduate Diploma is available to international students wishing to study locally.

It is expected that applicants have standard computing skills including word processing and knowledge of email and web browsers. While shared computing facilities are available on campus, students are strongly advised to arrange their own access to the Internet.

Advanced standing

Since the four e-Learning subjects that comprise the core of the Graduate Diploma in e-Learning are distinctive in their orientation, advanced standing in them is rarely granted. However, students can apply for advanced standing and each case is considered on its merits. With respect to advanced standing in the two relevant approved electives, student applications are considered on their merits.

Attendance

The course is offered in mixed mode. Most coursework is online but work in these subjects is supported by two to three compulsory weekend block workshops per semester. In 2004, this requires Friday and/or Saturday and/or Sunday attendance at the City campus of the Faculty of Education. Attendance requirements also vary depending on students' elective subject choices. The mode of delivery for subjects 95560 Multimedia Industry and Process and 95561 Multimedia Products and Technologies is currently face-to-face.

Course duration

The Graduate Diploma in e-Learning is normally completed in three semesters of part-time study or one year of full-time study. Normally there is no mid-year intake for this course, but students interested in enrolling are advised to check with the Faculty in April 2004 in case circumstances change.

Full-time students can complete their course in a year of study by taking one relevant approved elective, in addition to the core e-Learning subjects, in each semester.

Course structure

The Graduate Diploma in e-Learning comprises 36 credit points and consists of six subjects.

Course program

Spring semester
013708 e-Learning Technologies 6cp
013709 e-Learning Design 6cp

Footnote:
1. Offered by the Institute for Interactive Media and Learning.
2. To be taken from the Master of Education or other approved courses.

Assessment

All subjects are criterion-referenced. This means that you are assessed on whether you meet certain criteria and are marked accordingly. Assessment tasks typically include individual and group assignments.

Articulation and progression

The Graduate Diploma in e-Learning is part of an articulated suite of e-Learning courses. (Refer also to the entries for the Graduate Certificate in e-Learning (C11171), the Master of Arts in e-Learning (C04188) and the Master of Science in e-Learning (C07096).) The four core e-Learning subjects form the Graduate Certificate in e-Learning.

Subject to availability of places, Master of Interactive Multimedia (C07096) and Master of Business in e-Business (C07096) students can choose to do a set of e-Learning subjects as an e-Learning module. Master of Business in e-Business students can do three e-Learning subjects, while Master of Interactive Multimedia students can choose one, two, three or four e-Learning subjects. It is anticipated that other faculties will also set up degree courses delivered online or addressing the impacts of e-Learning and e-Commerce for their disciplines and professional practice. It is likely that a package of some or all of the e-Learning subjects outlined here will be offered as elective modules in such qualifications.