Relationships on the line

Student involvement with on-line education is rapidly on the increase as educational organisations use the information communication technologies (ICTs) for the delivery and/or enhancement of many of their courses. Student responses to this can be extremely positive, but that is not so in all cases. Some of the critical components of quality on-line learning are the interactions and relationships that happen through the medium and the success of the experience will depend on the interaction and responses between teacher and learner, or between the learners. The other relationship that is important with on-line learning is the relationship of the learner with the work. Self-motivation and self-discipline are essential to on-line learning. Vocational education and training (VET) students are not always necessarily ready for independent learning, and the blend of face-to-face with the use of the on-line technologies often provides the most successful, flexible solution for them. This paper presents learner perspectives on relationships through the on-line technologies. The research is part of a project commissioned by the National Centre for Vocational Educational Research to look at the 'Quality in On-line Learning: The Learner's View' in the VET sector.