Reducing the gap between design academics and online learning developers: understanding design academics' perceptions toward online learning in the delivery of design studio classes

Advanced technologies have made significant changes in our daily life, and these changes also affect the use of technologies in the delivery of Higher Education. Currently, most Australian universities engage some degree of technology in the delivery of their face-to-face curricula, while the implementation of online learning in Higher Education is still new. The literature indicates that online learning provides flexible/convenient learning opportunities for students who cannot attend on-campus courses, to expand or change their career paths, and this is one of the benefits of using online learning in Higher Education. Nevertheless, the implementation rate of online learning in design education is low, and this is likely to be linked to the design academics' fear of using online learning in delivering practice-based curriculum. This paper investigates the perceptions toward online learning, specifically Australian academics, in the fields of communication/graphic design.