Getting connected : professional development in online learning and flexible delivery for contract and casual VET staff

![CDATA[A recent contract research project commissioned by the Flexible Learning Research Program, an initiative within the Australian Flexible Learning Framework for the National Vocational Education and Training System, found that while flexible and online teaching methodologies were prevalent in the vocational education and training (VET) sector, only about 10 percent of courses in the sector are being delivered entirely online. It appears that learners still need a certain amount of human contact and social interaction not only with teaching staff but with other students, and that the virtual online community does not always satisfy this requirement. In addition, while online learning lends itself well to some VET subjects (such as IT and business) there are other areas – for example construction and hospitality – where there is no substitute for practical, hands-on lessons. The study also scrutinised the professional development opportunities available to help get VET teaching staff up to speed in the online learning environment. While formal professional development opportunities were noted to be lacking for casual and contract staff in particular, many educators were effectively making use of the internet and other informal networks, for example asking for help from more IT proficient colleagues and peers. The paper presents the key findings of the project and also discusses the relative merits of using online survey instruments to gather data for such research projects.]]