Sport management students in 'the hot seat' : a preliminary analysis of the opportunities and challenges associated with using virtual learning and teaching environments

The emergence and spread of technology, including the internet, continued and rapid development of mobile phone technology and social media platforms are fundamentally altering the way contemporary sport and other service and entertainment orientated industries undertake their business activities. Against this and related backdrops, increasingly tertiary institutions are encouraging academic staff to consider alternative and less traditional approaches to learning and teaching. The use of 'blended' and 'online learning' where students are provided with flexible and alternative opportunities to learn characteristically in online and less frequently virtual learning environments are, in part, emerging in response to this call. In light of these emerging contemporary technological and learning and teaching developments, empirical research addressing the issues, challenges and opportunities arising from the creation and use of this technology phenomenon has been slow, especially in sport management education settings. Further, although tertiary institutions are calling for the development and use of these learning and teaching environments for student outcomes, cost reduction and other rationales many academics remain cautious about their utilisation and purported benefits and opportunities. The objective is to explore the emergent challenges and opportunities associated with constructing effective virtual learning environments for undergraduate sport management students. Understand student and lecturer perceptions and experiences of virtual learning and teaching contexts.