Overview

Educational activity is no longer constricted to or confined by text, print based materials, time or space. Online educators are challenged to develop appropriate strategies to deal with new information and communication technology-rich ways of teaching and learning. It appears that the same features that are important to explore in classroom environments, the perceptions of students and teachers of the psychosocial environment, are equally important in the digital world. Student and tutor reactions to and perceptions of this environment will have a significant impact on their performance. Therefore, the use and development of a perceptual measure that explores the online learning environments would be a valued tool. This chapter explores the concepts and procedures used in the development of an online learning environment perceptual measure. Initially the five broad categories of activity that can be identified in the connected computer or online environment are outlined. This overview is followed by a description of the scales and items, the web based delivery and storage procedures used in the creation of the Online Learning Environment Survey (OLLES).

1. Introduction

The advent of the microcomputer in the 1980s, the creation of the Internet and the development of the World Wide Web (WWW) have influenced all aspects of modern society including learning (Clayton, 2001; Sangster, 1995; Reid, 1994). Increasingly the perceived benefits of information stored in a digital format are being exploited. The sophistication and ease of supporting web browsers, the creation of Internet...