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developed as students' organised time for research
activities to accord with the progress of on-line
discussions. This was particularly noticeable for
students located in different time zones who had
to organise when to make their on-line contribu-
tions. Students stated that they had to improve
their “self-manage” skills to organise their time
and their research. Students also exhibited greater
awareness of the potential use (and limitations)
of “technology” as a tool for social networking
and communication, and lastly, many identified
the contribution their involvement had made to
them realising both the availability and value of
“life-long learning.”
Student feedback has also provided positive
evidence of the value of active engagement in these
on-line learning activities for developing skills
to operate in the inter-professional arena. In one
example participants engaged in an on-line role
play as managers of various departments about
how a defined budget provided by the Government
was to be shared between various departments
(research and development, production and hu-
man resources). In the initial online discussion
attention focussed on competition to wrest funds
away from the other discipline. For example, one
initial comment was “
I do not believe that valu-
able R&D government grant money should be
used to fund such an initiative
…
.this is not really
a research program but an educational program
-so why fund it from an R&D grant'.
However,
over time more innovative inter-disciplinary solu-
tions were proposed. For example the same person
quoted above suggested '
I think we need to come
to some sort of arrangement whereby our R&D
department can continue working towards their
goal, and we are also able to deliver this training
in order to contribute towards that goal'.
This
eventually resulted in an innovative solution to
approach an outside body to provide extra funding
so that both the proposed training program could
be implemented and R&D could continue through
the suggestion that '
surely we can get a strategic
partnership set up whereby we can together fund
this project so that we and the industry can benefit
from this work'.
In other examples, “norms” of
behaviour that have become ingrained in disciplin-
ary practice have been identified. For example,
feedback from one participant-learner included
the comment
'I was able to see the contradictory
views of my colleagues and their justification of
them. This led me to further understand the ethical
codes which they adhered to'.
potential of vSleS for
Human ServiceS: virtual
community centre
The experiences identified in the examples above
suggest that there is potential for similar on-line
learning experiences to develop inter-professional
skills for the Human Services. Indeed the author
is currently developing a VSLE of a Community
Centre. Table 3 identifies the elements of the Vir-
tual Community Centre using the factors, identi-
fied earlier in Table 1, to consider when designing
a VSLE to give it a “real-world” character.
The Virtual Community Centre is in a new
suburb on the boundary of several existing sub-
urbs. It is located close to a rail line and has been
designed to take advantage of natural resource
in an attempt to leave as small an environmental
“footprint” as possible. It is to be run by a joint
Board that has both Community and private
organisation representatives from the service
providers within the Centre. It provides a range
of community services for the local community
including health (both traditional and alternative),
a range of human services for all ages and needs
and legal services (legal aid and private legal
support) to support local community members. In
addition it has a large (privately run) Leisure and
Sports complex with a gymnasium and swimming
pool. A number of shops and cafes are leased to
for-profit owners.
The Virtual Community Centre operates under
a range of local, state and national government
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