Abstract:
The study reported here presents a small-scale research into conceptions of, and approaches to, teaching using the web in fully online distance courses. Lecturers were interviewed from a Faculty of Health Sciences which is part of a research intensive Australian university. Interviews were conducted and analysed following a phenomenographic approach. Three conceptions of teaching with the web emerged: ‘the web for individual access to learning materials and information; and for individual assessment’, ‘the web for learning related communication (synchronous and asynchronous)’, and ‘the web for networked learning’. Two approaches emerged as well: ‘informative-individual learning focused’ and ‘communicative-networked learning focused’. Results are discussed on the light of previous research on conceptions of, and approaches to, teaching in face-to-face and online settings.