October 2006 Volume 9 Number 4

Determination of requirements
The second objective requires a determination of the requirements for introducing online environments, and an
interpretation of the HKU context with respect to these.
The implementation of online learning is dependent upon three general determinants – knowledge, reluctance
(culture), and resources (see, for example, McCormack & Jones, 1998). Knowledge includes the three aspects of
subject content, pedagogy and technology. The cultural determinant refers to attitudes of participants, whilst
resources embraces both tangible (e.g. hardware) and intangible (e.g. time) requirements. By presenting these as
a matrix in which each parameter is examined in terms of both sides of the ‘education equation’ (the student
body and the institution dimensions), and its consistency with the other parameters, a framework that allows
systematic examination of HKU’s potential for online learning development (Table 1) can be produced.
Knowledge
Table 1. Determinants in the implementation of online learning environments
Institution and Faculty Student Body
Subject content
Appropriate pedagogy
Technical competency
Technical competency
Culture Teaching culture Learning culture
Resources
For course development
and maintenance
For access and use
Relevant data from the student body dimension is obtained through the post-course surveys. Practitioner
experience and literature (including publicly available quantitative data on resources) provides the basis for
interpreting the institutional and faculty dimension.
Observations
Relevance of online learning to HKU educational challenges
Flexibility in teaching and learning
One distinct benefit of the online environment has been the ability to overcome time/place constraints on
teaching and learning. This allows the courses to be available to wider, and in some cases larger, groups of
students (across faculties), and involve teachers from other departments (as with HKNE) and institutions (as with
Geohazards and Volcanic Processes).
Characteristics of the online learning consistently rated as beneficial by the responding students across all
courses are: being able to progress through the course content at their own speed (i.e. intensity flexibility), (98%
MBBS, 82% HKNE, 80% Geohazards); being able to work from home (location flexibility), (100% MBBS, 84%
HKNE, 73% Geohazards); and having the whole content available at all times (overview and context and selfpaced
study), (100% MBBS, 90% HKNE, 80% Geohazards). “The web-based teaching method allows me to
work in the most appropriate time and therefore I think it’s a good way to learn this course” [HKNE student,
2003-04].
It is good to have reading material on line since sometimes we don’t know what the lecturer is talking
about and just fall asleep or daydreaming [sic]. The materials on the web allow us to read it at own
speed and ask question through e-mail or ask the lecturer directly. Thus whether the lecturer is available
for consulting or not is very important in online courses. [Geohazards student, 2000-01]
The desire for this flexibility is demonstrated by the end-of-course surveys that indicate access is typically
dominated by the 6pm-midnight and midnight-6am periods and from home or off-campus locations. Only onefifth
of access is during normal working hours (6am-6pm), (see Figure 2). The ‘chat room’ function
(synchronous communication), being inconsistent with time flexibility, is also less supported than the forum and
email functions (asynchronous communication). Not surprisingly, the majority of HKNE students (82%) realize
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