The general approach and underlying philosophy of the unit is a constructivist one. There is a huge range of literature, research and theory, particularly from the perspective of situated learning, that suggests that such an approach should enhance meaningful learning, and this underpins the design of this unit. There is also an attempt to provide participants (who are potential online teachers) with the student learning experience in an online mode.

In this unit, there is no attempt to prepackage information and knowledge into weekly lessons. Instead, activities are complex, requiring a sustained effort over several weeks. Students are required to take the activities, which are presented as realistic memos, and establish the tasks and sub-tasks that are needed to complete them. Collaborative groups are used to enhance learning from multiple perspectives. Responsibility for when to learn and what to learn is the student’s, rather than the teacher’s.

In all the semesters that the unit has run to date, nearly all students have completed the unit, and many reported that they have learned a great deal from the task and the strategies they employed as they completed it. For example:

" I'd like to say that I have had a great experience with the Online Learning unit."

" The learning experience I have had with this unit has helped me a great deal to overcome the skepticism I used to have about online learning."

" I'm really pleased with the outcome and feel considerably more confident about designing and teaching an online course."

Some students have reported feeling disoriented and unsure of how to proceed in the early days because they are more accustomed to teacher-directed approach, but most adjust quickly and value the experience of the student-centred approach. For example:

" It has truly been a rollercoaster. Scary but great fun!"

The flexibility of the learning environment was greatly appreciated by many students:

" In retrospect [it] wasn't an ideal time to study. Despite the stresses this caused I'm really glad I persevered and feel a great sense of achievement at having completed the unit."

Not only do students have the opportunity to experience the technology of online learning, but for many teachers (the vast majority of students in the course are teachers), this is their first experience of learning in an environment using a constructivist approach. For many, this is very difficult and challenging but ultimately professionally satifying outcome: For example:

" Everything I have learned during the unit has been directly relevant to my work. Having had the experience of learning online (with an innovative unit as opposed to a "notes-on-the-web" effort), and learning more about the relevant issues in the field, has better equipped me to provide the professional development that is part of my job - which is exactly why I enrolled. It was fascinating watching how you put the principles of authentic learning into practice, and on another level participating in a learning process that was directly relevant to me - it was a truly "authentic" learning experience!"

THOUGHTS ABOUT EFFECTIVENESS
In all the semesters that the unit has run to date, nearly all students have completed the unit, and many reported that they have learned a great deal from the task and the strategies they employed as they completed it. Many students report feeling disoriented and unsure of how to proceed in the early days, but most adjust quickly and value the experience of the student-centred approach adopted.

Comment from the Evaluation Team...

The evaluators (from the evaluation of this exemplar in this project) offered the following suggestions for consideration in the reuse of this learning design:

• Include clear guidelines about how to set up and run courses using it (re: the learning design).
• Add cross-linking of pages to enhance useability and improve navigation (re: the online learning environment) .
• Planned learning outcomes should be placed in a more accessible location (re: the online learning environment).
• Possible addition of introductory and self-assessed activities which support and enable the development of the overall tasks.
• Resources need to be updated/reconsidered regularly, given the context and constant change in the field.
• The support mechanisms have the greatest need for improvement. Possible consideration of making use of diary and contributions to the discussion board assessable.

UNEXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Not only do students have the opportunity to experience the technology of online learning, but for many teachers this is their first experience of learning in an environment using a constructivist approach. For many, this is very difficult and challenging; others adopt readily and quickly to the opportunities.

LEARNER ENGAGEMENT SUPPORT
The learning environment supports learner engagement by presenting a realistic problem that requires active reflection and research. Students are unable to solve the problem using standard approaches, and must collaborate with others to come up with their own model of online learning, and an example of its application.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF LEARNING CONTEXT
The setting acknowledges the learning context by giving a purpose (if simulated) to the task of learning about online learning. The context is one which is not unlike the current situation in many Australian universities. There are not however, any cultural assumptions deliberately incorporated into the design. The resources used are international and there are no task requirements that limit the applicability of resulting products to the Australian context.

HOW THE DESIGN CHALLENGES LEARNERS
The learning setting is challenging because students cannot apply standard processes and procedures in order to complete it. In the first task, they cannot simply read about theories and research in online learning and then summarise them. They must evaluate a prototype site for its suitability, and in order to do this, they need to read and reflect on current knowledge, and then use that knowledge as a tool. In developing and applying a model of online learning, they must create their own view of what constitutes effective online design, rather than simply using an existing model.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR PRACTICE
Again, practice is provided only in the broadest sense of the word. It allows students to practice as professionals, engaging in the types of meaningful tasks that professionals are required to practice. The unit provides further academic practice when, at the conclusion of the unit, they are encouraged to rework the useful elements of the tasks into a publishable paper for an academic journal or for presentation at a conference. Many of the students accept this challenge, and there have been several publications to date, which further enhance their academic progress and understanding.

Comment from the Evaluation Team...

The evaluation of this exemplar by this project concluded that overall, the learning design supports learner engagement, acknowledges the learning context and challenges learners quite well. However, a limitation was the provision of practice. The evaluators commented:

"This is perhaps the area of greatest weakness of the course. An argument can be made that as this is the first subject of a purely online course, there should be at least one simple introductory activity that stimulates communication and feedback. Such an activity should allow students to get to know each other (by being able to see each other’s responses) and allow the tutor(s) to provide feedback. There could also be a series of self-assessed activities that build and articulate into the major tasks. It is appreciated that this kind of approach may cut across the notion of authenticity; the crux is whether the students are ready for the amount of independent learning demanded of the subject – of this we are not sure."