An Evaluation into the Role of Online learning in Enhancing the Delivery of an eBusiness related Masters Course

Abstract

Within many educational institutions across the world, the delivery of undergraduate and postgraduate courses is being facilitated by online learning technologies. The development and transformation of academic courses for online learning delivery provides a number of opportunities for both the academic institution and prospective students. However, there are a number of important issues that need to be addressed if online learning is to contribute to the educational experience of the student in a positive way and actually enhance teaching and learning as compared with more traditional face-to-face delivery. This paper describes the process of transforming a Masters course in the Management of eBusiness offered by the University of Paisley from a distance learning to an online distance learning course. The paper will identify the main educational theories that informed and influenced the deve lopment of the online course as well as identify the main lessons learnt from evaluating the course which has now been running for a number of years. The lessons learnt will be of interest to many people involved in the development and running of online learning courses.