E-learning Benchmarking

Project Background

The Australian Flexible Learning Framework (Framework) has established a set of e-learning indicators that can be used to assess the uptake, use and impact of e-learning in Australia’s vocational education and training (VET) system. These indicators can be adapted and used by individual education and training providers and states and territories to establish their own organisational goals and benchmarks for e-learning.

The Benchmarking and Research business activity is an initiative of the Framework. From 2005 it has undertaken annual national surveys of the uptake and use of e-learning by employers, training organisations, VET students and VET teachers and trainers. The surveys illustrate trends in the uptake of e-learning, the way in which technology is used in training, and the impact of e-learning on skills and employment. The 2011 survey of VET students was conducted in March/April 2011. The 2011 survey results are now available.

The Benchmarking and Research business activity has also developed templates and tools to support training organisations to gather data on e-learning and benchmark their e-learning outcomes.

For organisations to conduct their own benchmarking, a DIY Benchmarking tool has been developed. The online survey tool can be easily tailored to capture relevant local information on VET student and VET teacher/trainer uptake and use of e-learning.

Strategies are being pursued to embed the e-learning indicators into national and ongoing data collection processes to allow the longer-term capture and use of relevant information on e-learning uptake and impact.