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“EE in Cyberspace, Why Not?” Teaching, Learning and Researching Tertiary Pre-Service and In-Service Teacher Environmental Education Online

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 June 2015

Hilary Whitehouse
Hilary Whitehouse*
Affiliation:
James Cook University
*
†School of Education, James Cook University, PO Box 6811, Cairns, Queensland 4870, Australia. Email: Hilary.Whitehouse@jcu.edu.au
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Abstract

Information communication technologies (ICTs) have the potential to enable intending and in-service teachers in regional, rural and remote regions greater access to tertiary education. This paper describes how a fourth year environmental education subject has been successfully delivered wholly online for several years and how pre-service and in-service teachers have responded to learning through an online platform. Research indicates the necessity to create a social learning space in cyberspace to support learning; as well as the importance of building flexible learning opportunities and offline assessment tasks to generate meaningful learning experiences related to local places. Teaching environmental education online may initially create the dilemma of how to engage meaningfully with place-based learning through the no-place of cyberspace. However, carefully designed, online learning can and does support positive learning outcomes. While there are limitations to online study, well-conceived, web-based delivery is certainly no barrier to teaching and learning environmental education in the tertiary sector.

Keywords

Tertiary environmental educationonline learningpre-service and in-service teacher educationtertiary rural and remote educationtertiary student experiences of learning
Type
Research Article
Information
Australian Journal of Environmental Education , Volume 24 , 2008 , pp. 11 - 21
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

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