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Online innovations have been growing rapidly in the past number of years. The integration of online learning with these technological advancements creates significant challenges in determining how the use of technology can contribute to the delivery of learning materials. An area where little research has been undertaken is in determining the skills and attributes online facilitators need to be effective. This study is based on inputs gathered from both online facilitators and online learners. These inputs provided empirical information pertaining to the roles and tasks of both facilitators and learners in an ideal online learning environment. Of what benefit would this study be to future online learning? Taking cognisance of an ideal online environment, the outcomes of this study are categorised into unique groups that will provide insight to the future development of online facilitators and the tasks to be executed in addressing the diverse needs of the online learner in the knowledge era. / Dissertation (MEd (CIE))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Curriculum Studies / unrestricted

Over the past 2 decades, the number of adult learners seeking an online education has dramatically increased, but student retention and degree completion rates for adult students are lower than those of other student populations. Research has shown that adult learners working full time achieve at higher levels than adult learners who are not working full time and that intrinsic motivation is positively correlated with academic achievement. However, whether the relationship between intrinsic motivation and academic achievement is moderated by level of work commitment has not been previously investigated. For this study, in which the composite persistence model served as the foundation, 137 online adult learners were recruited. A sequential multiple regression was used to investigate whether the relationship between intrinsic motivation, as measured by the Motivation Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ), and academic achievement, as measured by self-reported grade point average, was moderated by level of work commitment, as measured by self-reported hours of work per week, while statistically controlling for academic competencies, as measured by 4 subscales of the MSLQ. Intrinsic motivation and level of work commitment did not display a statistically significant correlation with academic achievement, and results showed that level of work commitment did not moderate the relationship between intrinsic motivation and academic achievement. The findings indicated the possibility that education is synergistically related to work commitment. Online programs may use the findings from the study to better support online adult learners and create positive social change by offering internships and mentorships locally that help to connect education to work commitment.

Online learning is no longer considered novel within higher education. It has emerged as an accepted distinct channel and environment for instructional engagement. There is a notable deficit of works and theoretical constructs specifically addressing the identification and differentiation of online learner types and examining them as a distinct system within the learning environment. Learning effectiveness within an online instructional environment is affected by the individual student engaged in the instruction. The instructional experience of the learner is determined by their individual perceptions of and reactions to both internal and external factors. Therefore, it is critical to address the online learner holistically as a stand-alone systemic dimension of the online learning environment to truly understand their differentiating behaviors, motives, characteristics, and dynamics. The study classified and articulated the distinctive types of learners engaged in online instruction within the higher education context based on the key dynamics, factors, and influencers of the individual in order to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the individuals engaged in learning. Additionally, the study generated a new theoretical model, the taxonomy of online learner types (TOLT) to provide unique insights into the different types of learners and serve as an essential step towards developing awareness and facilitating deeper investigations in the future.