A framework for designing higher education e-learning environments

Abstract

This paper describes a framework for the design of higher education learning and teaching (e-learning) environments. The framework has emerged from the author’s doctoral research. The author, located at a regional, Australian university, collaborated with teachers from a polytechnic in Singapore to build the professional capacity of the group in the area of e-learning. The exploration of themes evident in the literature assisted in the creation of the design framework. Findings from the study which led to the design of the framework are briefly discussed and the principles and practices, which define that framework, are outlined. Implications for educators and educational institutions are discussed. It is an unrealistic expectation that a proposed framework is relevant to users in all educational environments, but it is anticipated that the framework could be applied to a wide variety of e-learning settings.