Editorial - Implementing online learning: Stories from the field

Abstract

After more than two decades of online learning in Australian higher education, the provision of online programs has moved closer to the mainstream in many Australian universities. According to the IBISWorld (2018), online education in Australia is booming with expected growth in revenue from online learning of 3.6% in 2018, making it a $5 billion industry. In 2018, more than 20 Australian Universities offered some form of online classes and least six Australian universities have launched large-scale online learning initiatives in recent years. To support these initiatives, there is increasing emphasis on good practice in online teaching and learning. Once seen as fringe activity or niche innovation, online learning has been increasingly central to universities’ responses to changed revenue streams and efforts to open and cater to new markets.