Case study 1: Painting and decorating online

Southern Queensland Institute of Technology

Just do it yourself

Don’t wait for someone to hold your hand, teach you how or make you do it. Just do it yourself - Michael Farrugia, SQIT teacher

E-learning was introduced into the painting and decorating course at SQIT because Michael Farrugia and Dallas King, the course teachers, wanted to improve the experience of learners.

‘In painting and decorating many students have low levels of literacy. Not many have good information technology skills either, and some were resistant when they began. Also many apprentices and people doing skills gap training travel long distances to training, and with young families and work commitments, this can be a burden'. (Michael)

The students are mostly males, but there are some females.

‘In class the girls are usually faster in the theory and it’s the reverse with the practicals … the girls tend to have an eye for the detail, so are slower. Guys don’t like the theory generally'. (Michael)

So the quest was to:

• make the learning more interesting and appealing
• make learning more visual, to cater for different learner types
• enable greater flexibility in when, where and how students undertake the theory components of the course
• explore the capabilities of the technologies – what can be done with simple, accessible tools.

From the simple beginning of putting some resources and tools on a CD for students, the painting and decorating teachers now have an online flexibly delivered course.

Students can do the theory part of their course using the computers in the Institute’s FlexiLearn Centre, or at work or at home if they have access to a computer and an Internet connection.

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