These are all good messages, especially the last one about not letting technology \u2018rule\u2019 but asking whether its use adds value!<\/p>\n

What Hume and Griffin\u2019s report tells us<\/h2>\n

These authors found that \u201cmany RTOs moved from face-to-face to online training delivery in response to the coronavirus pandemic.\u201d However, \u201ctransitioning delivery online was a complex exercise for RTOs. Determining the suitability of the material for online delivery needed to be considered at the micro level (that is, individual units), as opposed to the skill set, qualification or training package level.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was not easy to make the transition in some areas, for example:<\/p>\n

\u201cTraining in highly emotive topics, such as suicide risk, child protection, and family and domestic violence, can be traumatic for some students. RTOs raised concerns about their ability to provide a duty of care for students when delivering training of this nature online, [and] face-to-face learning was deemed critical by RTOs delivering foundation skills, especially where students had learning comprehension difficulties.\u201d<\/p>\n

Finally, Sheila and Tabetha report that \u201caround three-quarters of RTOs surveyed agreed that the move to online delivery, while challenging, had provided opportunities to review the effectiveness of existing training\/assessment delivery methods and encouraged creativity.\u201d This seems to be a reported upside of the pandemic. Also, just over 60% of RTOs intend \u201cto use more blended learning in the future, and nearly a quarter (22%) \u201care likely to permanently transfer more units or parts of qualifications online.\u201d<\/p>\n