The online teaching context:
Science Skills in Context was introduced in semester 1, 2005 as a compulsory wholly online unit for students commencing their studies in the BSc (Biomedical Science), BSc (Biotechnology) and BSc (Biological Sciences) on both the Geelong and Melbourne campuses of Deakin University. The concept of the unit was to teach generic skills in science using the lecture content of the first year biology unit as the scientific context. Skills addressed included: an introduction to the online resources available at Deakin University; critical thinking and the scientific method paradigm; an introduction to data; basic statistics and graphical representations of data; strategies for sourcing and writing about scientific information and laboratory results; and, an introduction to bioinformatics as an example of paradigm shift in biological research.

The delivery of the unit was via WebCT Vista and included extensive multimedia content: instructional FLASH tutorials; interactive chat-room online tutorials; directed study of online materials and readings; and, learning through mastery of online assessment. In 2006 synchronous live tutorials using Elluminate live (E-Live) were introduced to enhance the students' online experiences with the instructor by enabling voice over IP delivery of lectures and tutorials and application sharing over the Internet to facilitate the students' understanding of how to use specific software (concept mapping software, spreadsheet and basic statistical software to analyse and graph data, and the online use of the databases of the National Center for Biotechnology Information, NCBI). E-Live sessions were also available as FLASH files for review.

The aims of the unit
The concept of delivering this unit as a wholly online unit taught in the context of the biology unit was to facilitate the transition of students to the online learning environment at Deakin University. It was also reasoned that by relating the scientific context of the unit to the lecture material from the biology unit (which all students were concurrently studying) that the unit could serve to reinforce some key concepts and avoid problems related to students' comprehension of online scientific content. A secondary aim was to provide a core unit that would fulfil the requirement that all students studying at Deakin University complete at least one unit in the wholly online mode.

The outcomes of the unit
After two years of delivery it is apparent that there are serious problems with the online delivery mode of the unit based on poor participation rates, low assessment completion rates, and unsatisfactory student evaluations. The student tracking function of WebCT Vista was used to follow student participation and this was compared with relative performance. The unit essentially had a polarised outcome which correlated with the level of student engagement with the unit. While more than 40% of students earned a distinction or better result, there were more than 20% failures. Every student who failed either did not submit at least one item of assessment or had logged insufficient time on the unit website.

Approximately one fourth of enrolled students did not adequately engage with the unit as reflected by a total lack of participation or minimal participation. Whilst emails were sent to various cohorts encouraging them to lift their level of participation or sternly warning them that their lack of participation was endangering their chance of passing the unit, many students were refractory to these written notifications. Overall student participation in the live tutorials was poor with only one fifth of the enrolled students regularly attending the live, online tutorial sessions, despite these times being selected to accommodate all cohorts. In contrast, students who in engaged the unit generally had a high level of achievement, but high level participation was not required to pass the unit. These outcomes suggest that a majority of students enrolled in the unit were ill prepared for the challenge of self-directed learning in the online environment. It is unresolved whether this is related to the students' information technology literacy at the commencement of the unit. While some participants in the tutorials indicated a high degree of IT experience and proficiency, most indicated that they considered themselves to be relative novices.