A New Structure of Online Learning Environment to Support the Professional Learning

The online learning environment (OLE) is an essential element in using information and communication technology (ICT) for learning and instruction. This paper proposed a new structure of an OLE for design professional domain that tried to integrate the learning community (forum) and courseware for increasing the using motivation and learning efficiency. First, a framework consisted with four components - Instructor, Learner, Course, and Internet, was formulated. Then, the OLE was developed based on the framework that constructed by 3 levels - Community, Classroom, and Studio. Community provides an open space for users to interact and exchange the information. Classroom provides various design courses, while Studio provides several communication tools for design studio activities. The experiment courses and surveys were conducted to evaluate the need-ness and satisfaction of the OLE. The results show the positive responses from the learners that regarded the Community can help their learning.