STEPS on a new journey : redesigning a pre-university bridging course for delivery by distance education

The STEPS program offered at Central Queensland University is an enabling program which aims to teach adults the necessary skills to undertake university study. The program also aims to act as an agent of transformational learning – helping students develop ways of thinking and being which will encourage them to become self-aware lifelong learners. Redesigning such a program for delivery in distance education mode offers this opportunity to a wider cohort of potential students but presents particular challenges for the teachers involved. This case study examines the curriculum design choices that were made by the teaching staff in developing such a program using a blend of online learning technologies and other communications options to provide maximum effect. The design and implementation of the individual courses that make up this program are examined in terms of media choices, the use of technology and communications strategies. The factors which underpin these design decisions include some elements which are common to all courses in the program, and some that differ from course to course. The interplay between these elements is discussed with reference to the implications for the development of similar programs in the future.