Clinical placement learning experiences are integral to all health and medical curricula as a means of integrating theory into practice and preparing graduates to deliver safe, high quality care to health consumers. A growing challenge for education providers is to access sufficient clinical placements with experienced supervisors who are skilled at maximising learning opportunities for students. This paper reports on the development and evaluation of an innovative online learning program aimed at enhancing student and clinical supervisors' preparedness for effective workplace-based learning. The evidence-based learning program used 'story-telling' as the learning framework. The stories, which were supported by a range of resources, aimed to engage the learners in understanding student and supervisor responsibilities, as well as the expectations and competencies needed to support effective learning in the clinical environment. Evaluation of this program by the learners and stakeholders clearly indicated that they felt authentically 'connected' with the characters in the stories and developed insights that suggested effective learning had occurred.

This paper reports on the design and development of an innovative online learning program for clinical educators in Australia. The design was based on a story telling framework to engage learners. Each story had links to relevant multi-media resources to support and enhance skill development. The program featured some didactic resources; however there was a heavy emphasis on reflective activities. The program home page was developed as a series of attractive 'postcards from practice'. The program design which used a learner focused eclectic storytelling framework is potentially adaptable to other learner groups.

It is well acknowledged that students work and learn in different ways and at different paces. One of the oft-cited distinctions is that between on-campus and off-campus students, another is that between school-leavers and full-time workers. Generally, school-leavers and on-campus students are accustomed to a more structured study environment where they can easily follow a step-by-step process, whilst full-time workers and off-campus students tend to have more ongoing and competing demands for information and assistance. A third distinction, well recognised by lecturers yet scarcely discussed in the academic literature, is that between the so-called 'spurts' and 'drips'. 'Spurts' refer to students who typically study in intensive blocks. They may build up a workload through a number of weeks and then set aside an entire weekend to undertake their academic work. They are typically off-campus full-time workers who find it difficult to arrange time throughout the week to get this work done. 'Drips', on the other hand, undertake small parcels of work at short intervals on a week-by-week basis. They represent more of a mix of on-campus and off-campus students, and a closer balance of school-leavers and full-time workers. Together, and in combination with other distinctions, the diverse study preferences of these groups can present difficulties for lecturers attempting to develop distance education based curriculum.

This paper explores the developmental stages and phases of a new blended learning social work course at a rural Australian university. The background to the development of the discipline will be presented, with an exploration of the challenges and outcomes of designing an interactive online environment for a single cohort of on-campus and distance students. Themes explored cover engaging students, motivation, acculturation and facilitation. The paper concludes with the presentation of data from wave one of a longitudinal survey to ensure student expectations are being met, while at the same time providing an accredited programme of study.