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<\/a>The DCAD offices in the newly opened Woolstores campus in Geelong, 1997<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n To ensure it was positioned to take full advantage of the rapidly improving computer mediated communication that would develop as the AARNet expanded, in 1994 Deakin University established the Deakin Centre for Academic Development <\/strong>(DCAD). DCAD launched to provide services which supported, enriched and extended the University\u2019s core academic activities in teaching, learning and research. It worked closely with Information Technology Services and the Course Development Centre to develop and deliver new and more user- friendly computer-mediated learning programs. It was partly guided by reports like the 1994 Use of Technology by Deakin Students <\/em>report, prepared by the Course Delivery Advisory Sub- Committee. That report was based on two student surveys delivered in 1992\/93. The surveys sought to understand how many students owned or had access to technologies that enhanced both on-campus and off-campus studies.<\/p>\n Pg. 27. Survey Report: Use of Technology by Deakin Students, August 1994<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n The report provides a valuable snapshot of the computer-based<\/a> student learning experience at the time. One of the report\u2019s \ufb01ndings was that most students surveyed (79.2%) indicated they had no access to a modem. (Sidenote: 95.8% of students had an audio cassette player!) For the fortunate few who did have access to a modem, the most common speed was 2400bps. A black and white text-only 80-page PDF \ufb01le (the average length of a unit guide) is around 3000KB = 3,000,000 bytes. At 2400bps, that\u2019s going to take a little over 20 minutes to transfer.<\/p>\n In 1990 Deakin University joined the information \u201csuperhighway\u201d through an AARNet supplied Cisco 7206 router.<\/p>\n Practical outcomes began to appear in 1991, when Deakin released a text-based interface to provide menu access to various applications and electronic services to support teaching and learning in the Master of Distance Education program. Known as TEAS (Tutorial and Electronic Access System), it provided dial-in and network access to electronic mail, bulletin boards, the Deakin Library catalogue, and to an online book-ordering service. TEAS was a text-based system housed on a central Unix computer and accessed via terminal emulation software. Because of the inherent user-unfriendliness of these early mail and bulletin board systems, and the occasional unreliability of network connections, few disciplinary areas made its use compulsory.<\/p>\n The off-campus guide for 1991 outlines the sorts of technical hurdles students were faced with:<\/p>\n Pg. 111. 1991 Deakin University Off-Campus Guide. Equipment\/Costs. Graduate Diploma of Computing<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n The Information Technology Strategic Plan for Learning & Teaching \u2013 Future Directions for Flexible Learning-Teaching and Information Technology at Deakin <\/em>was prepared by DCAD in May 1996 and is a call to arms. It urges Deakin to prepare for the possibility that, by the year 2000, most Deakin students will need to have ready access to computing equipment and software to study.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>