“They Like Things That Move”: Exploring Student Preferences for Presentation of Online Textbook Resources in Religious Education in Australian Catholic schools

Abstract

This paper examines student perceptions on use and delivery of online resources in religious education. It examines student responses to one series of religious education resources widely used in Australian Catholic Schools. Data was collected using school based religious education leaders to ask students about their opinions and preferences on delivery of online material. Major findings include: the need to present text in small manageable sections that clearly identified key concepts; the desirability of interactive and engaging presentations of material; utilizing images and narratives as a way of presenting complex information; the need to make decisions about the amount of material to be presented as text. These results were discussed within a conceptual framework of seeing effective online resources as contributing to reducing cognitive load for students in religious education.