Challenging Our Assumptions About Online Learning: A Vision for the Next Generation of Online Higher Education

CHALLENGING OUR ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT ONLINE LEARNING: A VISION FOR THE NEXT GENERATION OF ONLINE HIGHER EDUCATION
Distance Learning Administration 2009
Maria Puzziferro, CSU Global Campus
Kaye Shelton, Dallas Baptist University
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ONLINE LEARNING
We have just completed the first generation of online learning…
What’s in store for the next generation?

GUIDING QUESTIONS
Are our online learning environments really student-centered and interactive?
Which theories really apply to online learning and are they accurate?
Do we understand what quality is, and do our policies and practices support quality?

GUIDING QUESTIONS
What is the real role of faculty in the online learning environment?
Is there such a thing as a profile of the ideal online student?
Will online learning transform the academy?

Online learning is “student-centered,” and students are in control of their own learning
ASSUMPTION 1

TOP CONCERNS OF ACADEMIC LEADERS
Lack of control over student learning (foundational, content knowledge)
Concerns regarding students cheating
Distracted students
A lack of faith in student ability to learn independently
(Sloan-C, 2007; New Media Consortium, 2008)

STUDENT CENTERED? WHO’S REALLY IN CONTROL?
Is our course design for learner control?
Learning Management Systems
No learner control
Standard assessments and discussion activities

Online learning is interactive, collaborative, and engaging
ASSUMPTION 2

WHAT IS INTERACTION?
Interaction is defined as:
Number of discussion postings
Group projects
Number of contacts
“Engagement” vs. “Interaction” vs. “Participation”
How do we define and measure engagement?

TOWARD A NEW DEFINTION OF INERACTION
Do our students log into their Facebook page more or less often than their online course?
Do students have more interaction within Facebook, or within their online course?
“Authentic interaction”
Spontaneous
Situational
Physical
Qualitatively measured

One learning approach fits all
ASSUMPTION 3

BASIC APPROACH TO ONLINE COURSE DESIGN
Courses as discrete, narrow, sequenced, linear collection of units
Compartmentalization of faculty and disciplines
Constructivism
Learning is an active (rather than passive) process of creating knowledge.
Instruction is the process of supporting and facilitating knowledge construction.

CONNECTIVISM?
Learning and knowledge are best attained by exposure to numerous and diverse opinions
Learning is a process of connecting nodes of information from multiple sources
The ability to see connections between fields, ideas, and concepts is a core skill
Currency of knowledge is the goal of learning activities
Decision making itself is a learning process…decisions may be altered and/or new decisions made
(Siemans, 2004)

WHERE DO WE START?
Universities begin to “let go” of their content and not see it as a proprietary product
Stop “shutting off access” to previously completed online courses
Find ways to utilize technology to enable students to save content that they may want to use again
Creating more collaboration and connection between discrete courses in degree programs and faculty teaching those courses

Standardized course shells control quality
ASSUMPTION 4

STANDARDIZED COURSE SHELLS
Is it similar to Marx’ Theory of Alienation?
McDonald’s approach or routinization
Is there a better way?

Comparing f-2-f and online courses Should determine the effectiveness of online learning
ASSUMPTION 5

NO SIGNIFICANCT DIFFERENCE
Is classroom superior?
44% of respondents surveyed on how to assess quality responded that a comparison of f-2-f and online student outcomes is necessary (Kim & Bonk, 2006)
Classroom Benchmarks
Interaction = measured by discussion/participation
Critical thinking = measured by case studies, papers, and reflective essays
Comprehension of content = measured by online quizzes and exams
Synthesis = measured by research papers

POSSIBLE NEW BENCHMARKS
Student ability to spontaneously and intuitively apply course material in real-contexts
Interaction that is motivated by interest, rather than quantitative participation requirements
Interaction beyond the discussion board and beyond the course

POSSIBLE NEW BENCHMARKS
Collaboration that is individually-driven and comfortable; rather than forced groupwork with assigned groups that hasn’t worked in the f-2-f classroom, and is even worse in the online classroom
More emphasis on student-created content, and less on static, instructor-developed, or “canned” content
Student ability to make connections between disciplines and knowledge domains

Online instructors should be the “guide on the side” not the “sage on the stage”
ASSUMPTION 6

INSTRUCTOR ROLE
One of the most significant complaints of students in the online environment is not receiving enough direction from the instructor, a lack of responsiveness of the instructor, and a lack of feedback
When teaching presence is high, students are more successful, feel more connected, and learning outcomes are improved
(Shea, Li and Pickett, 2006)

FACULTY DEVELOPMENT
There is no single role of the instructor
Cultivate an environment of shared and collaborative decision making
Focus on developing faculty, not training faculty
Develop faculty skill and ability to know when to be a leader, a guide, an authority, a scholar, a manager, and an advisor

Faculty workload issues do not applyto adjuncts
ASSUMPTION 7

WORKLOAD OR OVERLOAD?
Consider a typical 25-student class with a weekly student workload of two short papers, and discussion participation with a minimum of 2 posts per week per student. This translates a single week of work into 50 papers, a minimum of 50 discussion postings to read and respond to at least half of them, and 25 discussion postings to grade!

FACULTY WORKLOAD
How do online adjunct faculty manage the workload; many of whom are “professional adjuncts” teaching as many as 10 courses concurrently?
Do faculty cut corners?
If we know it takes more time, then why do we continue to raise class size?

WHAT TO DO?
Review workload and faculty issues as institutional issues, not just faculty performance issues
Do more to understand the impact of workload issues on adjunct faculty, their professional lives, and their instructional practices
Do online courses contain “busywork” for students, which translates to “busywork” for faculty?
Are our teaching expectations reasonable, and accomplish the learning goals we intend?

There is a typical “profile” of the online learner
ASSUMPTION 8

IS THIS FOR REAL?

TODAY’S ONLINE LEARNERS
73 percent of all undergraduate students are nontraditional students
39 percent of all undergraduate students are 25 years or older
(NCES, 2000)

TYPICAL ASSUMPTIONS
Delayed entrance or later return to higher education
Attends school part time and works full time
Is considered financially independent
Has dependents other than self
Is a single parent
Has a GED

NO HOMOGENOUS PROFILE
Don’t allow marketing materials to influence our assumptions…students are not stress free
How do we meet diverse educational needs?
Diversity should be leveraged

Those who oppose, doubt, or resist online learning are afraid of technology
ASSUMPTION 9

THOSE WHO DO AND DON’T
Resistor conversion necessary?
It’s not about technology but learning
Still about learning which can promote unity, shared visions, and shared goals

Online learning will transformthe traditional academy
ASSUMPTION 10

CAN IT CAUSE TRANSFORMATION?
The online education revolution represents the changing landscape of the global economy and the impact on higher education
New values for new learners are necessary
New definitions are emerging of education, quality, access, learning, and relationships
Can higher education adapt…?

OR IS IT TOO LATE FOR PUBLIC HIGHER EDUCATION?
Online education is still not mission-critical at many public higher education institutions
Private, for-profit schools continue to experience the highest percentage of growth among nontraditional students
University of Phoenix was reported to enroll more students than any other university in America
US News and World Report (2009) reported that the largest Business program in the U.S. is offered by the University of Phoenix.
Top 5 Largest: Walden University, University of Phoenix, National University, Nova Southeastern University and Capella University

Shift in Higher Education Values
Traditional Higher Education
Next Generation Higher Education

How can we make online learning more student centered?
Is this the end of the “learning management system” and the rise of the “personalized learning environment?”
What new assessment measures are needed to assess engagement, interaction, self-directed learning, and learner control?

What new theories of learning are needed to propel us to the next generation of online learning?
Have we boxed the definition of quality into only the things we can measure?
Is there no significant difference between f-2-f and online learning because there is no significant difference?

How can we best support faculty in moving toward a less defined and more dynamic role in the online classroom?
What is the future of online learning for traditional higher education?
Should traditional universities just step aside and leave it to the for-profits to step in and serve nontraditional students?

WILL TECHNOLOGY PUSH US THERE?
Pew Foundation (2008) predicts that by the year 2020, most people across the world will be using a mobile device as their PRIMARY means to connect to the Internet
The potential for education is largely untapped!

TECHNOLOGY and THE FUTURE:KEY TRENDS
Globalization and the connection of learners
Collective intelligence with multiple answers, grassroots intelligence and learners controlling their learning environments
Games as social interaction, civic engagement and engaged learning
Visualization literacy and tools
Mobile devices
(The Horizon Report, 2009)

TECHNOLOGY and THE FUTURE:KEY TECHNOLOGIES
Mobiles
Cloud Computing
Geo-everything
The Personal Web
Semantic-Aware Applications
Smart Objects

TECHNOLOGY and THE FUTURE: CRITICAL CHALLENGES
Growing need for formal instruction in visual literacy, information literacy, and technological literacy
Students are different, but educational materials are not
Students who are living and learning with technologies that generate dynamic content may find the current formalism and structure of the academy “dead”
Current assessment systems are not equipped to measure learning that occurs in real-time, authentic ways
Higher education is obligated to reach its constituents in new and compelling ways

Maria PUZZIFERRO
Dean, ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
CSU Global Campus
Maria.puzziferro@csuglobal.org
Kaye Shelton
Dean, online education
Dallas Baptist University
kaye@dbu.edu
Questions…

RESOURCES
Allen, E., and Seaman J. (2007). Online Nation: Five Years of Growth in Online Learning. Available online: http://www.sloan-c.org/publications/survey/pdf/online_nation.pdf
Findings from the Condition of Education 2002: Nontraditional Undergraduates. (2002). http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2002012
Horizon Report. (2009). http://www.nmc.org/pdf/2009-Horizon-Report.pdf
Kim, K., and Bonk, C. (2006). The Future of Online Teaching and Learning in Higher Education: The Survey Says. Educause Quarterly, Vol. 29, No. 4, pp. 22–30.
New Media Consortium Report. (2008). http://www.nmc.org/pdf/Future-of-Higher-Ed-(NMC).pdf
Shea, P., Li, C.S., and Pickett, A. (2006). A study of teaching presence and student sense of learning community in fully online and web-enhanced college courses. The Internet and Higher Education, 9(3), 175-190.
Siemens, George (2004). Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age. Retrieved February 14, 2008 from http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm

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Challenging Our Assumptions About Online Learning: A Vision for the Next Generation of Online Higher Education

by Maria Puzziferro on Jun 24, 2009

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Challenging Our Assumptions About Online Learning: A Vision for the Next Generation of Online Higher Education — Presentation Transcript