challenging our assumptions about online learning: a vision for the next generation of online higher...
DESCRIPTION
Keynote delivered at Distance Learning Administration Conference, 2009. Saint Simon's Island, Georgia, June 21-24.TRANSCRIPT
DISTANCE LEARNING ADMINISTRATION 2009
MARIA PUZZIFERRO, CSU GLOBAL CAMPUS
KAYE SHELTON, DALLAS BAPTIST UNIVERSITY
THIS PRESENTATION IS AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD ON SLIDESHARE.NET
CHALLENGING OUR ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT ONLINE LEARNING: A VISION
FOR THE NEXT GENERATION OF ONLINE HIGHER EDUCATION
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 APPLY
TO 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 TRANSFORM THE 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
Quality
Quality is indicated in the process
Endeavors that take a long time, go through a difficult process, with multiple gatekeepers
equals a high-quality product
Quality is indicated by the outcome
A high quality product is a high-quality product,
despite the process
Traditional Higher Education
Next Generation Higher Education
Shift in Higher Education Values
The Nature of “Learnin
g”
“Contact hours”
Learning is structured into sequenced, discrete “courses” which are the
property of the university
Learning is something that is done to students
“Learning hours”
Learning is a structured, but
synergistic connection between disciplines
and knowledge domains, which
generate ideas with individual ownership
Learning is something that students
experience
Traditional Higher Education
Next Generation Higher Education
Shift in Higher Education Values
Role of Faculty
Faculty vs. administrators
Faculty personal and professional satisfaction
and tenure systems form the collective
heart of the university
Faculty as part of the organization
The personal and professional
satisfaction of faculty, students,
staff, and community stakeholders form
the collective heart of the university
Traditional Higher Education
Next Generation Higher Education
Shift in Higher Education Values
Role of Students
Students as consumers and products
Students are a homogenous group that can be served
with the same class formats, instructors, and
support services
Students as customers and key stakeholders
Students are a highly diverse group that need more personalization of
and within class formats, instructor styles, and
support services
Traditional Higher Education
Next Generation Higher Education
Shift in Higher Education Values
Role of Institution
Institution of higher learning
Traditions provide the organizational
foundation
Organization of higher learning
Change and innovation provide the organizational
foundation
Traditional Higher Education
Next Generation Higher Education
Shift in Higher Education Values
Nature of Authority
Authority is established by position and title
Influence, impact and inspiration replace authority and are established by an
individual’s actions and ability to inspire others for the greater good of
the organization
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!
ShazamSpaceTime for IphoneSlideshareMobile FotosGeocaching Flat World Knowledge
ZoteroSmARThistoryTrueKnowledgeSemantiFindTikitag
TECHNOLOGY and THE FUTURE:KEY TRENDS
Globalization and the connection of learnersCollective intelligence with multiple answers,
grassroots intelligence and learners controlling their learning environments
Games as social interaction, civic engagement and engaged learning
Visualization literacy and toolsMobile devices
(The Horizon Report, 2009)
TECHNOLOGY and THE FUTURE:KEY TECHNOLOGIES
MobilesCloud ComputingGeo-everythingThe Personal WebSemantic-Aware ApplicationsSmart Objects
(The Horizon Report, 2009)
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 notStudents 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
(The Horizon Report, 2009)
MAR I A PU ZZI FER R ODEAN, ACADEMI C AF FAI R S
CSU GLOBAL CAM PU SMAR I A .PU ZZI FER R O@CSU GLOBAL .OR G
KAYE SHELTONDEAN, ON LI N E EDU CATI ON
DALLAS BAPTI ST U N I VER SI [email protected]
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