educational technology outreach distance learning: a university perspective 2001 maryland technology...

Educational Technology OutreachEducational Technology OutreachDistance Learning: A University Distance Learning: A University

PerspectivePerspective

2001 Maryland Technology Showcase2001 Maryland Technology Showcase

Davina Pruitt-MentleDavina Pruitt-MentleDecember 6, 2001

College of Education

December 6, 2001 2001 Maryland Technology Showcase Distance LearningDPM 2

Introduction: Online LearningIntroduction: Online Learning

• The explosion of the Internet and the expansion of business practices on the web have brought an educational equivalent to the online store: the on-line school

• Educators have questioned the effectiveness of these programs

• The on-line model is especially useful for the workers who seek to get additional training and must fit the course in around their normal workday


The MarketThe Market

• The e-learning market (includes Internet and Intranet courses)– $4 billion in 1998

– Estimated to be $15 billion in 2002

• For-profit companies compete against traditional educational institutions

• Forcing new marketing strategies on Universities


Online Distance LearningOnline Distance Learning

has been defined as:

... an educational philosophy for designing interactive, responsive, and valid information and learning opportunities to be delivered to learners at a time, place, and in appropriate forms convenient to the learners.

(Boettcher, 1999) from http://wwww.csus.edu/pedtech/Nuggets.html


Why Online?Why Online?

• Can learn at your own pace

• Travel constraints– School distant from home/work

– Satellite schools can offer access at a variety of locations

• Flexible Scheduling– More non-traditional students (work, family)

• Lowers indirect educational costs– Travel

– Babysitter

• Enables educational opportunities for students not otherwise able to attend


Why Students Take CoursesWhy Students Take Courses

• Career Advancement• Requirements• Convenience/Flexibility• Fits schedule

– Student might not want to take the class, but it fits their schedule and requirement


Result of Market ForcesResult of Market Forces

• Continuous need for education and training– Quickly

– Economically

– On-going

• Digital Diploma Mill• Course quality is not a focus – money is the focus


Higher Education AttitudesHigher Education Attitudes

University System of Georgia, Chancellor Stephen Portch (1998)

“My favorite quotation about a liberal arts education is it’s what’s left after you’ve forgotten everything you’ve been taught. It is habits of the mind”


What Do the Experts Say?What Do the Experts Say?

• Reeves (1998) .... “the WWW does not guarantee learning any more than the presence of a library on campus guarantees learning.”

• Phipps & Merisotis (1999) contend that “it seems clear that technology cannot replace the human factor in higher education.”


Moving OnlineMoving Online

• Wholesale conversion of a college lecture course for web delivery – Formidable task

– Does not “successfully” support direct conversion

– A “great” lecturer• Does not necessarily have the skills to move their course on-line

• Cannot translate their intangible teaching skills to the online environment

• Does not wish to add a new task to their responsibilities

To generate an effective online course in the time and resource constraints of higher education necessitates a quantum change in teaching and learning philosophy, if only for reasons of efficiency


RestrictionsRestrictions

• Internet bandwidth restrictions– Teacher

– Student

• Access problems– Students access from work (firewalls)

• Application Incompatibilities– Browsers

– Office tools

– Additional Software (i.e. statistics, web development)


What Does Online Lose?What Does Online Lose?

• Most online courses do not measure up to the constructivist theories that are proposed– More of an online textbook

• No variety of educational method– Teachers vary style throughout a lecture to reach all students

– One type of student may thrive. Is this the style of worker we want?

• Not all courses can be converted to online format – faculty are quick to note that online learning lacks eye contact,

body language, voice inflection, a measure of interactivity, and adaptability to student feedback ....a majority of communication is non verbal


On-line Categories On-line Categories

Barron (1998) described 4 categories of Internet-delivered instruction

1. Email correspondence courses

2. Web enhanced (web pages and links)

3. Web managed instruction through a structured (Internet tools WebCT etc)

4. Web delivered through Internet with Internet tool

Harmon and Jones (1999) described 5 educational levels of web instruction

1. Informational web

2. Supplemental web use provides some course content

3. Essential web use (has to use the web to “succeed” in course)

4. Communal (hybrid) F2F and online

5. Immersive


Challenge of Higher EducationChallenge of Higher Education

• Cannot sacrifice quality of education to move online

• Compete against companies driven by profit, not quality

• Faculty lack technical sophistication, time, and finances

• Fight inertia

The normative goal of using the Web and group communications for educational delivery should be to completely eliminate the need for any distinction, organizationally or functionally, between distance students and on-campus students.(WebNet Journal – Jan-March 1999)

Is this possible?


Strengths of Higher EducationStrengths of Higher Education

• Faculty – Are truly the knowledge experts

• Access to research– Know how to measure whether courses are effective

• Can stay abreast of new technologies via students

• Follow best practices but can innovate– Companies may be forced to have all courses fit a mold

• Draw on experts in educational design

• Can still be driven by quality– Will this be recognized by the marketplace?


Education vs. TrainingEducation vs. Training

• Universities maintain there is a difference• University instills more than a transient body of

knowledge– A way of thinking

– A way of problem solving

– A way of learning

• Includes “other” intangibles – Advising

– Networking

– Socialization


What is the College of Education Doing?What is the College of Education Doing?

• Faculty recognizing that the market is changing

• Moving more courses online – Supported by on-line

– Hybrids

– Choose between F2F and on-line

• Web supported– WebCT is University supported platform

– IT support personnel in place

– Educational design expertise available

• Outreach Programs being delivered for professionals in the field.


Example: Educational Technology Example: Educational Technology Outreach Mode of DeliveryOutreach Mode of Delivery

• Face to Face (F2F)• F2F with Web enhancement• Distance learning labs• On-line

– synchronous

– asynchronous

*Many courses supported by County Technology Specialists*


Cohort ModelCohort Model

• Group of teachers move through a string of six courses over a year

• Start face-to-face

• Move to Web-enhanced

• Evolve to completely online

Teachers have the chance to apply course content in their classroom, discuss successes and failures with their peers and instructors, and form networks for the future


Faculty PartnershipsFaculty Partnerships

• Relationships developing across departmental (and college) lines

• Expertise of College of Education staff is being leveraged to design courses for a variety of subjects

• University is uniting behind an online initiative– Only want to design the wheel once (or twice)

• University refuses to sacrifice quality– If we are going to do it, do it right

• Online must be built on our strengths, not designed from scratch


ConclusionConclusion

• Individual students should have the choice of the mix of media they wish to use for an individual class

• Facilitating and instruction critical for a course, not only the course content

• Successful online teaching can be as personnel intensive (if not more so) than face-to-face, but allows more access by a variety of nontraditional students


Educational Technology OutreachEducational Technology Outreach

Contact:

Davina Pruitt-Mentle

(301) 405-8202

[email protected]

educational technology outreach distance learning: a university perspective 2001 maryland technology...

Documents