The Future of Distance Education

From its roots in correspondence study to its growth and development in the open universities of Europe, distance education has evolved and is impacting American organizations in the most fundamental ways (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, and Zvacek, 2009).  Naysayers denigrate it as disruptive and inefficient, but repeatedly studies have shown that there is no significant difference in outcomes between distance education programs and those conducted on-the- ground (Siemens, 2010; Russell, 1999).   Still others incite fear by labeling online programs as diploma mills (Noble, 2002).  Of course, accreditation should be a factor in the decision to attend any program, whether traditional or online.   Moreover, when investigating, it’s important to note that regional accreditation is the most stringent (Siemens et al., 2009).   Look for university programs that have both regional and national accreditation.   

For universities,  distance education programs serve as a means to expand the student population so that it includes non-traditional students.  For corporations and government, it serves as a bridge for dispersed employee populations to learn collectively and with consistency across physical boundaries.   More importantly, corporations  are motivated by return on investment.  Distance learning is often less expensive to produce, record, and store for future use (Simonson et al., 2009).    

Between the years 2000 and 2008, the number of undergraduate students enrolled in distance education rose from  8% to 20% of the total student population.  In all 4.3 million students were enrolled in at least one online course (U.S. Department of Education, 2011).   This number does not include graduate students enrolled in online degree programs.  A national study of all degree granting universities found that as  of the 2006-2007 academic year,  the total number of students enrolled in distance education courses was 12.2 million(Basmat & Lewis, 2009).  As referenced earlier, the proliferation of distance education extends beyond academia to business and government.    Instructor-led classroom training is still the primary delivery method for corporate training, but virtual classrooms and computer-based methods account for roughly  40%  of training in businesses (Training Magazine, 2010).   

George Siemens (2010) attributes the growing acceptance of distance education to several factors:

·         An increase in online communication

·         Practical experience with new tools

·         Growing comfort with online discourse

·         The ability to communicate with diverse and global groups

·         Lack of geographic constraints

Further, Siemens projects that distance education is tending toward a  “triple helix” model of education where government, businesses, and educational institutions interact to provide support and equip students working in online environments (Siemens, 2010).   

There is no doubt that distance education is more widely accepted and pursued now than in the past.  Based on previous patterns – 12% growth in distance education enrollment at the undergraduate level in this decade alone – it’s safe to expect the same kind of growth going forward.   At this rate, one third of all college students would be enrolled in online courses by the year 2016.  I’m not suggesting that distance learning will replace traditional environments, but universities agree that their facilities cannot accommodate growing demand as the number of high school graduates seeking secondary education increases.  Further, there is a need for more continuing education in the adult population (Howell, Williams, & Lindsy, 2003).    As we become more familiar with online communication in our personal and work lives, learning on line will become less austere and more of a given in our pursuits to increase our knowledge base.

Negative perceptions of distance education are largely due to unfamiliarity with the learning format. Those who might consider a distance education program wonder how they will communicate with their peers and with the professors.   How does feedback happen?  Does face-to-face communication ever happen, and how would that be coordinated?  What about testing?  How does the institution know that the student is not cheating?  Rest assured, today’s course management systems provide for robust communication in both asynchronous (threaded) and synchronous (real-time) formats.   Discussions, small group projects, presentations, and reviews from both instructors and classmates are all possible with the appropriate use of technology.  Some of this technology includes discussion board forums, chat rooms, document sharing, mind mapping, wikis, blogs, etc.  Additionally, browser lock down programs and question databases support secured testing environments. 

As practitioners of education, it’s incumbent upon us to remain grounded in proven practice.  Whether online or face-to-face,  people attend to, process, store, and transfer information the same way they always have.   In short, technology cannot drive instructional design simply because it is available.  Equivalency theorists posit  that the use of electronic communication creates a virtual classroom that is similar to the traditional one, and that distance learning outcomes should be equivalent, not identical to its local counterparts (Simonson et al., 2009).   Recognizing the unique features of distance learning environment – separation of instructor, student, and peers in space and time – educators should seek to diminish the negative effects of distance while maintaining integrity in the course design.   For instance, instructional designers should always start with learning objectives.  Assessments and strategies derived from these objectives should be rooted in proven practice. As an example, Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy ( Churches, 2008)is an excellent guide for drafting learning objectives.  Technology supports instructional strategies and should be used to delivered content in a manner that actively engages the student (Simonson et al., 2009; Durrington et al., 2006; Dede, 2005).   Active engagement is especially important because passive learning is not an option in online or other distant learning environments.  In fact, activity is the heart of any good instructional design (Piskurich, n.d.).

 

The distance education initiative is advanced with a commitment to foster greater understanding of methods and means with the general public.  In daily conversation, this means correcting misconceptions as well as proactively sharing the benefits of distance learning.  Best practices evolve with greater experience, so what we consider optimal today may be obsolete tomorrow.  As such, we have an imperative to continuous improvement and ongoing contribution to a broader community of practice.  Hands-on applications in this regard might be as simple as participating in an online forum for distance education professionals.  More formal participation might involve undertaking and publishing research.  Whatever the contribution, we all have a responsibility to practice and proclaim with the goal of improving learning for all students involved in distance education. 

References

Basmat, P. & Lewis, L. (2009)   Distance Education at Degree-Granting Postsecondary

Institutions: 2006–07. National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2009/2009044.pdf

Churches, A. (2008). Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy. Retrieved October 7, 2011 from: http://montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/departments/techtraining/homepage/BloomDigitalTaxonomy2001.pdf

Dede, C. (2005). Planning for neomillennial learning styles. Educause Quarterly, 28(2), 7–12.

Durrington, V., Berryhill, A., & Swafford, J. (2006). Strategies for enhancing student interactivity in an online environment. College Teaching, 54(1), 190–193. Retrieved from http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/433631/strategies_for_enhancing_student_interactivity_in_an_online_environment/

Howell, S., Williams, P., & Lindsy, N. (2003). Thirty-two trends affecting distance education: An informed foundation for strategic planning. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 6 (3) Retrieved from http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/fall63/howell63.html

Noble, D. (2002). Digital diploma mills: The automation of higher education. New York, NY: Monthly Review Press

Piskurich, G. (n.d.). Planning and designing online courses. Retrieved October 5, 2011 from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5693697&Survey=1&47=7555398&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=1&bhcp=1

Russell (1999). No significant difference phenomenon. Raleigh, NC: North Carolina State University.

Siemens, G. (2010). The future of distance education. Lecture presented for Laureate Education Inc. Retrieved from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5693697&Survey=1&47=7098459&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=1&bhcp=1

Training Magazine (2010).  Training Industry Report.  Retrieved from http://www.cedma-europe.org/newsletter%20articles/Training%20Magazine/2010%20Training%20Industry%20Report%20(Nov%2010).pdf2

U.S. Department of Education,National Center for Education Statistics. (2011).The Condition of Education 2011(NCES 2011-033), Indicator 43. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=80

Best Practices: Converting to a Distance Learning Format

For the most seasoned trainers, making the move from a face-to-face learning environment to an online format can be a daunting.   More frequently, these days, corporate trainers, secondary, and K-12 educators are faced with a need to incorporate web-based instruction into their courses.  In many cases, the demand is for conversion of existing courses to complete and effective online solutions.  Fortunately, the body of information from both practitioners and researchers is growing.  With a little guidance, the transition doesn’t have to be disruptive.   Click here for a summary of the best advice from e-learning experts.  

The Open Course Option

     Continuing education doesn’t have to break the bank if you don’t need a degree!  In 2002, MIT offered its first open courses free of charge, but not for credit.  Since then several universities have joined the initiative to extend the community of learners on a not-for-credit, not-for-profit basis.   The benefit for the institution is increased visibility as a community servant and the provision of a gateway to higher enrollments in paid courses.  For those of us who really like to learn, the benefits of open courseware are immeasurable. While the courses may be free, they should still reflect the quality expected in paid distance learning programs, especially when it comes to pre-planning and design. 

     Planning for successful learning requires a significant investment of time in any environment.  Whether the arrangement is face-to-face or distant, an instructor needs to plan the events of an instructional period.  In traditional situations, the instructor has the benefit of being able to adapt and respond based on non-verbal cues from the learning group.   With many forms of asynchronous distance learning, this immediate feedback is not possible, so planning becomes even more critical.  Further, considerations like technology and materials distribution need to be addressed well in advance of the course start date.  Among others, Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, and Zvacek (2009) offer the following recommendations for designing and planning distance learning:

·         Avoid “dumping” a face-to-face course onto the web

·         Think about course outcomes, and create course activities that activate higher   order thinking skills

·         Organize the course and make the requirements clear by repeating them throughout.  

·         Detailed assignment instructions (rubrics) are imperative. 

·         Give examples of acceptable and unacceptable work

·         Define due dates, point values, grade weighting

·         Provide instructions for submitting assignments

·         Keep students informed.  Constant feedback is essential

·         Assess students at the analysis, synthesis, and evaluation levels

·         Use questions pools and randomization with objective tests to minimize cheating

·         Apply adult learning principles: relevance, options for customization, building on personal and professional experience, etc.

·         Make sure materials arrive on time.

·         Always have a back-up plan for technology failures

     I explored several open course ware classes this week and found one of particular interest that clearly exemplifies distance instructional design principles:       

CAPP 30523 - Applied Multimedia Technology (Clark, 2008)

http://ocw.nd.edu/computer-applications/applied-multimedia-technology

     The Applied Multimedia course is available in the Notre Dame Open Course Ware Collection.   The course is set-up for students to complete the class in 75 minute sessions twice weekly.   It has 6 projects including a blog, a website review, image portfolio,  movie screensaver, podcast, and exploration in a virtual world.   The blog runs concurrently with the other projects and is used to showcase work as it is completed.   Students have the option to work on projects in whichever order they deem necessary, but the instructor suggests an order.  One of the principles of adult learning is to allow for student choice and participation in planning (Conlan, Grabowski, & Smith, 2003).  The choice to select the order of project completion demonstrates respect for student’s prior learning, interest, and need for relevant information in a timely manner.   It’s also an example of hypercontent- designed instruction.  With this type of design, the instructional designer provides units, modules, and topics, but the student determines sequencing (Simonson et al., 2009) 

Undoubtedly, the instructional designer for the Multimedia course has avoided the tendency to “dump” information from a face-to-face course. 

     The most compelling evidence that the course is designed for self-paced online learners is the course calendar.   As opposed to due dates, the calendar gives an alignment for activities and the number of hours that should be spent on each one.   To absorb the content and complete the application projects, the  student would expect to spend roughly 26 hours.   On another link from the navigation bar, the course content is organized into sessions which equate to roughly one hour a piece.  Content outlined here includes readings and assignments.   For convenience, readings are listed on a separate tab by session.  This is an excellent example of good organization and clearly stated expectations with redundancy.  Additionally, the course syllabus concisely outlines learning goals, assignments, exams, and grading policies.   A reasonably priced textbook is identified, and projects are listed in a table including an overview, learning objectives, and rubrics for each one.   

     Finally, purposeful planning for online instruction is evident in the listing of minimum technology requirements in the syllabus.   George Piskurich, an instructional design guru, cautions that access to technology is something not to be taken for granted (Piskurich, n.d).   In this case, minimum technology requirements are specified including hardware, software, and online accounts.    

     Online instruction should employ interaction to compel the learner to active participation.   Moreover,  learners have to engage in active procession of information in order for it to become meaningful (Mayer, 2007).   Simonson et al. (2009) concur with their recommendation to think about course outcomes, and create course activities that activate higher order thinking skills.  Notre Dame’s  Multimedia course has an obvious emphasis on applying knowledge beyond simple comprehension and understanding.  The content throughout the course focuses on the application of the four dimensions of multimedia:

·         Functionality

·         Aesthetics

·         Content

·         Usability

     The course has a page dedicated to each dimension and includes online articles for each topic.   Tests include essays which usually require some level of evaluation and synthesis. 

     I’ve already taken a multimedia course at Walden University and found it to have more depth than the Notre Dame free course; however, projects provide opportunities to expand your skills or keep them fresh.   If I had more time, I would take the Notre Dame course.   The class offers an opportunity to join a study group, but does not offer access to the professor.  For the purpose of gaining multimedia skills in Adobe Flash, Photoshop, movie making, and Second Life, the course is a viable option.  Aside from having very minimal feedback from the instructor, the only drawback would be the fact that time and energy would be invested without receiving college credit.  

References

Clark, G.C. (2008). Applied Multimedia Technology. University of Notre Dame Open Courseware. Retrieved from http://ocw.nd.edu/computer-applications/applied-multimedia-technology

Conlan, J., Grabowski, S., Smith, K. (2003). Adult learning. In M. Ored (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology.  Retrieved from  http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Adult_Learning#Andragogy

Mayer, R. E. (2007). Five features of effective multimedia messages: An evidence-based

             approach. In Fiore, S. M., & Salas, E. (Eds.), Toward a science of distributed learning. 171- 184

Piskurich, G. (n.d.). Planning and designing online courses. Retrieved October 5, 2011 from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5693697&Survey=1&47=7555398&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=1&bhcp=1

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2009). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (4th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.