How Distance Programs will Affect Students, Courses, Faculty and Institutional Futures

Abstract

Designed properly, distance education classes can be at least as effective and, in some ways, even more effective than face-to-face courses. The tools and technologies used for distance education courses facilitate learning opportunities not possible in the face-to-face classroom. Distance programs are accelerating changes that are challenging students, faculty, and the university, itself. Currently, most faculty are rewarded for the quality of instruction, as well as their external funding and their research. Often, university administrators focus more attention on the efficiency of teaching than on its effectiveness. In the future, as the quality of distance learning increases, the primary factor for success will be the faculty’s commitment to excellence in teaching. Many institutions will be forced to reevaluate the quality of teaching as the institution becomes more visible to the public, to legislators who support higher education, and to prospective students.

The Primacy of Philosophy for Effective Learning

“…Some researchers and practitioners argue that understanding how online platforms work will enable teachers to better convey their educational philosophies, targeting their efforts to create effective online curriculum and learning relationships (Turoff, Discenza and Howard 2004;Ghaoui 2004;Palloff and Pratt 2007;Goodyear and Ellis 2008). Yet, if in practice, understanding how online platforms work enables teachers to work more easily within an online environment it will not necessarily lead to positive learning experiences for students, and neither will it ensure that teachers create conducive learning environments.…”

“…Connectedness is important to successful learning, especially among off campus students because of the relationships that underpin it. In the context of meaningful learning, connectedness coincides with 'layered belonging' which makes the formation of communities of inquiry especially important in online learning contexts (Woodman, Milankovich, Atkinson, Sadler and Murphy 2002;Turoff, Discenza and Howard 2004). This presents learners, teachers and course related policy-makers with responsibilities to ensure that layered belonging becomes a central feature of course pathways and teaching opportunities.…”

Asynchronous access to conventional course delivery: a pilot project

“…Surveys such as Berge and Mrozowski (2001) document a solid foundation of primarily case‐based research into distance learning, while comparative studies such as Hiltz and Wellman (1997) or Gagne and Shepherd (2001) consistently demonstrate accounts in which both student learning and satisfaction in technology‐mediated courses met, if not exceeded, the outcomes associated with conventional course delivery. Recent reviews such as Turoff, Discenza, and Howard (2004) have called attention to the blurring distinction between the distance learning experience and face‐to‐face attendance of lectures, but relatively little published research addresses the use of technology‐mediated systems in the context of campus‐based instruction. Examples of a few existing studies are Alavi, Youngjin, and Vogel (1997), who employed two‐way video conferencing to create a collaborative learning experience among the combined enrolment of an elective being taught at two different universities, or Wilson and Weiser (2001), who surveyed the voluntary adoption of video‐streaming by students participating in an otherwise conventional lecture‐based class.…”