Study Offers Institutions Guidance for Continued Growth of Online Learning

Image by London College of Fashion short courses via FlickrEven though the report is from 2009, and focuses on tertiary learning and teaching in the States, it is well worth a read no matter as many of the findings still hold true. Highlights from the two-volume report, Online Learning as a Strategic Asset (links to download below), which contains the results of 231 interviews conducted with administrators, faculty, and students at 45 public institutions across the US, include the following:

“Faculty from across the university [Brandies University] are participating, many feel the quality is as good as or better than face-to-face instruction, and an overwhelming majority have recommended online courses to students (Bruce R. Magid, source).

"While faculty engagement in online learning is solid, faculty expressed dissatisfaction with the support services provided and the incentives offered by public universities. Faculty ranked seven of eight support dimensions as “below average,” including support for online course development, course delivery, and students; policies on intellectual property; recognition in tenure and promotion; and incentives for developing and delivering online courses. Only technology infrastructure was rated average. Faculty gave the lowest ranking to their institution’s incentives for developing and for delivering online courses" (source).

"The faculty survey data indicate growing acceptance of online learning among faculty but highlight a number challenges, including campus support services and faculty incentives" (source).

APLU_online_strategic_asset_vol1-1.pdf

APLU_online_strategic_asset_vol2-1.pdf

Related articles

• Issues of Quality, Access and Acceptance Emerge as Online Education Attains Scale (prweb.com)
• "Keeping Pace with K-12 Online Learning" (ruralcommunitybuilding.fb.org)

Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns

If you are involved in leadership in education...either in role, thought, or example...you are likely to find this video of interest.

Michael Horn outlines the theory of disruptive innovation, looks at it in connection with business, and then creates parallels with education. He suggests "With education, the question becomes how to apply disruption as a positive force, propagating new ideas that are relatively simple to adopt and that offer an inviting, student-centric alternative to the often tradition-bound processes of many school systems. Horn cites online learning as a disruptive innovation that has particular potential in education, especially when you consider the number of non-consumption opportunities that exist. Dropouts, home-schooled students, school commuters, incarcerated youth, tutoring, professional development, adult lifelong learning, are all areas with large groups of potential online users. And most students sitting in K-12 classrooms do not yet have available the range of benefits possible with online learning, from 24/7 access, to personalized education, rapid assessment and progress tracking." (source).