|
Perhaps the following list can provide suggestions for implementing
successful online programs within an academic institution, while lessening
the fears (or the downright animosity) among faculty and administrators.
The following five suggestions may pave the way for better relationships
among all faculty and administrators and help those who plan future online
curricula:
1. Recognize that the ways courses or programs may be created can differ,
but the resulting “product” should be equally high quality.
All educational offerings should be high quality, whether they were
designed to be used in an on-site classroom or on a Web site. Educators
(primarily teachers) should be actively involved in the creation of course
materials, and these materials should be evaluated frequently to ensure
their continued accuracy and importance to a study of the subject matter.
Online classes in reality may be more difficult for learners to complete, not
because of the course content or the technology used in the flow of
information among teachers and learners, but because online education
requires students to take more responsibility for learning the information
and completing course activities. The concept that online classes are “easy
A’s” should not be true or promulgated, by administrators, faculty, or
learners.
The process of writing online, as one example, has been changed
by the introduction of computerized forms of communication. Computerized
processes and products are being researched to see how they differ from
non-computerized communication, and how that affects the implications
for teaching. The Internet has added another dimension for research, as
collaborative and individual communication processes and products have
changed even from those completed with a stand-alone computer. Because
of the Internet element of communication, further changes to teaching are
being debated. The entire nature of communication, and therefore the
disciplines relating to communication, must be rethought.
The way a discipline is perceived, and the way that its practitioners define
themselves and their work, have a direct bearing on whether that discipline
considers online course or curriculum development as suitable. The content
needed for adequate understanding of an entire discipline must be able to
be delivered well online, using a variety of media. Activities that help
learners practice skills, discover and test ideas, and synthesize knowledge
must be completed electronically. If a curriculum is to be fully realized online,
every course, every link in the knowledge-development and -acquisition
process must be delivered online in such a way that learners who may never
see teachers or touch lab materials can become an expert within that
discipline. No wonder so many academics argue against online education.
Distilling a discipline into electronic units that may be explored without
the watchful guidance of teachers in labs and classrooms, workshops and
libraries seems difficult. However, in practice, academic degree programs
have been successfully delivered online, and the paradigm within a
discipline expanded to include the presence of electronic information and
the ways it has an impact on that discipline.
Not every discipline may be well defined through an online curriculum, and
although some topics may be well suited for an online course or two, an
entire curriculum might not be a good match to be transferred to online
instruction. The successful implementation of an online curriculum relies
on that discipline’s experts (including but not limited to educators)
determining that the body of knowledge and skills that make up a particular
discipline are a good match for the current state of online education.
Conversely, those who study and participate in a discipline must analyze
how electronic communication and information may create changes within
that discipline, and how that in turn will affect teaching practices.
2. Value on-site and online faculty equally.
Faculty, whether they teach primarily online or on site or they work both
online and on site, should be valued equally. Electronic work should be
evaluated and regarded as highly as on-site work, and the faculty who teach
online classes should be able to achieve the same respect and recognition
for their online work as faculty members do for their on-site work. For
example, faculty members who develop educational software, create online
materials or courses, assist in the development of an online curriculum, and
participate in online professional development activities (e.g., workshops,
conferences) should receive full credit for this time-intensive work.
Electronic examples of scholarly activities and professional development
should be encouraged in tenure packets and materials submitted for
evaluation for promotion. CDs, zip and floppy disks, Web sites, and online
demonstrations of educational materials should be considered equally
effective measures of professional involvement as the more traditionally
evaluated print books, conference papers, research proposals, and other
paper documents.
All faculty members should have access to resources provided by the
institution. Online faculty should be able to use research facilities and
receive benefits such as funding of professional development activities. The
quality of the faculty member’s contribution, and the opportunities to make
further contributions, should not be determined by how much or little that
person works online.
All faculty should be allowed to participate in the institution’s activities and
policy-making bodies. Because many online faculty members live far from
the university’s or college’s physical campus, they usually cannot attend
meetings held on that campus. Allowing online faculty to participate in
meetings through conference calls or videoconferences is important to
make online faculty be perceived as part of the “real” faculty. All faculty
should be alerted to possible changes in the institution’s policies and invited
to share their ideas. For online faculty, this might mean participation in
online bulletin boards or e-mail discussions, and administrators consider
ideas discussed or submitted in person, on paper, or by computer. The venue
of participation should not matter as much as the opportunity to
participate, and the merit of the discussion based on the quality of the ideas,
not on the forum through which they were submitted.
All teachers/facilitators who work at an institution should be valued
equally and considered appropriately for compensation, course loads and
work schedules, access to resources, professional development activities,
and tenure and promotion. These issues often divide faculty members, and
administrators must be sensitive to the concerns of all faculty members,
whether part-time or full-time faculty, tenured or non-tenured, online or
on site.
3. Avoid playing off on-site classes against online classes.
Because online programs are newer, even within institutions with a
successful distance learning program using other technologies (e.g., video
“correspondence” courses, television broadcast classes), they may be
perceived in very different ways. At one extreme, they may be seen as a
necessary economic evil to compete with other universities or colleges now
offering online programs. At the other extreme, they may be considered
a savior of a traditionally campus-based institution, propelling the
university or college into the Internet Age. However, one educational
format should not be favored over another to the latter’s detriment. Both
on-site and online programs need administrative support to allocate the
appropriate, necessary resources for success.
Online classes should not be discounted, either philosophically or financially.
Online courses and on-site courses should not have to compete for
the same group of learners. The cost of classes, as well as the frequency they
are offered, the quality of the course, and the amount of credit offered,
should be established so that the same course is consistent, whether offered
online or on site.
Fee structures, for example, should be comparable for on-site and online
classes. If learners discover that they can receive credit for the same course
but pay a different fee structure for an online course, the value of the online
course is perceived as different from its on-site version. For example, if
learners need to take Composition 101 as part of their general education
requirements and have the option of taking the class online or on site, the
fee structure may be a determining factor in which format is selected. If
the online class costs less, learners probably will take the class, regardless
of their suitability to take online courses. The online class is thus perceived
as “cheaper” than the on-site version, when in reality the quality of the
course is equal to that of the on-site course.
Scheduling classes so that they compete with each other is another problem
with perception. Many online courses are offered in several configurations:
a six-week, 10-week, or 12-week online version of a course that regularly
runs 15 or 16 weeks on campus. The shorter online version may be perceived
as easier or less rigorous, simply because the time frame for completing the
course is compressed. Again, the online course may simply require learners
to do more in a shorter period of time, but the perception is that the course
is simpler.
Therefore, information about degree programs should clearly state if
learners can take both online and on-site courses toward their degree, or
if they must take only on-site courses or only online courses. If both types
are allowed within a degree program, any limitations to the number of hours
of online or on-site courses must be clearly noted. If the online courses truly
are interchangeable with the on-site courses, then administrators may
want to consider how they should market their programs to different target
groups, once again, so that on-site and online courses do not compete for
the same niche market.
Online courses usually are offered on demand or more frequently than onsite
courses. The sheer number of online sections may make the courses
seem like assembly-line education. The institution needs to ensure that the
way online courses are promoted leaves no doubt among potential learners
or teachers that online courses are not simply educational fast food but are
an integral part of a well-designed curriculum.
Technology needs to be equally dispersed throughout the institution.
Online classes require technological improvements on a regular basis, as well
as effective technical support. However, on-site classes should not be
ignored in favor of technical support only for online classes. On-site labs,
Web-enhanced courses taught on campus, and computer resources in
faculty offices, for example, are equally important. The institution should
not pit “haves” against “have nots” by treating online courses and on-site
courses differently. Administrators need to ensure that faculty and learners
have the level of technology needed for a high-quality education, no matter
where the learning takes place.
Online and on-site classes should follow the same rules within an
institution, too. The academic standards for course design and the required
credentials for teachers should be similar, allowing for any practical
differences (e.g., on-site teachers should live within the geographic region
where they teach, online teachers should be able to work easily with the
course site and any related hardware or software). Performance standards
for learners and any entry-level requirements or prerequisites also should
be similar. One type of program should not be considered better, easier, or
of a different quality.
Teachers and administrators need to work closely together to ensure that
the perceptions of online courses are accurate for teachers and learners,
and that fee structures, course schedules, use of technology, and catalog
descriptions of individual courses reflect the high quality of online courses.
On-site courses should not have to compete for learners (and the courses’
survival) against the same courses taught online, and vice versa. There
should be a niche for both types of courses within a well-designed
curriculum or curricula.
4. Create equally credible online and on-site courses and degree programs.
The institution should develop a good reputation for the quality of its
individual courses and degree programs. The structure of all curricula
should be pedagogically sound and technically usable and innovative.
Teachers should be well trained and prepared to work closely with learners.
Administrators should work with faculty and learners to plan curriculum
changes and develop an effective strategy for maintaining high-quality
programs. All these statements should be givens, whether the courses and
programs are delivered on campus or via the Internet.
5. Set up a dialogue between on-site and online faculty—if they are
different groups of faculty.
Faculty who teach online and those who teach on site may involve very
different groups who have different perceptions about online education.
To help faculty across the institution work well together, administrators
must create ways for faculty to discuss their differences, explore positive
ways of working together, and use newer technologies to enhance all
courses. Faculty who live and work far from the physical campus must be
brought into the campus community. If the first few principles, especially
the second, are followed, this final principle may already be taken care of.
However, discussions to plan online curricula may require bringing specific
faculty members together to collaborate on potential new courses or
programs and to address concerns of all faculty members.
Although setting up a dialogue among all faculty certainly will not solve
all problems or eliminate biases for or against online education, the process
may successfully bring together faculty, instead of separating them. Making
on-site and online faculty aware of what others do, and showing faculty
with less technical expertise how they might use the Internet, for example,
to enhance their courses, can be a positive step forward.
Administrators must take care not to isolate faculty. They should find ways
for them to work together or communicate and create a “family” of all people
teaching together. To help establish this sense of belonging to a unified
faculty, administrators must be sure that online faculty receive notices, get
invited to the same events, participate in discussions, et cetera.
Success in each of these five areas involves dealing with faculty issues and
course issues. Managing an online curriculum involves not only developing and
maintaining courses and programs, but working closely with the teachers
and learners involved in those courses and programs. Listening to faculty
concerns and planning ways to move the institution forward as educational
issues change are crucial parts of managing a successful online program.
As the educational workplace changes, so must policies and practices
involving faculty.
|
Disclaimer
