End of 2013 Fall Semester Reflections
I am attempting to unravel the mystery of the Paradox of Online Learning that exists in my world and have come to the following conclusions.
Despite the fact that popular surveys report the growth of online registrations and the growth of online courses/programs, faculty members’ opinions about this format continues to be suspect about its efficacy. Upon looking further into these issues, the complexities emerge.
A complex web of actions (or lack of) and perceptions occur during most social interactions and online learning is no different.
There are four key factors that influence online learning:
Administrative Actions
Faculty Member Actions
Student Actions
Technology Choices/Implementation
It is my belief that the interactions of these four factors contribute to the perceptions and effectiveness of online learning.
Perhaps my research question can be something to the effect of:
To what degree do these four factors (Administrative Actions; Faculty Member Actions; Student Actions; Technology Choices/Implementation) influence the effectiveness of online education at higher education institutions?
or
To what degree do these four factors (Administrative Actions; Faculty Member Actions; Student Actions; Technology Choices/Implementation) influence the perceptions of online education at higher education institutions?
These questions may still be too big; however, I feel that I continue to get closer to the solid construction of my research question/problem.