Online Teaching and University Policy: Investigating the Disconnect
Wallace discusses two major policy concerns with online learning. These concerns are how to implement the education technologies and why and how educational technologies are to be used.
Academic policies must be looked at when comparing the policies for a traditional face-to-face course and an online course. The instructor teaching responsibilities must be evaluated. When looking at the policies they fit into a traditional course but when it is converted into an online course, the policies must be looked at because the setup is must different. One item such as class time definitions needs to be looked at. Academic integrity and student codes of conduct, course-instructor evaluation, appeals, and off-site exam invigilation also need to be looked at.
Administrative policies such as records security, privacy and archiving, and use of third-party material are also discussed. Questions about who owns the information that is posted on discussion boards and within a course are ongoing questions. How long will information be stored and who will have access to the information are also questioned. When looking at third-party material making sure all instructors and students understand the copyright act. The point that institutions are looking also is who owns the information that instructors create and post – is it owned by the institution or is it owned by the creator – the instructor or student.
The authors believe that making some of the modifications suggested within the article will be relatively simple – such as changing the wording of policies to fit online courses versus traditional courses. They suggest that adapting the educational policies to make them broader to encompass all of the aspects will make them better fit the current educational experiences.
As one looks at the main points of the article, these are items that all educational institutions should be looking at in order to make sure they are up to date and accurate. When you look at what technologies are going to be implemented, the administration should first find out what the teachers are actually using within their classrooms and what they are expecting their students to be using. When you looking at the rules and policies that one has, they should be looked at periodically to make sure they are covering all aspects of the educational process. I know that within the district that I teach at we look at our student handbook which is all of our policies and procedures when dealing with students every year and make any needed changes. By doing this, we have been able to keep our policies especially concerning technology issues and cheating and plagiarism as up to date as we can resulting in making it harder for our students to use other’s work as their own.
Security issues should always be something that questions are asked about. Who is having access to the records and why do these people need access to the records? There are a lot of people that are worried about the security of their information especially with the rising numbers of people that have had their identity stolen. Looking at the security of our records and what it will take to get into them is very important. By thinking that only students and their instructors will have access to records and that we shouldn’t worry about giving others access is not acceptable. Student records and employee records should only be accessible to people that need that access. For example, why should I as an instructor have access to a student’s records if they are not one of my students? Or why should one of the administrative assistants have access to student or employee records if managing them is not a part of their job titles or descriptions?
Making sure that all of the information that is used and created within any course is within the legal limits of education should always be an important point that the administration and instructors are watching. The information about students, whether it is personal information or regarding the course, should be kept private. The instructors should also make sure they are within the law concerning copy write and educational use of materials. If we are not doing this, then we are opening up not only that course but all of our courses for investigation to make sure all materials are being used in the correct manner. We need to make sure we are within in the law and not just doing things that are convenient for either the instructor or cheaper for the institution.
Wallace, L. 2007 Aug 27. Online teaching and university policy: Investigating the disconnect. The Journal of Distance Education / Revue de l'Éducation à Distance. 22(1), 87-100. Available: http://www.jofde.ca/index.php/jde/article/view/58/471