The Evolution of Distance Education: Implications for Instructional Design on the Potential of the Web
The evolution of online courses has caused many questions as to what is expected of the learner and the instructors. There have been several issues raised concerning these types of courses.
From a faculty perspective, it is suggested that there are three major contentions about e-learning courses. These contentions are that it is more work than traditional classes, there is fear of lower evaluations than traditional courses, and that the courses can carry a stigma which reduces the credit given to the instructors (Moller, 2008, p. 68).
In order to change these thoughts, it is suggested that one of the most important things that institutions can do is promote the legitimacy of e-learning concepts to faculty and in-return gain more faculty buy-in. In order to gain this buy in, there needs to be clarification in several areas; on training and the development process for the instructor, salary, workload and intellectual property rights information determined, and how will teaching these courses will affect tenure and promotions. If many of the questions in these areas can be answered in a way that faculty are more comfortable with these courses, then it is believed that more faculty will buy into the concept and be willing to teach these types of courses.
The authors suggest that the instructional design faculty should lead the effort for more distance educational courses and the accreditation of them. These faculty members should also be engaged in the consultation and design of the courses. The fear, however, is that “the train is leaving the station, but it’s not clear that ID (instructional design), as a field, will be on board.” (Moller, 2008, p. 70). In other words, education is moving forward and if the instructional designers are available or able to help design courses, then ID will be left and it will be faculty members that are looking at what they want to teach and know how to teach and in what forms that will be setting the course. As a result, the courses may not be educationally sound.
One of the concerns for teachers, no matter at what level they are teaching, is what is expected of them and how will their course load affect their employment. Also, what is their workload as compared to other teachers within their district or area. If teaching a course will affect the change of tenure, most teachers are going to do it, even if they are unsure what they are teaching. Their concern is that if they do not do what the administration asks they will either lose or not receive tenure. This is not fair to the students in these courses. If the teacher does not want to teach the course, it is my experience that the teacher is not going to give it their all; they will make the minimum effort in order to meet the requirements. This is also not fair to the students.
If schools and businesses want more online training for their students and employees, the first thing they need to do is adequately train the teachers. they also need to spend the time training them on how to use the technology that they will be using and expecting the students to use. By doing this, it will make the entire learning process go much more smoothly. They will not be learning it along with the students. They will have the knowledge to help answer students’ questions and not just fumble through hoping it works. If they are not comfortable teaching the course, it will negatively impact the learning experience for the students.
In a traditional classroom you know your students faces and learn about them by talking with them before and after class. In an online environment, you don’t have these same opportunities that the traditional classrooms have. You learn about the students based on what information they are willing to give you, but in a traditional setting you learn a lot by just being around the students. This may be hard for some teachers to change in their own mind sets.
Also, the way others look at online learning. Many look at is a joke or an easy way out. They may not realize the work and tasks that are being asked of the students. The onlookers may look at it as the students just gets to go online and surf the internet or play games, and this is not what online learning is. We must change these mindsets in order to change the view on online learning and training in order to get even more buy in from the public.
Moller, L, Foshay, W. R., & Huett, J. (2008). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web. TechTrends. 52(3), 66-70.