Understanding the New eLearning

by
Kathryn Winograd

LET’S BEGIN THIS WAY: imagine you have been asked to teach
in a new kind of classroom. You are led to an open doorway
where beyond there is only darkness. Before entering, you
are given a pair of earplugs so that you can no longer hear
anything around you. You are led to a small desk where a single
light shines down on the surface of it. You are told that,
periodically, your students are present, but you can neither
see nor hear them. Occasionally, a piece of paper appears
on your desk beneath the light. It is a message from one of
your students written a few minutes ago or an hour ago or
days ago. To respond, you write your own message on a piece
of paper, place it under the light, and watch it disappear
to where, you do not know. Besides these messages, you have
been given only one other tool to teach with: a large screen
upon which you may place anything.

Seems like a daunting prospect, doesn’t it? And yet this
is the essence of on-line learning, or eLearning, where computers,
modems and the Internet have replaced the envelopes and the
televisions of distance learning courses of old. Teaching
with Internet technology continues to evolve at such a dizzying
pace that it has earned its own spotlight in the pages of
The Chronicle of Higher Education. Discussions about the technicalities of the technology have blossomed beyond heated debates about the ability or inability of learning communities to be formed in the purely on-line course to cautionary forecasts that
if this technology is not used in the traditional classroom
then these students will be deprived of educational opportunities.

But eLearning is not just about teaching in a classroom or
not teaching in a classroom. It encompasses a whole world
of change that affects you, your students and, very likely,
how future generations will come to understand what it means
to be “educated.”

The eLearning Phenomena

Here are some statistics that may startle you. Two year colleges
offering distance education courses are expected to rise from
50 percent in 1998 to over 85 percent in 2002 while four year
schools will likely increase from 62 percent in 1998 to 84
percent in 2002. (1) And what is expected to spur the growth
in the number of distance learning students from 710,000 in
1998 to 2.23 million in 2002 (2), is eLearning and its technologies
of the Internet that allow for both asynchronous and synchronous
networking. What this means is that students and instructors
can have both instantaneous and “staggered”, more reflective,
interaction through Internet tools such as e-mail, threaded
discussions and chatrooms.

The quantity and quality of interaction within a class, whether
traditional or on-line, have been identified by The National
Education Association as prime factors in the creation of
a learning community, recognized as essential to effective
learning. (3) The combination of “real time” and “virtual”
class time, plus the capacity of Internet technology to sustain
learning communities on-line, has made eLearning the panacea
for a growing, and influential, new student body. And many
of these students who will gravitate to on-line learning are
the nontraditional students you are teaching right now in
the traditional classroom.

The Changing Face of Students

Whether it is because of the ever-spiraling cost of higher education, or the dynamic needs of an Information Age workforce, the demographics of the traditional higher education student population are being broadened by an amalgamation of nontraditional students. Statistics in 1998 from the Department of Education reported an increase of 13 percent more part-time students, a 6 percent increase of students over 25, (a figure expected to increase between 1996 and 2000 by another 2 percent) and a 20 percent increase of female students (4), which is particularly noteworthy given that females have become the leading users of the Internet for on-line learning. (5)

Because these nontraditional students are often campus-commuters, jobholders and caretakers, eLearning with asynchronous communication capabilities offers an anywhere/anytime educational opportunity. And that opportunity does not just apply to these students. The first time I realized the full impact that eLearning could have on my life as an adjunct was in the shadow of The Duomo where I hovered in a cyberspace cafe one summer, teaching my on-line American students from Italy. No longer was I geographically bound to any particular teaching institution.

Knowledge Workers

Technology creates dynamic corporate environments that demand adaptability and ongoing learning. Companies are looking for “knowledge workers,” employees who possess specific high-level skills and have the ability and the desire to continue to learn as
the technology becomes even more advanced. Internet-Based
Training accounted for $197 million in 1997 and this figure
is predicted to grow to $5.5 billion in 2002 because of its
effectiveness and flexibility.4 While many corporations are
partnering with two and four year schools, profit and nonprofit,
to offer their employees performance-based education in an
academic environment, others are looking for academic consultants proficient in web-based course design to create their on-line training courses for them.

The Homebound Student

The benefits of anywhere/anytime education extend to our marginalized student populations. As communities work to make public spaces available to those with disabilities, educational institutions work to make education available to those who are unable to attend school even when public spaces are altered to accommodate their handicaps. For many students with disabilities, the anonymity of the Internet classroom and its inherent flexibility
and asynchronous environment that can allow all students time
for reflection and preparation before participation can be
advantageous. The ability to “write in” responses for those
with speaking difficulties can make the difference between
isolation and acceptance into a learning community. And for
those wheelchair bound, simply not having the stress and exhaustion of commuting to campus can help them achieve their education goals. And again, this does not only apply to students. Teacherswith disabilities that make it difficult to navigate on campushave the opportunity to continue their teaching careers from their own homes. The World Wide Consortium’s Web Accessibility Initiative is one of the largest research and information programs developed to provide guidelines on creating accessible websites and on-line courses.

But besides appealing to a growing number of nontraditional students, eLearning offers educational opportunities that can break
down the classroom wall for students and instructors alike.

Communication Outside the Classroom Wall

eLearning can virtually “extend the walls” of a classroom
by creating communication opportunities for student and instructors on campus and by increasing the availability of research resources both in and out of the classroom. A simple Web page can serve as an announcement board; communication tools such as an e-mail list serve, a threaded discussion, or a chatroom can open
up discussion forums outside of the classroom and increase
opportunities for collaborations on group projects. The World
Wide Web offers on-line newspapers, magazines and journals
and national news websites.

Students can access NASA on-line (http://www.nasa.gov/today/), view an entire archive of space shots from the space shuttle and
satellites, and the robot that ranged across Mars. On-line
instructors can create “hypertext links” to these web resources
within the text of their WebPages, connecting their students
to these sites with just a click of a mouse, creating nonlinear
learning experiences that encourage student-driven learning.

Instructors can create their own archives of information for students in the on-line course, “publishing” exemplary student work for modeling and exemplifying the criteria for acceptable
work in a course.

The World as a Classroom

Instructors who use Internet technology can also create a World as Classroom experience for their students, taking students on virtual
field trips to numerous museums (http://www.museumland.com)
and libraries like the New York Public Library (http://www.nypl.org) and arranging on-line discussions with content experts around the world. Those hardy instructors who are well versed in technology can even conduct class onsite in remote geographic areas. Even now there are several “roving” k-12 classrooms on-line (http://quest.classroom.com) where instructors on foot, by bike, or boat explore countries around the world and “report” back on their exploits to students through audio, video, text, and images on their websites.

Creation of Collaborative Learning Environments

Community in the classroom is an integral part of the learning process. Students who feel respected and valued by their peers will
begin to interact on a deeper, more meaningful level, will
be more open to risk-taking in learning, and will begin to
engage in collaborative learning. (6) The ability and opportunity
to grasp more complex concepts increases when individuals
are part of a larger group that has the same learning goal and the members of that group are encouraging and constructively
evaluative. (7) Often times, instructors are most effective when they nurture that community and the collaborative learning that arises from it.

One of the first questions that instructors new to on-line learning
raise is that of isolation. How can instructors and students
nurture community when each is staring into their separate
personal computer screens? Surprisingly, because of its very
anonymity and the time that it allows for individual reflection,
many find that the asynchronous learning environment can create
as strong a sense of community among students as can the face
to face classroom, especially if the instructor designs the course around collaborative learning activities such as peer workshops and critiques, peer presentations, and shared student leadership in facilitating asynchronous and synchronous discussions.

Interactivity with Content

The learning paradigm of today is described as “information transfer,” in which students simply receive the facts and information that their teachers wish to impart to them. (8) This terminology carries the negative implication of passivity in students, which for many suggests a real failure in our educational
system. Greater hands-on learning, high interactivity with content, individualized learning paths and active student learning are the ultimate outcomes envisioned by many in education. This would be the true adaptation of computer and Internet technologies into education.(9)

The New eBusiness

The remarkable growth in distance learning using on-line technologies is opening pathways for new e-businesses. As accredited schools for higher education enter the arena of on-line education, they are facing competition from for-profit entities that
exist as virtual universities offering degrees completely on-line. At the same time, there is an increasing demand from higher education, k-12 instructors, and corporate training specialists for technical assistance in making the transition to on-line education.

Companies offering such technical assistance provide a range of services that extend from course delivery systems to full service providers that create virtual on-line campuses, provide faculty training, marketing, student helpdesk services, and on-line college
administration services. These companies are competing to produce products that make it easy for faculty to produce and deliver effective on-line courses. Some platforms are more intuitive and easier to use than others. Most of them provide course templates that are simply filled with course content by the faculty member.

Some platforms require the faculty to know limited HTML language while others have built-in Web authoring tools. Such tools allow you to create sparkling web pages for eLearning without the need to know HTML. They also provide communication and assessment tools, and course management tools for the instructor. Some platforms support on-line registration, on-line fees handling, student support, and even faculty support.

Issues with eLearning

It is clear why eLearning has caused such a stir in both the
academic world and the corporate world. But even a global
rush to embrace electronic technologies and on-line learning
would, wisely, not ensure immediate global acceptance. Debate
over the on-line classroom flourishes. Despite recognition of the many advantages that on-line technology can offer to the process of learning, researchers and educators are concerned over the on-line classroom’s comparable effectiveness to the traditional classroom.

They cite problematic and invested-interest research methodologies. Instructors express uncertainty over the translation of in-class activities to on-line activities. Administrators and faculty argue over who ultimately owns what in an on-line course created for a particular university. All worry over the possibility of a great “Digital Divide” with technology as the “new engine of inequality,” (5) despite the best intentions.

Finally, the biggest issue continues to be that of “Teaching vs. Technology.” Would the money being spent on implementing all of this technology be better spent on retraining teachers on the pedagogy? Is technology really making a difference in how well our students learn or is the rethinking and reassessment of our teaching practices in how we apply them to technology making the difference?

Making the Transition to eLearning

But what is becoming interesting is that for many who have taught
on-line the thought of ever going back to the regular classroom
and not using Internet technology seems impossible. They have
learned that the Internet offers extensive, readily available
resources, alternative ways to present those resources so that as many learning styles as possible can be accommodated, new ways to communicate with students, and to manage a class. Internet technology also gives students new ways to become more actively involved in their own education, to become life long “eLearners.”

But for instructors unfamiliar with eLearning, the ongoing debates
over the effectiveness of on-line teaching in relation to classroom teaching, and the unease many have at the thought of learning a technology foreign to them and then depending upon it totally for the operations of their class, make the alternative of simply incorporating technology into portions of their traditional classroom good sense. The web-enhanced class versus the on-line class is not so much a competition, as a gradual progression for some instructors as they become more and more comfortable with technology in their regular classroom and begin to use more and more of it in their instruction. Often, many end up teaching the totally on-line course.

For starters, using the Internet can be as simple as creating
an on-line “bulletin board” that provides students with syllabus
and course information outside of the classroom. Several publishers and private eCompanies offer the free templates and on-line tools that make easy for instructors to put up a simple webpage.

The next step can be the creation of an “instructor pak” on-line, in which the webpage is used to present lectures, links to other resources, and to post upcoming topics for in class discussions. The instructor may also begin using the same technology as a vehicle for in-class presentations. Once an instructor is comfortable with converting text materials on-line, he or she may begin experimenting with communication tools that allow interaction with students at times other than assigned class time. Once an instructor has begun creating web pages that allow for content presentation, additional resources, and communication outside the classroom, the next step is the pure on-line course.

eLearning and the Adjunct

But how can eLearning affect your professional development as an adjunct in higher education? It can allow you to develop a real portfolio of your teaching expertise in the form of an on-line course that shows the practical applications of your teaching philosophy. It can allow you to reach out to institutions beyond your personal geographic boundaries and teach courses to student populations you may never have imagined teaching. It can increase the number of opportunities you have to teach courses overall. Full-time faculty are often reluctant to invest the time and energy necessary to create and teach an effective on-line course, and institutional administration is determined to create on-line learning programs.

You may have the opportunity to create a course and sell both
your teaching skills and your course to educational institutions
across the country. If you get very passionate about and experienced with teaching on-line, eLearning can lead you to full-time employment as an instructional designer at a university or
with one of the on-line software providers. Or you may have
the opportunity to start your own business and become a consultant to institutions wanting to go on-line or become an independent course designer for corporations turning to eLearning as the medium for their in-house training. The combination of practical experience in on-line teaching and training in instructional technology or instructional design can open many doors for you. It is worth the investment to hone your skills.

A Final Case

Let us end this way: you have been asked to teach a class. The class meets three times a week and you are expected to be there each time. Except that the class meets in a different state from where you live and work. On the first day of class, your students gather in a regular campus classroom equipped with ten computers, a screen set up in front of the class, and a projector hooked up to one of the computers. There is no TA or Aid in the classroom, simply a couple of student “drivers.” In the middle of the classroom is a speakerphone. Your students sit down and look toward the screen.

What they see is the “teacher” divided into three web pages: an
eCourse (or on-line course) through which your students get their lecture notes, conduct on-line discussions, take exams, and link to resources on the WWW, a web camera which is pointed at the white board in your office so that anything you write can be viewed onscreen, and a live “notepad” you designed which is basically a webpage you can type into and then present immediately to your students. You speak to your students through the speakerphone and class begins.

This isn’t imaginary. This is real. This is Art Blevins, director of the NIST grant project at eCollege.com in Denver, teaching his JAVA programming students at Carson Newman College in Tennessee. And this is only one of many forms that eLearning can take. Students like it, as Art tells it, “because the guy teaching it is working at an Internet company and in touch with the real world. And they like the technology.” And why does Art, the adjunct, like it? “Because if I had to jump in a car in the middle of the day and go drive to a college campus to teach this course, I wouldn’t do it. But to simplyput my work aside for an hour at a time and teach from my office makes it easy.” eLearning. Not so daunting a prospect,
is it?

Works Cited

1.  CHEA, Distance learning in higher education, CHEA (Council
   for Higher Education Accreditation) Update, Part 2, The Institute
   for Higher Education Policy, Jun 1999.

2.      Lau, S. et al, On-line Distance Learning in Higher Education,
1998-2002, International Data Corporation, 1999