Define Online Teaching and Learning

Week 2, Question 3 - Define online teaching and learning.
Using Google "define:online learning", I found several definitions, but the one that seemed to me to be the most accurate and comprehensive is as follows: “What occurs when education and training (typically credit but also non-credit) are delivered and supported by networks such as the Internet or intranets. Learners are able to learn any time and any place. In this report, we use the terms "on-line learning" and "e-learning" interchangeably.”http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&start=8&oi=define&q=http://www.eduspecs.ca/pub/e-learningresources/doc_acol/glossary.html. Ko and Rossen (2004) in their book, "Teaching Online, A Practical Guide, simply define online teaching as "conducting a course partially or entirely through the Internet."

Not assuming anything, I typed in “define:online teaching” in the Google search engine and got no hits! Using only the search terms “online teaching” did I get a multitude of links, one of the best of which was Yahoo’s Education directory listing at: http://dir.yahoo.com/Education/Instructional_Technology/Online_Teaching_and_Learning/ of which some of the entries that I accessed had more of a resources slant rather than a methods orientation.

Characteristics of Successful Online Learners

Week 2, Question 2 - What are personality traits of those learners who are successful in online courses?
There have been many studies to determine what characteristics of students make them successful in online (and I suspect face-to-face) courses. In general terms, the following are common characteristics of successful online learners:
1) Independent learner – you receive a syllabus, course documents, required readings, and an instructor whose job will be to guide you through your learning experience, but you will be the responsible party for accomplishing the learning.
2) Active participant – students who do the assignments must post messages, interact in discussion boards, and communicate through e-mail and other means in order to achieve learning.
3) Good time manager – since the student is not required to be physically present in a classroom and thereby accountable, it’s very easy to let online coursework slide. In fact, it is imperative that the online student not get behind; it’s too difficult to catch up.
4) Goal-directed – one of the most important characteristics of successful online learners is their sense of direction; they have specific goals in mind which provide strong motivation.These traits were listed on the University of Denver website at: http://www.universitycollege.du.edu/program/online/onlinelearning/page6.asp, but are not unique to U of D. I teach a one-credit online class at Boise State University entitled, Introduction to E-Learning at Boise State, which provides training in using the Blackboard course management system used by BSU, plus familiarization with many web-based resources that students will need. One of their first assignments requires that students access several sites to read up on what make a good online learner, some material about learning styles, and a self-assessment to determine whether or not they will make good online learners. Many of the readings show that researchers have come to many of the same conclusions on what makes good online learners. My own experience shows that online learners who procrastinate or fail to communicate with the instructor invariably have a hard time with online coursework.

National Trends Supporting Distance Education

Week 2, Question 1 - Are there trends around the country that support online learning in general? Describe these trends.
Since we’re talking about national trends, I started with the U.S. Department of Education and located a fact sheet on their Office of Educational Technology at: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/os/technology/facts.html. While there were many other facts presented, the following were those that seemed to best represent trends in what DOE calls “distance education”:
A greater proportion of rural area districts had students enrolled in distance education courses than did urban and suburban districts.
42% of districts that have students enrolled in distance education courses are high poverty districts.
When small districts offer distance learning, they are more likely to involve a greater proportion of schools.
80% of public school districts offering online courses said that offering courses not available at their schools is one of the most important reasons for having distance education.
50% of public school districts offering online courses cited distance learning as very important in making Advanced Placement or college-level courses available to all students.
92% of districts enrolled in online distance education courses had students access online courses from school.Since these statistics were derived from local school district and state departments of education as recently as 2003, they reasonably portray some emerging trends in the use of online learning.