The future of Education

E-Learning

Long gone are the days when online education was just correspondence courses.

Today’s online Education is filled with• videos• blogs• wikis• live chats• Webcams • interactive content

The need for E-Learning

2010 Sloan Survey of Online

Learning• enrollment rose by almost one million students from 2009

• 5.6 Million Students enrolled in Online courses

• 90% plus —are coming from existing traditional schools that are growing their current offerings

Allen, 2010

Reasons for teaching Online

Reasons for a seasoned classroom teacher to become an Online InstructorNot having to deal with • Tardy students • Absences • School violence• Daily drive to schoolPERKS • Substantial tuition discount /free educational

courses• 401 K plans• Employee purchase programs for personal

computers and wireless communications plans.

>>The Satisfaction in knowing you made a difference

Fears of Teaching an Online Course

fears that most traditional teachers might have

• Lack of technical skills• limited knowledge about online learning • steep learning curve

• Typically a few years to become proficient• Bigger workload

• for every hour of instruction online, the teacher must devote ten hours of preparation.

“the faculties limited knowledge about online learning stems from the fact that they have spent their careers teaching in the classrooms with students in front of them not instructing students they never see by the way of technology which makes them still feel uncomfortable”. (Maeroff, 2003, p. 188)

Overcoming Fears of Online Teaching

• Online Faculty Lounges• Online resources• Free Training events

Carlene Faucett states there is a path to recovery:

• Admit fear• Look past the fear and embrace change• Decide that you can learn new things• Ask questions about “the magic”• Most importantly, break out of your comfort zone

and TRY to Understand.

(Faucett, 2010)

HELP from others

An effective Online Instructor

“successful classroom leaders already have the basic skills required to teach online but just need to learn how to combine those skills with various types of technology.” (Broadbent, 2002, p.155)

• find various ways of reaching your students• Must be much more flexible• Prepare for more individualization with online

instruction

the gratification an instructor feels from helping a student in this way is much more immediate

Essential elements of

Online TeachingThere are essential elements within online instruction that must be followed in order to be effective.

The book “Essential Elements: Prepare Design, and Teach Your Online Course”

• seventeen elements for a successful online course• completed in three separate phases • broken down into the preparation, design, and

teaching phases

(Elbaum, McIntyre, & Smith, 2002)

Essential elements of

Online TeachingPHASE 1 Prepare for your online course

• Prepare to teach online.

• Build a course outline. • Create a course schedule with clear deadlines. • Plan for ongoing quality assurance. • Ensure support from your administration.• Provide technical support

Essential elements of

Online TeachingPHASE 2 Design your online course

• Format your course so that students can focus on the content.

• Design a learning community that is collaborative, engaging and inclusive.

• Find and use appropriate course materials and resources.

• Develop rich, relevant learning activities to support your learning objectives.

• Include a balanced mixture of individual and group learning activities.

• Recognize that pacing in an online course is different.

• Provide equal accessibility to all students.

PHASE 3 Teach your online course

• Provide a comprehensive set of informational materials.

• Facilitate discussions in a way that keeps students on-task, promotes full participation, and encourages peer collaboration.

• Engage with your students without over-engaging.• Assess student work and provide feedback

Essential elements of

Online Teaching

Tips for successful Online

Teaching• Phone calls• Staying Flexible • Reasonable lesson plans• Fairness

References • Allen, E. & Seaman, J. (2010). Online Education in the United

States, 2010. Retrieved on 21 June 2011 from http://sloanconsortium.org/publications/survey/pdf/class_differences.pdf

 • Broadbent B. (2002). ABCs of E-learning. Reaping the Benefits

and Avoiding the Pitfalls. Jossey-Bass / Pfeiffer, San Francisco, CA. • Elbaum, B., McIntyre, C. & Smith, A. (2002). Essential Elements:

Prepare, Design, and Teach Your Online Course. Madison, WI: Atwood Publishing.

• Faucett, C. ( 2010) Fear of Technology… the double-edged sword. Retrieved on 25 June 2011 from http://clairefaucett.wordpress.com/

• Hobgood, B. (nd) Becoming and Online Teacher. Retrieved on 21 June 2011 from http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/665

 • Maeroff, (2003). A classroom of one.  

QUESTIONS ?