“Online students
can be better retained, experience greater course satisfaction,
and learn more in less time with greater ease and confidence
when an online course is linked to an Academic Support System
and is designed with activities and information that assist
them to become a collegial group and to learn more effectively
and efficiently.” Christ, F.L. Achieving student retention,
satisfaction, and success through online pedagogy. A presentation
at TechEd Long Beach, February 26, 2002.
"Student
retention in the online course is a major concern. ...
... ...the availability of information resources and assistance
throughout the course are some solutions to high online
drop-out rates." Moore, G.S., Winograd, K. and D. Lange.
(2001). You can teach online: Building a creative learning
environment. McGraw-Hill Higher Education. p. 3.5
"...primary
variables responsible for discriminating between completers
and non-completers included three of the Likert scale factors:
study environment, motivation, and computer confidence."
Osborn,
V. (2001). Identifying at-risk students in videoconferencing
and web-based distance education. The American Journal of
Distance Education, 15:1, 47.
In the future,
as higher education shifts from traditional classroom teaching
to on-line learning, academic support programs will increasingly
become more in demand by on-line learners especially advising,
career preparation, learning skills, orientation, tutoring,
and intervention to overcome on-line technical problems.
However, although many services may be made available on-line,
academic support for both faculty and students will still
be necessary for many students since they may be miles
from the parent institution offering the course and will
insist on some face-to-face interaction with academic support
personnel.
Christ, F.L. "Academic Support," Higher
Education in the United States: An Encyclopedia. (2002).
Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO Publishers
"A third area
of concern for distance students is the lack of support and
services such as providing tutors, academic planners and schedulers,
and technical assistance. The isolation that results from
the distance learning process can complicate the learning
process for adult students. Support for distance learners
should not be overlooked when planning distance programs.
Students need tutors and academic planners to help them complete
courses on time and to act as a support system when stress
becomes a problem. Galusha, J. (1997). Barriers to learning
in distance education. Interpersonal Computing and Technology.
Retrieved at http://www.emoderators.com/ipct-j/1997/n4/galusha.html
"Faculty are
moving forward, technologies are improving, and student demand
is increasing -- but few changes are taking place in the university
structure as a whole to accommodate the special needs of the
distance-learning student." Richard
Bothel Dean of continuing education and distance learning,
Lamar University formerly at Troy State University. Retrieved
at http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/spring41/bothel41.html
“The fifth challenge
facing the use of the Web in universities is to how best
use the Web to encourage good learning behaviours in students.
Most good learning behaviours rely on metacognition and
this is universally regarded as an essential attribute of
good learning. … …Encouraging metacognition develops students'
knowledge of the nature of their learning, of their effective
learning strategies, and of their learning strengths and
weakness. … …The Web has potential in this area to meet
this challenge if appropriate instructional design strategies
are employed in the development of material for the Web.
It is unlikely to occur if lecturers just mount their printed
course material and use the Web as a convenient delivery
medium. If the design of courses allows individual exploration
coupled with reflection and the comparison of a student's
views with others, as well as the encouragement of good
learning behaviours, then metacognition can be enhanced
and good learning can result. Fetherston,
T. (2001). Pedagogical Challenges for the World Wide Web.
Educational Technology Review. 9:1. Retrieved January 21,
2002 at http://www.aace.org/pubs/etr/fetherston.cfm
“Connect the Disconnected”
Dr. Ray Ganey, Western International University
"The potential
for change in learning, in teaching, and in the structure
of educational organizations is enormous. If we only think
of using new technology for teaching the same old subjects
to the same kinds of learners with the same methods within
the same kinds of institutional structures, we completely
miss the potential of the technology . . ." -Dr. Michael
G. Moore
"Online learning
and course design challenges all of our previously held
beliefs about the way people process, retain, and transfer
new concepts and skills as a result of learning. The online
environment is an educational frontier that begs for innovative
approaches and applications of educational psychology and
learning theory. Instructional designers must break out
of the traditional linear box as they forge a new hierarchical
environment. The shape of online learning is active, multi-sensory,
multi-modal, and stretches the technology to go beyond our
two dimensional expectations of online learning."...
Maureen Wakefield and others.
"We need
to move away from a discussion of "equivalence"
with distance learning. Successful distance learning programs
must provide more student support than provided by traditional
programs." Richard Bothel, Executive Director of Continuing
and Distance Education, Lamar University.
"Andragogy
with technology" Frank L Christ adapted from Jim Austin,
University of Arizona "Pedagogy before technology"
"The
future is here...it's just not widely distributed."
- Tim O'Reilly
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