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[edl1680]

Currently I am taking an online course.  I know that I am learning a tremendous amount and that the effort involved is much greater than sitting in a face-to-face class.   Does it concern other faculty members that their jobs may be replaced because of the boom in online courses and degrees? 

I have discussed it with nieces and nephews (kids in middle and early high school) and they say they don't think they could learn online.  Do you think the quality of learning can be as good as other forms of delivery? 

[amcs925]

I've had a significant degree of experience in distance education, and I've found that while technology is a major paradigm shift in instruction, and they do require new skills for both the instructor and the student, the quality of the course and the degree to which students achieve the learning objectives is increased in the online environment due to a variety of factors. Online courses shift the focus from teacher-centered to learner-centered, but the quality overall can be maintained. Thoughts?

[larryc]

Currently I am taking an online course.  I know that I am learning a tremendous amount and that the effort involved is much greater than sitting in a face-to-face class . . . Do you think the quality of learning can be as good as other forms of delivery? 

I believe you answered your own question.

Of course online learning can be just as valuable as classroom learning, if you do it right. As for replacing my job, I have a simple solution: I teach online.

[lindakrzy]

I worry that administration views on line learning as a back door way to increase class size.  If I teach in a regular classroom, I can limit the size of my class by the number of chairs or the fire code capacity.  But if I teach on line, my class size can now be whatever admin says it should be.  Has anyone had issues with class size and work load issues?

[rockprof]

Our union has agressively been negotiating with the administration regarding class size and work load issues for online courses.  Our institution sees it as a cash cow but are totally clueless about the huge amounts of work needed to set up and responsibly teach an online course.

[amcs925]

We limit course enrollment to 20 students in a graduate, online course (for core requirements).  The demands on faculty time and resources are much more demanding in the  online environment and limiting class size seems to work well for both instructor and student. Any more than 20 students leads to an overwhelmingly large volume of discussion posts that the instructor (and students) must read and respond to--learning objectives get lost in the sheer volume of postings. Hope this helps.

[jjbfost159]

Job security with regard to online classes is dependent on your topic area. For example, I teach in a culinary arts program and there is no possible way that our basic lab courses could go online. I’m sure its possible for lecture courses and some of the other aspects of our curriculum to go online; but our students thrive on real experiences in the classroom.

So, I think, in that respect, sometimes online learning is not as effective as face-to-face classroom time. That is not to say, however, that online learning cannot be just as quality as face-to-face.  I agree that administration often views online courses as a way to expand enrollment; on our campus it is an alternative to adding housing which we do not have space or money for. However, when administration adds online sections of college algebra and traditional, incoming freshman are placed in them because there is no more ‘room’ in classes; it is my feeling that we are doing a disservice to our students.  Online learning takes a great deal of self-discipline and motivation that some freshman just don’t have.

[daurousseau]

This topic generated a thread last year. A year ago, U.S. teachers were still in denial about the impact of online. When it was pointed out that courses are now being written in India and sold to students here, the general attitude was "I don't care, as long as I'm the one teaching somebody else's course."

I wonder how people feel today with a little more experience. Do they still not care when they are burdened with grading students who may not be able to find the assigned readings because the guys in India do the citations wrong, when the people that run the courseware don't coordinate with the people who run the online databases, etc.?

The next step is to outsource the "teaching" of the outsourced course design. Anybody with direct experience of that?

[edl1680]

Our institution sees it as a cash cow but are totally clueless about the huge amounts of work needed to set up and responsibly teach an online course.

Do any institutions offering such courses (which are not for profit online learning "schools") truly think they are cash cows?   Mortar and brick are still need.  There is an additional level of support and expertise needed at the school.  I thought schools had gotten over it being a cash cow and realize it is the flexibility which really draws people to take online courses.

[edl1680]

Do many high schools have online courses offered to  give students online experience and ready them for online courses in college?  I am not talking about students in high school taking college level courses.  I am talking about high school students taking high school courses from their own or other high schools?

[lindakrzy]

Do any institutions offering such courses (which are not for profit online learning "schools") truly think they are cash cows?

To answer your question about cash cows, having worked for years in a business school I would say yes, we are viewed as a cash cow and so offering on line classes might be construed as a way to generate more cash - especially if it means putting more students into class.  Thanks for the policies from others - 20 - 25 as a class cap seems right to me.

One more question:  does class size vary depending on if it is an undergrad vs. grad offering?

[rockprof]

Our institution sees it as a cash cow but are totally clueless about the huge amounts of work needed to set up and responsibly teach an online course.

Do any institutions offering such courses (which are not for profit online learning "schools") truly think they are cash cows?   Mortar and brick are still need.  There is an additional level of support and expertise needed at the school.  I thought schools had gotten over it being a cash cow and realize it is the flexibility which really draws people to take online courses.

It's a cash cow for us.  We're a CC so virtually all of our students come from a restricted geographic area.  With online courses, we attract students from all over the country (and even international).  In addition, the courses are often taught on the cheap by adjuncts (even FT faculty, teaching over the summer, for example, essentially make adjunct pay for their overload).  These courses make money for the College.

[cms12]

I teach at a hospital based radiologic technology school, the program is Monday - Friday 8am - 4pm.  I have polled my student about incorporating on-line learning into the program and several of them said it would be better, simply because of the time factor.  They are here as if it were a full time job which leaves them little outside time for a personal life, family, fun, work, and studying. 
However because about 2/3 of the learning is hands-on, x-raying patients and simulating I not sure if it would end up being much of a time saver.
Do you think taking on-line classes saves time or is it just that the time is more flexible? 

[cms12]

I worry that administration views on line learning as a back door way to increase class size.

I think having a bigger class on-line can be even more difficult to manage then in a classroom. Andministration will have to consider the work load for the teacher in my opinion. 

[caeprylo]

I've had a significant degree of experience in distance education, and I've found that while technology is a major paradigm shift in instruction, and they do require new skills for both the instructor and the student, the quality of the course and the degree to which students achieve the learning objectives is increased in the online environment due to a variety of factors. Online courses shift the focus from teacher-centered to learner-centered, but the quality overall can be maintained. Thoughts?

Yes and yes.  The fact is there will always be a need for face to face learning.  Distance education is not for everyone, although it works well for many, like myself.  Students who are not self-motivators and good at time management will inevitably have a tough time with a DL class and will prefer an in-class scenario.