Challenges of Distance Education

The challenges of developing a high-quality distance education program could be answered by the following questions: “How does a sense of community develop, and who develops it? Does every online group find its sense of community… Who is responsible for the creation of community? Is it created or is it built? Or does it merely grow” (Conrad, 2005).

Through a 2005 study, it was found that some individuals worked better in face-to-face meetings rather than online in a chat room. Groups could find it hard to meet online at the same time (Conrad, 2005). If online classes had group projects, groups could also have trouble portioning out member assignments for the project (Conrad, 2005).

There could also be disputes as to who would be the leader and who had the correct information (Conrad, 2005). If there were disharmony in the class online and resources were not shared (documents, for example), then there would also be tension in “grades and assessment” (Conrad, 2005). If there were constant interaction between online instructor and students, then there would be a “sense of community” which would reduce concerns “over grades and competitiveness” (Conrad, 2005). Streaming videos could not be viewed on some students’ computers because of their “computer speed and Internet transmission speed” (Jacobson, 2005).

When I was conducting webinars for some nonprofit organizations, I would depend on documents on those websites. I would test them the day before but sometimes the links would be broken for me because of the site being down on the hosted web server. Students, for the webinar, would contact me later and tell me that the documents, that I had shown them how to find on the website, were broken or did not exist. There were outdated materials but not enough technical help to update them in time to meet the students’ needs. I have experienced two times when the connection to the online session was interrupted. The session would depend on me accessing my account from any computer so I had to borrow a colleague’s computer that had broadband access (wireless). If I had not found a computer with wireless access, the students would have been locked out of the course. When the organization’s site would periodically go down, the students did not have access to any of the documents that we had discussed within the webinars.

If the course management system is working on a dependable web server, I have found that synchronous and asynchronous techniques usage for constructing the online course would be dependent on the comfort level of the students. When webinar students were accustomed to using synchronous technology, such as GoToMeeting, by Citrix, and headphones with a microphone, they had no problems with that type of format. Through my webinars, I did encounter some students who preferred the asynchronous format. They preferred for me to find documents and fax them to their offices or they wanted instruction over the phone and then they would later go to a website that we had discussed in order to find the described documents. After a two year time period, I noticed that the following factors came into play for whether synchronous or asynchronous techniques could be used: age; technology skills; time to sit for a webinar; urgency of information needed; level of patience; position level.

The technological strategy that provided the greatest benefit would be an online community with options for face-to-face meetings with students. The version of face-to-face would be the phone conversations that I would have with students. They “needed” to have a physical presence with me. Some students would actually drive hundreds of miles to meet with me and perform research that was discussed in a webinar. Students wanted someone to “hold” their hands. The strategy would definitely be a variation of the two formats (synchronous and asynchronous) in order for all students to be happy.

In developing online distance learning courses, content development could best be formed through “problem-based learning” (PBL) framework that would promote “higher order thinking, motivates students to engage in content, encourages collaboration, and anchors learning in real-world contexts” (Anderson & Tredway, 2009). Faculty would need to define what the “desired course outcomes and enduring understandings” should be “by engaging in meaningful discourse with classmates, producing individual and group artifacts, and providing thoughtful reflection… then apply what they learned to a culminating activity that anchors the PBL experience” (Anderson & Tredway, 2009). The “students should be able to articulate what” they have learned (Anderson & Tredway, 2009). The content development would also have “major course topics” grouped together by the following categories: “Module Overview”; “Goals and Materials”; “Challenge Element”; “Generating Ideas”; “Resources and Perspectives”; “Action”; “Review and Reflect”; “Module Checklist” (Anderson & Tredway, 2009).

In developing online courses for instructional design, the best way would be based on most requested courses or subject areas. These courses would have a main focus on how “students will learn how to put into use the newly acquired knowledge and skills through interactive teaching…specific activities and real-life problem solving exercises. It would provide " tools and techniques necessary to become more efficient and effective in” whatever the students wish to pursue in their lives (Business Wire, 2009).

“[M]ultimedia is the delivery of information in a computer-based presentation that integrates two or more media…Multimedia courseware can entice learners to pay full attention to a task through the vividness of presentation” (Zhang & Zhou, 2003). Research showed “that multimedia instructions can enhance individuals' problem-solving skills and improve learning effectiveness” (Zhang& Zhou, 2003). Usually, students react well with a combination of “visual presentation, animation and other multimedia effects” (Zhang & Zhou, 2003).

The best approach to developing assessments for online distance learning courses would be to have the ability “to track students' mastery of course material” (Walsh & Hollister, 2009). Tools for this tracking mechanism could be a “pretest” and a “post test” (Walsh & Hollister, 2009). A pretest would “gauge the level of students' library research skills before coursework was introduced” (Walsh & Hollister, 2009). A “post test” that would be given “during the last week of classes” which would “assess student perceptions of the …skills they acquired… course's content and structure” (Walsh & Hollister, 2009). A “feedback form” could also be used with the following question: "What are your thoughts on using … this course?" (Walsh & Hollister, 2009).

A best practice in delivery platforms could be seen through Virtual World Platforms. “This environment frequently exists 24/7 and persists even when users are not within it” (Robinson & Butler, 2009). There would be “realistic” graphics to look like the students’ environments (Robinson & Butler, 2009). The students would be able to meet, compete, collaborate, create, or socialize” (Robinson & Butler, 2009). Students could be seen online represented by a graphic or “three-dimensional (3D) characters known as avatars” (Robinson & Butler, 2009). It would be through the “avatars, users of virtual worlds communicate via text, audio, or Webcam-enabled video” (Robinson & Butler, 2009).

References

Anderson, G., & Tredway, C. (2009). Transforming the nursing curriculum to promote critical thinking online. Journal of Nursing Education, 48(2), 111-5. Retrieved July 29, 2009, from http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1635327731&sid=4&Fmt=3&clientId=11123&RQT=309&VName=PQD

Business Wire (2009). Online video courses for claims adjuster training Available from International Insurance Institute. (2 June). Retrieved July 29, 2009, from http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1738499051&Fmt=3&clientId=11123&RQT=309&VName=PQD

Conrad, D. (2005). Building and maintaining community in cohort-based online learning. Journal of Distance Education, 20(1), 1-20. Retrieved July 29, 2009, from http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=886738931&sid=3&Fmt=4&clientId=11123&RQT=309&VName=PQD

Jacobson, W.H. (2005). Transforming a traditional personnel preparation program in Orientation and mobility into an online program at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 99(11), 707-711. Retrieved July 29, 2009, from http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=940395251&sid=3&Fmt=3&clientId=11123&RQT=309&VName=PQD

Robbins, R., & Butler, B. (2009). Selecting a virtual world platform for learning. Journal of Information Systems Education, 20(2), 199-210. Retrieved July 29, 2009, from http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1755224791&Fmt=3&clientId=11123&RQT=309&VName=PQD

Walsh, T., & Hollister, C. (2009). Creating a digital archive for students' research in a credit library course. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 48(4), 391-400. Retrieved July 29, 2009, from http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1803343461&sid=12&Fmt=3&clientId=11123&RQT=309&VName=PQD

Zhang, D. & Zhou, L. (2003). Enhancing e-Learning with interactive multimedia. Information Resources Management Journal, 16(4), 1-14. Retrieved July 29, 2009, from http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=411106401&sid=10&Fmt=4&clientId=11123&RQT=309&VName=PQD