Lesson 13
Nancy Donaldson

Carefully read and review the content outlined in Lesson 13 to provide you with an overview of the subject.

Following is a discussion of best practices and strategies for taking learning beyond the classroom and into the online instructional environment of the Internet and the World Wide Web.

Although the U.S. lags behind other countries in its distance education initiatives, it is estimated that U.S. community colleges and universities are offering more than 52,000 courses at a distance, and many more are in the planning stages. Almost 50 percent of the participants in the Campus Computing Survey report that their institutions offer one or more full college courses online via the Internet and/or the World Wide Web. Graduate degree plans currently make up the greatest number of post-secondary degrees available through distance education.

The challenge of offering online courses lies in the creation of a space in which a group of instructors and students carry out the learning process in an electronic virtual environment that is meant to replace the physical class environment. Online learning offers many opportunities for institutions to open up education to a new and diverse group of learners. The primary benefit to educational institutions offering distance education courses may be the increased number of non-traditional students they are able to attract and serve. Institutions must make a commitment and systematically plan to implement this new form of instruction and realize that no medium, in and of itself, will likely improve learning in a significant way when it is used to deliver instruction.

Due to the omnipresence of the Internet, particularly the World Wide Web, most virtual classrooms are Web-based. Thus, a good deal of attention must be given to the creation and accessibility of web pages for the course. The HTML pages containing course material must be easily navigated and should require little maintenance. The course web pages should have a consistent format and be aesthetically pleasing in order to orientate the learner and gain their attention. Consistency can be accomplished by creating HTML templates. Web pages should include navigation buttons so that students have a sense of where they are in the course material and know how to return to the main page. Lines of text in a web page should be shorter and the student should not have to scroll through long pages.

Effective and timely communication is a high priority in an online course. There are two possible types of tools for this purpose: synchronous and asynchronous.

Synchronous communication tools allow for live lectures through the web using video and audio conferencing and text-based chat. Students may then ask the instructor questions on the chat and either hear the answer or receive a written response. The instructor should have an assistant to help monitor the chat so that he is aware of any questions or comments during the lecture.

Asynchronous tools allow students to participate whenever they choose. Students are able to read postings from other students and reflect on this information before posting a response. The sophistication and flexibility of software for supporting online courses vary widely, from simple electronic mail systems to conferencing systems that have been enhanced to support classroom-like experiences, particularly group discussions and joint projects.

Effectively teaching an online course presents the teacher with several challenges, not the least of which is how to design the class itself. As with conventional courses, the teacher must design a class that is context driven rather than instrument driven. Additionally, time commitments by both the student and the teacher have to be considered.

Several programs throughout the country have incorporated best practices in course design, collaboration, and useful assessment to create online programs. One of the largest examples of such a program is the Learning Network of the State University of New York (SLN), which was created for 64 colleges to serve nearly 400,000 students at SUNY. The goal of the program was to "bring SUNY's diverse and high-quality instructional programs within reach of learners everywhere and to be the best provider of asynchronous instruction for learners in New York and beyond".

One of the courses offered by SLN at SUNY is the Internet Academy at Herkimer County Community College. HCCC began its online program by offering online courses in Travel and Tourism in 1997. The course delivery included asynchronous discussions, essay exams, Web-based research papers, and responses to critical thinking questions posed by the Professor. Grades are assessed as follows: participation in discussions 50%, essay exams 20%, and research papers 30%. The professor provides immediate feedback to students and does not require synchronous communication between them. A survey of the students who have taken the course demonstrates the following: 94% of students believe they learned as much or more as in a traditional course; 82% completed the online course as opposed to a 78% completion rate for the traditional course; 70% indicated they would take more online courses; and 45% indicated they would like to do all their work on the Internet.

Virtual classrooms are not without their challenges, however a rich learning experience awaits the student who enters a well-designed program. Success occurs when instructors are willing to commit to the amount of time required to setting up and maintaining the web location. Furthermore, the instructor has to be willing to make himself/herself available to students through the timely turnaround of electronic mail. Additionally, students must be willing to commit to a learning environment that may require a greater time commitment on their part than the conventional classroom. Finally, both the instructor and the student in a successful online class must be willing to collaborate with persons whose face they may never see and whose voice they may never hear.