INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
Teaching and learning in the 21st century not only utilizes various technologies, but also takes place any time and any place. During the last decade, higher education institutions equipped many of their classrooms with the latest computer hardware and software applications and trained their faculty and staff to use the technology. With the technological advancements and the changing needs of institutions and students, more faculty members are teaching online.
MAIN FOCUS: CHALLENGES OF TEACHING ONLINE
Faculty choose to teach courses online for a variety of reasons. Teaching online provides faculty with an opportunity to 1) get more involved with technology; 2) use technology more innovatively to enhance teaching and learning; 3) meet the needs of students at a distance; 4) increase flexibility in working hours and locations; 5) respond to students’ requests for online educational opportunities; 6) interact with students more frequently; and 7) respond to administration’s initiative (McKenzie, Mims, Bennett, Waugh, 2000). As they prepare to teach their courses online, faculty face numerous challenges that can be classified into four areas: online course design; technology tools and course management systems; faculty development; and finally technical and administration support (Berge, Muilenburg, & Van Haneghan, 2002; Levine & Sun, 2002).
Online Course Design
Teaching online and at a distance are different from teaching face-to-face (Cyrs, 1997). Good teaching practices, however, work in either instructional setting. Hacker and Niederhauser (2000) suggest five instructional practices that current research proves to promote learning in both online and face-to-face environments: 1) asking students to construct deep explanations, justifications, and reasons for what they think and do; 2) grounding learning through effective use of examples; 3) using collaborative problem-solving strategies; 4) using appropriate and adequate feedback throughout instruction; and 5) embedding motivational components that enhance students’ self-efficacy. These practices are grounded in (also aligned with) the seven principles of good practice in undergraduate education (Chickering & Gamson, 1987). Furthermore, Cyrs (1997) argues that teaching in distance-learning environments not only requires sound pedagogical practices, but additional skills in course planning and organization, and working collaboratively with colleagues.
A systematic and thoughtful approach to online course design is essential (Beaudin, 1999; Kearsley, 2002; Palloff & Pratt, 2001). McLellan (1999) recommends that instructors design online courses that communicate the course purpose, identify learning activities and course requirements, explain the role of the instructor and the student, provide an orientation to resources and the online learning environment, and reinforce the value of forming an online learning community.
In addition, online course design should incorporate teaching strategies. For example, the use of guided didactic conversations as a strategy for instruction at a distance can simulate a dialogue between the student and the faculty member (Morrison & Guenther, 2000). The dialogue that takes place in an online discussion forum usually leads to students’ better understanding of the instructional materials.
Technology Tools and Course Management Systems
Technology plays a vital role in teaching and learning. Technology tools may enable student-centered learning activities and facilitate learner interaction in courses that are taught online. Based on their function, technology tools may fall into categories such as communication, organization and pre sentation, and course management systems (Zhu & Kaplan, 2002). This comprehensive array of tools includes not only existing technology, but new ones being developed rapidly that often outperform the old ones. New technology tools like blogs, podcasts, wikis, social bookmarking, and instant messaging are changing the nature of tools from single to multiple functions, and capable of supporting teaching and learning in diverse social and cultural contexts.
These new tools may redefine the way we teach and students learn, and also demand new teaching and learning practices. Blogs and wikis as technology tools not only encourage students to express their thoughts, but also generate student interest in their communities and cultures (Downes, 2004; Engstrom & Jewett, 2005). Podcasts, either audio or video, allow users to download class lectures or experts’ speeches for later listening and viewing. Social bookmarking presents new and effective ways of sharing and archiving information for later retrieval. Finally, instant messaging has uses beyond personal communication, and slowly gained ground for classroom uses in support of student learning (Farmer, 2005). As instructors prepare online courses, it is critical for them to understand different uses of technology, select appropriate tools, and have adequate access to the tools for teaching online.
Many online and distance-learning courses are delivered through course management systems (CMSs) such as WebCT, Blackboard, or ANGEL. Faculty often have to use the available CMS in their institution to teach online courses. Many CMSs have functions that allow students to access course syllabi, announcements, assignments, and schedules of activities; and to have discussions with peers using asynchronous or synchronous communication tools. Although a CMS can help instructors implement certain teaching strategies, the system itself does not necessarily embody teaching strategies for an online environment. Faculty should not plan teaching to fit into a course management system, but to take advantage of a system’s functions to support teaching activities that facilitate student learning.
Hardware and software standards, scalability, security protocols, functions, adaptability, and usability are important for CMSs. Difficulties in using a system can limit its full benefits. Students’ responses to a CMS’s features can also increase or decrease a faculty member’s use of a system in online teaching. A course management system loaded with bells and whistles seems to negatively impact faculty’s decision to use it. Some faculty members were reluctant to use such a CMS due to students’ lack of skills beyond e-mail, Internet surfing, and instant messaging (Morgan, 2003). Also, it is necessary to have an array of technology tools for teaching online to meet varied students’ technology needs and diverse learning styles.
Faculty Development
Online teaching provides an opportunity for faculty to change the way they deliver instructional materials and engage in educational processes. The online teaching environment provides ample opportunities for student-centered teaching, interactive discussion, and collaborative learning and team activities that are based on real-world problems. The online environment, capable of engaging students in actively constructing knowledge, encourages faculty to rethink or reexamine their current teaching practices. Faculty members who plan to teach online will gradually relinquish the role of “sage on the stage” and assume one as “guide on the side,” leading students through information gathering, practice, and knowledge construction.
Online teaching involves collaboration among many individuals such as an instructional designer, Web developer, graphic designer, network engineer, distance-education coordinator, faculty development specialist, and librarian. Online teaching requires additional skills. Instructors can gain the skills and develop the abilities that are necessary for successful online teaching gradually. They can first integrate technologies into face-to-face courses and become familiar with the online teaching environment before taking on the challenge of teaching totally online (Palloff & Pratt, 2001; Zhu, Payette, & DeZure, 2003). As part of the faculty development process, instructors who are interested in online teaching can learn more through workshops or individual consultation and coaching. Some researchers suggest that institutions require training for online teaching and that some part of that training be conducted online (Ko & Rossen, 2001) in order to give faculty the experience of being online learners.
Faculty training for online teaching should include the following: software programs, online syllabi development, course management, similarities and differences of online teaching (vs. traditional teaching), the online instructor’s voice (i.e., the need to add more of a personal touch to lecture notes, instructions, etc.), and online teaching strategies to promote participation and facilitate interaction, and the integration of resources (Ko & Rossen, 2001; Zhu et al., 2003).
Technical and Administrative Support
Students usually have a wide range of technology skills. Student-owned computer hardware and software may also not be compatible with the institution’s technology configuration. This incompatibility can result into technical problems for those who take online courses. Instructors should not be the primary source of technical support to train students, troubleshoot, and solve students’ technical problems. Institutions should provide complete and responsive training, support systems, and services for online students.
Faculty who teach online need to be competent in using online tools, such as e-mail, discussion forums, and listservs. They should also develop skills in moderating and facilitating online discussions and chat sessions, as well as skills in communicating with students, interacting with them, giving feedback, and responding to students’ needs effectively through various communication technologies (Kearsley, 2000). In addition, they must enj oy interacting with online students and use technology effectively to teach (Kearsley, 2002).
Faculty also need administrative support, for example, compensation for online teaching and well-defined institutional policy for online course enrollment. What should be an ideal teacher-student ratio in an online course? How should faculty be compensated for online teaching? Research in online teaching, however, has not been able to provide clear guidelines. Some researchers suggest that the demand on faculty members’ time increases when they teach online (National Education Association, 2000), but others argue that less time is needed for teaching at a “distance” (DiBiase, 2000).
Administrators and faculty members should consider multiple factors when determining an enrollment cap for an online course. The level of dialogue and inter action in an online course can vary greatly. Focusing on individual efforts, such as reading and submitting papers, results in a low level of interaction (Bedore, Bedore, & Bedore, 1998), whereas emphasizing student-centered learning demands for a higher level of interaction. Therefore, course goals, level of interaction, and institutional standards are factors that should influence the enrollment cap for online courses (Zhu et al., 2003).
Practices in providing compensation, rewards, or incentives for online teaching vary among institutions. Some institutions approach teaching of distance courses by offering additional compensation as part of an overload (Piercy, 2000) or a course release arrangement (Schifter, 2000). Others provide a fixed stipend for course development.
Similar to online course enrollment, there is no fit-for-all formula for faculty compensation for teaching online. The formula should be based on the institution’s needs and change as an online program or curriculum goes through its development phases. An institution’s goals for online teaching, course levels, quality of learning experience, and many others can all be part of the compensation formula. In assisting institutions and faculty to establish guidelines for online teaching compensation, the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) recommended, “The faculty ofthe college or university should establish general rules and procedures for the granting of teaching-load credit in preparation and the delivery of programs and courses utilizing distance-education technologies, for required outside-of-class student contact (office hours), and for the allocation of necessary supporting resources” (Wagner, Martin, Schuster, Conklin, Gorman, Rubiales, et al., 1999, p. 42).
FUTURE TRENDS: ISSUES IN TEACHING ONLINE
Issues related to online teaching may arise from a range of educational and administrative activities such as assessment of student learning, course and program evaluation, access to online technology and library resources, copyright, and serving students with special needs.
Faculty will address a variety of problems that are unique to teaching in an online environment. Some issues will be resolved as online teaching becomes more established in institutions. Before that time arrives, it is useful for faculty, who are embarking on the journey of online teaching, to think, reflect, and seek answers to the questions listed. A good understanding of these questions may ensure a smoother transition to online teaching, and better prepare faculty to plan, design, develop, and teach online courses.
Questions to Consider
The following questions are designed to help faculty and administrators better understand the issues involved in teaching online:
• What type of course is appropriate for online delivery?
• What technology is appropriate for teaching online courses?
• What support in course design and use of technology tools should the institution provide to faculty members?
• How are online courses different in meeting the needs of students?
• How are online students different from those in traditional classrooms?
• What technology literacy skills should be required of students who plan to take online courses?
• What administrative and technology support do online students need in order to succeed?
• How do students acquire the appropriate technology skills to be successful online?
• How can faculty assess student learning online?
• What kind of training do faculty need before teaching online?
• What benefits or incentives should faculty members receive if they teach online?
• What is the institution’s policy on the ownership of materials developed for online teaching?
• How should the institution evaluate faculty who teach online?
• What are the implications of teaching online for tenured and tenure-track faculty?
• How is teaching online perceived in your institution — a fad or an initiative?
• How is online teaching aligned with the institution’s vision/mission?
CONCLUSION
Teaching online can be an exciting, but challenging experience for faculty. Teaching online requires a paradigm shift in one’s thinking about teaching and learning. It also involves a shift from viewing teaching as an individual endeavor to a team task.As faculty take their courses online, they will find that online teaching poses challenges, raises issues, but at the same time provides ample opportunities for professional development and for enhancing the educational experiences of their students.
KEY TERMS
Blog: A software application that allows its user to post text and images on the Web as a form of online publication and communication. Downes (2004) states that a blog “adds to the form of the diary by incorporating the best features of hypertext; the capacity to link to new and useful resources” (p. 18)
Course Management System (CMS): A software system that is specifically designed and marketed for faculty and students to use in teaching and learning. Common course management systems include, but are not limited to, WebCT, Blackboard, LearningSpace, and eCollege. Most course management systems include course content, organization and presentation, communication tools, student assessment tools, grade-book tools, and functions that manage class materials and activities (Morgan, 2003).
Distance Education: A generic term for “all forms of education in which all or most of the teaching is conducted in a different space than the learning, with the effect that all or most ofthe communication between teachers and learners is through a communication technology” (Moore& Anderson, 2003, p. xiv).
Faculty Development: Programs and activities focus on the individual faculty member. The most common focus for programs of this type is the faculty member as a teacher. Faculty development specialists provide consultation on teaching, including class organization, evaluation of students, in-class presentation skills, questioning, and all aspects of design and presentation (POD Network, 2004).
Instant Messaging (IM): A form of synchronous online communication that allows two or more computer users to communicate via typed text across network connection (Farmer, 2005)
Online Course Design: Setting goals and learning objectives, selecting technology tools, preparing instructional strategies, and planning evaluation for courses to be delivered online.
Online Learning Communities (OLCs): Community that has many of the same characteristics as campus learning communities, but no physical locations and boundaries, extends beyond campuses, regions, and countries. Learners support and assist one another in accomplishing learning tasks and projects. During their interaction with peers, instructors, and experts from the field, learners pose questions, test ideas and hypotheses, share and exchange experiences, and solve problems (Zhu, 2004).
Online Teaching: Delivery of instruction using different Web-based technologies, from the Internet or an intranet and other communication technologies, that enable students to participate in learning activities beyond the campus, from students’ homes to workplaces and other locations (Zhu, Payette, & DeZure, 2003).
Podcast: An innovation that refers “to any software and hardware combination that permits automatic downloading of audio files for listening at the user’s convenience” (EDUCAUSE, 2005). Campbell (2005) states podcasting’s popularity is due to its ease of publication, subscription, and use across multiple environments.
Social Bookmarking: A practice of organizing information and categorizing Web-based resources in a public Web site through use of tagging the keywords (EDUCAUSE, 2005).
Web-Based Instruction (WBI): A hypermedia-based instructional program that utilizes the attributes and resources of the World Wide Web to create a meaningful environment where learning is fostered and supported (Khan, 1997, p. 6).
Wiki: A server-based software application that freely supports the creation and editing of Web page content by users using any Web browser. In this online environment, users create hyperlinks by employing simple text syntax as well as linking internal pages and creating new ones.
