Research on E-Learning and Higher Education

E-Learning and Higher Education

Since the early part of the new millennium, many areas have been impacted by internet and online ways of doing things, from commerce to governmental affairs to education. Since that time, e-learning has taken a huge bound forward, beginning as a general website consultation to a now-massively inclusive and comprehensive platform for everything from taking a course online for college credit, using college-internal resources such as Blackboard to communicate with teachers and manage assignments, to obtaining accredited degrees without ever leaving home.

E-learning has changed the way colleges approach the education of students. Once a relative novelty, it is now a standard in any educational program even when one matriculates and takes all courses in residence. This paper reviews some of the ways in which this happens, the scope and varieties of e-learning possible, and the ways in which e-learning prepares one for the workforce and subsequent careers.

The University of Phoenix, located in Phoenix, Arizona, was founded in 1976 as a college for working poor students who needed flexibility with jobs and families in order to attend school. Classes were offered nights, weekends, one at a time or in any combination students found helpful. Since that time, the University has grown to be the largest private university in North America, with over 200 campus locations, more than 100 degree programs at all levels, from baccalaureate to doctorate, in fields of study that are in demand, from medicine to education, technology and business. (University of Phoenix, 2009).

According to the website, many of the advantages that students enjoy such as evening classes, flexible scheduling, continuous enrollment, online classes, online library, ebooks, and others were pioneered by UP or "made acceptable through University of Phoenix's efforts." (ibid). UP offers its programs in three ways: in residence, a combination of residence and online programs through the use of FlexNet, or completely online. The requirements for all courses are the same, regardless of the method taken, and the same rigorous expectations apply in all cases.

Our Online Campus is an outcome of the University's recognition of the technological transformation of the workplace and the needs of the working adult student. Rather than gathering in a traditional classroom, students and instructors interact electronically and asynchronously, resulting in increased access for students by allowing them to control the time and place of their participation. (Ibid).

Alison Carr-Chellman (2006) writes about the perceptions of using the internet, in particular, as a tool for learning. Critics have dismissed the idea as either too clumsy to be effective or, given the reach of online sources and the sheer magnitude of available sources, some of them unreliable academically, impossible to control. Advocates, while acknowledging the problems, suggest that instead of replicating the ways in which online learning has occurred, we should be discovering how to use the medium and then design instructional environments that utilize tha e-advantages of the web while minimizing or negating its negatives. Carr-Chellman states:

Instead of asking what the Internet allows us to effectively do (dispense information) and designing instruction to fit that medium because it is efficient or glitzy or fundable, we should instead be asking how do people best learn a given topic, and create learning environments on- and off-line that meet those learning needs. (2006, p. 102).Even as recently as 2006, there was a great concern over the content and appropriateness of online learning. Certainly, in some cases, it works very well; in others, there is still much to learn about how to effectively use and harness this potentially wonderful way of engaging more and more students in a world which demands skill and knowledge as a basic part of entering the workforce.

Cher Ping Lim lists four characteristics of online learning:

1. Online learning is about the learning processes mediated by network technologies;

2. Online learning is about making possible successful knowledge management to leverage upon the intellectual capital of the learning environment;

3. Online learning is about harnessing the strengths and addressing the weaknesses of network technologies to create a conducive learning environment;

4. Online learning is about providing the interactions among the students and their communities to build and share knowledge.

Lim goes on to discuss strategies for successful online learning, bringing the discussion to more than just the program and the physical requirements of electronic items and the software that runs them. The article also speaks about the "whole configuration of events, activities, contents, and interpersonal processes taking place in the context that online learning is carried out." (p. 324). There are necessary and sufficient conditions that must be met if online learning in higher education is to be successful, if a learning culture is to "enculturate students to be lifelong learners." (ibid).

Sylvia Charp (2001) describes the growing trend of using internet technology in higher education. California State University has enrolled students in over 800 courses in 40 disciplines, while the US Navy has partnered with 16 colleges to offer an opportunity to sailors to complete full degree programs entirely online from their workplaces, even submarines. More than 100,000 high school teachers in Pennsylvania use online courses to meet their professional obligations in continuing education.

Anthony Picciano (2006) talks about online learning as it truly is, an amalgam of approaches that have the internet in common. The ways in which it is used vary widely according to need, institutional guidelines, and teaching situation. E-learning can be a supplement to regular instructor-based teaching, or it can be the entire course using an interactive asynchronous network (ALN), which could be a threaded conversation between students. It can be a self-paced environment, where students master objectives before moving on to the next component, which is presented sequentially.

In all of this, there is a pedagogical underpinning, and three of these are discussed in the article. These are instructional planning with course-management software, self-reflective teaching, and interaction. Instructional planning with course management software may be a series of lessons done on the Whiteboard with a CD and a projector. In this scenario, the students are present in the classroom, but the lesson is web-based and accompanies a text. The teacher in this instance is a facilitator of the information presented.

Self-reflective teaching refers to the process of slowing things down so that there is time for reflection by both teachers and students. This allows for time to think and reflect on a topic. Though this can occur in a regular traditional classroom setting, the online community is much better suited to this kind of learning. Reflective teaching is certainly desirable, particularly hen the learning is not closed, but open-ended, such as a case-study approach, critiques of works of art, and problem solving. The asynchronous environment allows for time to think and then respond.

Interaction refers to the social and educational exchanges that occur in groups. There are, of course, interactions between the teacher and the student. There are also exchanges between students that are course related. Working in groups, class discussions of material and the like are all examples of interaction. Online learning, in some instances, facilitates this process. Those students who are shy about participating "live" in the classroom can certainly do so in the online platform. Discussions are also not time-bound, as they would be in a real classroom, so that they can take other forms and extensions as the students need. (p. 95).

Several other works were consulted for this topic. They are listed as follows. The list is by no means exhaustive, but is fairly representative of the topic.

Fletcher, G.H. (2004). The Future of E-Learning. T H E Journal. Volume: 32. Issue: 2.

A discussion of the likely direction that e-learning will take in the future, given its course over the past few years.

Gaylord, T. and Tolliver, D. (2003). Sharing E-Learning Services: Former Rivals Improve Education While Stretching Dollars. T H E Journal. Volume: 31. Issue: 1.

Discusses the issue of resource sharing among colleges. In some cases, smaller colleges do not have the budgets for extensive e-learning development and equipment, but do have academic programs to share with other colleges that do have e-learning budgets.

Howell, D. (2001). Elements of Effective E-Learning. College Teaching. Volume: 49. Issue: 3.

Discusses the necessary requirements for effective e-learning strategies and development.

Waters, J.K. (2008). A Pathway to Achievement: An Innovative IT Skills Program Is Laying Students a Trail between High School, Higher Education, and Ultimately, the Job Market. T H E Journal. Volume: 35. Issue: 9.

Makes the connection between all levels of education, from prior e-learning experience in high school, through college, and the requisite acquisition of skills for career and workplace.

Lightfoot, J.M. (2005). Integrating Emerging Technologies into Traditional Classrooms: A Pedagogic Approach. International Journal of Instructional Media. Volume: 32. Issue: 3.

Another pedagogical approach to e-learning in a traditional classroom setting. This one is concerned with potential technologies and the problems associated with full integration.

Bibliography

"About University of Phoenix."

Campus and Online Learning Formats. (2009).

Carr-Chellman, A. A. (2006). Desperate Technologists: Critical Issues in E-Learning and Implications for Higher Education. Journal of Thought. Volume: 41. Issue: 1. P. 102

Charp, S. E-Learning. T H E Journal. Volume: 28. Issue: 9. P. 10

Fletcher, G.H. The Future of E-Learning. T H E Journal. Volume: 32. Issue: 2.

Gaylord, T. and Tolliver, D. (2003). Sharing E-Learning Services: Former Rivals Improve Education While Stretching Dollars. T H E Journal. Volume: 31. Issue: 1.

Howell, D. Elements of Effective E-Learning. College Teaching. Volume: 49. Issue: 3.

Lightfoot, J.M. (2005). Integrating Emerging Technologies into Traditional Classrooms: A Pedagogic Approach. International Journal of Instructional Media. Volume: 32. Issue: 3.

Lim, C.P. Online Learning in Higher Education: Necessary and Sufficient Conditions. International Journal of Instructional Media. Volume: 32. Issue: 4. P. 324.

Picciano, A.G. Online Learning: Implications for Higher Education Pedagogy and Policy. Journal of Thought. Volume: 41. Issue: 1. P.

Waters, J.K. (2008). A Pathway to Achievement: An Innovative IT Skills Program Is Laying Students a Trail between High School, Higher Education, and Ultimately, the Job Market. T H E Journal. Volume: 35. Issue: 9.