Future of Online Learning

Posted by Isra Anwar

July 08, 2014

Future of Online Learning

Educators need to understand the expectations and habits of these students, who want an online experience, and find ways to meet them where they are. Social norms, physical disabilities, and economic barriers continue to change and evolve, and students do not need the structure and guidance that the four walls of college used to provide, but they need a new system for a new student, which instructors must understand.

Students read more emails and status-updates than school related material and bring their laptop to class to occupy their time. The question is: Can formal training in different types of technology save education? That is a valid question for educators in terms of what they can do for students and provide teachers with in the classroom to make the experience the best possible for students. Schulte’s (2011) review proved that online learning educators should consider “alternate education models (that are adaptive to online learning) and the needs of our present and future society”.

Clay (2012) sees the future of online learning as a bit of a crisis. The crisis stems from the administration not taking online learning seriously enough. She explained it this way: “The decision-makers must provide [academic leaders with the tools they need in order to do their job the ability to travel to multiple campuses to train faculty, supervisors, and students; attend conferences and workshops that keep them abreast of rapidly changing, new technology in the distance-education arena.

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Though teachers are in their roles in higher education because they have proven to be educators and experts in their field, experience in the content is not enough to be prepared completely for the world of online learning. Further research must explore the academic leaders and the skills they need to possess in order to ensure the instructors are prepared for their online classes. If more students are going to continue to enroll in online college courses, to be more competitive in the workforce, it only makes sense that academic administrators are doing their part to maintain high standards as institutions of higher learning.

References
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Cusumano, M. A. (2013). Are the Costs of ‘Free’ Too High in Online Education?Communications of the ACM, 56(4), 26-29. doi:10.1145/2436256.2436264
Gabriel, M. A., Campbell, B., Wiebe, S., MacDonald, R. J., & McAuley, A. (2012). The role of digital technologies in learning: Expectations of first year university students. Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology, 38(1).
Herman, J. (2012). Faculty Development Programs: The Frequency and Variety of Professional Development Programs Available to Online Instructors. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 16(5), 87-106.