Posted 7:33 AM by George Siemens
I've been reflecting on how elearning will gain increased support and presence in existing educational structures (how's that for a fun Friday night?!). I'm convinced that it will not occur as a result of $300 000 budgets, or formally funded online courses - it's just too expensive. Let's say a college has 100 courses (humour me - it makes the math easier). If each course costs $30 000 to move online, we're looking at $3 000 000. And that is a conservative figure. Most colleges have more than 100 courses, and development costs usually exceed 30K. So, what is the solution? How are we going to get online before we die?

I think the answer lies in making it easy for instructors to move resources online. The current competencies required to manage an online project are overwhelming. The process needs to be simple, effect, and duplicatable. Steve Gilbert presents a useful concept here: Low Threshold Applications (LTA). Definition: "A Low Threshold Application (LTA) is a teaching/learning application of information technology that is reliable, accessible, easy to learn, non-intimidating and (incrementally) inexpensive." This could be as simple as using email to contact students, adding a discussion thread, or posting course content online. For more info: LTA

So, here is a digital toast: To every instructor/designer that will be adding some component of technology to their teaching this next year...after all, it won't be government funding, or strategy groups that will make it happen. It's going to be instructors and designers...YOU CAN DO IT! (Next you'll see me doing infomercials with Tony Robbins..."Confidence Online - how I made my first million!").

Effects of Online Learning (.pdf format)
Quote: "The experimental group made more gains as a result of web-based instruction. They became more proficient, made few errors and could communicate easily and fluently."

Comment: For every article that extols the virtues of online learning, there are about three that say it's useless (or some variation of that). One of the benefits of learning online is the development of writing and communication skills. So, in this study (where these traits were evaluated), online learning performed well...basically, it's about evaluating a medium according to its strengths...and comparing it against another medium's weaknesses. Logic = a Latin term meaning "thinking optional".

Is Blended Best?
Quote: "Blended learning has garnered plenty of buzz at e-learning conferences and on training-related listservs, but can it create a more productive workforce than online learning alone? It can, according to a two-year study by Thomson Learning. "

Comment: Do we really need a two-year study to prove this? Isn't it obvious? A rich learning environment with choice and options is more effective than a simple, static environment. It's true for online...and it's true for classrooms.


Web Use Grows
Quote: "Internet usage is increasing worldwide, with more people logging on for greater lengths of time, according to a report released Monday by Nielsen/NetRatings."

Comment: I think most people are aware of the growth of the Internet. Unfortunately, this study does not look at growth rates in developing countries (nor does it mention Canada - what's up with that??).

Thin Client
Quote: "A tiny, economically disadvantaged school has won top honors for its innovative use of technology to bring state-of-the-art educational services to students and parents spread across vast distances in northwestern New Mexico."

Comment: I saw a presentation on Linux thin clients recently. For more info, see: LTSP. The concept of affordable computing is promising. Basically a thin client has no hard drive, CD, etc. Computing functions are managed from a server. End result - equipping a computer lab of 30 computer is significantly cheaper (you can use old computers - processing speed isn't as much of an issue because much of it happens server side) than equipping a lab with 30 "fat clients" (i.e. regular desktop computers).

Performance Support
Quote: "InTouch is just one example of how companies are starting to use online community tools to take knowledge management beyond its traditional role associated with chat rooms, data repositories and FAQs. Although stored knowledge is still essential, these new tools also allow employees to tap into the most powerful problem-solving resource they have available: one another".

Comment: A huge part of learning is performance support...i.e. having access to resources WHEN you need them. This article offers an excellent example of how knowledge management and elearning are essentially about communication (hey, didn't I yip about that on Tuesday??).

Etiquette
Comment: Here is a list of guidelines for handling live video conferences. Most people don't have to worry about this yet...but as bandwidth increases, this could be a part of education's future. Good example of understanding the attributes of a medium...new medium, new rules.


Online Extroverts?
Quote: "It's well known that people say and do things in cyberspace that they wouldn't ordinarily say or do in the face-to-face world. They loosen up, feel more uninhibited, express themselves more openly."

Comment: This article tries to answer why people are less inhibited online. Some reasons: anonymity, invisibility, dissociations, equality (and several jargon-like concepts..."solipsistic introjection"?...I'm going to try and squeeze that into a conversation over the next week :)).