Preparing
to Teach Online
Kenneth
Mentor J.D., Ph.D.
Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice
University of North Carolina Pembroke
This
presentation was prepared for the
Annual Meetings of the Western Society of Criminology
San Diego, February 21-24, 2002
Introduction
"Quality
distance education." Some educators will suggest
that this statement is an oxymoron. Considering the "correspondence
courses" of the past, these educators have reason
the be skeptical. Correspondence courses, by nature,
require a trade-off between personalized education and
efficiency. These programs often required a level of
institutional support that could not be justified without
a high number of students and/or limited contact with
students. These early experiences with distance education
walked the line between quality and quantity - often
the choice was quantity.
Frustrated
with problems associated with correspondence courses,
educators moved to other modes of course delivery. The
second generation of distance education relied on mail,
teleconferencing, video tapes, synchronous video,
and travel. Institutions invested in expensive teleconferencing
equipment and established satellite campuses where students
would gather to participate in a televised class with
a professor and group of students at other locations. In
other cases "distance education" meant that
the educator would travel to meet with students. Other
programs included a residential component that required
students to travel to the university campus. Each of
these models involved high costs to the institution and/or
the student. Pressures to reduce these costs often
reduced the quality of the distance education experience.
Technological
advances in distance education now have the potential
to eliminate the quality/quantity tradeoff. The internet
has the capacity to provide both asynchronous and synchronous
learning opportunities. The flexibility provided by the
internet allows courses and programs to be designed around
proven strategies for teaching and learning. This can
be accomplished without the significant expenses associated
with video conferencing, travel, and other delivery methods.
Today's web-based courses allow a structured experience
that leads to a collaborative learning environment. In
effect, every computer becomes a classroom. Students
learn from the comfort of home while participating in
a high quality learning environment that includes interaction
with other learners. This is a significant improvement
over distance models in which many offerings of a course
were to a class of one.
Educators
value a collaborative environment. Administrators value
an efficient environment. Web-based courses have the
potential to eliminate the conflicting demands of these
values. However, this is accomplished through a shifting
of institutional resources that place a greater burden
on individual faculty members.
This
is a double edged sword for educators. Quality control
is gained as educators take responsibility for delivering
course content. This relieves administrators from the
burdens of coordinating the mailing of course materials,
the hiring of graders, and communication with students
in diverse locations. Web-based education also eliminates
the need for "satellite campuses" with support
staff, expensive teleconferencing equipment, and a range
of additional costs. The on-campus costs of distance
education are reduced to computers, software, and salaries
- costs the university is accustomed to paying. Off-campus
costs are shifted to students who are responsible for
computer equipment and internet access - again, something
many are paying for already.
The
shifting of costs can be very compelling to administrators.
This model can also be compelling to educators that long
for efficiency, control, and academic freedom. We believe
this trade-off can be beneficial to students and educators.
Further, we proceed under the assumption that skilled
distance educators will, when provided with adequate
resources, create online learning environments that are
equivalent to, or superior to, the learning environment
found in "traditional" classrooms.
This
page is devoted to a range of issues faced by educators
that are working to provide courses, or entire programs,
over the internet. This page includes links to distance
education resources, criminal justice related distance
programs, and a discussion of major issues related to
distance education in criminal justice.
Distance
Education Resources
Designing
a web-based course, or adding web content to a traditional
course, is much more than placing lecture notes on the
internet. Witty intellectual banter in the classroom
can be a lot of fun, and many of us are good at this.
How does the online educator translate these skills to
a web-based course? Should you even try? The following
links start with information that will help you decide
how to structure your online materials.
Online
vs. Traditional
This
first group of links provide information about the relative
strengths of traditional and distance education.
Course
Design
Most
online educators report that the initial course preparation
time needed for the first online course greatly exceeds
the amount of time needed to prepare a traditional course.
Time demands can be significantly increased for an online
educator with little experience in website design. As
this is a typical situation, it is important to allow
the time needed to acquire the skills needed to develop
effecting pedagogical methods and material.
The
following links, arranged by topic, offer a good place
to get started. These links provide an overview of issues
and resources related to an effort to get courses, and
possibly entire degree programs, online.
Initial
Planning
Will
your course be entirely online or do you plan to offer
online materials to a traditional course in a "hybrid" format?
Will all communication be asynchronous, or will you attempt
to create a simultaneous "online classroom" experience
through chat rooms or other synchronous course tools?
Are you trying to replicate what you do in the classroom,
and are good at, or are you planning to try new things?
Will you, and the others in class, be comfortable not
seeing the faces of the professor and classmates? Will
you adopt an organizational structure similar to the
15 week structure common in most universities (and textbooks)?
Will exams be included? If so, what level of security
is needed? If written assignments are required, how will
they be submitted, graded, and returned?
So
many questions! Planning for a high quality online course
begins well in advance of the first effort to design
a website. The educator must develop a picture of what
this course will look like, and how it will function,
before making the initial effort to design the course
materials.
Course
Content
Will
your site include text versions of in-class lectures?
What about PowerPoint presentations? Will you include
a list of links? What about online discussions? Here
are a few ideas:
Lectures:
PowerPoint
presentations:
Links:
Online
discussion:
Website
Design
The
internet is full of ugly pages with confusing organizational
structures. We have all seen them - now you get a chance
to do it right. Do you want, or need, a bunch of animated
icons? Some think they are ugly while others find them
to be cute. The process of designing a web site calls
on organizational, and artistic, skills that may be somewhat
dormant in educators. Your website is your public face
to these students. Do you also want a photo of your real
face on your site? If so, how do you do this? How do
you do this without creating a page that will take two
minutes to load on a slow internet connection?
Your
personality will shine through to your students - take
the time to design this component of your course so that
you and your students are prepared for a high quality
learning environment.
Course
Delivery
Most
universities have adopted "courseware" that
is used to create and deliver web-based content. These
programs solve many of the problems confronted by distance
educators who attempt to design all course components
from scratch. In general, these programs are very good.
They are clearly superior to proprietary course tools
provided by publishers. In fact, many publishers have
abandoned efforts to provide course creation software
and are offering course content that can be included
in popular courseware packages.
WebCT
and Blackboard appear to have cornered the courseware
market and many institutions have one or the other. Each
of these delivery systems have limitations but they offer
many advantages to the online educator. It is relatively
easy to create a simple course website in just a few
minutes - as long as training is provided. These programs
also have the flexibility to serve the needs of more
experienced web educators.
The
adoption of either of these packages requires an institutional
decision that is likely to be accompanied by various
support systems. This support typically includes faculty
training in the use of these programs. WebCT and Blackboard
also include extensive support information on their websites.
These sites include discipline specific information and
opportunities to communicate with other distance educators.
Much of the material n these sites is freely available.
Courseware
solutions typically encourage faculty to post all course
materials on the courseware server. The result is that
all materials are password protected. One of the advantages
of online course material is that this material is available
for review by prospective students and the general public.
This advantage is lost when all material is hidden behind
a password. Of course, this decision is up to the individual
faculty member. Some will prefer the secrecy offered
by passwords while others see advantages to open access.
If
full access is desired, the distance educator will need
to find server space for the posting of course materials
that are not contained within the structure of WebCT,
Blackboard, or other course delivery tool. The logical
solution is to post this material on University servers.
In some cases this solution will result in costs to the
department as computer support services attempts to recover
some of their costs. If the cost for server space also
includes help for faculty and students this may be a
cost effective solution.
The
ownership of course materials is another factor to be
considered as you decide where to post your course material.
Many institutions have created policies that claim ownership
of all materials placed on university servers. It is
a good idea to check on the policies of your institution
before posting material on their servers.
Internet
service providers offer an alternative that protects
the educator's ownership rights. Some of these sites
are free (with pop-ups or banners), others charge a minimal
fee with limited support, and others offer full services
including site design, hosting, and customer support.
There
are many differences between these services. Some offer
Microsoft FrontPage server extensions. This is a plus
if you want to use some of the advanced features (site
map, search, etc) available in FrontPage. Other services
use UNIX or Linux servers - there are advantages to these
as well. Database support might also be an important
feature.
Shop
carefully, looking for the features you will need for
your courses. Customer support varies greatly. It might
be helpful to ask a question of customer support before
you commit to a service. The response will give you a
good idea of what to expect if you continue your relationship.
Finally, many of these services offer a lower rate if
you commit to a longer agreement. It may be a good idea
to try out the service for a shorter period of time before
committing.
If
you move your pages off the university servers you get
to choose a cool domain name. The cost of registering
a domain name has dropped significantly over the past
couple of years. Use a search engine to search for "registering
a domain name." You will be presented with many
options. In general, each company goes through the same
process, especially if you are registering a .com or
.org name. Costs may vary so it is a good idea to be
sure you are getting something for the additional cost.
In
all cases, let the buyer beware. The "corporation" you
are dealing with might be a 14-year-old with a server
in the basement. This might actually be preferable to
a large company. Select a solution that provides the
level of service you need while providing a level of
support and trust that makes you comfortable.
These
links should help with these decisions:
Course
Management
At
this point your online course has been planned, designed,
created, and posted. Be sure to test all the components.
Ask a few colleagues, students, or others to test your
site from their home or office computers. This process
will provide good feedback for last minute changes. Screen
resolutions, browser types, and connection speeds vary
greatly from one user to another. A good test run will
help you eliminate many potential problems.
It
is finally time to welcome your students. Students comfort
and experience level is an issue in any class. This is
true for web-based classes, although the sources of discomfort
may be different. The first few days of an online class
are very important. It may be helpful to delay discussion
of the subject matter until students are comfortable
with the mode of delivery. You may want to place an end
date of public discussion of issues related to course
delivery. When the majority of students are comfortable
with the format, further discussion of computer issues
becomes a distraction. Remaining problems can be addressed
on an individual basis without prolonging class discussion
regarding course delivery.
Issues
related to delivery that extend past the first couple
weeks may be indicative of several issues. If these problems
are related to design, it is important to address these
problems as soon as possible. This can be relatively
easy when compared to problems associated with a distance
student's computer knowledge or equipment. It is not
safe to assume that a student that registers for an online
course is computer savvy. A clear statement of policy
regarding equipment and support can eliminate or minimize
these problems.
Online
courses can place different demands on the educator's
schedule. Students are often online late at night. If
the professor is comfortable with this schedule he or
she may find that this time presents an opportunity to
interact with students. It can be strangely comforting
to know that you are not the only one in class at 1:00
am. Of course, this schedule is not required and it is
entirely possible to teach web-based courses on a 9-5
schedule. Set the expectations at the start so students
understand, and respect, your schedule and work style.
Grading
issues are also a bit different in a web-based course.
We are all aware of "good" students that complete
their work on team, every time, in a traditional classroom.
These students keep up with their work because they carefully
keep track of all deadlines. They know they completed
and submitted a given assignment because the assignment
was handed to the professor in class. These students
often respond in a different way to online assignments.
They can be uncomfortable with the uncertainty associated
with the submission of an online assignment. Clicking
a "send" button may not be enough for a student
that worries about every assignment. They may submit
an assignment several times, perhaps asking for a quick
acknowledgement of each submission.
We
are also familiar with the less motivated student. This
student may exploit the uncertainty associated with the
submission of online assignments. The online educator
is placed in a difficult situation when a student, who
was assumed to be AWOL, suddenly appears after a three
week absence, claiming that he or she has been there
all along.
Problems
with each of these students can be reduced with a carefully
worded course outline. This is especially important in
a class that does not meet in person. Provide a clear
listing of expectations, schedule, response time, and
other issues. Quick grading of assignments, accompanied
by an e-mail or online discussion post that announces
that assignments have been graded, can reduce these problems.
Problems can be reduced once students are comfortable
with the online assignments and are aware that the professor
is closely monitoring the class and assignments.
The
following links address a range of course management
issues:
The
Next Course
Here
is some good news. The first course can be a bit rough
but at the end of the semester you have the framework
for continued development of this course. You have also
acquired the skills needed to try again.
Other
Information
Examples
I
leave my course information online and have provided
links below. The internet provides a great opportunity
to learn. Unfortunately, the commercialization of the
Internet has made this tool less valuable to students
and educators. I believe in free access to learning materials
and have participated in enough publisher funded "focus
groups" to know that publishers would prefer to
limit free access to knowledge.
A
downside of the choice to leave materials online is that
this material has the potential to become outdated. An
advantage is that potential students have an opportunity
to review materials as they choose their courses. Another
advantage is that any student, regardless of enrollment
status, has access to quality course materials - just
don't ask me to grade your papers!
Copyright
concerns may also reduce the motivation to leave materials
online. Ownership of online content is a contentious
issue. As discussed above, Blackboard and WebCT allow
the educator to place materials in password protected
areas. In spite of my support of free access, I also
place certain materials in password protected areas.
Each online educator has the power to make decisions
about access to course materials. The range of tools
available to online educators allow this choice. "One
size fits all" tools such as WebCT may cause educators
to keep all their materials in one place. This can be
a tempting option but remember that everything will be
hidden behind a password. With a little creativity, and
a few website creation skills, educators are empowered
to provide full, limited, or no access to their materials.
Finally,
will your materials be stolen? The reality is that it
is very easy to steal entire websites and repackage them
as your own. It is also very easy to discover these "copies" by
doing a search of the web. Would a web educator be "flattered" if
someone ripped off his or her course material? No, most
would be offended. The only consolation is that if the "educator" is
too lazy and/or uninspired to create unique web content
at least the students will benefit from the once-removed
efforts of a caring educator.
The
following links provide examples of course web pages.
Links
to Online Courses or Syllabi
Distance
Education - C.J. Degree Programs
University-based
The
links included on the left margin of this page include
brief descriptions of many criminal justice programs
in the United States. Many of these programs offer, or
plan to offer, web-based courses or degrees. The following
lists include programs that offer online coursework leading
to a complete degree. These lists are limited to progra
Undergraduate
Degrees
Internet-based
A
growing number of criminal justice degree programs are
being offered by internet-based institutions. In
contrast to traditional universities, these are "for
profit" ventures. Accreditation is typically
from an organization that specializes in accrediting
online degree programs.
Remember
that an assumption of this presentation is that skilled
distance educators will, when provided with adequate
resources, create online learning environments that are
equivalent to, or superior to, the learning environment
found in "traditional" classrooms. To
be brutally honest, and perhaps somewhat biased, a review
of the "for profit" educational sites cast
doubt on the validity of that assumption.
I
began to list several of these programs but discovered
that these companies are paying search engines and other
sources for referrals and clicks to their site. Why
should I use this page to give it away, especially when
these programs appear to be below the standards we have
come to expect, and work hard to maintain, in established
Colleges and Universities?
Search
for "online criminal justice degrees" on any
search engine. Since they pay for their positioning
on search results, these programs will be at or near
the top of the list. Go ahead and click on the
links - the search engine provider will bill the program
for each referral.
Accreditation
Issues
Distance
Education - Administrative Issues
Institutions
are rapidly adopting web-based models of distance education. Departments,
colleges, and individual faculty are being pressured
to create online courses and programs, in spite of the
lack of experience and expertise in distance education. To
make matters worse, those who are exerting this pressure
may be similarly unprepared for the challenges of delivering
and supporting web-based educational content.
Is
the pressure to move toward web-based models a threat? Does
this pressure lead to opportunity for those that "take
the bait?" How does web-based education interact
with intellectual property rights, academic freedom,
and tenure? What level of institutional support
will be required? The following links provide information
about a range of issues to be considered.
General
Issues
Infrastructure
Training
Ownership
Compensation
Tenure
Conclusion
The
state of web-based education is somewhat unsettled. Institutions
have rapidly, and perhaps naively, expanded their offerings
in web-based distance education. Faculty members
have devoted a significant amount of energy in their
efforts to "go online." Students have
been lured by promises, either real or imagined, of an
educational experience that fits into their busy schedules.
Distance
education has always been promoted as a low-cost solution
to many problems faced by higher education. Eventually,
institutions get around to counting money. We are
now reaching that stage and these institutions are discovering
that distance education is not, at this point, as profitable
as they anticipated (see the Chronicle of Higher Education
article linked below).
Those
who have experienced success in web-based education will
be quick to point out that a focus on profitability diverts
attention from the effectiveness of web-based course
delivery. Web-based courses have the potential
to be at least as effective as traditional courses. In
addition, web-based courses meet distance needs that
have always been active, especially in sparsely populated
areas that cannot support traditional institutions.
Many
educators that have integrated web content into their
courses report high levels of satisfaction, both with
the process and the result. This effort requires
a significant commitment in terms of time and energy. Hopefully
this page, and the links provided, will make this process
more efficient.
Educators
have strong feelings about retaining academic freedom.
Web-based education provides another battle ground regarding
this issue. In many cases the educator feels liberated
by an educational setting that offers an unprecedented
level of control over course content. However, this freedom
can be eliminated if online educators do not make informed
arguments about the future of this method of course delivery.
In effect, knowledge of the issues surrounding online
education are important for all educators, even those
who do not plan to teach online.
Web-based
courses can be very time consuming, in the design stage
as well as during the times in which the course is active. As
with any skill, the process gets easier with experience. Course
materials can start out very simply, perhaps just a course
outline. The simple process of posting a course
outline will illustrate the potential of online content. For
example, lets assume your course outline discusses a
required term paper. As with a traditional course
outline, you tell the students that you expect their
papers to follow APA style. An online syllabus can include
links to pages that describe APA style, formatting and
organizational options for term papers, and examples
of good papers from past classes. The richness of the
online syllabus makes it easier for students to learn
on their own, buying valuable time for more productive
teaching and learning activity.
Web-based
course content, when used a supplement to traditional
material, can lead to increased flexibility in the classroom. For
example, the process of administering and grading exams
can be very mechanical. Class time spent on exams
is not particularly productive. If exams are placed
online this time can be used for class activities that
lead to additional learning experiences. In effect,
the mechanization of certain course elements allows the
educator to focus on productive and rewarding class experiences. When
used in this way "distance" technology has
the potential to lead to a more personal and student
centered classroom experience.
Flexibility
is one of the most attractive features of web-based courses.
This flexibility extends to course design, content selection,
and the use of time. Students place a high value
on the opportunity to participate in a class during times
that fit their schedule. Faculty have busy schedules
and they also benefit from this flexibility.
Is
web-based education for everyone? No, of course
not. Is this method of delivery equally effective
in all contexts? Again, no. However, for
a growing number of administrators, educators, and students,
web-based education makes a lot of sense. Distance
education has a past that has not always included successful
innovation. The internet offers an opportunity
to resolve many of the problems associated with previous
efforts to educate at a distance. As such, the
future of web-based education appears to be quite bright. Through
the careful efforts of educators, that potential may
be reached.
The
Future
|
