Legitimacy
When I first started working in my current school district, I learned that the superintendent got his doctoral degree from Phoenix University -- an online school. Way back in 2001, that was scandalous!! The person who told me actually sneered and said, "Pay enough money and anyone can call himself Doctor." There's no way for me to know how rigorous the superintendent's program was, but because it was based online, people didn't see it as a credible degree.
Not much has changed, as evidenced from Lorenzo (2010) who reported on a survey of thousands of community college instructors where online learning demand far exceeds programming. Part of the lack of programming comes from instructors' views that online classes aren't "real" learning -- that students don't get as much out of being behind a computer screen than they do coming into a physical classroom. Besides that, there is a feeling of being replaced by a computer -- forgetting the fact that someone needs to be the facilitator for students (Lorenzo, 2010).
Interestingly, community colleges and other universities that do purposefully create online courses do so to reach learners who may not be able to attend face-to-face classes. Queens University (2017), for example, comes to my high school each semester to speak with juniors and seniors, and one of their selling points is their online offerings.
Instructor Preparation
In order to bring more legitimacy to online learning, educational institutions need to not only think about the students they will serve, but also the training of their instructors. Prensky's (2001) now famous designations of "digital natives" vs "digital immigrants" float in the background of teachers wary of changing the system they believe works. According to Condie and Livingston (2007), teachers have to shift their views of pedagogy in two important ways: learn how to use the technology and change their teaching methods. Easier said than done.
In my district, there is less than nothing when it comes to professional development for technology integration. Sure, we learn how to use our grading program, and maybe the cool VR goggles that fascinates the students. But real integration? Real online learning? Nothing. I work hard to learn as much as I can about best practices in the online environment, but it would be nice to have some back up. When I read Zheng, R., Perez, J., Williamson, J., & Flygare, J. (2008), I was so excited about webquests! I mean, I've used them, but I've never understood the research behind them or how best to utilize a webquest. My students could construct their own based on a book they've read, or a topic they want to learn more about. My point is, educational institutions do not do their teachers any favors by not investing in ongoing training for online learning. All they do is hide behind the cliche of teachers not wanting to change.
Learning Shifts
When Prensky (2001) divided us into people who grew up with technology and those who had to learn it, he inadvertently set up an adults vs kids situation, in my opinion. While I understand the reasoning behind his writing, I think that my getting to learn to use technology has made me a much better teacher -- I have more tools. My students can't even write an email in the form of a friendly letter. They may know technology, but they don't know how to harness it; they haven't really had to. This infographic perfectly describes my daily dilemma:
Therefore, when researchers discuss the need for teachers to change (Condie & Livingston, 2007; Lorenzo, 2010; Zheng, et al, 2008), I think what they mean is that we need to evolve. We need to stop being rigid in thinking that there are correct answers all the time and since we are educated and studied that subject, we should impart that knowledge. It's when I think of online learning as an evolution of my teaching career that I can stop being mad that my students would rather be playing on their cell phones and try to figure out why my lesson is bombing. Kids still have to learn.
References
Abernathy, D. (1999). What's ahead for online learning? Training & Development, 53(5), 24.Condie, R., & Livingston, K. (2007). Blending online learning with traditional approaches: changing
practices. British Journal of Educational Technology, 38(2), 337-348. doi:10.1111/j.1467-
8535.2006.00630.
Lorenzo, A. L. (2010). Teaching the world to sing: Planning for the future of online learning. New
Directions for Community Colleges, 2010(150), 95-102. doi:10.1002/cc.409
Nguyen, S. (2015, March). Computing in the Classroom. Retrieved from
https://harvardmagazine.com/2015/03/computing-in-the-classroom
Prensky, M. (2001, October). Digital natives, digital immigrants. Retrieved from
https://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-
%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf
Queens University. (2017). Online learning is versatile [graph]. Retrieved from
http://www.queensu.ca/academics/onlinelearning
Schwebber, A. (2015, July 8). [Infographic]. Retrieved from https://blogs.absolute.com/digital-
natives-not-necessarily-tech-savvy/
Zheng, R., Perez, J., Williamson, J., & Flygare, J. (2008). WebQuests as perceived by teachers:
implications for online teaching and learning. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 24(4), 295-
304. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2729.2007.00261
While I was initially surprised by the gap in tech savvy teachers and youth who only know how to navigate social media, it seems obvious that the statistic supports your experiential knowledge. I would love to think that preparing a multi-media project is second nature to today's teen students, however I realize that many enter the workforce with deficiencies on basic office tasks. I suppose in the transition toward more tech savvy youth, the responsibility falls in the lap of the teacher to cover skills that are needed to interact with a blended curriculum. I wonder if schools can begin to recognize their responsibility to offer campus-wide education on the ever-evolving landscape of tech tools.
ReplyDeleteI would like to offer one suggestion that might be one reason why students known as "digital natives" have so many technology deficiencies in knowledge of how to really use it. Maybe teachers now are just assuming kids know how to search the web, create a presentation, and share a Google Doc. Many probably do, but only because some teacher has taken time to explicitly teach them. Teachers who just assume they know are inadvertently leaving gaps in the students' knowledge thinking they will just pick these skills up along the way.
ReplyDeleteI agree that perception is stronger than reality when it comes to recognizing the legitimacy of online degrees. Given the field we are in, I do not think it is (as) scandalous to have a degree in Online Teaching/Instructional Design if this is what we are going to do with our lives. If we're going to be online teachers, we might as well learn how to be good online students first and know what our students are experiencing firsthand. I have full faith in LR and the rigor and relevance of this program. However, I do know others in other professions who see online learning as "the easy way to buy a diploma." Research shows us that online learning actually makes learners more responsible for their own learning, but the perception is still there. Hopefully time and increased enrollment will change this negative perception because giving more students access to more education, in my opinion, is never a bad thing. Thanks for your insights!
I agree with your Learning Shift's statement, "My students can't even write an email in the form of a friendly letter. They may know technology, but they don't know how to harness it; they haven't really had to." There are many opportunities for children to gratify themselves at a real-time pace to understand the ins-and-outs of every day technology, but the importance of implementing them with a professional and self-learning outlook seems, in my opinion, to be dissipating as a culture and skill.
ReplyDeleteI truly enjoyed reading your outlook on the evolution of online learning. We have definitely come a long way but we have so much more work to do.
ReplyDeleteIn your first section about "Legitimacy," I chuckled as I read about your superintendent because even in 2017, I still have people looking at me like I'm crazy when I say that the degree I'm pursuing is Online Teaching and Instructional Design. They say, "Really? You have to go to school for that?" I explain to them that face-to-face teaching and online teaching are (or at least should be) a lot different than one another. Most of the job trainings adults are receiving and instruction their children are receiving in school (and at home, let's be honest) comes from technology usage. Why don't more people see that this is the direction that education is moving, I don't know. But I am glad that we realize that distance education can still be rigorous and relevant.
As far as "Instructor Preparation" and "Learning Shifts," I can't express enough how crucial it is that school districts become more forward-thinking. As a classroom teacher, I am always told to integrate technology in order to engage my 21st Century learners, yet I am provided with minimal professional development on how to do so. The most training on new Web 2.0 tools I receive is through my own research, graduate courses in the field, or colleagues that know I have a desire to try new things. How dare districts point the finger at their teachers and say we are resisting change when we are offered few opportunities and even less time during the day to get things done. Of course, if there is hardly even time to learn new strategies and resources, then follow-ups on how the technology is working is out of the question.
I am normally one that tries to be more understanding but I must admit, it is extremely frustrating to be told to do something when you know there will be no support or guidance provided. Sometimes districts give plenty of blame when things go wrong in your classroom but want all of the credit for shaping wonderful teachers when what you are doing for your students works.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts!