HỌC TẬP TRỰC TUYẾN LÍ THUYẾT VÀ BÀI TẬP

Hurst & Janice Thomas 9 Copyright Issues in Online Courses: A Moment in Time / 241 Lori-Ann Claerhout 10 Value Added—The Editor in Design and Development of Online Courses / 259 Jan Thie

Theory and Practice

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Terry Anderson & Fathi Elloumi

1 Foundations of Educational Theory

for Online Learning / 3

Mohamed Ally

2 Toward a Theory of Online Learning / 33

Terry Anderson

3 Value Chain Analysis: A Strategic

Approach to Online Learning / 61

Rory McGreal & Michael Elliott

6 Media Characteristics and

Online Learning Technology / 137

Patrick J Fahy

Part 1 – Role and

Function of Theory inOnline EducationDevelopment andDelivery

Part 2 – Infrastructure

and Support for ContentDevelopment

7 The Development of Online Courses / 175

Dean Caplan

8 Developing Team Skills and Accomplishing

Team Projects Online / 195

Deborah C Hurst & Janice Thomas

9 Copyright Issues in Online Courses:

A Moment in Time / 241

Lori-Ann Claerhout

10 Value Added—The Editor in Design and

Development of Online Courses / 259

Jan Thiessen & Vince Ambrock

11 Teaching in an Online Learning

Context / 271

Terry Anderson

12 Call Centers in Distance Education / 295

Andrew Woudstra, Colleen Huber,

& Kerri Michalczuk

13 Supporting Asynchronous Discussions

among Online Learners / 319

Joram Ngwenya, David Annand

& Eric Wang

14 Library Support for Online

Learners: e-Resources, e-Services,

and the Human Factors / 349

Kay Johnson, Houda Trabelsi, & Tony Tin

15 Supporting the Online Learner / 367

Part 3 – Design and

Development of OnlineCourses

C O N T R I B U T I N G A U T H O R S

Mohamed Ally, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Centre for

Distance Education at Athabasca University He teaches courses indistance education and is involved with research on improvingdesign, development, delivery, and support in distance education

Vincent Ambrock works as a Multimedia Instructional Design

Editor in the Athabasca University School of Business He holds aBachelor of Arts (Honours) degree from the University of Albertaand has worked extensively as an editor and writer on an array ofelectronic and print-based publishing projects

Terry Anderson, Ph.D (terrya@athabascau.ca), is a professor and

Canada Research Chair in Distance Education at AthabascaUniversity, Canada’s Open University He has published widely in thearea of distance education and educational technology and hasrecently co-authored two new books: Anderson and Kanuka, (2002),

eResearch: Methods, Issues and Strategies; and Garrison and Anderson, (2002), Online Learning in the 21st Century: A Frame- work for Research and Practice.

David Annand, Ed.D., M.B.A., C.A., is the Director of the School

of Business at Athabasca University His research interests includethe educational applications of computer-based instruction andcomputer-mediated communications to distance learning, and theeffects of online learning on the organization of distance-baseduniversities

Dean Caplan is an instructional designer at Bow Valley College in

Calgary, Alberta, with a special interest in the design, development,usability, and usage of multimedia in computer-mediated communi-cations He was, until 2002, employed as an instructional designer

at Athabasca University Mr Caplan recently designed and oversawdevelopment of a Web-based course helping older adults learn touse the Internet

Lori-Ann Claerhout (loriannc@athabascau.ca.), is Copyright

Officer in Educational Media Development at Athabasca University.She holds a Bachelor of Arts (English) degree from the University ofCalgary, and is currently working toward a Master of Arts(Humanities Computing and English) degree from the University ofAlberta Lori-Ann has been active in organizing other copyrightprofessionals from western and central Canada

Alan Davis, Ph.D., was Vice-President, Academic, at Athabasca

University from 1996 to 2003, and before that he directed programs

at the BC Open University His original discipline was Chemistry,and he received his doctorate from Simon Fraser University in 1980

He has special interests learning assessment and accreditation, themanagement of e-learning, and virtual university consortia Dr.Davis is now Vice-President, Academic, at Niagra College

Fathi Elloumi, Ph.D (fathie@athabascau.ca), is an associate

professor of Managerial Accounting at Athabasca University Hisresearch focuses on corporate governance, and covers all aspects ofeffective governance practices He is also interested in the strategicand managerial aspects of online learning research from twoperspectives The first perspective deals with the strategic decisions

of online learning, trying to use the value chain, balanced scorecard,and performance dashboard frameworks to optimize onlinelearning decision initiatives and tie them to organizational vision.The second perspective deals with the operational aspects of onlinelearning and mainly focuses on the internal processes of the onlinelearning institution Subjects such as strategic costing, value chainanalysis, process re-engineering, activity-based management,continuous improvement, value engineering, and quality control arethe focus of his research program related to online learning

Patrick J Fahy, Ph.D (patf@athabascau.ca), is an associate

professor in the Centre for Distance Education (CDE), AthabascaUniversity His career has included high school and adult educationteaching, and research from basic literacy to graduate levels, privatesector management and training experience, and private consulting.Currently, in addition to developing and teaching educationaltechnology courses in the Master of Distance Education (MDE)

program, Pat coordinates the MDE’s Advanced Graduate Diploma

in Distance Education (Technology) program and the CDE’s annual

Distance Education Technology Symposium He is Past-President of

the Alberta Distance Education and Training Association (ADETA)

His current research interests include measures of efficiency in

online and technology-based training, and interaction analysis in

online conferencing

Colleen Huber has worked at Athabasca University since 1994,

when she was the first facilitator in the Call Centre Since then, she

has moved to the position of Learning Systems Manager where she

is responsible for the systems used to deliver courses and manage

information within the School of Business at Athabasca University

Now that these systems are available, Colleen spends a great deal of

time presenting them to the Athabasca University community and

running workshops to train staff on their use, as well as presenting

papers and workshops to other educational communities

Dr Judith Hughes, Ph.D (judithh@athabascau.ca), Vice-President,

Academic, first came to Athabasca University in 1985, when the

University was moved from Edmonton, Alberta, to the town of

Athabasca, 120 km north of Edmonton Judith’s history is rooted

in adult education, in teaching and research, as well as

administrative positions She has lived in a variety of places in

Canada, having completed her bachelor’s degree at Carleton

University (Ottawa), her master’s degree at Queen’s University

(Kingston), and her Ph.D at University of Alberta (Emonton)

At Athabasca University, Dr Hughes oversees all graduate and

undergraduate academic units within the University, including

academic centres, library, educational media development,

counseling and advising, and other student support units She

previously served as Vice-President, Students Services, at Athabasca

University for seven years, overseeing the development of student

support resources on the Web

Dr Hughes also served as Vice-President, External Relations for

a brief period, when she was responsible for executive

communi-cations outside the University, international collaborations,

university development, fundraising, corporate partnerships, etc

Dr Hughes’s research interests include the school-to-work nexus,

in which she conducted research at Queen’s University in the 1980s;access to university education, in which she first undertook research

at the University of Alberta, and in which she continues to work atAthabasca University; intellectual honesty as institutional culture, inwhich she is now working at Athabasca University; and the use oftechnology in addressing equality of access to university education,

in which she is conducting research with partners from institutionssuch as Indira Gandhi University and the University of the Arctic

Deborah C Hurst, Ph.D (deborahh@athabascau.ca), is an

Associate Professor with the Centre for Innovative Management,Athabasca University in Alberta, Canada Her area of specialization

is the study of cultural organization change, with an interest inknowledge work and development of intellectual capital throughon-going competency development and virtual learning Her work

is a balance of applied and academic research that draws from adiverse background in her pursuit of this specialization Her currentresearch program is concerned the experiences of contingentknowledge workers, the development, retention and valuation ofintellectual capital, the use of virtual learning environments toenhance intellectual capital, transmission and alignment of culturalvalues, and the de-institutionalization of the psychologicalemployment contract For more information regarding Deborah’swork or background check the Athabasca University Centre forInnovative Management Web site

Kay Johnson (kayj@athabascau.ca), is Head, Reference and

Circulation Services at the Athabasca University Library Kayreceived her Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in History from University

of Ottawa and her Master of Library and Information Studies fromMcGill University In addition to providing reference andinstructional services to Athabasca University learners, she hasbeen actively involved in the development of the digital library atAthabasca University, and serves as a consultant for the DigitalReading Room project

Kerri Michalczuk has been with Athabasca University since 1984.

For the last five years, as Course Production and Delivery Manager,she has managed the day-to-day operation of the School of Business

tutorial Call Centre—the first point of contact for students registered

in business courses Kerri also manages the production processes for

developing online and print-based materials, including coordinating

the work of production staff, such as editors, instructional designers,

typesetters, and copyright personnel Kerri has extensive knowledge

of Athabasca University’s administrative and production systems,

and she sits on many committees that review, plan, and implement

University systems

Joram Ngwenya, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of Management

Information Systems as Athabasca University His research interests

include e-learning systems, e-government systems, and group

decision support systems

Nancy Parker, Ph.D (nancyp@athabascau.ca), is the Director of

Institutional Studies at Athabasca University and is actively engaged

in a wide range of quality assurance and accreditation activities,

including serving on Alberta Learning’s Performance Measurement

and Management Information Committee, and as Athabasca’s

insti-tutional liaison officer to the Middles States Commission on Higher

Education She has published in the fields of criminal justice history

and institutional research

Jan Thiessen is a Multimedia Instructional Design Editor in

Athabasca University's School of Business She received a Bachelor

of Education degree (English) from the University of Alberta, and

Master of Distance Education from Athabasca University Her

research on faculty attitudes towards interaction in distance

education helps inform her work with course authors and teams,

developing quality distance learning materials and experiences

Janice Thomas, Ph.D (janicet@athabascau.ca), is an Associate

Professor and Program Director for the Executive MBA in Project

Management at the Centre for Innovative Management, Athabasca

University in Alberta, Canada She is also an adjunct professor in

the University of Calgary joint Engineering and Management

Project Management Specialization, and a visiting professor with

the University of Technology, Sydney, where she supervises Master

and Ph.D research students Prior to becoming an academic, Janice

spent ten years as a project manager in the fields of Information

Technology and Organizational Change Janice is now an activeresearcher presenting and publishing her research to academic andpractitioner audiences at various sites around the world Janice'sresearch interests include organizational change, project manage-ment, team building and leadership, complexity theory in relation

to organizations, the professionalization of knowledge workers,and the impact of codification of knowledge on performance.Ultimately all of her research is aimed at improving the practice ofproject management in organizations For more informationregarding Janice’s work or background check the AthabascaUniversity, Centre for Innovative Management Web site

Tony Tin (tonyt@athabascau.ca) is the Electronic Resources

Librarian at Athabasca University Library Tony holds a B.A andM.A in History from McGill University and a B.Ed and M.L.S.from the University of Alberta He maintains the AthabascaUniversity Library’s Web site and online resources, and is theDigital Reading Room project leader

Houda Trabelsi (houdat@athabascau.ca) is an e-Commerce course

coordinator at Athabasca University She received a M.Sc inbusiness administration from Sherbrooke University and a M.Sc ininformation technology from Moncton University Her researchinterests include electronic commerce, business models, e-learningstrategy, customer relationships management, trust and privacy inelectronic commerce, World Wide Web navigation, and interfacedesign

Zengxiang (Eric) Wang, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of finance

at Athabasca University His research interests are option pricing,executive compensation, corporate tax planning, and onlinefinancial education

Andrew Woudstra, Ph.D., Professor, Management Accounting is a

member of the School of Business at Athabasca University where hehas worked for the past 22 years In addition to his teaching duties,

he has also served the University in various administrative cities including Centre Chair, Associate Dean, Acting Dean and

capa-Acting Vice President, Finance and Administration Andrew has

been involved in a number of innovative process changes in the

School of Business, including the development of e-learning and the

School of Business Call Centre, and has published in a variety of

distance education journals and books

F O R E W O R D

Dominique Abrioux

During the last ten years, the Internet and the Wide World Web have

fundamentally altered the practice of distance teaching and learning

Nowhere is this fact more evident than in the transformation

undergone by single-mode distance universities as they seek to apply

the benefits of emerging information communication technology

(ICT) infrastructure to their core business, with a view to improving

the quality and cost-effectiveness of the learning experience afforded

their students

By the mid 1990s, Canada’s Open University®, Athabasca

University, was ripe for change.1 Not only was the technological

world that had hitherto enabled distance education undergoing

radical and rapid change, but so too was the University’s political

environment, as debt reduction and elimination became the rallying

cries of provincial public policy Moreover, Athabasca University,

Alberta’s fourth public university, had under-performed during the

ten previous years, as evidenced by the fact that in 1994-1995 it

suffered from the highest government grant per full-load-equivalent

student, the highest tuition fee level amongst the province’s public

universities, and a dismally low graduation rate Concerned with

this state of affairs, the Government of Alberta announced that it

would reduce Athabasca University’s base budget by 31 per cent

over three years (ten per cent more than the reduction applied to

the other universities), and that it expected significant increases in

enrolment and cost effectiveness

Today, this institution has risen to the challenge and serves some

30,000 students per year (a threefold increase over 1995), has more

than tripled its graduation rate, commands the lowest tuition fees

and per full-load-equivalent student base grant in the province,

and, most importantly, enjoys the highest ratings among sister

institutions in the biannual, provincially administered learner

satis-faction surveys of university graduates

Several complementary factors have combined to bring about

this dramatic change in Athabasca University’s institutional

performance, but none is more important than the move towards

the online delivery of its programs and courses The direction had

been prepared for in the early 1990s as Athabasca University

1 A complete case study

of Athabasca University is available at the Web site below Retrieved January

19, 2004, from http:// www.unesco.org/iiep/vir tualuniversity/index.html

developed and then launched (1994) its first two Masters levelprograms (Master of Business Administration and Master ofDistance Education), both online degrees and global innovations The Strategic University Plan of 1996-1999 assigned primaryimportance to embracing the electronic environment through:

• the transition from predominantly print-based curriculapresented in electronic format, print format or both,depending on the appropriateness of the medium

• the dramatic expansion of computer-mediatedcommunication systems to facilitate the electronicdistribution of course materials produced in-house

• e-mail correspondence between students and staff (includingmailing of assignments)

• computer-conferencing among students and betweenstudents and academic staff

• the provision of library, registry, and other student supportservices

• access to electronic data bases

• electronic formative and summative evaluation

• the exploitation of distributed learning systems (e.g., theWorld Wide Web)

• the provision of assistance to students learning to usesystems2

This book, authored principally by current and past staffmembers integral to the implementation of this strategic vision,presents individual practitioners’ views of the principal pedagogicaland course management opportunities and challenges raised by themove to an online environment Although grounded in a discussion

of online learning theory (itself presented and developed byacademics who are engaged daily in developing and deliveringelectronic courses), it does not seek to be either a complete guide toonline course development and delivery, or an all-inclusive account

of how they are practiced at Athabasca University Rather, eachchapter synthesizes, from a practitioner view, one component piece

than in its application to online education in general, and at

Athabasca University in particular, where three complementary

values characterize the organization’s different approaches to how

work is organized and how learning paths for students are

facilitated: customization, openness, and flexibility

Consequently, and notwithstanding the inevitable

standard-ization around such key issues as quality control, copyright,

materials production, library, and non-academic support services

(all of which are discussed in this book), considerable variation in

operational and educational course development and delivery

models is evident across the University’s different academic centers

Just as the University supports several learning management systems

(see Chapter 4), so too are there various, recognized approaches

within Athabasca University to the management and administration

of teaching and learning processes As such, the models and cases

presented in this study should be considered as examples of what

has worked well given one organization’s particular culture, not as

prescriptive descriptions of the only way of engaging in effective

online education

There is, however, one common trait that both defines Athabasca

University’s flexible undergraduate learning model and informs

most of this book’s content At the undergraduate level, all five

hundred plus courses are delivered in individualized distance

learning mode: students start on the first day of any month, progress

at their own pace, and submit assignments and sit examinations at

times determined by themselves This flexibility presents

tremen-dous advantages to adult learners who generally also face the

demands of both employment and family responsibilities, but it

poses particular challenges when administering, designing, or

delivering distance education courses While most of the online

advances outlined in this book will often have parallel applications

in cohort-based e-classes, the distinction between individualized and

group-based distance education is one that the reader is advised to

keep in mind

In keeping with its mission as an open university, Athabasca

University is delighted to provide this book under an open source

license, thereby removing financial barriers to its accessibility As

its President, I take pride in what our collective staff has

accomplished and recognize the particular contribution that this

book’s authors are making to the global extension of our mission

I N T R O D U C T I O N

Terry Anderson & Fathi Elloumi

The Online Learning Series is a collection of works by practitionersand scholars actively working in the field of distance education.The text has been written at a time when the field is undergoingfundamental change Although not an old discipline by academicstandards, distance education practice and theory has evolvedthrough five generations in its 150 years of existence (Taylor,2001) For most of this time, distance education was an individualpursuit defined by infrequent postal communication betweenstudent and teacher The last half of the twentieth century wit-nessed rapid developments and the emergence of three additionalgenerations, one supported by the mass media of television andradio, another by the synchronous tools of video and audio tele-conferencing, and yet another based on computer conferencing.The first part of the twenty-first century has produced the firstvisions of a fifth generation—based on autonomous agents andintelligent, database-assisted learning—that we refer to as theeducational Semantic Web Note that each of these generations hasfollowed more quickly upon its predecessor than the previous ones.Moreover, none of these generations has completely displacedprevious ones, so that we are left with diverse yet viable systems ofdistance education that use all five generations in combination.Thus, the field can accurately be described as complex, diverse, andrapidly evolving

However, acknowledging complexity does not excuse inaction.Distance educators, students, administrators, and parents are dailyforced to make choices regarding the pedagogical, economic,systemic, and political characteristics of the distance educationsystems within which they participate To provide information,knowledge, and, we hope, a measure of wisdom, the authors of thistext have shared their expertise, their vision, their concerns, andtheir solutions to distance education practice in these disruptivetimes Each chapter is written as a jumping-off point for furtherreflection, for discussion, and, most importantly, for action Never

in the history of life on our planet has the need for informed andwisdom-filled action been greater than it is today We are convinced

that education—in its many forms—is the most hopeful antidote tothe errors of greed, of ignorance, and of life-threatening aggressionthat menace our civilization and our planet.

Distance education is a discipline that subsumes the knowledgeand practice of pedagogy, of psychology and sociology, ofeconomics and business, of production and technology We attempt

to address each of these perspectives through the words of thosetrained to view their work through a particular disciplinary lens.Thus, each of the chapters represents the specialized expertise ofindividual authors who address that component piece of the wholewith which they have a unique familiarity This expertise is defined

by a disciplinary background, a set of formal training skills, and apractice within a component of the distance education system It ishardly surprising, then, that some of the chapters are more aca-demic than others, reflecting the author’s primary role as scholar,while others are grounded in the more practical application focus

of their authors

In sum, the book is neither an academic tome, nor a prescriptive

“how to” guide Like a university itself, the book represents ablending of scholarship and of research, practical attention to thedetails of teaching and of provision for learning opportunity,dissemination of research results, and mindful attention to theeconomics of the business of education

In many ways the chapters represent the best of what makes for

a university community The word “university” comes from the

Latin universitas (totality or wholeness), which itself contains two simpler roots, unus (one or singular) and versere (to turn) Thus, a

university reflects a singleness or sense of all encompassing ness, implying a study of all that is relevant and an acceptance ofall types of pursuit of knowledge The word also retains the sense

whole-of evolution and growth implied by the action embedded in theverb “to turn.” As we enter the twenty-first century, the world is inthe midst of a great turning as we adopt and adapt to the techno-logical capabilities that allow information and communication to

be distributed anywhere/anytime

The ubiquity and multiplicity of human and agent cation, coupled with tremendous increases in informationproduction and retrieval, are the most compelling characteristics ofthe Net-based culture and economy in which we now function Thefamous quote from Oracle Corporation, “The Net changes

communi-everything,” applies directly to the formal provision of education.

Institutions that formerly relied on students gathering in

campus-based classrooms are suddenly able (and many seem eager) to offer

their programming on the Internet Similarly, institutions

accustomed to large-scale distance delivery via print or television

are now being asked to provide more flexible, interactive, and

responsive Net-based alternatives Each of the chapters in the book

reflects the often disruptive effect of the Net on particular

components of a distance education system

Open Source Licensing

This book is written by authors from a single university—

Athabasca University—which has branded itself “Canada’s Open

University.” As an open university, we are pleased to be the first

such institution to provide a text such as this one as an open and

free gift to others The book is published under a Creative

Commons license (see http://creativecommons.org) to allow for

free use by all, yet the copyright is retained by the University (see

the copyright page for license details) This open-source license

format was chosen for a number of reasons First, it is true to the

original spirit of the university, and especially of an open university

We believe that knowledge is meant to be shared, and further, that

such sharing does not diminish its value to its creator Thomas

Jefferson eloquently expressed these ideas in 1813 when he wrote

He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself

without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine,

receives light without darkening me That ideas should freely

spread from one to another over the globe, for the moral and

mutual instruction of man, and improvement of his condition,

seems to have been peculiarly and benevolently designed by

nature, when she made them, like fire, expansible over all

space, without lessening their density in any point, and like the

air in which we breathe, move, and have our physical being,

incapable of confinement or exclusive appropriation (1854,

pp 180-181)

As you will see from the quotations and references that augmentthe text in most chapters, we have learned much from the works ofothers, and thus feel bound to return this gift of knowledge to thewider community

Second, we believe that education is one of the few sustainablemeans to equip humans around the globe with the skills andresources to confront the challenges of ignorance, poverty, war, andenvironmental degradation Distance education is perhaps the mostpowerful means of extending this resource and making it accessible

to all Thus, we contribute to the elimination of human suffering bymaking as freely available as we can the knowledge that we havegained developing distance education alternatives

Third, the Creative Commons license provides our book as aform of “gift culture.” Gift giving has been a component of manycultures; witness, for example, the famed Potlatch ceremonies ofCanadian West Coast First Nations peoples More recently, giftgiving has been a major motivation of hackers developing many ofthe most widely used products on the Internet (Raymond, 2001).Distributing this text as an open source gift serves many of thesame functions gift giving has done through millennia The giftweaves bonds within our community and empowers those whobenefit from it to create new knowledge that they can then sharewith others and with ourselves Interestingly, new recent research

on neuro-economics is showing that freely giving and sharing is abehavior that has had important survival functions for humansgroups since earliest times (Grimes, 2003) David Bollier (2002)argues that gift cultures are surprisingly resilient and effective atcreating and distributing goods, while protecting both long-termcapacity for sustained production and growing cultural assets.Bollier also decries the private plunder of our common wealth, anddiscusses the obligation that those employed in the public sectorhave to ensure that the results of publicly funded efforts are notexploited for personal gain

Open source gifts also provide those from wealthy countrieswith some small way to redress many economic inequalities and toshare more equitably the gifts we receive from our planet home Wehope especially that this text will be incorporated into the syllabi ofthe growing number of programs of distance education study thatare being offered by both campus and distance educationuniversities throughout the world In the words of Sir John Daniel,

former Vice Chancellor of the Open University of the United

Kingdom, sharing offers a viable means to “increase the quality

and quantity of electronic courseware as materials are refined,

versioned and adapted to academics around the world and made

freely available in these new formats” (2001 p viii) We believe that

the free sharing of course content is a powerful tool to encourage

the growth of public education institutions We also think that such

sharing will not result in a net value loss for the delivering

institution Rather, its reputation will be enhanced and its saleable

services will increase in value

Fourth, providing this book as open source frees us from

potentially acrimonious debates over ownership, return for value,

and distribution of any profit Educational books rarely make large

profits for their authors, and most of us have personally witnessed

the old aphorism that “acrimony in academic arguments runs so

high because the stakes are so low.” Open source licensing allows

us to go beyond financial arguments that are likely to have little

consequence in any case

Finally, we hope that open sourcing this book will allow it be

more widely distributed and read Through this dissemination, the

ideas proposed will be exposed to critical dialogue and reflection

We hope that much of this commentary will make its way back to

the authors or flow into the discussion forums associated with the

text’s Web site Through review within the community of practice,

ideas are honed, developed, and sometimes even refuted Such

discourse not only improves the field as a whole, but also directly

benefits our work at Athabasca University, and thus handsomely

repays our efforts

In summary, we license the use of this book to all—not so much

with a sense of nạve idealism, but with a realism that has been

developed through our life work—to increase access to and

oppor-tunity for all to quality learning opportunities

Book Organization and Introduction to the Chapters

In the following pages, we briefly review the main themes covered

in this book and its chapters We used the value chain of online learning framework to help organize our themes and chapters The

value chain framework is an approach for breaking down thesequence (chain) of an organization’s functions into the strate-gically relevant activities through which utility is added to itsofferings and services The components of an online learning or-ganization’s value chain are depicted in the following figure

Inbound logistics involves preparations for course development,including curriculum planning and related activities Operationsinvolve the actual process of course development, including writing,multimedia creation, editing, formatting, graphic design, printing,and Web publishing Outbound logistics concerns the packagingand storage of courses, and the process of mailing, e-mailing, orotherwise delivering the material to the students The delivery,collaborations, and marketing value chain involves a series of valueadding activities, such as student registration through a Web portal;course delivery; the preparation of brochures, advertising materials,and the university calendar; developing a branding strategy for theonline learning offerings; and establishing strategic partnerships andalliances The service value chain provides online support (technicaland academic) to learners, including counseling, tutoring, marking

of assignments and examinations, delivery and invigilation of inations, and maintenance of student records It also includeslearner self-service through Web sites and Web portals For a moredetailed discussion of the online learning value chain, refer toChapter 3 in this volume

exam-Using a value chain perspective to understand how we haveorganized the themes in this book will help the reader focus on thestrategic activities of the online learning institution Part 1 provides

a foundation to educational theory for online learning, to preparethe ground for discussing the different components of the online

Inbound logistics

Outbound

Delivery, collaborations, and marketing Operations

learning value chain in Parts 2-4 Part 2 deals with inbound

logistics, Part 3 with production and with aspects of outbound

logistics, and Part 4 with delivery, marketing, and service to

learners The following figure illustrates the organization of this

volume

“Part 1: Role and Function of Theory in Online Education

Development and Delivery” provides the theoretical foundations

for this volume Chapter 1 presents the foundation of education

theory for online learning It opens the debate by discussing the

contributions of behaviorist, cognitivist, and constructivist theories

to the design of online materials, noting that behaviorist strategies

can be used to teach the facts (what), cognitivist strategies the

principles and processes (how), and constructivist strategies the

real-life and personal applications and contextual learning The

chapter mentions a shift toward constructive learning, in which

learners are given the opportunity to construct their own meaning

from the information presented during online sessions Learning

objects will be used to promote flexibility and reuse of online

of Online Courses

PART 4:

Delivery, Quality Control, and Student Support of Online Courses

1 CHAPTERS 2 3

PART 1:

Role and Function of Theory in Online Education Development and Delivery

materials to meet the needs of individual learners, and onlinelearning materials will be created in such a way that they can beredesigned for different learners and different contexts Finally,online learning will become increasingly diverse to allow it torespond to diverse learning cultures, styles, and motivations.Chapter 2 presents a general assessment of how people learn Itassesses the unique characteristics of the Web to enhance thesegeneralized learning contexts, and discusses the six forms ofinteraction and their critical role in engaging and supporting bothlearners and teachers The author presents a model of onlinelearning, a first step toward a theory in which the two predominantforms of online learning—collaborative and independent study—are considered, along with a brief discussion of the advantages anddisadvantages of each Finally, the chapter discusses the emergingtools of the Semantic Web, and the way they will affect futuredevelopments of the theory and practice of online learning.Chapter 3 discusses the value chain framework in onlinelearning It presents the online learning value chain components;highlights its strategic power; presents the methodology forconstructing, analyzing, and using a value chain in an onlinelearning institution; and portrays the online distance teaching valuesystem and market map.

“Part 2: Infrastructure and Support for Content Development”covers aspects of the inbound logistics value chain Chapter 4discusses the various factors that must be considered in developingthe infrastructure for online learning, including planning, structuraland organizational issues, the components of a system and theinterfaces among them, and various related issues, such as humanresources, decision making, and training The author explains whyany designed online learning infrastructure must also be able toevolve and work in a context of constant and accelerating change

to accommodate changing student needs, technologies, andcurricula

Chapter 5 examines some available and potential technologiesand features used in online instruction Rather than continue tofocus on how technology has helped or can help the instructor,teacher, or tutor, this chapter concludes with a look at howtechnologies—existing and emerging—can aid the first generation

of online learners

Chapter 6 discusses some attributes of media and of the modes

of teaching presentation and learning performance they support, in

relation to some influential learning models It also clarifies some

of the implications in the choice of any specific delivery or

presentation medium The author notes that the decision to adopt

online technology is always complex and can be risky, especially if

the adopting organization lacks structural, cultural, or financial

prerequisites, and concludes that, while education has a

responsibility to keep pace with technological change, educational

institutions can reduce the costs and uncertainties of invention by

following the technological lead of the corporate sector Chapters 4

through 6 thus present three perspectives on the inbound logistics

value chain for online learning, and open discussions about

opportunities and challenges in selecting, developing, and adapting

infrastructure and support for content development

“Part 3: Design and Development of Online Courses” is

concerned with the two following segments of the organization’s

online learning value chain: operations and outbound logistics

Four chapters are organized to shed light on these processes

Chapter 10 describes the role of instructional design, multimedia

development, and editing in the design and development process by

describing a professional role that has been developed to

accom-modate all these functions—that of the Multimedia Instructional

Design Editor (MIDE) Mainly, this role is concerned with

facili-tating communication between the author and the learner, and

between the author and the technical staff who create the

multi-media tools and instructional technology used in course delivery

The MIDEbrings together elements and participants in the value

chain, and adds value to the course development process by

en-hancing the ability of other participants to produce effective online

learning experiences One of the MIDE’s most important

contri-butions to the course design and development value chain is quality

control The quality control function has become more critical as

courses have come to contain multimedia components and have

begun to move into the online learning environment

Chapter 9 deals with another aspect of design, development and

quality control in online courses: copyright Copyright, in Canada

and throughout the modern technological world, is described as

being in a state of flux Advances in information and

communi-cation technologies are stressing existing copyright Acts, and

forcing changes to them As they embrace new electronictechnologies, online educators are in a position to lead advances incopyright law, and to help ensure that the rights of both users andcreators are respected, and that the intellectual property ownershipissues that are emerging in the electronic world are widelyunderstood and respected.

Chapters 7 and 8 discuss the process of developing effectiveinstructional materials Chapter 7 presents the role of instructionalmedia developers in the course development process Theseprofessionals are involved from the beginning, to consult with andadvise course team members on development-related topics as theyarise The author presents pedagogical standards designed to helpall those involved in online instructional development to ensurethat their efforts are rewarded, ultimately, with satisfied learners.Chapter 8 describes several experiences in developing knowledge ofteam dynamics and communications, and accomplishing teamproject work, in an online environment In describing aspects ofteaching and applying team dynamics online, the authors highlightthe unique values and capabilities of an online learningenvironment

“Part 4: Delivery, Quality Control, and Student Support ofOnline Courses” is concerned with the last two parts of theorganization’s online learning value chain: delivery and service.Chapter 11 focuses on the role of the teacher or tutor in an onlinelearning context It uses a theoretical model that views the creation

of an effective online educational community as involving threecritical components: cognitive presence, social presence, andteaching presence The chapter provides suggestions and guidelinesfor max-imizing the effectiveness of the teaching function in onlinelearning

Chapter 12 presents the call center concept for course deliveryand student support in online courses In distance education inparticular, the call center can be an effective communication tool,enabling the institution to provide and improve service to students

in many areas, including instruction This chapter describes howthe call center concept is used at Athabasca University and how ithas proven to be effective in three areas: increasing student serviceand retention, allowing for direct marketing, and enhancingmanagement information and learner feedback

Chapter 13 presents a system that supports asynchronous

discussion for online learners (the ASKS system) This system is

designed to allow students in both paced and unpaced online

learning environments to participate in grouped assessment

activities It also permits instructors to assess individual

contri-butions quickly, and to provide tailored, automated feedback to

students The ASKS system addresses some of the problems

associated with group participation in any online environment,

such as immediate and relevant feedback for students, evaluation,

and instructor workload

Chapter 14 discusses the library support needed by online

learners It examines how libraries are responding to the challenges

and opportunities of delivering core services to online learners

This chapter portrays some of the library practices and

tech-nologies now being applied in the construction of virtual libraries

The authors stress the importance of providing support within a

collaborative environment, which considers human factors, such as

communication and interaction Chapter 15 continues this

discus-sion by stressing the importance of setting up a supportive learning

environment for online learners, and provides some practical

advice Underlying this advice is a philosophy that encourages an

environment that aims to develop the learner’s independence, while

ensuring that supports are readily available when needed Student

supports that are flexible, clear, and continually available are

described, and best practices outlined

Chapter 16 provides a discussion of the contexts of quality

assurance activities in higher education in general, and of the

competing paradigms highlighted by online learning The author

notes that the greatest challenge for trying to define quality is that

quality remains a relative experience, realized in large part through

an individual’s level of expectation On the basis of this insight, the

chapter goes on to examine quality standards that have been

proposed for the delivery of online instruction in four jurisdictions:

Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States

learning Times Higher Education Supplement, p VIII.

Grimes, K (2003) To trust is human New Scientist, 178, 32-37.

Jefferson, T (1854) Letter to Isaac McPherson In H A

Washinton (Ed.), Writings of Thomas Jefferson (vol 6)

(pp 180-181) Philadelphia: Lippincott

Raymond, E (2001) The cathedral and the bazaar Cambridge

MA: O'Reilly Retrieved December 13, 2003, from http://www.firstmonday.dk/issues/issue3_3/raymond

Taylor, J (2001) The future of learning—learning for the future:

Shaping the transition Proceedings of the 20th ICDE World Congress Retrieved December 17, 2003, from http://www

.fernuni-hagen.de/ICDE/D-2001/final/keynote_speeches/wednesday/taylor_keynote.pdf

PA RT 1

Role and

Function of Theory in

Online

Education

Development and Delivery

C H A P T E R 1

F O U N DAT I O N S O F E D U C AT I O N A L

T H E O RY F O R O N L I N E L E A R N I N G

Mohamed Ally Athabasca University

Introduction

There is ongoing debate about whether it is the use of a particulardelivery technology or the design of the instruction that improveslearning (Clark, 2001; Kozma, 2001) It has long been recognizedthat specialized delivery technologies can provide efficient andtimely access to learning materials; however, Clark (1983) hasclaimed that technologies are merely vehicles that deliver instruc-tion, but do not themselves influence student achievement As Clarknotes, meta-analysis studies on media research have shown thatstudents gain significant learning benefits when learning fromaudio-visual or computer media, as opposed to conventional in-struction; however, the same studies suggest that the reason forthose benefits is not the medium of instruction, but the instructionalstrategies built into the learning materials Similarly, Schramm(1977) suggested that learning is influenced more by the content andinstructional strategy in the learning materials than by the type oftechnology used to deliver instruction

According to Bonk and Reynolds (1997), to promote order thinking on the Web, online learning must create challengingactivities that enable learners to link new information to old,acquire meaningful knowledge, and use their metacognitiveabilities; hence, it is the instructional strategy and not the tech-nology that influences the quality of learning Kozma (2001) arguesthat the particular attributes of the computer are needed to bringreal-life models and simulations to the learner; thus, the mediumdoes influence learning However, it is not the computer per se thatmakes students learn, but the design of the real-life models andsimulations, and the students’ interaction with those models andsimulations The computer is merely the vehicle that provides theprocessing capability and delivers the instruction to learners (Clark,

higher-2001) Kozma is correct in his claim, but learners will not learnfrom the simulations if the simulations are not developed usingsound design principles.

Online learning allows for flexibility of access, from anywhereand usually at anytime—essentially, it allows participants tocollapse time and space (Cole, 2000)—however, the learningmaterials must be designed properly to engage the learner andpromote learning According to Rossett (2002), online learning hasmany promises, but it takes commitment and resources, and it must

be done right “Doing it right” means that online learning materialsmust be designed properly, with the learners and learning in focus,and that adequate support must be provided Ring and Mathieux(2002) suggest that online learning should have high authenticity(i.e., students should learn in the context of the workplace), highinteractivity, and high collaboration This paper discusses thefoundation of educational theory for the design of effective onlinelearning materials, and suggests a model for developing onlineinstruction based on appropriate educational theory

Different terminologies have been used for online learning, afact that makes it difficult to develop a generic definition Termsthat are commonly used include e-learning, Internet learning,distributed learning, networked learning, tele-learning, virtuallearning, computer-assisted learning, Web-based learning, and dis-tance learning All of these terms imply that the learner is at adistance from the tutor or instructor, that the learner uses someform of technology (usually a computer) to access the learningmaterials, that the learner uses technology to interact with the tutor

or instructor and other learners, and that some form of support isprovided to learners This paper will use the term “online learning”throughout There are many definitions of online learning in theliterature, definitions that reflect the diversity of practice andassociated technologies Carliner (1999) defines online learning aseducational material that is presented on a computer Khan (1997)defines online instruction as an innovative approach for deliveringinstruction to a remote audience, using the Web as the medium.However, online learning involves more than just the presentationand delivery of the materials using the Web: the learner and thelearning process should be the focus of online learning As a result,the author defines online learning as

the use of the Internet to access learning materials; to interact

with the content, instructor, and other learners; and to obtain

support during the learning process, in order to acquire

knowledge, to construct personal meaning, and to grow from

the learning experience

Benefits of Online Learning

Increasingly, organizations are adopting online learning as the main

delivery method to train employees (Simmons, 2002) At the same

time, educational institutions are moving toward the use of the

Internet for delivery, both on campus and at a distance However,

for organizations and institutions to make this often expensive

move, there must be a perception that using online learning

provides major benefits Some of the benefits for learners and

instructors are outlined below For learners, online learning knows

no time zones, and location and distance are not an issue In

asynchronous online learning, students can access the online

materials at anytime, while synchronous online learning allows for

real time interaction between students and the instructor Learners

can use the Internet to access up-to-date and relevant learning

materials, and can communicate with experts in the field in which

they are studying Situated learning is facilitated, since learners can

complete online courses while working on the job or in their own

space, and can contextualize the learning

For the instructor, tutoring can be done at anytime and from

anywhere Online materials can be updated, and learners are able

to see the changes at once When learners are able to access

materials on the Internet, it is easier for instructors to direct them

to appropriate information based on their needs If designed

properly, online learning systems can be used to determine learners’

needs and current level of expertise, and to assign appropriate

materials for learners to select from to achieve the desired learning

outcomes

Designing Online Learning Materials

The goal of any instructional system is to promote learning.Therefore, before any learning materials are developed, educatorsmust, tacitly or explicitly, know the principles of learning and howstudents learn This is especially true for online learning, where theinstructor and the learner are separated The development ofeffective online learning materials should be based on proven andsound learning theories As we discussed above, the deliverymedium is not the determining factor in the quality of learning;rather, the design of the course determines the effectiveness of thelearning (Rovai, 2002)

There are many schools of thought on learning, and no oneschool is used exclusively to design online learning materials Asthere is no single learning theory to follow, one can use acombination of theories to develop online learning materials Inaddition, as research progresses, new theories are evolving thatshould be used in developing online materials The onlinedeveloper must know the different approaches to learning in order

to select the most appropriate instructional strategies Learningstrategies should be selected to motivate learners, facilitate deepprocessing, build the whole person, cater for individual differences,promote meaningful learning, encourage interaction, providefeedback, facilitate contextual learning, and provide supportduring the learning process The remaining sections of this paperwill present the different schools of thought on learning, and willsuggest how they can be used to develop effective online materials

Schools of Learning

Early computer learning systems were designed based on a iorist approach to learning The behaviorist school of thought,influenced by Thorndike (1913), Pavlov (1927), and Skinner(1974), postulates that learning is a change in observable behaviorcaused by external stimuli in the environment (Skinner, 1974)

behav-Behaviorists claim that it is the observable behavior that indicates

whether or not the learner has learned something, and not what is

going on in the learner’s head In response, some educators claimed

that not all learning is observable and that there is more to learning

than a change in behavior As a result, there was a shift away from

behaviorist to cognitive learning theories

Cognitive psychology claims that learning involves the use of

memory, motivation, and thinking, and that reflection plays an

important part in learning They see learning as an internal process,

and contend that the amount learned depends on the processing

capacity of the learner, the amount of effort expended during the

learning process, the depth of the processing (Craik &Lockhart,

1972; Craik &Tulving, 1975), and the learner’s existing

knowl-edge structure (Ausubel, 1974)

Recently, there has been a move to constructivism

Construc-tivist theorists claim that learners interpret information and the

world according to their personal reality, and that they learn by

observation, processing, and interpretation, and then personalize

the information into personal knowledge (Cooper, 1993; Wilson,

1997) Learners learn best when they can contextualize what they

learn for immediate application and to acquire personal meaning

When the behaviorist, cognitivist, and constructivist schools of

thought are analyzed closely, many overlaps in the ideas and

principles become apparent The design of online learning materials

can include principles from all three According to Ertmer and

Newby (1993), the three schools of thought can in fact be used as

a taxonomy for learning Behaviorists’ strategies can be used to

teach the “what” (facts), cognitive strategies can be used to teach

the “how” (processes and principles), and constructivist strategies

can be used to teach the “why” (higher level thinking that

pro-motes personal meaning and situated and contextual learning)

Janicki and Liegle (2001) analyzed different instructional design

models to identify the components that support quality design of

Web-based instruction Components were identified from each of

the behaviorist, cognitivist, and constructivist schools of learning

Behaviorist School of LearningThe behaviorist school sees the mind as a “black box,” in the sensethat a response to a stimulus can be observed quantitatively, totallyignoring the effect of thought processes occurring in the mind Theschool, therefore, looks at overt behaviors that can be observed andmeasured as indicators of learning (Good &Brophy, 1990)

Implications for Online Learning

1 Learners should be told the explicit outcomes of the learning sothat they can set expectations and can judge for themselveswhether or not they have achieved the outcome of the onlinelesson

2 Learners must be tested to determine whether or not they haveachieved the learning outcome Online testing or other forms oftesting and assessment should be integrated into the learningsequence to check the learner’s achievement level and to provideappropriate feedback

3 Learning materials must be sequenced appropriately to promotelearning The sequencing could take the form of simple tocomplex, known to unknown, and knowledge to application

4 Learners must be provided with feedback so that they can tor how they are doing and take corrective action if required

moni-Cognitivist School of Learning Part 1: MemoryCognitivists see learning as an internal process that involvesmemory, thinking, reflection, abstraction, motivation, and meta-cognition Cognitive psychology looks at learning from an infor-mation processing point of view, where the learner uses differenttypes of memory during learning (Figure 1-1) Sensations arereceived through the senses into the sensory store before processingoccurs The information persists in the sensory store for less thanone second (Kalat, 2002); if it is not transferred to workingmemory immediately, it is lost