Theory and Practice of Online Learning.doc

Te rry Anderson & Fathi Elloumi 1 Foundations of Educational Theory Part 1 – Role andfor Online Learning / 3 Function of Theory in Mohamed Ally Online Education Development and 2Toward a

Theory and Practice of Online Learning

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Te rry Anderson & Fathi Elloumi

1 Foundations of Educational Theory Part 1 – Role andfor Online Learning / 3 Function of Theory in

Mohamed Ally Online Education

Development and

2Toward a Theory of Online Learning / 33

Delivery

Te rry Anderson

3Value Chain Analysis: A Strategic

Approach to Online Learning / 61

Fathi Elloumi

4 Developing an Infrastructure

Part 2 – Infrastructure

for Online Learning / 97

and Support for Content

Alan Davis

Development

5Technologies of Online Learning

(e-Learning) / 115

Rory McGreal & Michael Elliott

6 Media Characteristics and

Online Learning Technology / 137

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

11 Teaching in an Online Learning Part 4 – Delivery,Context / 271 Quality Control, and

Terry Anderson Student Support of

Online Courses

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

Judith A Hughes

CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS

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 improving

design, 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 Athabasca

University, Canada’s Open University He has published widely in thearea of distance education and educational technology and has

recently 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 and

computer-mediated communications to distance learning, and theeffects of online learning on the organization of distance-based

universities

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 two

perspectives 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 online

learning 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 educational

technology 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 annualDistance Education Technology Symposium He is Past-President ofthe 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, shehas moved to the position of Learning Systems Manager where she

is responsible for the systems used to deliver courses and manageinformation within the School of Business at Athabasca University.Now that these systems are available, Colleen spends a great deal oftime presenting them to the Athabasca University community andrunning workshops to train staff on their use, as well as presentingpapers 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 AthabascaUniversity for seven years, overseeing the development of studentsupport resources on the Web

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

a brief period, when she was responsible for executive cations outside the University, international collaborations,

communi-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 in

knowledge 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 contingent

knowledge workers, the development, retention and valuation ofintellectual capital, the use of virtual learning environments to

enhance intellectual capital, transmission and alignment of culturalvalues, and the de-institutionalization of the psychological

employment 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 Kay

received 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 and

instructional 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,

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

in business courses Kerri also manages the production processes fordeveloping online and print-based materials, including coordinatingthe 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 implementUniversity systems

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

Information Systems as Athabasca University His research interestsinclude 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 Measurementand Management Information Committee, and as Athabasca’s insti-tutional liaison officer to the Middles States Commission on HigherEducation She has published in the fields of criminal justice historyand 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, andMaster of Distance Education from Athabasca University Herresearch 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 ProjectManagement at the Centre for Innovative Management, AthabascaUniversity in Alberta, Canada She is also an adjunct professor inthe University of Calgary joint Engineering and Management

Project Management Specialization, and a visiting professor withthe University of Technology, Sydney, where she supervises Master

Technology and Organizational Change Janice is now an active

researcher presenting and publishing her research to academic andpractitioner audiences at various sites around the world Janice's

research interests include organizational change, project ment, team building and leadership, complexity theory in relation

manage-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 information

regarding Janice’s work or background check the Athabasca

University, 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 Athabasca

University Library’s Web site and online resources, and is the

Digital Reading Room project leader

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

coordinator at Athabasca University She received a M.Sc in

business administration from Sherbrooke University and a M.Sc ininformation technology from Moncton University Her research

interests 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 online

financial 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 hasbeen involved in a number of innovative process changes in theSchool of Business, including the development of e-learning and theSchool of Business Call Centre, and has published in a variety ofdistance education journals and books.

FOREWORD

Dominique Abrioux

1 A complete case study

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

of Athabasca University is

fundamentally altered the practice of distance teaching and learning.available at the Web site

Nowhere is this fact more evident than in the transformation

below Retrieved January

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

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

University, was ripe for change.1 Not only was the technologicalworld that had hitherto enabled distance education undergoingradical and rapid change, but so too was the University’s politicalenvironment, as debt reduction and elimination became the rallyingcries of provincial public policy Moreover, Athabasca University,Alberta’s fourth public university, had under-performed during theten previous years, as evidenced by the fact that in 1994-1995 itsuffered from the highest government grant per full-load-equivalentstudent, the highest tuition fee level amongst the province’s publicuniversities, and a dismally low graduation rate Concerned withthis state of affairs, the Government of Alberta announced that itwould reduce Athabasca University’s base budget by 31 per centover three years (ten per cent more than the reduction applied tothe other universities), and that it expected significant increases inenrolment and cost effectiveness

Today, this institution has risen to the challenge and serves some30,000 students per year (a threefold increase over 1995), has morethan tripled its graduation rate, commands the lowest tuition feesand 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 faction surveys of university graduates

satis-Several complementary factors have combined to bring about

been prepared for in the early 1990s as Athabasca University

• the transition from predominantly print-based curricula

presented in electronic format, print format or both,

depending on the appropriateness of the medium

•the dramatic expansion of computer-mediated

communication systems to facilitate the electronic

distribution of course materials produced in-house

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

• computer-conferencing among students and between

students and academic staff

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

services

• access to electronic data bases

• electronic formative and summative evaluation

• the exploitation of distributed learning systems (e.g., the

World Wide Web)

• the provision of assistance to students learning to use

systems2

This book, authored principally by current and past staff

members 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 by

academics 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, each

x Theory and Practice of Online Learning

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

Athabasca University in particular, where three complementaryvalues characterize the organization’s different approaches to howwork 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 inoperational 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 approacheswithin Athabasca University to the management and administration

of teaching and learning processes As such, the models and casespresented in this study should be considered as examples of whathas worked well given one organization’s particular culture, not asprescriptive descriptions of the only way of engaging in effectiveonline education

There is, however, one common trait that both defines AthabascaUniversity’s flexible undergraduate learning model and informsmost of this book’s content At the undergraduate level, all fivehundred 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 attimes 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 itposes particular challenges when administering, designing, or

delivering distance education courses While most of the onlineadvances outlined in this book will often have parallel applications

in cohort-based e-classes, the distinction between individualized andgroup-based distance education is one that the reader is advised tokeep in mind

In keeping with its mission as an open university, Athabasca

University is delighted to provide this book under an open sourcelicense, thereby removing financial barriers to its accessibility Asits President, I take pride in what our collective staff has

accomplished and recognize the particular contribution that thisbook’s authors are making to the global extension of our mission

xii Theory and Practice of Online Learning

INTRODUCTION

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 between

student and teacher The last half of the twentieth century 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

wit-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, of

economics 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 theLatin universitas (totality or wholeness), which itself contains twosimpler roots, unus (one or singular) and versere (to turn) Thus, auniversity reflects a singleness or sense of all encompassing whole-ness, implying a study of all that is relevant and an acceptance ofall types of pursuit of knowledge The word also retains the sense

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

communi-cation, coupled with tremendous increases in information

production 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

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 offertheir programming on the Internet Similarly, institutions

accustomed to large-scale distance delivery via print or televisionare now being asked to provide more flexible, interactive, andresponsive Net-based alternatives Each of the chapters in the bookreflects 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 OpenUniversity.” As an open university, we are pleased to be the firstsuch institution to provide a text such as this one as an open andfree gift to others The book is published under a Creative

Commons license (see http://creativecommons.org) to allow forfree use by all, yet the copyright is retained by the University (seethe copyright page for license details) This open-source licenseformat was chosen for a number of reasons First, it is true to theoriginal spirit of the university, and especially of an open university

We believe that knowledge is meant to be shared, and further, thatsuch sharing does not diminish its value to its creator ThomasJefferson eloquently expressed these ideas in 1813 when he wrote

He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himselfwithout 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 theair 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 and

resources 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 a

form 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 countries

with 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 education

universities 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 qualityand quantity of electronic courseware as materials are refined,versioned and adapted to academics around the world and madefreely available in these new formats” (2001 p viii) We believe thatthe free sharing of course content is a powerful tool to encouragethe growth of public education institutions We also think that suchsharing will not result in a net value loss for the delivering

institution Rather, its reputation will be enhanced and its saleableservices 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 largeprofits for their authors, and most of us have personally witnessedthe old aphorism that “acrimony in academic arguments runs sohigh because the stakes are so low.” Open source licensing allows

us to go beyond financial arguments that are likely to have littleconsequence in any case

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

more widely distributed and read Through this dissemination, theideas proposed will be exposed to critical dialogue and reflection

We hope that much of this commentary will make its way back tothe authors or flow into the discussion forums associated with thetext’s Web site Through review within the community of practice,ideas are honed, developed, and sometimes even refuted Suchdiscourse not only improves the field as a whole, but also directlybenefits our work at Athabasca University, and thus handsomelyrepays our efforts

In summary, we license the use of this book to all—not so muchwith a sense of nạve idealism, but with a realism that has beendeveloped 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 the

sequence (chain) of an organization’s functions into the gically relevant activities through which utility is added to its

strate-offerings and services The components of an online learning ganization’s value chain are depicted in the following figure

of assignments and examinations, delivery and invigilation of inations, and maintenance of student records It also includes

exam-learner self-service through Web sites and Web portals For a moredetailed discussion of the online learning value chain, refer toChapter 3 in this volume

Using a value chain perspective to understand how we have

organized 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

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

PART 2: PART 3: PART 4:

Infrastructure Design and Delivery, Qualityand Support Development Control, and Studentfor Content of Online Support of

Development Courses Online Courses

“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

xix

Introduction

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 online

learning, 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 online

learning It presents the online learning value chain components;highlights its strategic power; presents the methodology for

constructing, 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, and

curricula

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 how

technologies—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, inrelation 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 adoptonline technology is always complex and can be risky, especially ifthe adopting organization lacks structural, cultural, or financialprerequisites, and concludes that, while education has a

responsibility to keep pace with technological change, educationalinstitutions can reduce the costs and uncertainties of invention byfollowing the technological lead of the corporate sector Chapters 4through 6 thus present three perspectives on the inbound logisticsvalue chain for online learning, and open discussions about

opportunities and challenges in selecting, developing, and adaptinginfrastructure and support for content development

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

concerned with the two following segments of the organization’sonline 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, multimediadevelopment, and editing in the design and development process bydescribing a professional role that has been developed to accom-modate all these functions—that of the Multimedia InstructionalDesign Editor (MIDE) Mainly, this role is concerned with facili-tating communication between the author and the learner, andbetween the author and the technical staff who create the multi-media tools and instructional technology used in course delivery.The MIDE brings together elements and participants in the valuechain, and adds value to the course development process by en-hancing the ability of other participants to produce effective onlinelearning experiences One of the MIDE’s most important contri-butions to the course design and development value chain is qualitycontrol The quality control function has become more critical ascourses have come to contain multimedia components and havebegun to move into the online learning environment

Chapter 9 deals with another aspect of design, development andquality control in online courses: copyright Copyright, in Canadaand throughout the modern technological world, is described asbeing 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 electronic

technologies, 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 widely

understood and respected

Chapters 7 and 8 discuss the process of developing effective

instructional materials Chapter 7 presents the role of instructionalmedia developers in the course development process These

professionals 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 learning

environment

“Part 4: Delivery, Quality Control, and Student Support of

Online Courses” is concerned with the last two parts of the

organization’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, and

teaching 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 enhancing

management information and learner feedback

Chapter 13 presents a system that supports asynchronous

discussion for online learners (the ASKS system) This system isdesigned to allow students in both paced and unpaced online

learning environments to participate in grouped assessment

activities It also permits instructors to assess individual butions quickly, and to provide tailored, automated feedback tostudents The ASKS system addresses some of the problems

contri-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 challengesand 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 acollaborative environment, which considers human factors, such ascommunication and interaction Chapter 15 continues this discus-sion by stressing the importance of setting up a supportive learningenvironment for online learners, and provides some practicaladvice Underlying this advice is a philosophy that encourages anenvironment that aims to develop the learner’s independence, whileensuring that supports are readily available when needed Studentsupports that are flexible, clear, and continually available aredescribed, and best practices outlined

Chapter 16 provides a discussion of the contexts of quality

assurance activities in higher education in general, and of thecompeting paradigms highlighted by online learning The authornotes that the greatest challenge for trying to define quality is thatquality remains a relative experience, realized in large part through

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

Bollier, D (2002) Private theft: The private plunder of our

common wealth New York: Routledge.

Creative Commons (N.d.) Home page Retrieved December 17,

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

Introduction

xxvi Theory and Practice of Online Learning

PA RT 1Role andFunction ofTheory inOnline

2 Volume 1–Theory and Practice of Online Learning

According to Bonk and Reynolds (1997), to promote

higher-order thinking on the Web, online learning must create challengingactivities that enable learners to link new information to old,

that 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,

3

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 to

collapse 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 interactwith 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 maindelivery method to train employees (Simmons, 2002) At the sametime, educational institutions are moving toward the use of theInternet for delivery, both on campus and at a distance However,for organizations and institutions to make this often expensivemove, there must be a perception that using online learning

provides major benefits Some of the benefits for learners andinstructors 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 forreal time interaction between students and the instructor Learnerscan use the Internet to access up-to-date and relevant learningmaterials, and can communicate with experts in the field in whichthey are studying Situated learning is facilitated, since learners cancomplete online courses while working on the job or in their ownspace, 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 appropriatematerials for learners to select from to achieve the desired learningoutcomes

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 of

effective 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 one

school is used exclusively to design online learning materials Asthere is no single learning theory to follow, one can use a

combination of theories to develop online learning materials Inaddition, as research progresses, new theories are evolving thatshould be used in developing online materials The online

developer 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 support

during 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 indicateswhether or not the learner has learned something, and not what isgoing on in the learner’s head In response, some educators claimedthat not all learning is observable and that there is more to learningthan a change in behavior As a result, there was a shift away frombehaviorist to cognitive learning theories.

Cognitive psychology claims that learning involves the use ofmemory, motivation, and thinking, and that reflection plays animportant part in learning They see learning as an internal process,and contend that the amount learned depends on the processingcapacity of the learner, the amount of effort expended during thelearning 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 tivist theorists claim that learners interpret information and theworld according to their personal reality, and that they learn byobservation, processing, and interpretation, and then personalizethe information into personal knowledge (Cooper, 1993; Wilson,1997) Learners learn best when they can contextualize what theylearn for immediate application and to acquire personal meaning When the behaviorist, cognitivist, and constructivist schools ofthought are analyzed closely, many overlaps in the ideas and

Construc-principles become apparent The design of online learning materialscan include principles from all three According to Ertmer andNewby (1993), the three schools of thought can in fact be used as

a taxonomy for learning Behaviorists’ strategies can be used toteach the “what” (facts), cognitive strategies can be used to teachthe “how” (processes and principles), and constructivist strategiescan 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 designmodels to identify the components that support quality design ofWeb-based instruction Components were identified from each ofthe behaviorist, cognitivist, and constructivist schools of learning

Behaviorist School of Learning

The 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 themselves

whether or not they have achieved the outcome of the online

lesson

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 learning

sequence 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 to

complex, 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 Par t 1: Memory

Cognitivists see learning as an internal process that involves

memory, thinking, reflection, abstraction, motivation, and 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 working

meta-memory immediately, it is lost

Online instruction must use strategies to allow learners to attend

to the learning materials so that they can be transferred from thesenses to the sensory store and then to working memory Theamount of information transferred to working memory depends onthe amount of attention that was paid to the incoming information,and on whether cognitive structures are in place to make sense ofthe information So, designers must check to see if the appropriateexisting cognitive structure is present to enable the learner toprocess the information If the relevant cognitive structure is notpresent, pre-instructional strategies, such as advance organizers,should be included as part of the learning process (Ausubel, 1960)

should be chunked into five to nine (i.e., 7 ± 2) meaningful units tocompensate for the limited capacity of short-term memory

After the information is processed in working memory, it is

stored in long-term memory The amount transferred to long-termmemory is determined by the quality and depth of processing inworking memory The deeper the processing, the more associationsthe acquired new information forms in memory Information

transferred from short-term memory to long-term memory is eitherassimilated or accommodated in long-term memory During

assimilation, the information is changed to fit into existing cognitivestructures Accommodation occurs when an existing cognitivestructure is changed to incorporate the new information

Cognitive psychology postulates that information is stored in

long-term memory in the form of nodes which connect to formrelationships; that is, in networks Information maps that show themajor concepts in a topic and the relationships between those

concepts should be included in the online learning materials

According to Stoyanova and Kommers (2002), information mapgeneration requires critical reflection and is a method for external-izing the cognitive structure of learners To facilitate deeper pro-cessing, learners should be encouraged to generate their own infor-mation maps

Implications for Online Learning

1 Strategies should be used to allow learners to perceive and attend

to the information so that it can be transferred to working

memory Learners use their sensory systems to register the

information in the form of sensations Strategies to facilitate

maximum sensation should be used Examples include the properlocation of the information on the screen, the attributes of the

screen (color, graphics, size of text, etc.), the pacing of the

information, and the mode of delivery (audio, visuals,

animations, video) Learners must receive the information in theform of sensations before perception and processing can occur;however, they must not be overloaded with sensations, which

could be counterproductive to the learning process Non-essentialsensations should be avoided to allow learners to attend to theimportant information Strategies to promote perception and

attention for online learning include those listed below