Module 1: Strategies and Tactics for Online Teaching and Learning

"One new university per week is required to keep pace with world population growth, but the resources necessary are not available." John S. Daniel Mega-Universities and Knowledge Media

In this section: Location, location, location Where are we headed? Objectives Location, location, location There are many reasons to put parts of a university course, or even a whole course, online. One of the most compelling reasons, however, is reminiscent of the old real estate law about the three qualities of a good property, "location, location, location." The finest educational programs only work if students can get to them easily. Driving, parking, and time commitments at work and home, all make getting--and continuing--an education increasingly difficult for the growing numbers of people who need ever more skills and knowledge. The World Wide Web, in conjunction with other modes of communication, provides a relatively inexpensive, effective method of course delivery for many of these potential students. Educators are working with consumers, politicians, and businesses to forge changes in our institutions of teaching and learning that better reflect the needs of the information age. Today faculty use multiple media and networks, and engage in virtual professional conferences. Online teaching and learning is on our nation's presidential agenda and is increasingly an ordinary component of higher education (Kearsley, Lynch, and Wizer, 1995). Teachers and students are embracing online learning contexts as communications technologies become more accessible. Just as the development of printed books drove new approaches to education, so new telecommunications tools call for new methods of design and utilization. Educators need practical tools, templates, and training for developing course materials and activities for use in these emerging instructional contexts. Going online with a course means more than putting a syllabus "on the web." We need to consider the unique advantages--and constraints--the Internet provides. Where are we headed? Peter Drucker, well-known seer of America's corporate management world, in Forbes magazine (March 10, 1997) shared his thoughts on higher education. Drucker believes that cyberuniversities will replace the present brick-and-mortar ones. He states, "Thirty years from now the big university campuses will be relics. Universities won't survive. It's as large a change as when we first got the printed book." Whether or not you agree with Drucker's projection, the landscape of higher education is changing. Prices continue to fall on increasingly powerful computers. The volume of email has eclipsed that of postal mail. Forcasters predict that the price of bandwidth (the quantity of information communicated between computers) is about to plummet. Meanwhile, growing numbers of the 40 million regular Internet users connect to learn, and even seek online degree programs. Established and startup organizations are competing for the patronage of these life-long learners. Our own system is no exception. Both California and the CSU are in the initial phases of organizing their own "Virtual University" to meet the needs of this emerging constituency. What is a virtual university? A draft definition goes something like this: The term "virtual organization" indicates an organization that has learned to thrive in a fast changing and complex environment by using information technologies to cross (while honoring) traditional boundaries of time, space, organization, and culture. Such organizations succeed by organizing unique competencies in ways that meet the needs of a wide variety of mainstream and niche customers. They are agile, market-driven, and inclusive, seeking to prosper by quickly adapting to new opportunities to fulfill their mission, within resource constraints. Virtual universities are evolving today as a response to an environment that is demanding new kinds of learning, evolving new kinds of knowledge, creating new kinds of learners, and developing new forms of knowledge access. These universities are expected to perform their missions as the "learning stakeholder" in the society and economy, while holding the line on resources. References

Objectives In this first module, you will: Consider the role that online instruction might play in your own courses. Begin using Claris HomePage and the T3 templates to develop an instructor page and a course marketing page for your own online course module.

Page authors: Gail Lucas & Bob Hoffman
URL: coe.sdsu.edu/t3/module1/intro.htm
Last updated: 1/26/97