Confining or Liberating? "Teaching" Online

I've been teaching through distributed learning systems for more than 20 years, and in some ways I believe it is more satisfying for both me and my learners. For me the challenges lie more in the culture surrounding DL that in the design and delivery. Expectations of peers and supervisors (where are you? why aren't you in your office? teaching online is easier that teaching in a classroom, etc.), unprepared learners (if I can read I can take an online course), and supports that are not available 24/7 (systems upgrades are done on weekends, help desks that are only available M-F 8 AM to 5 PM). In all this time I hear consistently that DL is not as effective as classroom learning, and DL marginalizes students who are not tech savvy or who do not have high speed internet access. I don't believe it is a better delivery method, however I do believe that the affordances far outweigh the drawbacks. We should be introducing this kind of learning early in young adulthood so students have an understanding of the literacies required to be successful as well as experience with digital learning environments. Faculty also need to have the experience of being a learner in DL if they are to truly grasp teaching in this environment. Get liberated, take a leap and embrace the future.

Where the real learning lives

In my many years of education I have always understood this social institution to be all about the learner and the learning process. Societal expectations of K-20 education are high and are high staked. As many recognize, education has been greatly influenced by business practices and this week I have experienced this directly. Teachers are on the front line of the learning experience, we see, experience, respond to and interact with the learner in an intimate way. Therefore we have information and a perspective that those who do not teach cannot completely understand, interpret, or make decisions about. And yet, I believe K-20 education is increasing being driven and directed by individuals who are removed from this experience. State boards of education may not have any educators assigned to them. Federal mandates related to classroom experiences may not be reviewed or supported by teachers. So this week I attend EDUCAUSE, the largest higher education IT conference in the world (I think). As I purused the schedule I was excited about the variety and scope of the topics - so much to learn! But I quickly realized that there were few, if any, sessions delivered by faculty. I knew faculty attended, but I was hard pressed to find faculty-driven sessions. How can IT adequately and appropriately understand and make decisions about T&L without the active, committed, and engaged involvement of faculty and students? This is not a new question - but we must continue to ask and persist in making sure our voice is heard as well as that of our constituency: our students.