Flashback to 2000: Remember When They Thought it Was a Fad?

It's hard to believe it's been 10 years since we breathed a sigh of relief when we escaped the would-be doom of Y2K. Around this same time, a significant number of technophobes also believed that online learning was just a passing fad. Not only has online learning flourished wildly in the last decade, but has grown up quite a bit as well. Here are some ways online learning has evolved in the last 10 years. Can you think of more?

1. It's no longer seen as a trend.
2. There are fewer small Course Management Systems, and a few very Big, Ginormous Ones.
3. Other tech-based services (registration, testing systems, tutoring, live meeting spaces, data analytic tools, etc.) must integrate seamlessly with the Big, Ginormous Ones in order to be successful.
4. Students don't have to be trained to use computers before they can take online courses.
5. Only some faculty have to be trained to use computers before they can teach online courses. :-)
6. It's not just for older, working folks and moms with little children anymore. Or for people living far, far away in the hills with only dirt roads and no traffic lights.
   
7. It's still about convenience. But it's a lot about the money, particularly in the last year or so.
   
8. It's fiercely competitive. It's no longer difficult to find affordability and quality and strong support services. However, the proprietary institutions still generally seem to have a big edge on marketing.
9. It's a lot more social, particularly with increasing integration of Web 2.0 tools.
   

Preparing Dozens of Faculty to Teach Online in a Month or Less

This scenario is not all that uncommon. Just when you've got your faculty development program zipping along nicely, you find out that you've got a huge, unexpected increase in online courses or programs next semester. Program growth is generally good news, but you cringe at the thought of all the 18-hour days it will take to get these faculty prepared for any resemblance to quality online teaching. First of all, ditch the idea of a series of face-to-face training sessions that focus on the course management system. It will be nearly impossible to get all faculty in attendance, and you probably won't have time for make-up sessions. The recipe for this scenario consists of three parts: a short online training course focusing mainly on the pedagogy; a peer mentoring system; and a just-in-time technical support system. The online training course should include some basic course management system information, but most faculty will pick some of this up by their participation in the course. The online training course should focus more on how faculty can make their courses successful for students, and will give the faculty a first-hand look at the student experience. In the peer mentoring component, faculty should be assigned to veteran online faculty who agree to allow them to visit their own courses and assist them with course design and pedagogical questions that arise. This will also free up administrator time to focus on other many other support issues that will arise in the short weeks leading up to the beginning of the "growth" semester or quarter. Lastly, several temporary employees or trained student assistants should be available for an expanded call center to enable these new faculty to get just-in-time assistance by phone or email during the weeks preceding the term as well as the first few weeks of the term.

Five Ways to Boost Online Faculty Morale This Month

1. Positive Feedback. Send each faculty member a personalized email thanking them for their good work, and pointing out some of their strengths. Copy department chairs on exceptional ones. Remember to always be looking for them doing something right!
2. Enlist their Wisdom. Select a few top faculty and ask them what their top secret tip is for their online teaching success. Then take a digital camera and ask them to record a 20-30 second “spot” talking about this secret. Edit all these clips together into a 5 minute clip, and post to your faculty resource page.
3. Be an Extended Family. Be diligently aware of any personal issues going on in the lives of online faculty, particularly adjunct ones. Use tools such as FaceBook, group blogs, or email lists to virtually recognize birthdays, births of children/grandchildren, and coordinate offers for assistance if times are tough (illness, natural disasters, etc.).
4. Have a Contest. Contests are fun, educational, and build team spirit. Do these weekly or monthly on topics such as program or institution trivia and award small prizes (institutional t-shirts, recyclable grocery bags, small gift cards, etc.)
5. Offer a Mini-Conference. Faculty love to get presentations on their vitas, so develop a two-day mini-conference (online of course) where those who choose can present 30-minute webinars on relevant online teaching topics.

Getting Aquainted

I think that the single biggest challenge that faculty and students face in an 100% online course is the feeling that they don't really know each other at all. This can be overcome, but it is very difficult, and requires an ongoing and creative effort by the instructor to reach the students. This part is not so bad for most instructors - but there's more. It also requires that the instructor show his or her vulnerability so that the students can view him or her as a real person. This all starts in the first week of the course in the getting-aquainted exercises. There are lots of get-to-know you exercises, but my very favorite of all time is called "100 Things About Me." This is simply where you make a list of random statements about yourself, some of which are quite personal, and then ask students to do the same. I have my own list that I created a few years ago, and try to keep somewhat updated. Check it out and see if you don't feel like you know me a lot better.

5 Things Not to Cut from Your DL Budget

I recently read Fred Miller's Educause article, 10 Ways to Cut Your IT Budget. While I have long argued that distance learning is not really an IT function, there were a couple of cuts that he suggested that I would apply to distance learning. First of all, he said to wait another year before getting new computers. This is a no-brainer but probably gets overlooked and can save gobs of money. Another tip was to negotiate prices with vendors. Just a couple of years ago, this would have probably not worked, but now everybody knows that frugality is expected and cool.
Now, what would I NOT cut from a DL budget?

1. Personnel. No way, no how. As the economy helps to drive increasing DL enrollments, the entire system will fall apart without the support staff. It is quite likely that increased staffing would even provide an overall payoff in terms of even more enrollments.
2. Communication systems. This includes advanced telephones, live helpdesk systems, etc. We have to be more efficient in supporting faculty and learners than ever before and premiere communication is money well spent.
3. Course management systems. I suppose that some folks are thinking this is the best time to start looking at lower-cost home-grown systems and stop writing the mongo checks to you-know-who. Not me. The transition costs would be enormous in the short-run, and it's the short-run (hopefully) where we are all having our money woes.
4. Some travel. Clearly, I'm cutting back on the number of trips and having a lot of meetings by phone or online technologies. But I would not cut out all travel because I know that much of it really provides cost-benefit. At our annual DLA Conference, for instance, I learn more in three days from my colleagues about marketing, faculty development, student support, etc. than I normally do in six months. DL is a notoriously busy field, and we absolutely have to invest a little money and immersive time for learning. I have to pick and choose these opportunities carefully. A conference with a registration fee of over $400 is less likely to happen this year.
5. Marketing. This is probably one of the most important times for marketing online programs since the early 2000s.

Cats and Dogs in Online Universities

I just returned a few days ago from our annual DLA Conference where my colleague, Janice Hilyard of Darton College, received a well-deserved Wagner Award. In her acceptance speech, she spoke of how far advanced the marketing techniques of for-profit online institutions are as compared to traditional institutions. In her quest to learn more about their recruitment processes, she said she often asks for information in her dog's name. Then when phone calls come in asking for "Sadie Hilyard," she knows who they are from. So, beware, my cat may soon be requesting information from an institution near you.

When Online Universities Flounder

Recently, some online initiatives in higher education have made the news, but not because of their success, but because of their failure to meet hopes and expectations. This week it was the Global Campus of the Universityof Illinois (story). Why do some struggle to attract enrollments in spite of millions of dollars invested where others easily thrive? I think that one primary reason has to do with administrative structures. Too often, these structure are cumbersome and clunky, and try to fit key processes - such as course development and student support - into traditional frameworks. For online programs to meet their potential, programs must be set up in a way that allow for rapid decision making and response times to issues rather than waiting on faculty committees. Faculty must be involved in the course development process as content experts, but as invited or paid team members rather than the drivers of the process. This is a key reason why for-profit insitutions and two-year colleges seem to grow more quickly - even when their tuition is high. Other elements of success: developing a pool of qualified faculty ready for last-minute assignments, a self-sustaining budget, and a strong student support system.