Online Learning - news
Gill, Kathy
THE EVOLUTION OF ONLINE LEARNING
IT training provider Infotec is changing the online learning
environment to encourage distance learners, who have low course
completion rates, to finish courses. By 2005, at least 50 percent
of IT training will happen online, according to International ata
statistics. However, most of today's online course designs focus
on cutting-edge technology and the quality of course content, without
providing a supportive environment for the student. Infotec's online
training (OLT) site, Infotec Online, recently began accepting students
for Microsoft's MCSE certification program. Infotec Online links every
course to a Microsoft Certified Trainer, who develops the course
syllabus, a basic course track, and lecture notes for each primary
objective. Infotec director of distance learning C.J. Trayser says,
"Students complete reading assignments with the guidance of the
instructor's notes and are even periodically quizzed so the instructor
can monitor their progress." The program uses hard copy texts, which
allow students to make notes and retain the material as a post-graduate
reference. In addition, the Infotec Online site promotes interaction
between students by offering chats, a bulletin board, e-mail, and
instructor lectures. Although students can study and take tests and
quizzes on their own time, each course has a time limit, the longest of
which is nine weeks, which provides the motivation often lacking in OLT
courses. The site is heavily text-oriented, and does not make wide use
of multimedia, since many students do not have the fastest modems or the
latest hardware to accommodate the technology. (Sun Server 04/99)
kathy
Kathy E. Gill
AT&T Wireless, NBO Deployment
Redmond Town Center, Bldg 4, 3155B
425.580.6459
mailto:kathy...@attws.com
You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of
conversation. -- Plato
Jean Hewlett
community colleges. All of the presenters I heard or spoke with
emphasized the need for direct instructor contact with the students.
Most use email--a couple said they had tried chat, and found it
unsatisfactory. The prevailing model was online assignments turned in
via email, plus a class mailing list to provide asynchronous discussion.
One instructor even teaches a class in debating, using email for the
debates.
I came away with the feeling that this is no longer an
experimental technology--it is one that is being successfully used at
many colleges around the country. Completion rates were said to be
similar to those in traditional classroom-based sections of the same
courses. Two presenters mentioned that their student demographics were
different for online courses--traditional and video classes run heavily
to older women, while online classes attract a large percentage of
younger men.
Jean Hewlett
University of San Francisco
North Bay Regional Campus Library, Santa Rosa CA
hew...@usfca.edu
All opinions expressed in this message are my own and no not represent
those of my employers.