pew and the new online learner

The keynote at this year's Sloan-C was delivered by a really smart guy from the Pew Foundation. They've completed yet another great research project that would imply we have to think about online teaching and learning in different ways -- or do we.

Pew claims we're in the midst of a digital revolution with three components: 1) broadband access, 2) social networking, and 3) mobile computing. The mobile aspect of the digital revolution is really interesting in only one regard: There are now 328 million wireless lines in the US. The total population of the country is 315.5 million. Do the math. Broadband is simple -- the number of homes, schools, and public places that have broadband has doubled in five years and continues to increase. With broadband comes better access, better access means engagement in things like... social networking.

I've never been a fan of generational labels, simply because I'm at the extreme top end of the GenX club (35-46). I've often thought I have more in common with the Baby Boomer generation than GenX, but Pew doesn't think so. In regard to the social networking component of the digital revolution, my generation has, on average, 196.7 Facebook friends. I don't think this statistic means anything by itself, but it is part of the overall claim that our friends, followers, likers, etc. in social media spaces facilitate peer-to-peer learning by doing. This learning by doing aspect of online social spaces is changing the role of social networks. In one interesting way, our social networks are now serving as early warning systems; we use them to gauge what's going on and to evaluate information -- to connect with (perceived) smarter people and determine what is true and what we should care about. Most interesting about these changing social spaces is the way in which we are using them to cobble together learning experiences -- DIY learning. People don't need credentials to teach us and we don't have to be accepted into a closed or elite community to learn.

So what does all this say about online learning? I still don't believe digital literacy is necessarily a prerequisite for being a successful online learner. What it does say is that as attention zones change, we may find that more of our students (traditional age through adult learners) will begin to demand more learning opportunities beyond the physical and virtual classroom structures we use today.

A final point from the keynote. The Pew guy asked, "Has the digital revolution -- technology -- made us stupider?" We all laughed and he answered: "We're not any stupider now than we were 20 years ago. The difference is that today we can find the answers to questions and problems instantly using smartphones and connected devices."

operational to strategic: ielol primer

Looking at my daily activities over the past few days, I’m definitely doing a lot of zooming. Part of that is due to the fact that we’re slightly understaffed. Another part of my zooming has to do with where my roles are located within my organization. All efforts relating to online teaching and learning (as well as instructional design, course building, etc.) were historically located within the college’s IT department. Today, that location means that in addition to “provide[ing] campus-wide leadership in support of Syracuse University online teaching and learning initiatives,” I’m also charged with “providing leadership in selecting and exploiting business, instructional, and information technologies throughout University College's operations, faculty/student support, information management practices, and communication efforts.” That’s a lot of blah, blah, blah, but it’s the catalyst for my daily zooming.

When I look at my goals for the year, I feel like I’m working toward them. It’s the time commitment that’s already a little frustrating. For example, one of my goals to accomplish before next June is to “standardize the University College Online Course Quality Model for adoption by the University for undergraduate online courses.” This is a goal that requires a lot of face-to-face brokering with various stakeholders among the schools, colleges, and administration. Without dedicating a set amount of time each week to this specific goal, I’m now wondering how realistic it is.

vision for online at su

In 2004, our current Chancellor articulated a vision for the University (Scholarship in Action) based on three areas of focus: 1) faculty excellence and scholarly distinction, 2) access for enterprising students, and 3) engagement with the world.

Imagining the University 10 years from now (within a context of online learning teaching and learning), I would hope to see a more accommodating environment for "non-resident" experiences across the three areas of focus. Faculty excellence and scholarly distinction would require interfacing across academic/thematic clusters in technology-enhanced ways that expand the intellectual richness and potential for future impact -- expanding access to faculty and doctoral/profession students.

Access and support for enterprising students; today we are seeing the early benefits of online undergraduate course offerings that attract excellent students with bold and diverse interests. Ten years from now, formalized and high quality online undergraduate courses will provide the best of these students more options to seize and build upon SU's interdisciplinary and engagement opportunities. Online undergraduate courses also provide greater access for students from all socio-economic and cultural spheres to "come to Syracuse" and experience the creative campus in ways not tied to a physical presence.

Engagement with the world 10 years from now will be, by default, technology-enhanced engagement. Students, faculty and staff will expect immediate engagement with the world and the pressing concerns of the day. In a context of online teaching and learning, even the resident classroom will include different voices and practitioners in fields and industries.

questions of quality

We're currently working with one of the colleges to navigate a proposal they received from an online course/program vendor. These hack shops are popping up like mushrooms and making a lot of noise about tremendous enrollment targets and extraordinary returns (read: tuition revenues).

There are a lot of problems with these organizations and the promises they serve up. I may, in fact, spend some time dissecting the issues in terms of problem resolution. What's bothering me right now, however, is the lack of coherent dialog on campus around the issues of online education.

I spent some time today with the principals who will ultimately make the decision to outsourcing their graduate programs to a third-party vendor. I tried to explain the roll that quality plays at all levels of an online program. I don't think they heard it. Like a typical buyer, they're more concerned with costs and returns -- and enamored by the idea that they could pull out of their agreement two-years in if things aren't working out (read: they're not enrolling huge numbers and making millions of dollars). I wanted them to understand how even that act -- of bailing on a program that has already graduated and currently supports students -- could compromise quality.

Again, I don't think they heard it.

It's an ongoing dialog, and I should be happy that the conversation is even happening. I just worry about the outcomes should our message and services get blurred by unrealistic revenue targets.

getting traction

I had an interesting conversation with a research associate from the Education Advisory Board. They're preparing a report about online program initiatives for a regional university. The focus of the study is on cultural issues in regard to online teaching and learning.

It struck me that during our conversation I found myself defending SU's commitment to resident-based instruction. Working through the range of arguments for or against online, I came to a position that I'm actually comfortable with. In order to move SU forward in the online space, we have to accept the fact that the resident undergraduate experience is (and will likely be for a very a long time) the principle reason why students choose to come to SU. And while we may be able to accommodate those students with flexible format courses, including full-online, we should not expect that they would rather be completing their undergraduate degrees from off campus and at a distance.

Interest here at SU is growing around online graduate programs and certificates. We're getting the most traction with the schools and colleges that don't already have grad programs online, which is everyone with the exception of the Whitman School of Management and the School of Information Studies. That leaves a lot of programs and departments who need help.

Online grad is a much easier (and logical) sell to faculty and executives because it's a target population that isn't necessarily interested in the resident experience. They've had that. Now it's about efficiency and flexibility. So in regard to cultural resistance, maybe we're actually coming at this in the right way. It still feels awfully organic, but I'm confident that we'll see rapid growth after we get a toe hold with a few high-profile/high-dollar graduate programs.

be cool or be cast out

The academhack had the following comment in a post about the launching of a new major in emerging media:

"There is a new type of literacy developing, one between those who will understand the digital network media landscape, and who use it to produce, to organize, to take ownership over their lives, responsiblity for their community, to be critical of it, to engage with it . . . and with those who merely consume it. A divide between those who will be passive consumers at best, victims at worst, and those who will be active participants."

There are implications embedded here for higher education -- particularly in regard to online teaching and learning.

On which side of the divide will we find "older" faculty who are facing increasing presure to move lower-division / high-volume courses online to accomodate increasing student demand for flexibility and access?

On which side will we find adult learners returning to school with limited information and technology literacy skills?

And perhaps most importantly, how will those of us supporting these populations be asked to bridge the divide?

here's to hoping

There's something prescient in Roxanne's post here. I've found a similar theme through much of Derek's public writing a few years ago. There's been plenty of it in my own anguish over qualifying exams that I never seem to get closer to. I'm like that guy in Kafka's The Castle -- you know, the idiot who can't seem to gain entrance to the castle? The sad (and most frustrating) part of the story is that all he had to do was walk in. So you're left wondering, did he really want to get in or was he happy enough just sitting around bitching about how everyone was making it so hard for him?

I think it's accurate to say that hope is the fuel that fires the part-time student's (and, arguably, all adult students') motivation to succeed. Life-long learning is about taking action -- and hoping we never lose the desire to continually improve ourselves and the lives of those around us.