Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks !
Au début du mois de mars 2010, nous avons reçu le message suivant de John R.
Bourne, Executive Director, et Janet Moore, Chief Knowledge Officer du Sloan Consortium1, responsables de la revue Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks (JALN) qui a participé à l’appel à contributions spécial lancé par Distances et savoirs avec cinq autres revues internationales en 2007-20082.
Leur propos est de poursuivre nos échanges et de faire profiter le plus largement possible nos lecteurs réciproques des travaux publiés par nos revues, et au-delà.
C’est donc avec plaisir que nous invitons nos lecteurs à explorer plus avant…
“We are writing to ask if you would be interested in republishing the Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks (JALN) current special issue on “Leveraging Resources for Anywhere Anytime Education” that will be published in Volume 14:
Issue 1 in PDF format and available in print. We are writing several of you that serve English and other-language audiences. Our purpose in making this no-cost offer is that we would like to reach more of the world with our materials, enabling speakers of other languages to access what we have learned.
This issue on leveraging resources is composed of some of the most well – received articles that have been published in JALN over the last 6 years. We think your readers might well be interested in these materials. Please see titles below.”
“Leveraging Resources for Anywhere Anytime Education”, JALN, Volume 14, Issue 1, March 2010
Boston W., Sebastián R. Díaz, Angela M. Gibson, Phil Ice, Jennifer Richardson, Karen Swan
“An Exploration of the Relationship Between Indicators of the Community of Inquiry Framework and Retention in Online Programs”, Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks 13:3, October 2009.
http://www.sloanconsortium.org/sites/default/files/v13n3_8boston.pdf.
Hiltz S.R, Shea P., and Kim E., “Using Focus Groups to Study ALN Faculty Motivation”, Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks 11:1, April 2007.
http://www.sloanconsortium.org/sites/default/files/v11n1_12hiltz.pdf
1. http://www.sloanconsortium.org 2. www.distanceetdroitaleducation.org
Laster S. Model-Driven Design: Systematically Building Integrated Blending Learning Experiences in Elements of Quality Online Education: Into the Mainstream, Volume 5 in the Sloan-C series, 2003.
http://www.sloanconsortium.org/sites/default/files/pages/laster_mdd_vol5.pdf
Meyer K.A., “If Higher Education is a Right, and Distance Education is the Answer, Then Who Will Pay?”, Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 12:1, February 2008.
http://www.sloanconsortium.org/sites/default/files/v12n1_meyer.pdf
Moloney J. and Oakley B., “Scaling Online Education: Increasing Access to Higher Education”, Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks 10:3, July 2006.
http://www.sloanconsortium.org/sites/default/files/v10n3_2moloney.pdf.
Moloney J., Hickey C.P., Bergin A.L., Boccia J., Polley K., Riley J.E., “Characteristics of Successful Local Blended Programs in the Context of the Sloan-C Pillars”, Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks 11:1, April 2007.
http://www.sloanconsortium.org/sites/default/files/v11n1_5moloney_0.pdf.
Niemiec M. and Otte G., “An Administrator's Guide to the Whys and Hows of Blended Learning”, Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks 13:1, April 2009.
http://www.sloanconsortium.org/sites/default/files/v13n1_3niemiec.pdf.
Pelz B., (My) Three Principles of Effective Online Pedagogy.Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks 8:3, June 2004.
http://www.sloanconsortium.org/sites/default/files/v8n3_pelz.pdf
Aperçus des travaux publiés par JALN dans ce numéro spécial
An Exploration of the Relationship Between Indicators of the Community of Inquiry Framework and Retention in Online Programs
Wally Boston, American Public University System; Sebastián R. Díaz, West Virginia University Angela; M. Gibson, American Public University System; Phil Ice, American Public University System; Jennifer Richardson, Purdue University; Karen Swan, University of Illinois Springfield (Authors listed in alphabetical order to denote equal contributions).
ABSTRACT: As the growth of online programs continues to rapidly accelerate, concern over retention is increasing. Models for understanding student persistence in the face-to- face environment are well established, however, the many of the variables in these constructs are not present in the online environment or they manifest in significantly different ways. With attrition rates significantly higher than in face-to-face programs, the development of models to explain online retention is considered imperative. This study moves in that direction by exploring the relationship between indicators of the Community of Inquiry Framework and student persistence. Analysis of over 28,000 student records and survey data demonstrates a significant amount of variance in re-enrollment can be accounted for by indicators of Social Presence.
KEYWORDS: Community of Inquiry, Retention, Online Programs
Using Focus Groups to Study ALN Faculty Motivation
Starr Roxanne, Hiltz Information Systems Department, New Jersey Institute of Technology; Peter Shea, University at Albany; Eunhee Kim, Management Information Systems, Northern State University
ABSTRACT: What are the most significant factors that motivate and inhibit faculty with regard to teaching in online environments? And what are the specific kinds of experiences that underlie and explain the importance of these factors? One goal of this study was to add to understanding of these issues, but the primary purpose of this study is determining how well these questions can be answered using the method of structured focus groups. This paper describes the methods and results of a pilot study conducted using four focus group interviews of faculty experienced in teaching using “Asynchronous Learning Networks” (ALN) at one university, and a single focus group at a second university in order to explore generalizability. For the university at which four group interviews were conducted, the rank orders of leading motivators and demotivators were quite consistent. Leading motivators include the flexibility allowed by being able to teach “anytime/anywhere;” better/more personal interaction and community building supported by the medium; the technical and creativity challenges offered by this mode of teaching; being able to reach more (and more diverse) students; and better course management. Major sources of dissatisfaction are more work, medium limitations, lack of adequate support and policies for teaching online, and the fact that the medium is not a good fit for some students. Very similar results were found through the replication focus group conducted at a different institution.
KEYWORDS: Motivating Faculty, Demotivating Faculty, Focus Groups, Generalizability, Faculty Satisfaction
Model-Driven Design: Systematically Building Integrated Blended Learning Experiences
Stephen Laster, Babson College
PREAMBLE: Developing and delivering curricula that are integrated and that use blended learning techniques requires a highly orchestrated design. While institutions have demonstrated the ability to design complex curricula on an ad-hoc basis, these projects are generally successful at a great human and capital cost. Model-driven design provides a sustainable approach that reduces some of the cost of complex curriculum development and improves the sustainability of curriculum innovation.
Systems thinking is a perspective for going beyond events, to looking for patterns of behavior, and to seeking underlying systemic interrelationships which are responsible for the patterns of behavior and the events. Model-driven design provides the ability to share models and learning units beyond the borders of the institution.
If Higher Education is a Right, and Distance Education is the Answer, Then Who Will Pay?
Dr. Katrina A. Meyer, Associate Professor of Higher and Adult Education, The University of Memphis
ABSTRACT: If higher education is a right, and distance education is the avenue for making higher education universally available, then who shall pay? This article asks (1) can state governments in the United States afford to fund this initiative and (2) can public higher education institutions in the U.S. fund this effort through capitalizing on cost-efficiencies of online learning?. To answer the first question, data on funding of higher education by states are reviewed and a negative conclusion reached. To answer the second question, research on methods for achieving cost- efficiencies through online learning is reviewed and a cautious positive conclusion is reached, assuming states and institutions are willing to invest in the people and processes, and the time, effort, and will that make achieving efficiencies possible.
KEYWORDS: Enrolment Growth, Funding, Cost-Efficiencies, U.S. Public Higher Education.
Scaling Online Education: Increasing Access to Higher Education
Jacqueline F. Moloney UMass Lowell and UMass Online; Burks Oakley II University of Illinois and University of Illinois Online
ABSTRACT: This paper reviews online enrollment trends in higher education, describes the characteristics of online programs that have scaled successfully to meet increasing demand, identifies challenges impacting the continued growth of online enrollments in this sector, and outlines the opportunities for increasing access to higher education through scaling of online initiatives.
KEYWORDS: Online Learning, Access to Higher Education, Online Enrolment Growth.
Characteristics of Successful Local Blended Programs in the Context of the Sloan-C Pillars
Jacqueline F. Moloney, University of Massachusetts Lowell; Charmaine P. Hickey, University of Massachusetts Lowell; Amy L. Bergin, University of Massachusetts Amherst; Judith Boccia, University of Massachusetts Lowell; Kathleen Polley, University of Massachusetts Boston; Jeannette E. Riley, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
ABSTRACT: Drawing on the University of Massachusetts experience in developing successful blended local programs, this paper suggests guiding principles that include mission-driven responsiveness to local contexts and partnerships; using low- cost marketing strategies available through local relationships and brand; attending to students’ preferences for blending face-to-face and online services and instruction
throughout the college experience; supporting faculty in working with partners to develop local blended programs; and providing activities that anchor students to the campus and program.
KEYWORDS: Localness, Blended, Principles, Competitive Advantage, Women’s Studies Minor, Master’s In Educational Administration, Registered Nurse To Bachelor Of Science In Nursing, Master’s In Business Administration
An Administrator’s Guide to the Whys and Hows of Blended Learning Mary Niemiec, University of Illinois at Chicago; George Otte, The City University of New York
ABSTRACT: Given the importance of administrative attention to blended learning, this article adumbrates the institutional benefits but also the institutional challenges of this integration of online and on-campus instruction. The reasons for engaging in blended learning determine how it will play out, so the why is given precedence over the how.
But there is an attempt to elaborate the methods even more extensively than the reasons, to drill down into the considerations that must be taken into account in any successful implementation. Just how the details will sort out will necessarily vary from one institution to the next, but there are certain considerations that seem genuinely indispensable, the keys to success or failure, sustainability or aborted effort.
KEYWORDS: Blended Learning, Hybrid Courses, Institutional Change, Degree Completion, Assessment and Evaluation, Sustainability and Scalability
(My) Three principles of effective online pedagogy
Bill Pelz, CAS Professor of Psychology, Herkimer County Community College PREAMBLE: As the recipient of the 2003 Sloan-C award for Excellence in Online Teaching, I have been invited to share some of my thoughts regarding effective online pedagogy. I am nothing if not a teacher, and as such, I am honoured–both by the recognition that accompanies this wonderful award, and by the opportunity to share my thoughts about asynchronous teaching and learning with my colleagues.
This may seem a strange way to begin, but I want to admit that my ever-emerging philosophy of education increasingly diminishes the role of “the teacher” in the teaching/learning equation. It took over 30 years of college teaching experience for me to realize that the learner is, for the most part, in charge of what gets learned.
Implementing this point of view online has, for me, blurred, somewhat, the distinction between effective teaching and pedagogically sound instructional design.
If I create an environment in which a majority of students gladly learn that which they and I deem relevant and salient, then have I succeeded as a teacher or as a designer? – and does it matter? I hope some of the ideas that follow are helpful to others. I have liberally interspersed snippets from several of my current online courses throughout this essay. Because screen shots can be hard to read, I have also provided links to the actual courses whenever possible.
