Motives and Motivations for Online Teaching

1. Motives and Motivations for Online Teaching Carleton College Teaching Geoscience Online Workshop June 23, 2010

2. Keynote Speaker Margaret Brooks, Ph.D. Chair and Professor of Economics Bridgewater State College President, Massachusetts Council on Economic Education mbrooks@bridgew.edu

3. Good morning, and welcome!

4. In this presentation, I will • Share my perspective on how teaching, technology, and online learning has evolved in higher education • Take a look at how economics is influencing and driving the development of online courses • Consider how online teaching fits with the mission of the college • Provide some ideas for engaging students in an online course

5. A Few Facts about Bridgewater State College • Approximately 30 miles south of Boston, Mass. • Part of state public higher education system • Founded in 1840 as a normal school • 10,000+ students • 300+ F-T faculty; 80+ have taught at least 1 course online since Fall 2007

6. Undergraduate students entering data for Economic Impact Study in Computer Lab, circa 2002

7. General Observations about Changes in College Teaching as a Result of Technology In the “past”… • Teaching was done primarily face-to-face in the classroom. • Students worked independently and passed individual work into the professor. • If there were collaborative classroom projects, they involved students to gather physically in one place. Usually the professor was there in person to supervise. • Faculty and student research often involved walking to the library.

8. General Observations about Changes in College Teaching as a Result of Technology But now there are more options... • Teaching can be done in face-to-face, online, or hybrid formats. • Work is shared more often and is facilitated through the use of electronic discussion boards and wikis. • Collaboration can sometimes be accomplished entirely online even while students are in diverse places. • Faculty and student research involves the use of online resources.

9. General Observations about Changes in College Teaching as a Result of Technology • This transition to a more diverse and open learning environment didn’t happen overnight. • As computers and the Internet evolved, so did we as faculty members. • We learned to incorporate technology into our professional lives step by step: Powerpoint slides, computerized test banks, publishers’ web sites, Blackboard, using the Internet as a resource in the classroom, teaching courses online.

10. General Observations about Changes in College Teaching as a Result of Technology Faculty acceptance of online teaching can be influenced by • The availability of computers, Internet access, and IT support on the campus • The work involved in changing teaching preparations • Finding a balance between using a collaborative online approach and the need to give individual grades. • Understanding and having a say about the impact on one’s own work conditions. • College administrative support and/or pressures.

11. Which factor do you see is of most concern to college faculty? • a. The availability of computers, Internet access, and IT support on the campus • b. The work involved in changing teaching preparations • c. Finding a balance between using a collaborative online approach with the need to give individual grades. • d. Understanding and having a say about the impact on one’s own work conditions. • e. College administrative support and/or pressures.

12. The Economist’s Perspective: • Both supply and demand impact online course offerings. • On the supply side, colleges operate under conditions of scarce resources. Administrators and faculty must make decisions about how to best allocate their resources. They must also consider their competitors’ actions. • On the demand side, students operate within their own environments. They make decisions about the courses they take based on variables that include their overall educational plans, family situation, transportation and work schedule, and budget. • All of these individual decisions must be made within a macroeconomics context.

13. Sloan Consortium Report Learning on Demand: Online Education in the United States, 2009 http://www.sloanconsortium.org/publications/survey/learning_on_demand_sr2010 The evidence: Academic leaders at all types of institutions report increased demand for face-to-face and online courses, with those at public institutions seeing the largest impact. In all cases the demand for online offerings is greater than that for the corresponding face-to-face offerings.

14. Sloan-C Report http://www.sloanconsortium.org/publications/survey/learning_on_demand_sr2010 Learning on Demand: Online Learning in the United States, 2009 Selected Highlights: • Over 4.6 million students were taking at least 1 online course during the fall 2008 term; a 17 percent increase over the number reported the previous year. • The 17 percent growth rate for online enrollments far exceeds the 1.2 percent growth of the overall higher education student population. • More than 1 in 4 college and university students now take at least 1 course online.

15. Why Teach Online? To provide our students with out-of-classroom experiences • We already do this on our campuses in a variety of ways What kinds of out-of-classroom experiences does your college provide?

16. Why Teach Online? To reach students with diverse learning styles. • Reading material yourself as opposed to listening to it being read or taught to you • Being able to review content multiples times versus hearing it just once • Having opportunities to discuss material with others as it’s being disseminated versus waiting until later to discuss • Being more comfortable communicating with use of technology versus remaining silent

17. Why Teach Online? To enhance the accessibility of college courses • Universal design is an important concept. • Many students with limited mobility can benefit from taking online courses. This includes even temporary situations such as illness, injury, or pregnancy. • Here’s a professor who cannot speak and who uses technology to teach: Source: Chronicle of Higher Education web site http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid19101884001?bclid=9860075001&bctid=60298428001

18. Why Teach Online? • To make college more affordable to students • Flexibility of online courses enables students to work more hours at outside jobs and reduce dependence on loans • Students can fit more courses into their schedules and graduate more quickly • Commuters save money on gas and other transportation expenses

19. Why Teach Online? Teach and encourage honesty, trust, and ethical behavior. • Make clear when collaboration is required or allowed in the course, and when it’s not. • Teach students about the importance of documenting sources, and giving credit where credit is due. • Design assessments in your courses that discourage cheating. • Get to know your students and their work.

20. Why Teach Online? Provide our students with valuable work-force skills • Scientists work in labs and in the field. Aviation instructors fly planes. Accountants prepare taxes. • People learn by doing. It is important to teach our students content, but it’s also important for them to develop the skills they will need to apply that content in the workplace • Today’s work-force skills include the collaborative use of technology. • K-12 teachers are important consumers of online training programs.

21. Technology Used for Economics Teacher Training and Student Competitions

22. Why Teach Online? http://beingcancer.net/about/ To actively engage our students A 2010 Massachusetts Course of Distinction Award went to Prof. Christine Kiesel for her Biology of Cancer course. Among other activities, she personally engaged her students in the course by assigning them to follow a blog “The Diary of an Illness” written by an oncology nurse Dennis, who was diagnosed with a rare and fatal form of cancer in 2004.

23. My Class “Faces of Recession” Spring 2010 DVD project

24. “My Class “Faces of Recession” Spring 2010 DVD project

25. Why Teach Online? To teach students to do thoughtful, independent research • Identify problems • Find creative solutions

26. Excerpts from Carleton College Mission • “creative interplay of teaching, learning, and scholarship” • “prepare students to lead lives of learning that are broadly rewarding, professionally satisfying, and of service to humanity.” • “be a collaborative community that encourages curiosity and intellectual adventure of the highest quality.” • “quiet reflection and lively engagement” • “a culture of academic integrity, civil deliberation, and ethical action.” • “developing the critical and creative talents of our students through broad and rigorous studies” • “a learning and living community that promotes the exploration of passionate interests and emerging avocations.” • “acquire the knowledge necessary for the continuing study of the world’s peoples, arts, environments, literatures, sciences, and institutions.” • “develops qualities of mind and character that prepare its graduates to become citizens and leaders, capable of finding inventive solutions to local, national, and global challenges.

27. Some Words of Advice • Be mindful of the environment in which your students are learning. • Be ready to teach your students about the reliability of Internet sources and their need to document sources. • Provide a balanced mix of collaborative sharing activities and individual assessment measures. • Seek or create your own opportunities for student engagement.

28. Any questions or comments?

29. Thank you for inviting me to your workshop. I wish you many successes in your online courses.