The reasons for this growth are numerous. School administrators cite the quality of courses, financial benefits, scalability, teacher certification gaps, credit recovery, specialized course availability, and differentiation for special needs students as benefits of online learning. Students and families appreciate the individualization and increased parental participation, and also cite limitations such as long-term illness, parenting, safety issues, and scheduling concerns among other reasons for choosing online learning.
Many terms have been used interchangeably to describe the field of distance education, including e-learning, online learning and virtual schools. However, distance education is a much broader field because it is not limited to web-based delivery. Moore and Kearsley (2005) provide a sufficiently inclusive definition of distance education:
“Distance education is planned learning that normally occurs in a different place from teaching, requiring special course design and instruction techniques, communication through various technologies, and special organizational and administrative arrangements.”
The K-12 sector has been slower in embracing virtual schools because of lack of network access, a face-to-face teaching culture that includes some political resistance, and lack of teacher training. The main limitations for expansion of distance education in the K-12 sector include costs of course development, lack of technological infrastructure, concerns about the quality of online courses, federal, state and district restrictions, and uncertainty about funding for students at a distance.
Distance education widens the spectrum of learning opportunities, not only by dramatically enhancing access, but also by increasing control over the learning process. Moore and Kearsley note “one of the biggest threats to good practice as well as good scholarship in distance education is the common failure of newcomers to the field to understand what a depth of knowledge there is.” Growth in online learning creates a need for major changes in the culture, internal organization and structure of institutions. This requires training at all professional levels, not only for teachers and instructors, but also for all administrators, managers and support personnel. The Master of Distance Education (MDE) program at the University of Maryland University College does exactly that throughout its curriculum, and thus can be a good option for preparing such professionals.
Implications of Distance Education for Leaders and Managers
The reality is now clear: online learning offers a competitive alternative to traditional brick-and-mortar schools. Credibility is no longer an issue either, and the data proves that virtual school students are equal to or better than students in traditional schools.
Technology Management is one area that takes center stage in online learning. Staying abreast of cutting-edge technologies, while sustaining a high-quality technology infrastructure for delivery and development of online educational programs poses an enormous administrative burden. The advance in digital technologies creates an outstanding opportunity for educational institutions interested in online delivery, but these will need institution-wide technology strategies to realize the pedagogical potential. While the cost of such technologies is dropping, the support and training for best use of them are growing in complexity. Institutions will need to have adequate personnel to manage the use of technologies, considering the major issues of access, bandwidth, security, and recovery in case of failure. These technologies alone are not responsible for changes, but with time, best practices are starting to emerge, particularly in professional development and training.
The use of the new technologies will require distinct instructional design practices. Mason and Rennie (2008) make the case for considering the term ‘learning design’. This term reflects “a shift of focus in course design from an emphasis on providing content to an emphasis on designing activities that helps students learn through interaction with sources, people and ideas” The best courses will employ a team of specialists, since very few individuals will have expertise in all the required areas.
Assessment continues to present a challenge to educators at all levels, particularly in the context of new media and collaborative work. Evaluating students while using these new tools is still difficult and best practices are still evolving. Beyond assessment, schools also need to be able to translate data into metrics, which can further be standardized. Thus, assessment is still a hot spot when discussing the adoption of innovative technologies.
Support services go beyond the delivery of instruction and the interaction between teachers and students. It also includes tutoring, counseling and advising, admissions and registration, library and information systems, and infrastructure support.
When considering online education, one must also include effective ways to mediate student and faculty support services at a distance. Technology mediates several supporting services, and simultaneously creates the need for new support services. Thus, technology will provide portals with a variety of self-help functions, while at the same time creating the need for a 24/7 technical assistance system.
Management and administration is a significant backend operation for any educational organization. This is no different for online education. On the contrary, online delivery will require managers and administrators that understand distance education and its implications in cost, policy and operations. The administration of the program will include activities such as: strategic planning; staffing; faculty recruitment; selection of courses to offer; course design and development; training staff; planning and everyday operations of different units, including registrar, advising, facility administrations, technology infrastructure, and program quality control.
One important factor in any distance education program is the issue of costing. The following components need to be accounted for: developing e-materials; teaching students online; administering students online; providing the infrastructure and support within which e-education can operate; planning and managing e-education. It is clear that virtual schools are operating in a new market, which includes both public and private endeavors, and the competitive landscape will be affected further as globalization begins to impact K-12 schools as it has higher education.
Preparing Leaders and Managers:
the Master of Distance Education Program
The Master of Distance Education (MDE) (http://www.umuc.edu/grad/mde) program recognizes the need for professional training in this field. The program was launched in January 2000 as a partnership between the University of Maryland University College (UMUC) and the Center for Life-long Learning (C3L) at Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg. The program has been offered for more than 9 years now in a fully online asynchronous mode. Students include working adults from distinct backgrounds, including corporate training, military, academia and K-12 settings.
The MDE studies distance education using a systems approach. It includes learning, teaching communication, design, and management.
The mission of the Master of Distance Education is to qualify present and future managers of distance education. Given that distance education -- and e-learning -- have expanded so rapidly in the past few years, the program educates the multitude of new managers and future leaders necessary in this field. These managers increasingly need the legitimacy of formal qualification, since they will be required to be active advocates for distance education and training in their organizations and need to manage significant change processes that may affect the entire organization. The program challenges students to actively engage in the study of distance education, and leaders in elementary and secondary schools will acquire critical knowledge and skills.
Overall, MDE graduates will
be able to:
- Develop and communicate a mission and vision for the implementation of distance education within an organization
- Function effectively as leader, manager and team member within a distance education or training organization
- Develop strategic goals and business plans for distance education within an organization
- Analyze and recommend an organizational distance education technology plan, and manage the implementation of that technology in distance delivery
- Design, implement, and assess the necessary support services for a distance education program
The bias which once existed against online learning is growing obsolete among K-12 educators. The rapid pace of growth in the virtual school sector shows two broad trends: the increase in the number of virtual high-schools and move from virtual high-schools to virtual K-12 schools.
Thus, current and prospective professionals in e-education will need to be up to par with the rapid changes and demands of this growing field. The Master of Distance Education is celebrating its 10th anniversary with the mission of qualifying leaders, managers and other professionals with 21st century skills in order to adequately respond to the demands of existing and new distance education and e-learning initiatives in the public and private sectors.
Stella Porto, D. Sc. is Program Director – Master of Distance Education, Graduate School of Management & Technology at University of Maryland University College. Marla Coffey is Distance Education Consultant at University of Maryland University College. For more information, visit www.umuc.edu.