Lessons from Cyberspace Classroom: Realities of Online Teaching (Jossey Bass Higher & Adult Education Series) - Softcover

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RENA M. PALLOFF, Ph.D., and Keith Pratt, Ph.D., are the managing partners of Crossroads Consulting Group, working with educational and training organizations in developing and implementing distance learning programs. They are the authors of the Frandson Award-winning book Building Learning Communities in Cyberspace: Effective Strategies for the Online Classroom (Jossey-Bass, 1999). KEITH PRATT

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Authors Rena Palloff and Keith Pratt have written a comprehensive reference for faculty to use to hone their skills as online instructors and for students to use to become more effective online learners. Filled with numerous examples from actual online courses and insights from teachers and students, Lessons from the Cyberspace Classroom covers the entire online teaching process. This essential guide offers helpful suggestions for dealing with such critical issues as evaluating effective courseware, working with online classroom dynamics, addressing the needs of the online student, making the transition to online teaching, and promoting the development of the learning community. "A comprehensive and concise description of key issues faced by every online educator, administrator, and developer. Following the tips provided by Palloff and Pratt will move online instruction beyond being merely electronic correspondence education." Rita-Marie Conrad, online instructor, Florida State University"Gives comfort and aid to online teachers not by giving easy answers to hard questions, but by raising all the questions and issues that online faculty are concerned with and by showing where the research and national discussion is on these important issues." Donald B. Hart, assistant director for faculty development, Thomas Edison State College"Will resonate with professional development staff who are seeking guidance in preparing faculty to be effective online teachers and students to be successful online learners. . . .the 'bible' for online course development." Jessica A. Somers, director, Academic Innovation, Advanced Learning Technologies, University System of Georgia Board of Regents"Very practical and applicable . . .an invaluable tool for any faculty preparing to teach in the virtual world." Gary A. Girard, director, off-campus programs, University of South DakotaThe AuthorsRena M. Palloff, Ph.D., and Keith Pratt, Ph.D., are the managing partners of Crossroads Consulting Group, working with educational and training organizations in developing and implementing distance learning programs. They are the authors of the Frandson Award-winning book Building Learning Communities in Cyberspace: Effective Strategies for the Online Classroom (Jossey-Bass, 1999).

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Chapter 1:

Online Learning in the New Millennium Because of the changing nature of today's students, economic pressures, and rapid implementation of distance learning courses and programs, definitions of what constitutes education and learning are changing, too. Whereas years ago instructors viewed their students as "blank slates" whose minds could be filled with the information they were imparting, current constructivist theory holds that students, through their interaction with one another, the instructor, and their environment, create knowledge and meaning. A more collaborative approach to learning, such as that promoted by constructivist thought, can yield deeper levels of knowledge creation (Brooks and Brooks, 1993). The use of distance learning technologies, and more specifically, online distance learning, have both grown out of and enhanced the changes now occurring in the delivery of education. It is widely acknowledged that nontraditional students (that is, working adults return! ing to school or students who are unable to attend classes on campus for other reasons) make up a rapidly growing population in education today. Their educational needs and demands are different from those of traditional students and it is these students to whom online distance education is geared. We have also seen, however, an increase in the use of online classes for campus-based students, particularly with classes that combine face-to-face and online components.

The changes caused by the use of online distance education are being met with the support of educators but also with some discomfort. The American Association of University Professors devoted the September-October 1999 issue of its bulletin Academe to the topic of technology in higher education. The following is a sampling of the opinions expressed by faculty faced with the increasing use of distance education:

Some students learn better in a course in which they can interact with the professor in person. Others, however, thrive in an online environment. Shy students, for example, tend to feel liberated online, as do many foreign students who are unsure of their spoken English [Maloney, p. 21].

Being there is irreplaceable .... Education involves more than lectures and class discussions. Our students learn from us what scholars in our disciplines do. We show the discipline of the mind and evaluate whether our students are catching on .... When students feel themselves identifying with us and our disciplines, they come to appreciate the struggle for knowledge; some may even choose to become part of the intellectual adventure [Martin, p. 351.

The reality is that technology is playing, and will continue to play, a critical role in teaching and learning. As a pedagogical tool, distance education probably leads to different educational outcomes from those achieved with traditional classroom-based instruction-some better, some worse .... The real debate needs to focus on identifying which approaches work best for teaching students, period [Merisotis, p. 51].

Regardless of the debate, distance education is a phenomenon that is here to stay. Ronald Phipps and Jamie Merisotis of the Institute for Higher Education Policy note in their 1999 report on distance education, "Technology is having, and will continue to have, a profound impact on colleges and universities in America and around the globe. Distance learning, which was once a poor and often unwelcome stepchild within the academic community, is becoming increasingly more visible as a part of the higher education family" (p. 29). In 1997, the U.S. Department of Education noted that in the fall of 1995, 76 percent of higher education institutions with enrollments of ten thousand or more were offering distance education programs. It was projected that by the fall of 1998 that figure would grow to 90 percent (Carnevale, 2000a). An update to that study was released in December 1999, indicating that between the fall of 1995 and 199798 the percentage of all higher education institutions! offering distance education courses increased by about one-third and that the number of course offerings and enrollments in distance education courses doubled (National Center for Education Statistics, 1999). Not all courses were conducted online...