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Distance Education, 2013
Vol. 34, No. 1, 1–3, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01587919.2013.775715
EDITORIAL
Learning about learning and teaching online
The Babson Survey Research Group, in partnership with the United States College
Board, has just released their tenth annual report on the state of online learning in
United States (US) higher education (Allen & Seaman, 2013). The report titled,
Changing Course: Ten Years of Tracking Online Education in the United States, is part of a series of reports on online learning known as the Sloan Online Survey
(see http://www.onlinelearningsurvey.com/).
This tenth annual report presents the views on online learning of 2820 chief academic officers from 4527 active, degree-granting institutions of higher education in the US (a 62% response rate). A notable observation of the report is that online learning in the US higher education is on the rise, and furthermore, a majority of the respondents see online learning as critical to their long-term organizational strategy.
Interestingly, however, and despite the recent enthusiasm around massive open online courses (MOOCs) generated by a few individuals in some notable educational organizations, a very small segment of US higher education institutions (2.6%) are currently offering MOOCs, or intend to be doing so in the near future (9.4%). Furthermore, many academic leaders are unclear about the credentialing of MOOCs and unconvinced that MOOCs offer a sustainable approach to online learning and teaching.
Nevertheless, many think that MOOCs offer an opportunity to learn more about online pedagogy. It is this realization that I find rather worrying, not only because many of the current MOOC initiatives, both connectivist MOOCs (cMOOCs) and
MIT-Harvard edX MOOCs (xMOOCs), are instances of how not to be teaching online
(see Daniel, 2012), but also because those who hold this view are blissfully unaware of, or possibly ignoring the wealth of literature in journals
Vol. 34, No. 1, 1–3, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01587919.2013.775715
EDITORIAL
Learning about learning and teaching online
The Babson Survey Research Group, in partnership with the United States College
Board, has just released their tenth annual report on the state of online learning in
United States (US) higher education (Allen & Seaman, 2013). The report titled,
Changing Course: Ten Years of Tracking Online Education in the United States, is part of a series of reports on online learning known as the Sloan Online Survey
(see http://www.onlinelearningsurvey.com/).
This tenth annual report presents the views on online learning of 2820 chief academic officers from 4527 active, degree-granting institutions of higher education in the US (a 62% response rate). A notable observation of the report is that online learning in the US higher education is on the rise, and furthermore, a majority of the respondents see online learning as critical to their long-term organizational strategy.
Interestingly, however, and despite the recent enthusiasm around massive open online courses (MOOCs) generated by a few individuals in some notable educational organizations, a very small segment of US higher education institutions (2.6%) are currently offering MOOCs, or intend to be doing so in the near future (9.4%). Furthermore, many academic leaders are unclear about the credentialing of MOOCs and unconvinced that MOOCs offer a sustainable approach to online learning and teaching.
Nevertheless, many think that MOOCs offer an opportunity to learn more about online pedagogy. It is this realization that I find rather worrying, not only because many of the current MOOC initiatives, both connectivist MOOCs (cMOOCs) and
MIT-Harvard edX MOOCs (xMOOCs), are instances of how not to be teaching online
(see Daniel, 2012), but also because those who hold this view are blissfully unaware of, or possibly ignoring the wealth of literature in journals
References: Allen, I. E., & Seaman, J. (2013). Changing course: Ten years of tracking online education in the United States