Chapter 6: Visions for a Virtual University

The Web as a Distance Learning Platform
pp. 207-210

The World Wide Web is an interesting and potentially rich platform for distance learning ventures. In fact, early on in the workshops we conducted with faculty, there was often a misconception that posting any course materials on the Web constituted distance learning. While a course Web page will give a student access to course materials after class meeting times and outside of the instructor's office hours, this Web presence is heavily dependent on the work going on in the traditional classroom. (If this constitutes distance learning, then one could argue that sending students to the library to conduct research is also engaging in distance learning.)

While having a course Web page up is not itself distance learning, it is possible that, especially if you add interactivity (for example, Perl-based bulletin boards) to your Web site, you may come to a point where developing an online course becomes a very real interest. A course Web page can bridge the distance between the physical classroom and the metaphysical classroom that teachers and students create together each semester and can provide continuity from week to week. The online course can bridge geographic limits and the fixed nature of scheduled class meeting times, reaching students who because of physical, work-related or other obstacles will otherwise go unserved by the university.

Linda Wolcott argues that the introduction of the Web as a new distance education medium has come at the same time as two other equally important developments:

Distance education is experiencing a convergence of technologies and a pendulum swing back to asynchronous delivery--but this time using computers rather than print or broadcast delivery. At the same time, among the trends that we are witnessing is a greater acceptance and integration of distance learning into the mainstream of education so that the lines are blurring between traditional education and what we have been calling distance education. In fact it is becoming common now to talk about distributed learning rather than distance learning.21

To understand Web-delivered distance education and to project its growth, it is important to examine the demographics of Internet users and current distance education students. As we saw above, the current controversy surrounding the adoption of technology on campus for the delivery of educational materials is a heated one. Some of the controversy has to do with the fact that the technology is still foreign to many teachers. However, there is a dramatic demographic shift underway in the number of people using the Internet that lends credence to the argument that as comfort levels with the technology increase and the Internet and Web become as ubiquitous as video and television, Internet-based distributed learning will become an accepted educational method.

For all the controversy surrounding the use of Web in the classroom, the number of people using the Internet has continued to grow dramatically both in academia and among the general public. A 1997 poll determined that more than sixty-two million Americans, or 30 percent of the U.S. population, were using the Internet. That represents a 32 percent increase in the Internet population from 1996, and it was estimated that in 1998 another seven million people would log onto the Internet as new users. (Among those polled, 46 percent reported that they were using the Internet at work, which indicates that by 1997, the Web had evolved from being a mainstream fad and new form of entertainment to a workplace tool.)22 In a survey of Internet use among faculty, the demographic profile was similar. T. Matthew Ciolek reports that

it appears that in 1997 an average respondent spent roughly: 10% (4.6 hrs) of that time adding information to the Internet (or maintaining/repairing existing resources); 9% (4.1 hrs) dedicated to online communication with other people (via personal email and the mailing lists); and 24% (11.0 hrs) on surfing, browsing, reading and querying the Net. This means that, on average, during 1997, scholars who participated in our online survey spent approximately 43% of their office hours on working on the Net, and 57% on paper-based and face-to-face activities.23

Within this Internet population are two critical groups who are either currently being served by distance education or will shortly become influential in terms of how elements of distance education are integrated into traditional classroom practice. The current generation of K-12 students, as well as students who are now applying to colleges, are part of a generation in which computers, the Internet and the Web have been a regular part of instruction. Where a few years ago, prospective college students were interested in buying computers to help them with their course work, now applicants are interested in knowing whether their dorm rooms are wired for the Internet. While it would be inaccurate to suggest that these students want distance education courses piped into their dormitory rooms, many are coming to college with educational experiences that have included distance education components. In K-8 education, many teachers have successfully been integrating distance education as an extension of the classroom. (It should be noted here that while the debate over distance learning in higher education has focused on the value of synchronous learning and seat time, distance learning in grammar schools has focused on bringing educational resources from outside the school into the classroom.) Wolcott explains that K-8 distance education "has a different flavor. K-8 teachers are not turning the instruction of their students over to distant teachers. Rather they are collaborating with them! . . . They partner with the distant teacher; together, and as a result of the instructional design of the program, they provide the interaction and feedback."24 An example of such collaboration is the Web-based MayaQuest project, which "allowed students to be present on an archeological dig. Through this electronic or virtual field trip, the students not only received information from a distant 'teacher,' they also interacted with persons on the dig, influenced the activities of the exploration, and interacted with other students."25 This example "illustrates uses of distance education that are different from those we typically see in secondary and higher education."26

Down the line, distance education may evolve into a variety of distributed learning ventures, but the current thrust of distance education is to serve a different student population. The average distance education student is older, has a job and is responsible for a family. In order to take courses, these students must coordinate their study with other demands. Many are motivated by the need to add skills or to obtain a degree to qualify for a better job, though some do enroll in distance education courses to broaden their education and are not interested in completing a degree.27

In short, the current distance learning student population comes from the ranks of adult continuing education or extension students. On many campuses, these students are viewed as inferior to traditional-age students. This unfortunate and ill-deserved stereotype, coupled with the stigma of "correspondence course," is at the heart of many arguments about the dubious value of distance education courses. When viewed in this light, it no wonder that many college faculty are concerned about the watering down or commercialization of their courses. While we should all be concerned about the unscrupulous use of our course materials and generally about "diploma mills," distance education has been unfairly singled out. While colleges and universities will continue to educate young people, we must be aware of a growing constituency of prospective adult students who bring with them new educational needs: the need to upgrade skills and the need for learning on demand. As "job content changes rapidly in the new science-based information world, new pedagogies are needed to upgrade one's knowledge and to develop skills that answer current and immediate problems on the job."28

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