Let's say, by way of analogy, that you went to a car dealer and bought a new car. You barely get it off the lot before the engine falls out. The salesman comes over and laughingly says - "Oh, you got one of Bob's cars. His engines always fall out." Would you put up with that? No! Of course not! We expect reliability in automobiles and would never put up with variations due to the person who made it. Never in a million years!
And yet, every time a student signs up for a class it is a crap shoot not unlike the analogy above. This is well known among students at all level who informally pass on information about which teachers to avoid. Teaching evaluations often report the problem, but do little to fix it. Taking things into their own hands, students go to sites like RateMyTeachers or RateMyProfessors to pass on this knowledge to fellow students. If all classes were reliably of consistent quality, this would not be necessary. But, they are not.
How can you deliver education of consistent high quality? Well, you have to refine it over time and delivery it in a consistent manner. This means, in short, getting the instructor out of the loop. Asynchronous distance education means lower cost, higher quality, and more reliably consistent delivery. So, what is the future for instructors? Perhaps I'll tackle that next time.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Why Was That Memorable Teacher so Memorable?
One of the arguments put forth by people who emphasize the role of the instructor in distance education is that teachers often influence our lives in very positive ways. People will say things like "I remember Mrs. Jones in third grade who really helped me get over some hurdle and restored my confidence." This is a good thing and I don't wish to diminish it. Having people to influence us in positive ways is, well, positive. However, I would ask - Why was Mrs. Jones so memorable?
Was the moment of inspiration and support from Mrs. Jones so memorable because it was such a rare occurrence? What about all the time spent with other teachers? Why was that time no so memorable? Was it because they really weren't all that good?
As you think back over all the dozens and dozens of teachers you have had for thousands of hours, how many fall into the categories of memorable, forgettable, or even want to forget? I think most people nostalgically interpret those three minutes of inspiration from Mrs. Jones as an endorsement of the teaching profession. I would say that if that is all you can remember from dozens of teachers over thousands of hours that is hardly an endorsement.
Was the moment of inspiration and support from Mrs. Jones so memorable because it was such a rare occurrence? What about all the time spent with other teachers? Why was that time no so memorable? Was it because they really weren't all that good?
As you think back over all the dozens and dozens of teachers you have had for thousands of hours, how many fall into the categories of memorable, forgettable, or even want to forget? I think most people nostalgically interpret those three minutes of inspiration from Mrs. Jones as an endorsement of the teaching profession. I would say that if that is all you can remember from dozens of teachers over thousands of hours that is hardly an endorsement.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Just How Important is that Instructor, Anyway?
One of the major issues in distance education is the role of the instructor. This can be seen most clearly in distinction between asynchronous and synchronous distance education. In asynchronous mode the student interacts with prepared course materials in an asynchronous fashion which means they fit the course work into their schedule and do it as they feel like it rather than at an appointed time. There may still be an instructor or even a facilitator available. But the role of the instructor is greatly diminished. In synchronous mode the student must appear at assigned times when the instructor is there and interact with the instructor and class mates. The synchronous mode is largely although not completely an extension of the classroom into cyberspace.
There are four main drawbacks to the synchronous model. First, the student has to appear at an assigned time. Second, the student must proceed at the speed of the class. Third, synchronous education is not scalable which means class sizes are still limited although no longer by the size of the room. They are limited by the number of students that one instructor can attend to. Finally, synchronous mode, like any custom made product is expensive and the products are not reliable.
One of the main arguments put forth by the advocates of synchronous mode distance education is the importance of the instructor and the role of the instructor in education. Over the next few posts, I am going to take the devil's advocate position and argue against the importance of the instructor. In fact, I am going to argue that the importance of the instructor is largely a myth and that the negative consequences of instructors far out weight the positive ones. This is, as you might imagine, not a popular position to take. But, I believe, it needs to be considered.
There are four main drawbacks to the synchronous model. First, the student has to appear at an assigned time. Second, the student must proceed at the speed of the class. Third, synchronous education is not scalable which means class sizes are still limited although no longer by the size of the room. They are limited by the number of students that one instructor can attend to. Finally, synchronous mode, like any custom made product is expensive and the products are not reliable.
One of the main arguments put forth by the advocates of synchronous mode distance education is the importance of the instructor and the role of the instructor in education. Over the next few posts, I am going to take the devil's advocate position and argue against the importance of the instructor. In fact, I am going to argue that the importance of the instructor is largely a myth and that the negative consequences of instructors far out weight the positive ones. This is, as you might imagine, not a popular position to take. But, I believe, it needs to be considered.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Something to Think About
There was a news announcement yesterday that Borders Booksellers had declared bankruptcy. I can remember when they first opened in my area. It was the most impressive bookstore I had even been in. They not only had a vast selection, they had depth. They had books you normally couldn't find elsewhere. The staff was knowledgeable and helpful. The store had ambiance. There was a social aspect to it which was nurtured over the years with coffee shops, string quartets and the like. It was everything an online bookstore was not. In fact, if ever there was an argument in favor of a bricks and mortar bookstore over an online bookstore it was Borders. And yet, they still lost the battle.
It occurred to me that many of the reasons one would cite for why Borders was superior were the same reasons that people would cite for why face to face education is superior. There is a social environment. There is ambiance. There is a benefit to being there not the least of which is networking and access to experts. But that didn't save Borders. Will it save bricks and mortar universities?
Some of the older universities have huge endowments that will protect them for a while. I suspect that Harvard for example could survive on its endowment for an extended period of time. So, they probably have little to worry about. But, what about the thousands and thousands of universities that are not Harvard. How will they fare? I don't know. But it is certainly something to think about.
It occurred to me that many of the reasons one would cite for why Borders was superior were the same reasons that people would cite for why face to face education is superior. There is a social environment. There is ambiance. There is a benefit to being there not the least of which is networking and access to experts. But that didn't save Borders. Will it save bricks and mortar universities?
Some of the older universities have huge endowments that will protect them for a while. I suspect that Harvard for example could survive on its endowment for an extended period of time. So, they probably have little to worry about. But, what about the thousands and thousands of universities that are not Harvard. How will they fare? I don't know. But it is certainly something to think about.
Monday, January 31, 2011
A Different Perspective on Distance Education
We tend to face the changes of the future with some resistance. This is natural because most people are adverse to change and the bigger the change the greater the resistance. However, it is often useful to view it from the opposite perspective. That is, imagine you are in the future rolling back the change. How good would that be?
So, for the sake of argument, imagine a future where all education is available over the web. People can try different things and find what they are good at. They are not restricted from programs because of geography, program size or space limitations. They can proceed according to their own interests and at their own pace. They can easily fit it into their busy schedules
And then, for some reason, the unthinkable happens. The web goes down. Educators trying to find a back up way to educate people would say, "Well, if we could get them all in the same room at the same time in small groups we could do it that way." Does anyone really think that could work?
It is hard to imagine a world in which distance education is commonplace having to revert back to the way we do things today. Perhaps the way we do things today is not the best way. Maybe it is just making the best of a bad situation.
So, for the sake of argument, imagine a future where all education is available over the web. People can try different things and find what they are good at. They are not restricted from programs because of geography, program size or space limitations. They can proceed according to their own interests and at their own pace. They can easily fit it into their busy schedules
And then, for some reason, the unthinkable happens. The web goes down. Educators trying to find a back up way to educate people would say, "Well, if we could get them all in the same room at the same time in small groups we could do it that way." Does anyone really think that could work?
It is hard to imagine a world in which distance education is commonplace having to revert back to the way we do things today. Perhaps the way we do things today is not the best way. Maybe it is just making the best of a bad situation.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Distance Education
It has been a while since I posted to this blog. All the usual excuses apply. I was busy. I was tired of writing for a while. Heck, I was just lazy. But, I am over it and ready to start posting again. I have done a lot of work with distance education over the past six months and am going to jot down some of my notes here.
I think distance education has enormous potential both educationally and economically. That is to say, there is money to be made and people to be educated. The biggest problem at the moment, as it usually the case, is a failure of both understanding and imagination. I would point to the early days of the web as an analogy. In the early 1990's it was hard to see applications for web technologies. By the mid 1990's that was sorted out. And by the late 1990's we had the dot com bubble. I don't think distance education will happen quite as quickly. But, I think it will happen. And the impact will be of similar magnitude. So, I am going to write down some of my thoughts about this emerging phenomenon here over the next few weeks or months.
I think distance education has enormous potential both educationally and economically. That is to say, there is money to be made and people to be educated. The biggest problem at the moment, as it usually the case, is a failure of both understanding and imagination. I would point to the early days of the web as an analogy. In the early 1990's it was hard to see applications for web technologies. By the mid 1990's that was sorted out. And by the late 1990's we had the dot com bubble. I don't think distance education will happen quite as quickly. But, I think it will happen. And the impact will be of similar magnitude. So, I am going to write down some of my thoughts about this emerging phenomenon here over the next few weeks or months.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Did I Learn Anything?
I started this blog almost two years ago in an attempt to learn more about blogging. So, it seems relevant to ask – Did I Learn Anything? The answer is yes, absolutely yes, I learned a great deal more than I could possibly explain. However, for the sake of economy I will pare it all down to five major lessons.
1) Blogging is good even if nobody reads it – it is writing practice and it becomes part of the historical record. People used to write letters to each other and save them in the attic. Historians pour through these personal correspondences to get a ground level view of a period from the perspective of people living during that period. In the future, historians may consult any records you may have created. Further, blogs are both easier to search and easier to read than personal letters. So Blogs, like letters and diaries become a rough draft of history.
2) Blogs can be used to great advantage as public research notebooks or even public journals. Maybe you don’t want to wait for historians. Maybe you have something to say today and would like to share it with others who have similar interests. You don’t have to be an academic or professional researcher. You can be a movie or music critic. You can provide opinions on beers or single malt whiskies. Maybe you have a special interest in your family history or the history of your home town. Anything that captures your interest probably captures the interest of somebody else as well. So you blog become the focal point of a shared conversation on a topic of interest to you and others.
3) Using a technology like blogging changes the way you look at the world. Your view of the world probably solidified sometime between your 18th and 25th birthdays. But the world continued to change. The longer you go without an update the farther out of touch you become. Blogging can help you keep up to date in two important ways. First, just reading the blogs of others will keep you up with the way people are thinking at the moment. Blogger are more likely to live in the present than people who don’t blog. Second, there is always a culture surrounding a new technology. They are more likely to buy certain products such as Smart Phones and more likely to watch certain shows like The IT Crowd or The Guild. Exposure to this sort of thing keeps you current in your thinking.
4) The only way to really understand blogging is to blog. Like so many things you can’t learn how to blog by reading, talking or planning. You have to try it. If you have nothing to say, your muse is probably asleep from lack of use. Write you first post on not having anything to say. Write your next one on how hard it is to choose a topic. Just start writing. Eventually, as in conversation, the words will begin to flow.
5) If you start blogging you will start doing other things. No, blogging does not lead to crack cocaine. But, if you blog, you might start posting message to a forum, or sending emails through “Contact Us” pages. You might start emailing more or IM’ing more or texting more. You might join a chat room or a Facebook group. You might even create an alter ego in Second Life. Just take that first step and other steps will likely follow.
And with those observations, I close my first blog. It is now part of the historical record and I am on to other things.
1) Blogging is good even if nobody reads it – it is writing practice and it becomes part of the historical record. People used to write letters to each other and save them in the attic. Historians pour through these personal correspondences to get a ground level view of a period from the perspective of people living during that period. In the future, historians may consult any records you may have created. Further, blogs are both easier to search and easier to read than personal letters. So Blogs, like letters and diaries become a rough draft of history.
2) Blogs can be used to great advantage as public research notebooks or even public journals. Maybe you don’t want to wait for historians. Maybe you have something to say today and would like to share it with others who have similar interests. You don’t have to be an academic or professional researcher. You can be a movie or music critic. You can provide opinions on beers or single malt whiskies. Maybe you have a special interest in your family history or the history of your home town. Anything that captures your interest probably captures the interest of somebody else as well. So you blog become the focal point of a shared conversation on a topic of interest to you and others.
3) Using a technology like blogging changes the way you look at the world. Your view of the world probably solidified sometime between your 18th and 25th birthdays. But the world continued to change. The longer you go without an update the farther out of touch you become. Blogging can help you keep up to date in two important ways. First, just reading the blogs of others will keep you up with the way people are thinking at the moment. Blogger are more likely to live in the present than people who don’t blog. Second, there is always a culture surrounding a new technology. They are more likely to buy certain products such as Smart Phones and more likely to watch certain shows like The IT Crowd or The Guild. Exposure to this sort of thing keeps you current in your thinking.
4) The only way to really understand blogging is to blog. Like so many things you can’t learn how to blog by reading, talking or planning. You have to try it. If you have nothing to say, your muse is probably asleep from lack of use. Write you first post on not having anything to say. Write your next one on how hard it is to choose a topic. Just start writing. Eventually, as in conversation, the words will begin to flow.
5) If you start blogging you will start doing other things. No, blogging does not lead to crack cocaine. But, if you blog, you might start posting message to a forum, or sending emails through “Contact Us” pages. You might start emailing more or IM’ing more or texting more. You might join a chat room or a Facebook group. You might even create an alter ego in Second Life. Just take that first step and other steps will likely follow.
And with those observations, I close my first blog. It is now part of the historical record and I am on to other things.
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