Elements of Quality Online Education cation

Instructional Technology Graduate Programs in Support of Corporate E-Learninginstructional and interface design feedback to the electronic course developers. Here again the experienceis of reciprocal value as the faculty gain increased awareness of industry approaches to the design ofmediated-learning environments, approaches that can be shared with graduate students to advance theirknowledge as well.Recently, a large pharmaceutical company contracted with CMRI to assess its in-house trainingcurriculum and determine gaps related to the company’s best practices for its sales personnel. CMRIrecruited two CITSIE faculty members for that review to provide an academic perspective in the analysisprocess. This endeavor reflects another example of how faculty can become more aware of corporate e-learning instructional design and development strategies while sharing academic perspectives on the sameissues with their industry colleagues.In the past several years, CMRI leadership has been involved in class presentations on distance educationand training to students enrolled in the IT graduate program. Conversely, the author has conductedinstructional design and e-learning workshops with CMRI partners at professional meetings such as theSociety of Pharmaceutical and Biotech Trainers (SPBT). Perspectives from both organizations have beenmutually beneficial not only to the direct participants but also to the professional groups of both academicand industry collaborators.D. Benefits and ChallengesThe relationship between the IT program at Virginia Tech and CMRI can best be described as symbiotic,because both parties gain from the collaborative activities previously described. IT program faculty areable to apply expertise related to instructional systems design as well as lessons learned from their owndistance program in order to provide instructional solutions to issues faced by CMRI in their transition toan online learning system. IT graduate program faculty are able to leverage the interactions with CMRIand the pharmaceutical industry whenever they teach courses that focus on the design, development, andimplementation of distance education and training across a variety of venues. Students gain fromexposure to professionals in the field of distance education and their work-related responsibilities andchallenges. Additionally, when given the opportunity for practical experience in real-world settings likethose previously described, students develop skills in instructional design as well as valuable contacts forpotential future employment.The challenges of relationships across the two worlds of academia and industry have been few in thisparticular example. Issues of timing and differences in organizational cultures are noted issues that ITprograms have faced in partnerships for e-learning development. However, the partnership in this casestudy has not encountered such challenges.E. Future Plans and a ChallengeThe future holds great promise for continued collaboration between IT at Virginia Tech and CMRI. In2005, Barbara Lockee will engage in a research leave to work directly with CMRI on research related toe-learning design and adoption in an international setting. This effort will draw from the aforementionedCITSIE project that examined the transition of American IT curriculum for use in a different country.Factors that must be considered in the repurposing of CMRI materials and delivery systems will beinvestigated, along with issues that may influence the adoption of e-learning in an international venue.125