CREATING AN EFFECTIVE ONLINE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT: A ...

CREATING AN EFFECTIVE ONLINE
LEARNING ENVIRONMENT:
A SHIFT IN THE PEDAGOGICAL PARADIGM
Sanjay Gupta, Valdosta State University
Jacqueline K. Eastman, Valdosta State University
Cathy Owens Swift, Georgia Southern University
ABSTRACT
The emergence of the Internet and the World Wide Web has significantly changed every
aspect of business. Education, too, has changed considerably as evidenced by the exponential
increase in online courses. Online courses offer numerous advantages over traditional courses to
administrators, instructors, and students. However, while the use of online courses is increasing,
it remains unclear whether the pedagogical and learning approaches, that are required to make
these courses effective, are keeping pace with the ability to deliver such courses.
The primary objective of this paper is to describe the growth and development of distance
education, discuss the three dimensions of teaching online courses, examine some of the issues and
concerns for faculty teaching online courses, and provide some implications for faculty either
teaching or considering teaching online courses.
INTRODUCTION
Distance education has experienced exponential growth in the past decades. An increasing
number of universities, both large and small, currently offer entire degree programs in a distance
learning environment. More than half of the 2,215 four-year colleges and universities in the U.S.
offer distance-learning courses (Gubernick and Ebeling 1997; Vasarhelyi and Graham 1997). In
1998 there were 710,000 students taking distance education classes and that number is expected to
climb to 2.2 million in 2002 (Koury 2000). While total college enrollments are increasing at a rate
of about 2% per year, distance education enrollments are increasing at a rate of approximately 30%
per year (Bertagnoli 2001).
The most recent development in distance education is the use of online courses delivered
through the Internet. Three major factors have spurred the growth of online courses. First, the cost
of education has soared, and universities are seeking more economical methods of course delivery.
Second, compression technologies, increased computing power and speed, reduced costs, and an
increased comfort level with technology have increased the ease of learning online. Third, the
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Recent research has documented an increase in student participation for online courses
versus traditional face-to-face courses (Hiltz and Wellman 1997). Increased active participation by
online students, involving discussing and doing, rather than passive participation, in the form of
receiving lectures in a traditional course, is associated with increased learning. Recent research has
also found that online courses are as effective as traditional courses (Borthick and Jones 2000;
Schulman and Sims 1999) with respect to achieving learning objectives.
Contrary to Drucker’s opinion, online learning will not replace the traditional classroom.
We don’t believe that online learning will replace the traditional classroom. Higher education has
diverse learning goals that require a multifaceted array of educational strategies. Since the learning
needs of students are also diverse, providing options for all of those students will be essential. The
market for online education will continue to expand into the next century and business faculty who
want to stay in the forefront of education would be wise to embrace the opportunities offered by this
exciting new teaching and learning paradigm.
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