Moving From the Present State of E-Learning to Online
Communities of Learners
Curt Bonk, Ph.D., cjbonk@indiana.edu
Indiana University and CourseShare.com
http://CourseShare.com
http://php.indiana.edu/~cjbonk

A Vision of E-learning for America’s
Workforce,
Report of the Commission on
Technology and Adult Learning, (2001, June)
•
A remarkable 84 percent of two-and fouryear colleges in the United States expect to offer distance learning courses in 2002”
(only
58% did in 1998) (US Dept of Education report, 2000)
•
The percentage of post-secondary students enrolled in distance ed is expected to triple from just 5 percent in 1998 to 15 percent in
2002.

“
IDC expects the market to double in size every year through 2003 when the total elearning market will reach $11.5 billion.
Corporations are particularly interested in training their employees in soft skills
(leadership, sales, etc.)…growing at twice the rate of IT training.”
Steven McWilliam (2000), e-learning, 1(2), p. 48. (same numbers from Merrill Lynch)

Software and hardware customers e-learn the ropes,
Scott Tyler Shafer, Red Herring, Feb. 13, 2001
• “Since Cisco is looking to educate 800,000 people globally, the classroom model wasn’t feasible. …Cisco selected and certified 120 partner training companies…”
• “Oracle says it has 1,000 developers signing up every day to take courses over the company’s
Web Oracle Network (OLN)…estimates it will train 2.5 million engineers in 2001.” (this was only 500,000 in 2000)

How the Internet Will Help
Large-Scale Assessment Reinvent Itself
(2001, Feb). Education Policy Analysis Archives , Volume 9 Number 5, By Randy Elliot
Bennett, Educational Testing Service, U.S.A.
•
In the same way that the Internet is already helping to revolutionize commerce, education, and even social interaction, this technological advance will help revolutionize the business and substance of large-scale assessment.

http://PublicationShare.com

Survey #1: 222 College Faculty
(Early Adopters of the Web)

Survey Limitations
• Sample pool
• Dated information
• Many were Web savvy
• The Web is changing rapidly
• Lengthy survey
• Some were administrators
• Does not address all issues

Higher Education Fantasies
•
Faculty just need a bit more training.
•
Young faculty will jump on this.
•
Pedagogical tools exist to TEACH online.
•
Faculty will flock to sophisticated tech.
•
Faculty are loyal.
•
Web instruction is an either/or decision.

40%
Figure 1. Description of Sample (N = 222)
60%
MERLOT.org
The World Lecture
Hall

N = 218
54%
Figure 3. Size of Respondent Institutions
20%
26%
Less than 3,000 students
3,000 - 9,999 students
More than 10,000 students

17%
Figure 7. Rank of Respondents
5%
10%
8%
60%
Professor or Assoc
Professor
Assistant Professor
Adjunct Professor
Lecturer
70% plus faculty)
2%
22%
6%
Baccalaureate
Masters
ABD
Doctoral

How Old Are Early Web Adopters?
Respondent's Age
2%
7%
47%
44%
20-35
36-50
51-65
66+
N=218

Why post to MERLOT or the WLH?
Why Post to MERLOT or WLH*
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
Re qu ire d
M ar
Co ke ur t S el f se
S ha rin g
Im po rta nt rie s or e
Th eo
Sh ar
S tra te gi es
Ex pe rim en t
Reasons
G ro w th
Fu n
N = 211 (*Note: Categories are not m utually exclusive.)
O th er

Internet Access
• 78 percent had Internet access in their current or most recent classroom.
• 93 percent had computer lab accessibility.
• 97 percent had home access.
– Note: This is more than double the 47 percent of Americans who are users of the Internet at home as reported in a recent UCLA study (The
UCLA Internet Report, 2000).

Any Online Teaching Experiences?
Figure 18. Online Teaching Experiences
Partially and
Completely
18%
Completely Online
19%
None
24%
Partially Online
39%

Figure 19. Degree of Comfort with Web Skills
Courseware
Online Discussion
File Attachments
Chat
HTML
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Percent of Respondents
Low Medium High

Who Owns Online Courses?
Online Courses are the Property of an
Institution, Not an Instructor (N= 215)
Agree
12%
Strongly
Agree
4%
Strongly
Disagree
34%
Unsure
21%
Disagree
29%

Is Teaching Online Time-
Consuming?
Figure 20. Teaching Online Courses is More Time-
Consuming than Teaching Traditional Courses
Strongly
Disagree
2%
Disagree
6%
Unsure
10%
Strongly
Agree
41%
Agree
41%

50
40
30
20
10
0
Figure 15. Comfortable with Degrees Earned
Entirely Online
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctoral

Course Quality Improved
Online?
•
39 percent unsure;
•
32 percent agree it was improved; and
•
29 percent said no.
N o
29%
Yes
39%
Yes
Unsure
N o
Unsure
32%

Courseware Systems
•
83 percent were provided a Web-based platform or courseware system
•
22 percent more than one.
•
27 of those making a decision had more than one.
•
10 percent had access to three courseware systems or conferencing tools.

Courseware Features Like with
Current Tool
• Comprehensive, consistent, customizable
•
Ease of use, flexible, reliable
• Data and course security
•
Detailed statistics on bulletin board use
• Good online help
•
Internal e-mail systems, drop boxes, chats
• Posting of tasks & due dates on Web
•
Randomized test banks

What Percent of Time Teach Online?
80
60
40
20
0
Percent of Instructional Time Spent
Teaching Online During the Next Decade
1 Year 2 Years 5 Years 10 Years
Time Teaching Online
0%
1-25%
25-50%
51-75%
76-100%

Interested in Freelance Instruction?
Freelance or Adjunct Web-Based Teaching
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Past Experience Interest in Next 5 Years
Yes
No

Any Obstacles to Teaching Online?
Figure 32. Major Obstacles to Use of the Web in
Teaching
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Ti m e to
L ea rn
W eb
W eb
T ra in in g
H ar dw ar e
O ffi ce
C la ss
E t qu ip m en
Ti m e fo r C ou rs e
P re p e
S of tw ar
La ck
o f I nt er es t
Te ch ni ca l S up po rt
Obstacles
Ot he r

Problems Faced
Administrative:
• “Lack of admin vision.”
• “Lack of incentive from admin and the fact that they do not understand the time needed.”
• “Lack of system support.”
• “Little recognition that this is valuable.”
• “Rapacious U intellectual property policy.”
• “Unclear univ.
policies concerning int property.”
Pedagogical:
• “Difficulty in performing lab experiments online.”
• “Lack of appropriate models for pedagogy.”
Time-related:
• “More ideas than time to implement.”
• “Not enough time to correct online assign.”
• “People need sleep; Web spins forever.”

Supports Needed for Web-Based Teaching By
Institution Type
100
80
60
40
20
0
Te ch ni ca
In st ru ct l S up po rt io na l D es
Ti m ig ne rs e to
L ea rn
W eb
Tr ai ni ng
to
U se
W eb
St ud en t A s cc es
Ch at
R oo m
H el p
O nl in e
Re so ur
Ece s m ai l C ha ng es
Re co gn itio n io na l S tip en ds
In st ru ct
Re le as e
Ti m e
Private Public
Any Supports Needed?

Does technical support vary by size??
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Perceived Lack of Support for Technical Problems and
Courseware Development by Institutional Size under 3,000 3,000-9,999
Institutional Size
10,000 or more

Figure 26. Organizational Level of Instructional
Technology Decisions Related to Web-Based
Teaching by Size of Institution
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
A dm in eve
De pt
L
Le ar l ning
Ce nte r
Te ch
S up po rt
CT
O
Fa cu lty under 3,000
3,000-9,999
10,000 or more

40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Figure 17. Suggested Instructor Compensation for
Teaching Online
Compensation

Online Technology Pushes
Pedagogy to the Forefront
Frank Newman & Jamie Scurry, Chronicle of
Higher Education, July 13, 2001, B7.
“Many faculty members are still concerned whether the technology is simple and reliable enough to use for moresophisticated learning tasks.
Increasingly, however, better software is emerging that engages students in more effective learning.”

Online Instructional Activities
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Scientific
Simulations
Data Analysis Lab Performance Critical and
Creative Thinking
Actual Use High Usability
What Instructional Activities are Needed?

50
40
30
20
10
0
90
80
70
60
Figure 36. Important Features of Free Course-
Sharing Community

Figure 37. Web-Based Informational Resources and Services
Useful to College Instructors
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
C om pa ny
Li st in gs
Fr ee la nce
T ea ch in g
M en to rin g
&
T ut or in g st itu te
L ist in gs
C ou rse op
&
In
L
Wo rksh ist in gs
C on fe re nce
In fo
Li br ar y
R eso ur ce s
Te ach in
P ap er s, g
H el p
R ep or ts,
&
Jo
C ou rse ur na ls
D esi gn
&
D eve l

General Recommendations
1.
Develop Instructor Training Programs
2.
Foster Instructor Recognition and Support
3.
Create Instructor & Resource Sharing Tools
4.
Develop Online Learning Policies
5.
Conduct Online Learning Research
6.
Form Online Learning Dev Partnerships
7.
Create/Test Online Learning Pedagogy

• “There’s an astonishing amount of warmth and human kindness from total strangers on the Net.”
– Psychologist Patricia Wallace, Univ of Maryland
• E-mail has led me to correspond fairly regularly with cousins I’d otherwise only see at funerals...E-mail has knit me more tightly into the fabric of my circle, not torn me out of it.
– Elizabeth Weise, USA Today, Feb 22nd, 2000

– lowered participation in family
–
Lower communication
–
Greater feelings of loneliness and depression
– (Kraut, Patterson, Lundmark, Kiesler, Mukopadhyay,
& Scherlis, 1998, American Psychologist).

“The Internet is unlike anything we’ve seen before. It’s a socially connecting device that’s socially isolating at the same time.”
David Greenfield, Founder of the Center for Internet Studies
(www.virtual-addiction.com), April 2000, The APA
Monitor

• “Now we have Net abuse treatment centers springing up around the country”
– Kimberly Young, USA Today, Feb., 21, 2000
• Web is heavily spiced with “role-plays, deceptions, half-truths & exaggerations.”
– Patricia Wallace, USA Today, Feb 21st, 2000 (The Psychology of the Internet, Cambridge Univ Press, $24.95)
• “The more people use the Internet, the less time they spend with real people. And that situation has its problems.”
– Marilyn Elias, USA Today, 5D, Feb. 21st, 2000

When unable to access the Internet or forbidden to go online, do you feel:
A. Anxiety
B. Depression
C. Mood swings
D. Irritability
E. Insomnia
F. Panic attacks
G. Restlessness

How many hours per week do you currently spend online
(for nonessential purposes)?
1. Do you feel preoccupied with the
Internet?
2. Have you ever used the Internet to escape situational difficulties?
3. Does Internet use disrupt your work or job-related performance?

Dr. Kimberly Young, Univ of Pittsburgh
Caught in the Net (1998), John Wiley and Sons

I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore!!!
“Network”, 1976, shouted by Howard
Beale (Peter Finch)

• Howard Beale :
We'll tell you anything you want to hear, we lie like [hec].
• Howard Beale
: You're beginning to believe the illusions we're spinning here, you're beginning to believe that the Web is reality and your own lives are unreal! You do! Why, whatever the Web tells you: you dress like the Web , you eat like the Web , you raise your children like the Web , you even think like the Web ! This is mass madness, you maniacs! ..., you people are the real thing, WE are the illusion!

• Howard Beale : Right now, there is a whole, an entire generation that never knew anything that didn't come out of this Web ! This Web is the gospel, the ultimate revelation; this Web can make or break presidents, popes, prime ministers; this Web is the most awesome [darn] propaganda force in the whole godless world, and woe is us if it ever falls into the hands of the wrong people...And when the 12th largest company in the world controls the most awesome [darn] propaganda force in the whole godless world, who knows what [stuff] will be peddled for truth on this network!?

•
Administrators
•
Colleagues
• The Registrar’s Office
•
Students
•
Textbook Companies
•
Bookstores
=============================
• Courseware Companies
•
The Media

Survey Finds Concern on
Administrative Computing
Chronicle of Higher Ed, June 22, 2001, A33, Jeffrey R. Young
“Campus-technology leaders say they worry more about administrativecomputing systems than about anything else related to their jobs.”
(survey by Educause—an academictechnology consortium)

“Colleges and universities ought to be concerned not with how fast they can ‘put their courses up on the
Web,’ but with finding out how this technology can be used to build and sustain learning communities”
Hiltz (1998, p. 7)

A learning community is a group of individuals interested in a common topic or area, who engage in knowledge related transactions as well as transformations within it. They take advantage of the opportunity to exchange ideas and learn collectively.
(Bonk & Wisher, 2000;
Fulton & Riel, 1999)

(1) membership/identity
(2) influence
(3) fulfill of indiv needs/rewards
(4) shared events & emotional connections
(McMillan & Chavis, 1986).
History, stories, expression, identity, participation, respect, autonomy, celebration, team building, shape group, Schwier, 1999; share stories, give info, express need, refer to rules, time, special stories, Chao, 2001)

How Facilitate Online Community?
•
Safety: Establish safe environment
•
Tone : Flexible, inviting, positive, respect
•
Personal: Self-disclosures, open, stories telling
•
Sharing: Share frustrations, celebrations, etc
•
Collaboration: Camaraderie/empathy
•
Common language: conversational chat space
•
Task completion: set milestones & grp goals
•
Other: Meaningful, choice, simple, purpose...

Four Projects at the Center for Research on Learning and Technology, Indiana University

1. Quest Atlantis Project
• Quest Atlantis is a Web-based communitydriven, meta-game built using 3D technologies and that combines elements of play, role playing, adventure, and learning, …
• … allowing 9-14 year old children from diverse socio-economic backgrounds to virtually travel to 3-D, worlds where they select engaging quests, talk with other Questers and mentors, and build virtual persona.

Legend of Atlantis
•
Atlantis is facing impending disaster
•
Disaster is a result of lost values and corrupt leadership
•
A Council of Elders opened a portal to find help
• Children of the Earth can use this portal to save
Atlantis
•
Centers have been created to access the portal
• Children must save Atlantis and avoid our common fate

2. Inquiry Learning Forum

3. The TICKIT Project

TICKIT:
Teacher Institute for Curriculum
Knowledge about the Integration of Technology
(http://www.indiana.edu/~tickit)
TICKIT Training and Projects
:
• Web:
Web quests, Web search, Web editing/publishing.
• Write:
Electronic newsletters.
• Tools:
Photoshop, Inspiration, PPt.
• Telecom: e-mail with Key pals.
• Computer conferencing:
Nicenet.
• Web Course: HighWired, MyClass,
Lightspan, eBoard
• Digitizing: using camera, scanning.

Technology Integration Ideas
• Collab with students in other countries
•
Make Web resources accessible
• Experts via computer conferencing (or interview using e-mail)
•
Reflect & Discuss on ideas on the Web.
•
Put lesson plans on Web.
•
Peer mentoring, role play, etc.
•
Scavenger hunts.

4. Learning to Teach with
Technology Studio

Which of these are communities???

1. BobWeb Videoconferencing Support
Tool (optional use)

2a. COW Project: Case
Collaboration & Discussion on Web

2b. The TITLE Project:
International Cases on Web

3. SmartWeb: Undergraduate
Class with Online Mentoring

4. The CaseWeb (online case quizzes)

(www.tappedin.sri.com; growing community of over 6,000 K-16 teachers, researchers, and staff)
•
Hold real-time meetings and discussions
•
Conduct Inquiries
•
Meet colleagues
•
Browse Web sites together,
•
Explore professional development options,
•
Find useful materials and resources
•
Post items, share and create documents

6. MERLOT.org and
7. the World Lecture Hall http://merlot.org
http://www.utexas.edu/world/lecture /

8. CourseShare.com

9. The Global Educators’ Network (GEN) and
10. TrainingSuperSite

So, what types of communities do you want in Korea???