Has Anyone Noticed a Trend in Brick to Online ?

Maybe I am off base, or just lucky (???) but my children attend two different residential colleges and it appears that at least half of their courses and examinations are done online. Is this a new trend, are brick and mortar institutions finally getting it, or is this just an isolated incident?

I am thinking that "traditional" schools are either finally understanding the significance of online education, or they are somehow trying to test students to see if online education sticks.

any thoughts?

 

I think it's a trend, it's been going on for some years. It's just a matter of supply and demand. As more people get accustomed to the idea of online projects at work and email or Skype to communicate at work or home, as more people get their information online that they used to get from a newspaper, as more people recognize the convenience of online sources of information, more people are wanting to get all or part of their education online.

The small college where I teach has been offering more and more classes online and via distance (once-a-month attendance) each year. I spoke with the head of the distance learning division the day before yesterday, and she wants me to take their online teaching class asap--they're evidently dying for instructors who are qualified to teach online. The demand's there, and it's increasing.

My predictions are that over time, as the B&Ms move in to all fields that can conceivably be done online, that the for-profits will fade into the background. IMO, the main thing keeping some of the for-profits afloat now is:

a). ignorance among the general population about the number of B&Ms offering inexpensive degrees online (when you tell someone you're studying online, how often are the first words out of their mouths "Oh yeah, UoP"? I'll bet more often than not);

b). the absolutely ubiquitous advertising campaigns of the for-profits (when was the last time you went through three hours online without seeing that UoP ad?); and

c). the fact that there are as yet a few areas not covered online by the B&Ms in the U.S. (I've railed about this often on this forum, namely, the want of an AACSB-accredited PhD or DBA in Business in the U.S.)

 

I'm seeing more use of the technologies available as more of the faculty begin to come from the generation that has embraced the technology.

It seems to me that "the older faculty" still resists the use of the technology in the classroom let alone online -- since they are 1) not competent users of technology 2) not habitual users of technology.

As the landscape slowly changes -- we find more and more faculty who are more than comfortable with what is available to them but more importantly, they too are habitual computer users. I find that "Google it" is replacing "look it up".

"Email that to me..." is slowly replacing "bring it by my office.." -- "catch me online" is replacing "give me a call".

It seems only natural that the next step then is to place quizes and limited supervision exams online -- or to use a supervised computer lab for administration.

It's only natural that class notes or "hand-outs" (remember mimeographs) be put online for reference and created using some wonderful technologies that allow for audio and video and animation and interaction....

"Take out your notebook" refers to an entirely different notebook now.

yeppers - technology has come into the college classroom of late with much greater frequency.

It won't be long before more and more universities realize that we don't really need those hugely expensive lecture halls after all. They'll realize that the classroom desk as we know it has to change to keep up and has become the new dinosaur.

We just don't need to go to that room in that building and sit in that chair at 1:20PM in order to hear Professor Smith pontificate on the finer points of the post-war political environment of Lower Schtuck. We can do that from home (or anywhere else) and do it 24/7. And if we don't get it the first time he says it, we can watch him again... and again...

I'm sitting at the classroom of the 21st century right now.

just a few of my thoughts....

 

Coach:

I happen to think "a few of your thoughts" were well put.

 

I suspect that the future will bring a wide range of on-ground, on-line and hybrid academic programs. Whle DL has a lot to offer, pure DL isn't ideal for a number of fields. I see a number of schools, even in DL rich fields like business, that are going with blended delivery. Other fields - like architecture, engineering, law and medicine - are likely to remain largely outside the DL world for some time to come.

Just my 2 cents - Regards - Andy

 

Re: Re: Has Anyone Noticed a Trend in Brick to Online ?

Likely true. I suspect medicine will never go DL because ease of entry into the field is something that won't be tolerated by the AMA. I have no doubt that a person can learn much of the first year via distance. I'm mixed on anatomy but I hear they can teach it via distance...and some Caribbean school even tried it. I have heard of other med schools doing some electronic self study things, too.

Engineering...Maybe it depends on the type of engineering, though. To me, labs are somewhat important but I suppose that a dvd of the labs would work. I can't see a civil engineer doing all DL but then again, I know a contractor who has a lot of engineering and surveying knowledge. He has a degree in History but I bet he could easily do a civil engineering degree via DL.

 

Re: Re: Has Anyone Noticed a Trend in Brick to Online ?

Aw, and I was just getting excited about Virtual Med School:
"Distance Diagnostics", "Synchronous Surgery", "Non-residential Residency"... Darn!