In 1996, the best estimate I could find of the total number of Web users in the U.S. and Canada was 18 million. Since then, the Web's population has grown more than sevenfold. The Nielsen/NetRatings "Internet universe," the number of all members of U.S. households that have access to the Internet, was estimated to be more than 130 million in April 2000 (www.nielsen-netratings.com/). While troubling disparities in access still exist, the Web has achieved the status of a mass medium, and it has done so far more rapidly than the telephone, radio, or television did.

So how has higher education responded to the growth of the Web? In particular, what have we learned about using the Web to create distance learning opportunities?

Underlying Assumptions
Unfortunately, the challenges and opportunities surrounding online course development are often obscured by unwarranted claims and the kind of greed usually associated with Internet IPOs (initial public offerings). As the announcement of virtual universities, both public and private, becomes a regular occurrence, many in higher education seem to be succumbing to a gold-rush mentality. A flood of advertising by software vendors and service providers adds to the sense of urgency but does little to answer the questions of why or how to teach online. Too often, basic concepts of educational practice are simply ignored, as if educators no longer trust themselves to think about their own work in the age of the Internet.

To cite one example, a recent brochure promoting a conference on "Developing Online Courses," aimed at "CEOs and decision-makers," informs us that "the average online class will have 100-1,000 participants." Should any decision-makers worry that these cash cows could trample something of value, the next bullet item assures them that "there's more learning in high enrollment courses."

The assumptions underlying such statements are too tangled to unravel fully here, but some obvious points bear making. While it is certainly possible to offer online classes to hundreds or thousands of participants, there is little evidence that such enrollments will ever be commonplace, and still less that they would produce "more learning" than the class sizes typical of face-to-face instruction. Messages like this brochure's perpetuate a compelling notion, and one that seems to be keeping many administrators awake at night: the belief that online courses must be cheaper, easier, and more profitable than traditional courses.

The recent difficulties of costly, high-profile consortia such as Western Governors University and California Virtual University suggest that the formula may not be so simple. One factor that might have contributed to these problems is the real cost of creating online courses for which people are willing to pay. Past successes by early adopters seem to have nurtured the illusion that almost anyone can create online courses and that budgets are optional.

Creators of the First Web Courses
The first creators of Web-based courses were usually individual professors with a strong interest in new technology. Even the smallest, least-wired schools often have such faculty, and their importance in bootstrapping higher education into online teaching cannot be overstated. These are the professors who have taught themselves how to author Web sites and who form the primary market for a variety of software tools designed to ease the creation of online courses. These early adopters have developed thousands of courses, each the unique creation of its designer, who is usually its sole instructor. Many of these courses have proved to be exciting, effective learning experiences. They have provided the basis for much of what we know about teaching and learning on the Web. However, their day is passing.

The faculty who created this first wave of online courses did so almost entirely alone, out of necessity. Those who could turn for support or encouragement to knowledgeable colleagues, technicians, or graphic designers were the lucky few. These pioneers had to rely on their mastery of their disciplines, their fascination with the Internet, and their willingness to stretch the limits of their teaching. These are powerful forces, and sometimes they produced powerful results. But this method of course development cannot be expanded to create large numbers of courses. Nor can it assure that courses are attractive, easy to use, accessible to the disabled, efficiently administered, or instructionally effective.

The range of online course offerings is growing constantly, and unlike traditional courses, the decision to enroll in them is not driven by accidents of geography. Increasingly, prospective students will make their choices among providers of distance education on the basis of the same factors that influence their other online purchases -- availability, variety, branding, appearance, ease of use, quality of customer service, and cost. Few first-wave online courses will be able to hold the attention of consumers with these expectations.

A New Model
A new model of Web course development is emerging that recognizes the need for an investment of human resources commensurate with the intended quality and value of the product. In this model, groups of faculty provide disciplinary expertise, define objectives, write textual content, and plan assignments and assessments. To achieve their instructional goals, they rely on the skills of instructional designers, usability specialists, Web developers, graphic artists, animators, and videographers. A project manager leads the entire team through a cycle of planning, prototyping, testing, and revision to produce an online course.

Such a course is not dependent on one instructor or on one Web server. It can be taught in multiple sections and by many different institutions; it can be maintained and revised over time with a minimum of wasted effort; it meets documented standards for usability and accessibility. Perhaps most importantly, such a course looks good and works well, with the level of professional polish we expect from a coffee-table book, a documentary film, or a well-engineered software application.

The University System of Georgia is pursuing such an approach in the creation of the eCore, an undergraduate curriculum that will be offered through Georgia G.L.O.B.E. (Global Learning Online for Business and Education). The development process is complex and evolving-and it's not cheap. But the eCore courses are built to last. They reflect an expectation that students will demand high quality and a conviction that they deserve it.

A more professional approach to online course development is necessary, but not sufficient to ensure either student achievement or cost recovery. Equally essential is an administrative structure built to provide market research, marketing, management of intellectual property, streamlined admissions and enrollment procedures, effective student services, and 24x7 technical support. An appropriate information technology infrastructure must meet high standards for performance, reliability, security, and disaster recovery. Most important of all, the success of online courses depends on effective instruction. Not everyone who can teach well in the classroom can teach well online. Good online instructors spend at least as much time on their work as their traditional colleagues, since the constant exchange of e-mail and discussion group messages is key to ensuring that students become engaged and stay involved with the course content. (It is on this hard fact that the fantasy of online classes with thousands of students must inevitably crash.) All of these factors-course development, administration, technology, and instruction-will be decisive of success or failure in the new marketplace for online learning.

Georgia is hardly alone in pursuing an ambitious approach to online course development and delivery. Within the next few years, offerings that meet these standards will become the norm. Perhaps, as that occurs, perceptions of online courses will change. What now seems half-baked and gimmicky will become solid and familiar. The get-rich-quick fever behind them, institutions of higher education will get back to doing what they have always done best-opening possibilities for insight, wisdom, and wonder.

Brad Cahoon is head of the Georgia Center's Department of Web Instructional Development. In 1998, he served as editor for Adult Learning and the Internet, a Jossey-Bass collection of articles that examines the emergence of the Internet as a new medium for adult learning.

For more information, or to access WebID services:

Brad Cahoon, Department Head
Department of Web Instructional Development
Georgia Center for Continuing Education
The University of Georgia
Athens, Georgia 30602-3603
phone: 706-542-7428
fax: 706-542-7537
e-mail: Brad.Cahoon@gactr.uga.edu

 Georgia Center home page

Need assistance finding something?

All contents copyright © 2000
University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education.
All rights reserved.