The explosion of computing devices connected to the internet has driven enormous shifts in the way we communicate and it is becoming increasingly acknowledged that the future is indeed going to be digital. The internet is pushing change in educational circles and the field has, in recent years, been striving to join the growing ubiquity of online connected people and devices which has often resulted educators pressed into integrating technology into their teaching and learning. However it seems there may be significant trade offs for using the new delivery methods. Students and educators may be concerned about the quality of teaching and learning (Hirschheim, 2005; Kao & Tsai, 2009) and it should be noted that educators are still largely only experimenting with new technologies in education while leaving long standing pedagogical paradigms and practices untouched (Candy, 2004, p. 39). Although there are acknowledged advantages of using new technologies in education, shovelling large amounts of pre-existing learning material online under the banner of “flexible education” (Beckenham, 2008) is now being recognised as a less than satisfactory, and sometimes disappointingly ineffectual, method of educating and engaging learners. Fundamental changes in the way in which people learn and interact online, compared to traditional modes, has given rise to a need to reconceptualise ways in which we can use new technologies more effectively. It is important to understand the information and communication technologies (ICTs), including computers and the internet, are not necessarily tools designed for or by education – they have instead been harnessed by education for their extraordinary potential to store, retrieve and distribute information in revolutionary ways not reviled since the printed press; this is an important consideration because it must be acknowledged that the way in which we use ICTs, particularly the internet, has enormous potential advantages for education but it is still very much a work in progress.
Recent studies indicated favourable impressions of online learning (Spooner, Jordaon, Algozzine, & Spooner, 1999; Hirschheim, 2005) including: convenience, flexibility, motivation, better understanding, higher quality of education, better access to and communication with staff and students and immediate feedback (Hirschheim, 2005). As the World is undoubtedly becoming more globally interconnected, the internet, along with its associated technologies, certainly offers enormous potential to the field of education; although reaching such potential is not without its obstacles and criticisms. The internet affords some of us access to information in a way that never been so widely available; enterprising endeavours such as Wikipedia – The Free Encyclopaedia (www.wikipedia.org) and Google Books (books.google.com) offer access to vast stores of information that was previously confined to expensive collections of books stored on shelves in private residences or public libraries; online training programs have enabled educational institutions to more effectively reach learners without the need for physical attendance at bricks and mortar institutions. It is reasonable to expect that the increased availability of free online educational materials would trigger changes in the way learners perceive the nature of learning. Enhanced access to learning and the potential for learners to bypass traditional higher education settings and institutions should provide mote equitable access to education and should expand educational opportunities to groups traditionally marginalised by higher education, but this may only be partially true.
Whilst the potential of the internet in education seems to offer a bright future at the local level, a false lack of faith that internet technologies will be the solution to solve all the problems education faces around the world may be particularly relevant in a broader global context. The explosion of information technology has created a growing ‘digital divide’ reminiscent of the age old dilemma of ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’. Developed countries are steadily adopting increasingly fast internet connections reaching over 80 per cent of the population (OECD, 2006), and are more readily able to afford access to devices required to enable access to online resources. Simultaneously, a lack of access to appropriate technologies, including high speed internet access, and the skills to use the technology, may be a major inhibitor facing developing countries (Dhanarajan, 2001) and communities. Addressing the issues of access to technologies is complex, requiring large scale investments by governments and other organisations (Candy, 2004); however, as computer access and literacy are steadily becoming integral the education, the workforce, and even every-day tasks, access to technology is arguably more important than it has been in the past to close the divide.
As the need for increased literacy and access to relevant technologies for learners becomes increasingly important so to does the need for increased development of online pedagogies and skills for practitioners. It is well noted that the way in which we teach and learn online is different to traditional pedagogies and requires adopting new approaches to match the delivery mode (Riedinger & Rosenberg, 2006; McCauley Jugovich & Reeves, 2006; Candy, 2004; Herrington, Herrington, Oliver, Stoney, & Willis, 2001) and there arises is a fundamental need to reconceptualise learning in the digital age. Candy (2004) suggests reflecting on the simplified principles of what is actually meant by learning by breaking down learning into two camps; surface learning, where learners develop a limited understanding of facts without ability to distinguish principles from examples; and deep level learning, where information is more thoroughly understood over longer periods of time and can be extrapolated into new situations, meanings and paradigms. The vast quantities of information now available online at a learner’s finger tips, and the lack of narrative or structure connecting concepts and ideas, tends to encourage surface learning. Deep level learning, which is more difficult achieve online or offline, is almost certainly preferred by the learner and there are aspects of online learning that encourage deep level learning including, ironically, the vast quantities of information available online – allowing enthusiastic learners to investigate topics thoroughly – and the use of simulations and games. However, most forms of online learning technologies rely almost entirely on traditional and unchanged practices of relaying text through oral, cinematic, or written means and the use of games can be viewed as risky by academics and their potential value to encourage worthwhile learning is often neglected (Alvarado, 2008). Arguably, the technology itself remains neutral to preferring different kinds of learning (Candy, 2004), however the skills and creativity required to establish and to promote the preferred deep level learning means that many current implementations of online learning tend to prefer surface learning. A simplified look at the principles of how people learn, and how educators should teach, may encourage us to look beyond the technology and re-think some of the shortcoming of online education; instead of forcing the learner to meet the needs of the technology we should take a step back and reshape the way we use technology to meet the fundamental needs of the learner.
As online facilitation of learning becomes more prevalent it is becoming clear that traditional pedagogical practices do not necessarily translate well to web-based learning and that teaching online requires clear vision of how to best use the technology effectively. In recent years there has been much research into learners’ self-efficacy toward learning online and enthusiastic investment in ICTs to attempt to match learners’ characteristics. Unfortunately, the worst aspect of online learning can often be poor facilitation (Woo, Herrington, Agostinho, & Reeves, 2007) and Kim & Bonk’s (2006) survey of college instructors and administrators found that “Pedagocial competence of online instructors” to be a critical concern contributing the the success of online programs, second only to bedgetery support. An integral determining factor for improving student performance is teachers’ professional development (Kao & Tsai, 2009) and therefore it is surprising to consider that there has been considerably less research into teachers’ characteristics towards online professional development (Kao & Tsai, 2009) and teaching online. As previously discussed, the potential of the Web in education reform can only be exploited if educational staff design appropriate curriculum supported by effective online pedagogies. Necessary investment in staff training may not meet the current levels required for the potential of using online technologies to be realised, consequently putting unrealistic expectations on educational staff to produce quality instructional materials (Dhanarajan, 2001). Kao & Tsai (2009) suggest that an understanding of teachers’ attitudes toward web based learning are a significant predictor for the usefulness of their own web-based professional development and may positively improve a teacher’s ability to enhance the use of internet based technologies in their own training. Riedinger & Rosenberg (2006) found the development of an online teaching certification for online facilitators to be a necessity. During the delivery of the training programme they discovered interesting insights into how teachers learn, anecdotally suggesting that teachers themselves are as problematic as the average college student, and discivered that more time was required to impart underpinning technological and pedagogical skills than originally had thought to have been necessary. It is clear that one of the prevalent issues facing the advancement of the use of internet in education lies in enhancing the professional development of teachers using web based learning; a step that is essential to progressing the effectiveness of internet based teaching and learning.
Alongside the obvious advantages of using the web for education the use of the internet in education is not limited to the standardised web browser. There are various emergent technologies; some, for convenience and accessibility reasons, operating within the confines of the browser and others as stand alone software or actual hardware devices. Developing and enhancing emergent technologies that use the internet as a medium, but function outside the familiar web browser environment, offer some of the most exciting and radical opportunities for the use of the internet in education. Podcasts, for example, use feeds encapsulated in a format called RSS (Really Simple Syndication) to deliver combinations of audio, text, presentations or video to subscribers. The content can be automatically downloaded to a computer or portable device, such as smart-phone or MP3 player (most notably Apple’s iPod (www.apple.com/ipod/) from which the name derives) and interacted with at any time. The format offers interesting opportunities because it harnesses the functions of internet enabled devices to access material anywhere/anytime without an active internet connection. Accessibility of podcasts are one of the most important and appealing features of the medium and, when used properly, have also been shown to promote traditionally good practices in higher education distance learning (Fernandez, Simo, & Sallan, 2009). Other technologies being experimented with by educators are virtual environments, such as Second Life (www.secondlife.com) and development of iPhone/iPod applications that provide intuitive and accessible alternatives to traditional Learning Management Systems. Whatever technologies develop in the future it is important to consider that online learning need not be limited to the current widespread use of content management systems and learning portals and the potential advantages of learning online may not yet be close to realisation.
Explicit links between individual learning outcomes and business goals have already ensured corporate learning to be an integral ingredient to successful enterprise (Whyte, 2001). Increasingly diminished government funding available to universities, combined with the growing market of corporate learning and the concept of education as an increasingly important commodity, may see the corporate sector fuelling expansion and development of e-learning technologies without involvement of traditional education institutions and concepts. Higher education institutions have realised there is a growing market of online learners and interesting developments in the area may develop as universities compete with each other for a market share. As online learning becomes more common place in international markets it will become increasingly important for institutions to manage their online presence more scrupulously as it assumes greater and greater gravitas and becomes, for all intensive purposes, synonymous with their physical campus. Dhanarajan (2001) warns that the corporatisation of education is causing concern over the value of qualifications, much the same is commercial correspondence education has in the past. For university accreditations to remain in high regard it will become increasingly important to ensure that learners have high quality and worthwhile experiences that are reflected by skilled graduates and a strong online presence.
For all the advantages and disadvantages that online education offers it seems that a shared concern among educators and learners alike is that online education may one day replace the traditional pedagogical practices that have prevailed for centuries; face-to-face learning with real people in real buildings. For some, the notion that online education behind a computer screen may one day be the dominant delivery mode used in higher education represents considerable sacrifices; loss of traditional lectures, changes in the relationships of students and teachers, loss of engaging and immersive class time discussions, potentially higher expectations of lecturers and students, and an overall reduction in the quality of learning experiences. For now, such concerns seem qualified; if LMSs represent the new classroom then their components, such as Powerpoint presentations and online discussion boards, are presently an inferior replacement for the real thing (Kordel, 2008). Arguably, concerns that online education will replace tradition methods are unfounded; internet based learning is presently acknowledged as a way to augment, rather than replace, traditional educational methods and does, in many circumstances, provide a higher quality access to education than has previously been possible. Anecdotally it may be possible to compare such concerns with the notion that, thirty years ago, the cassette recorder may have left lecture halls empty. At present, it seems dubious to suggest that the quality of information and communication technology aided learning may ever surpass traditional methods of teaching and learning. However, like it or not, the internet has become a forceful driver for change in higher education and has much to offer still. Provided stakeholders remain critical of the change in delivery modes to ensure, at every step of the way, that the right direction is being taken, the internet should continue to provide innovative and exciting opportunities for educators to become increasingly closer to reaching potential in this area.
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