scholarly journals Navigating Distance and Traditional Higher Education: Online faculty experiences

2005 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice G. Yick ◽  
Pam Patrick ◽  
Amanda Costin
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Distance Education ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Academic Culture ◽  
Policy Decision ◽  
Discussion Board ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Online Faculty ◽  
Faculty Experiences

<P>The academic culture of higher educational institutions is characterized by specific pedagogical philosophies, assumptions about rewards and incentives, and values about how teaching is delivered. In many academic settings, however, the field of distance education has been viewed as holding marginal status. Consequently, the goal of this qualitative study was to explore faculty members&rsquo; experiences in a distance education, online university while simultaneously navigating within a traditional environment of higher education. A total of 28 faculty members participated in a threaded, asynchronous discussion board that resembled a focus group. Participants discussed perceptions about online teaching, working in an institution without a traditional tenure system, and the role of research in distance education. Findings indicated that online teaching is still regarded as less credible; however, participants also noted how this perception is gradually changing. Several benchmarks of legitimacy were identified for online universities to adopt in order to be viewed as credible. The issue of tenure still remains highly debated, although some faculty felt that tenure will be less crucial in the future. Finally, recommendations regarding attitudinal shifts within academic circles are described with particular attention to professional practice, program development, and policy decision-making in academia.</P> <P><B>Key words:</B> distance education, online education, online faculty experiences, academia, tenure</P>

scholarly journals BRIDGES AND BARRIERS TO TEACHING ONLINE COLLEGE COURSES: A STUDY OF EXPERIENCED ONLINE FACULTY IN THIRTY- SIX COLLEGES

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Shea
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
The United States ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Education Student ◽  
Online Faculty ◽  
Teaching Online ◽  
Barriers To Teaching

This paper reports on initial findings from a research study of factors that enable and constrain faculty participation in online teaching and learning environments. It is noted that demand for higher education continues to grow in the United States. It is argued that the nature of the higher education student population will likely continue to transform towards a non-traditional profile. These two trends drive an increased demand for alternative routes to a college degree and have fueled dramatic growth in online learning recently. The study identifies faculty acceptance of online teaching as a critical component for future growth to meet this demand and ensure quality. Through analysis of data from 386 faculty teaching online in 36 colleges in a large state university system, the most significant factors that support and undermine motivation to teach online are identified. The top motivator is a more flexible work schedule. The top demotivator is inadequate compensation for perceived greater work than for traditionally delivered courses, especially for online course development, revision, and teaching. However, respondents in this study chose to teach online for a wide variety of reasons many of which were associated with demographic and contextual differences. These distinctions are reviewed in light of their implications for future quality of online education. Additionally, through factor analysis, underlyingconstructs for online faculty motivations are identified. Finally, recommendations are made for policy, practice, faculty development and future research.

scholarly journals Transformation of Higher Education into New Normal

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 125
Author(s):  
Osman Ferda Beytekin
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Teaching Style ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Experience Teaching ◽  
The Future ◽  
University Support ◽  
First Time

The purpose of this qualitative study was to get a better understanding of faculty members&#39; views on the future of higher education by their first-time online teaching experiences during the Fall 2021 academic semester, which was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the outbreak&#39;s rapid and widespread dissemination, it created a unique phenomenon that had a significant impact on faculty members who had no prior experience teaching courses entirely online. In order to conduct this qualitative research, purposive sampling was used to choose ten faculty members from a variety of disciplines who had at least ten years of experience teaching in a traditional classroom setting at a public university in Izmir, Turkey. Faculty members were asked about the future of higher education in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Apart from that, each faculty member was asked to discuss how the mandatory shift to online education altered their teaching style and how institutional help impacted their experiences throughout the pandemic. As a consequence of their observations and statements of their perspectives on events they witnessed and personally experienced, the key issue of &quot;transformation of higher education with hybrid perspective&quot; developed as a central theme. The data analysis revealed the following subthemes: &quot;educators on the internet,&quot; &quot;sustain and evolve,&quot; and &quot;university support&quot;. These findings may be applied in a variety of contexts, including educational leadership and the design of hybrid and online courses, among other applications in higher education.

scholarly journals CROSSING CULTURES AND BORDERS IN INTERNATIONAL ONLINE DISTANCE HIGHER EDUCATION

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gulnara Sadykova ◽  
Jennie Dautermann
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Distance Education ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Cultural Imperialism ◽  
Host Institution ◽  
Cross Culture ◽  
Online Distance

The growing demand for higher education worldwide, along with global expansion of telecommunication technologies, give online distance education a potential world-wide reach for institutions in many countries. Given the persistent international digital divide and the potential for the host institutions and languages to be those of wealthy, industrialized countries, international online distance higher education (IODHE) has great potential for educational and cultural imperialism. Therefore institutions contemplating expansion into international distance education must accommodate a number of changes that would enable building the safe learning/teaching environment needed for the development of a successful course. Drawing on literature of domestic and international online teaching and learning, multicultural studies, as well as personal international teaching and learning experience, the authors examine four domains where these changes are of critical importance: 1) host institution, 2) technology, 3) learning models of students, and 4) teaching models of faculty. The paper discusses issues and practices in each of these domains and offers general recommendations for institutions participating or planning to participate in cross-border/cross-culture online education.

Do Virtual Professors Dream of Electric Students? University Faculty Experiences with Online Distance Education

2010 ◽  
Vol 112 (8) ◽  
pp. 2154-2208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire Howell Major
Keyword(s):  
Distance Education ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
University Faculty ◽  
Qualitative Synthesis ◽  
Faculty Experiences ◽  
Teaching Online ◽  
Online Distance Education ◽  
Online Distance

Background Faculty acceptance of distance learning plays an important role in its success or failure in higher education. Information about faculty experiences of teaching online can improve understanding about this delivery mode's potential longevity in academe. Exploratory qualitative research has begun to uncover and unpack faculty experiences with online learning. Such studies provide a focused and detailed picture of faculty perceptions of teaching online; however, they have not been considered for what they add to cumulative knowledge. Purpose The purpose of this research was to employ a rigorous and systematic approach to make meaning of individual studies that investigated faculty experiences of teaching online by considering the studies in aggregate. Research Design This study drew upon qualitative synthesis methods to investigate faculty experiences with online teaching. In particular, the study used metaethnography, an interpretive approach, to synthesize findings from nine original studies conducted by 23 researchers involving interviews with 117 faculty members with online teaching experience. Data Collection and Analysis This study involved searching electronic databases and tables of contents of key journals to gather relevant articles. It relied upon analysis techniques common to metaethnographic approaches, including reciprocal translation analysis (translating themes into each other), refutations synthesis (attempts to explain variations and contradictions), and lines-of-argument analysis (building a general interpretation from findings of separate studies through reliance on qualitative analysis such as constant comparison). Findings This article presents findings from a qualitative synthesis of university faculty experiences with online distance education. Results show that faculty members believe teaching online changes the way they approach and think about teaching, course design, time, instruction, and students. Conclusions Finding new ways to understand existing literature was one of the chief goals of this study. These results represent a starting place for improving current practice as well as for guiding future research.

scholarly journals Online Teaching and Learning Ecology in Thai Higher Education during the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anucha Somabut ◽  
Kulthida Tuamsuk
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Learning Style ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Teaching Method ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Online Teaching And Learning ◽  
Technology And Learning ◽  
Learning Ecology

The chapter presents the impact of COVID-19 on Thai higher education the national, and university reactions and policies to cope with the situation. Parallel with the technology disruption, most universities have been attempting to promote online teaching due to the new learning environments and learning style of students, while faculty members are still reluctant. However, the COVID-19 has inevitably changed the ways the faculty members handle their classes. In this chapter, the findings on the components of online teaching and learning ecology (OTLE) in Thai higher education during the COVID-19 is summarized and proposed, covering the following topics: learning and teaching method, technology and learning resources, teacher roles, and student roles and responsibilities. Finally, the key success factors for the development of learning ecology at the higher education level are also covered.

scholarly journals Major barriers for participating in online teaching in developing countries from Iranian faculty members' perspectives

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bibi Eshrat Zamani ◽  
Azam Esfijani ◽  
Sayed Majid Abdellahi Damaneh
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Influential Factors ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Cultural Barriers ◽  
Education Systems ◽  
Body Of Knowledge ◽  
Research Findings

Although higher education systems in developing countries such as Iran have embraced the online education approach, they are confronted with significant challenges in this transition, one of which is lack of instructors' participation in online teaching. Therefore, this research is aimed at exploring barriers and influential factors for this lack of participation. The researchers developed their theoretical framework based on a thorough review of the existing body of knowledge while considering the cultural features of Iran as a developing country. A tailored questionnaire asking about the existence of three groups of barriers, namely personal, attitudinal and contextual inhibitors, was distributed among all faculty members who were candidates for delivering online courses in one of the top universities in the country. Data was analysed using the descriptive and inferential tests of Friedman, <em>t</em>-Test and ANOVA. The results were in line with research findings in other developing countries in which the contextual barriers had the most inhibition effect against faculty members’ participation in online teaching. Certain cultural barriers also are highlighted by participants, pertaining to the context of Iranian online education systems.

MOOCs Business Models

2020 ◽  
pp. 1189-1214
Author(s):  
Amir Manzoor
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Rapid Growth ◽  
Return On Investment ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Focal Point ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Viral Nature

MOOCs have grabbed the headlines and rightfully become the focal point of the disruption under way in higher education. The environment in which MOOCs and other forms of online education operate is changing virtually every day. The viral nature of MOOCs has been apparent through the rapid growth of providers, participating (significant) institutions, faculty members involved in providing courses, students enrolled, and other measures. And MOOCs are starting to exhibit the second trend desired by their startup investors: MOOCs don't seem to be going away. More courses are being added, more faculty members and students are becoming involved. While MOOCs have captured the interest of many, the business models and return on investment are still evolving. The aim of this chapter is to present an analysis of various business models being used by various MOOCs providers along with some future monetization strategies for MOOC providers.

Informational Competencies Entrepreneurship and Integral Values in Higher Education

2018 ◽  
pp. 541-562
Author(s):  
José Manuel Saiz-Alvarez ◽  
Edgar Muñiz-Ávila ◽  
Delia Lizette Huezo-Ponce
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Economic Growth ◽  
Distance Education ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Emotional Intelligence ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Educational Processes ◽  
Postgraduate Studies ◽  
Business Behavior ◽  
The Impact

Universities play a key role in modern societies inserted into a globalized economic world. This chapter studies how informational competencies, entrepreneurship, and integral values in higher education are necessary to foster economic growth and fight corruption. The authors especially are focused on distance education as it can be a tool to fight poverty by diminishing high illiteracy rates, mainly existing in developing countries. The purpose of the chapter is two-fold: 1) to study the impact of informational competencies in both education and entrepreneurship, and 2) to emphasize the importance of acquiring integral values by learners to be applied into educational processes based on emotional intelligence. As a result, students will be defined as prospective entrepreneurs endowed with the ability to recognize, internalize and understand emotions to be adjusted into relations and business behavior to impulse their goals. And in this sense, online education has an important role to play, especially in postgraduate studies, as in the case of MOOCs that are also analyzed.

Informational Competencies Entrepreneurship and Integral Values in Higher Education

2017 ◽  
pp. 79-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Manuel Saiz-Alvarez ◽  
Edgar Muñiz-Ávila ◽  
Delia Lizette Huezo-Ponce
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Economic Growth ◽  
Distance Education ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Emotional Intelligence ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Educational Processes ◽  
Postgraduate Studies ◽  
Business Behavior ◽  
The Impact

Universities play a key role in modern societies inserted into a globalized economic world. This chapter studies how informational competencies, entrepreneurship, and integral values in higher education are necessary to foster economic growth and fight corruption. The authors especially are focused on distance education as it can be a tool to fight poverty by diminishing high illiteracy rates, mainly existing in developing countries. The purpose of the chapter is two-fold: 1) to study the impact of informational competencies in both education and entrepreneurship, and 2) to emphasize the importance of acquiring integral values by learners to be applied into educational processes based on emotional intelligence. As a result, students will be defined as prospective entrepreneurs endowed with the ability to recognize, internalize and understand emotions to be adjusted into relations and business behavior to impulse their goals. And in this sense, online education has an important role to play, especially in postgraduate studies, as in the case of MOOCs that are also analyzed.

Taking a Hard Look at the Soft Skills of Online Course Design and Online Teaching in Higher Education

2017 ◽  
pp. 158-181
Author(s):  
Kevin P. Gosselin ◽  
Maria Northcote ◽  
Kristi D. Wuensche ◽  
Trudy Stoddard
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Soft Skills ◽  
Online Course ◽  
Online Course Design ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Online Educators

Over the past few decades, substantial growth has occurred in online education in general, and this has been particularly true of the higher education sector. Most universities and post-secondary institutions now offer students the opportunity to enroll in online pre-tertiary, vocational, undergraduate and/or postgraduate courses. While some of these courses are successful for the learners who enroll in them, others have been found somewhat deficient, often criticized for their lack of humanization, interaction, communication and online presence. This chapter examines the role of the so-called soft skills of online course design and online teaching that are seen as vital for online educators who are responsible for the facilitation of high quality online learning. Along with a review of relevant literature about the soft skills of online teaching, the chapter presents three institutional case studies from which a set of practically-focused recommendations for promoting the design of humanized online learning environments has been developed.

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