Slides to accompany STC Summit presentation for Wednesday, 24 June 2015. Discuss class formats, academic analysis and metrics, and case history of presenter's experience moving from standup instructor to virtual one.

1. Online Education:
Where Benefits
Outweigh Challenges
Linda Oestreich, STC Fellow
STC SUMMIT, June 2015

2. What we’ll discuss
 Who am I?
 Definitions of terms
 Some data to set the stage
 Challenges
 Strengths
 Student feedback
 My take on it all
 Bottom line
 Resources
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3. Linda Oestreich
 Technical communicator
 Key roles: Technical writer, technical editor, doc
manager, strategic analyst, instructor, project manager
 Key skills: Analysis, problem solving, leadership,
teaching, creativity, public speaking, facilitation,
writing, editing, training
 Industries: Software development, government, property
management, geophysics, science and engineering,
corporate communications
 STC: Fellow, Society leader (President, VP, Director-
Sponsor, Annual Conference Program Manager), Chapter
leader (President, VP, Communications, Programs,
Professional Development ), STC Conference Presenter,
Mentor
 Hobbies: dogs, cats, reading, movies, gardening,
Facebook
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4. 4

5. Definitions
How Much
Delivered
Online
Course
Classification
Typical Description
0% Traditional Course where no online technology used—content
delivered orally or by writing
1 – 29% Web-
facilitated
Course that uses web-based technology to facilitate what
is essentially a face-to-face course; may use a learning
mgmt. system or web to post syllabus and assignments
30 – 79% Blended/
Hybrid
Course that blends online and face-to-face delivery.
Substantial proportion of the content is delivered online,
typically uses online discussions and has a reduced
number of face-to-face meetings
80+% Online A course where most or all of the content is delivered
online. Typically has no face-to-face meetings
NA Distance Overlaps with online, but usually encompasses earlier
technology such as correspondence courses,
educational television, and videoconferencing.
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6. Majority of data is
collected from
 Grade Level:
Tracking
Online
Education in
the United
States,
I. Elaine Allen
and Jeff
Seaman,
February 2015
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7. Does online learning
provide strategic value to
academe?
 Proportion of chief academic leaders that say
online learning is critical to their long-term
strategy has grown from 48.8% in 2002 to 70.8%
this year.
 Proportion of institutions reporting that online
education is NOT critical to their long-term
strategy has dropped to 8.6%
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8. Criticality of online
education to institution
strategy
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9. Are online learning outcomes
comparable to face-to-face?
 Academic leaders who rate the learning outcomes in online
education as the same or superior to those in face-to-face
instruction grew from 57.2% in 2003 to 74.1% in 2014.
 Proportion of academic leaders who believe learning
outcomes for online education are inferior to those of face-
to-face instruction remained constant from 2013 at 25.9%
 Fewer leaders rate learning outcomes in online courses as
superior or somewhat superior to face-to-face (20.0% to
16.3%), but greater numbers rate them as the same (54.1 to
57.9%).
 Academic leaders are far more positive about the learning
outcomes for blended/hybrid instruction than they are for
online.
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10. Learning outcomes
compared to face-to-face
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11. Barriers to online
instruction
 Although the number of students taking distance/online
courses has grown by the millions over the past decade, it has
come with concerns: faculty acceptance has lagged,
concerns about student retention linger, and leaders continue
to worry that online courses require more faculty effort than
face-to-face instruction.
 Rate of faculty members who accept “value and legitimacy
of online education” is 28.0%—a rate unchanged since 2003.
 Most academic leaders (68.3%) believe that “students need
more discipline to succeed in an online course than in a face-
to-face course.
 Academic leaders have increased (44.6% in 2014 vs 27.2% in
2004) their thoughts that retaining students is more difficult for
online courses than for face-to-face courses.
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12. What institutions offer
online courses?
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13. Thoughts about MOOC
 Only a small number of institutions either had or
were planning a Massive Open Online Course
(MOOC).
 The percent of higher education institutions
that currently have a MOOC increased from
2.6% in 2012 to 5.0% in 2013 and to 8.0 in 2014.
 Only 16.3% of academic leaders believe that
MOOCs represent a sustainable method of
offering online courses, down from 28.3% in
2012.
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14. Total college students
enrolled in a distance
education course 2012-13
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15. What will drive the future of
higher education?
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16. 16

17. Challenges (1)
 Technology
 Equity and accessibility
 Computer literacy
 Limitations of technology—slow or intermittent internet access
 Student abilities
 Must be mature, self-disciplined—can be hard for student who
needs structure
 Must be well-organized, self-motivated, and have good time
management—can get “lost” easily
 May feel isolated; miss camaraderie of fellow students
 Usually not appropriate for younger students
 Facilitator abilities
 Lack of essential online qualities
 Must create a supportive environment
 Be accessible
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18. Challenges (2)
 School administration and faculty uncomfortable with
change—more interested in bottom line
 Academe moves slowly
 Poor response from MOOCs
 Online environment
 Level of synergy
 Some classes not appropriate for online teaching
 Appropriate curriculum
 Face-to-face methods do not always work in a virtual medium
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19. Strengths
 Exciting opportunities
 Convenient solutions to today’s busy learner
 Easier to schedule; flexible timing for study
 No commuting
 Variety of learning materials available
 Self-paced
 Can accommodate most learning styles
 Expand learning opportunities and provide quality
education through variety of formats
 Helps develop knowledge of technology
 Helps students take responsibility for their learning
 Can repeat lectures, readings, self-administered tests
 Both students and instructors believe online learning
can foster more interaction among students than large
lecture hall classes
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20. Student checklist for online
education
 Can you pay for it?
 Do you have the time?
 Will it fit your learning
style?
 Do you have the
motivation?
 Do you have the tech
skills to navigate the
learning management
system?
 Do you have support
from family and
employer?
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21. Student feedback
 Online learning, in some respects, is a little like going to the prom
alone or with a good group of friends--one still gets to experience the
dance, but with a little less expense and a lot less pressure. (+)
 There have been times when I've wished that I could knock on a
professor's door and brainstorm through problems or issues that have
arisen with assignments or material. (-)
 In the traditional class setting, I feel more like a receiver of
information. In an online class, most of what I do is really up to me. The
more organized I am, especially with respect to time management,
the more I am free to learn. (+)
 In some cases there is no replacement for the in-class discussion in
terms of tone and gesture. In-class and face-to-face discussion allow
a person to be more involved and passionate about the subject. (-)
 I believe there’s no substitute for classroom learning. We all differ in
our learning styles (e.g., auditory, visual, reading, etc.), but most of us
learn best in some combination of them and for me it’s easier to get
that variety in a classroom. (-)
 Online classes don’t foster organic discussion and learning. (-)
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22. More student feedback
 While I enjoy this course, my favorite was through another university
because we had mandatory webcam sessions once a week with the
instructor and other classmates. There's something to be said for real-time
interaction and seeing facial expressions, not to mention the interesting
coffee mugs students and instructors use for a 7:45 am web session. (=)
 Online classes also provide a platform for introverted students that is
beneficial to everyone. Introverts might feel more confident writing
responses and comments than offering them in a traditional classroom. (+)
 I think there is an audience and a purpose for online learning, but I worry
that "deeper" knowledge may not be attained without that occasional, face-
to-face, class meeting such as a hybrid class provides. (=)
 Online classes mimic today's global work environment. Today's professionals
depend on online communication and collaboration with people around the
globe. The online classroom mirrors this setup more closely than a typical
physical classroom with 50-500 students that meet twice per week to listen to
a speaker. (+)
 My job can require me to follow an unpredictable schedule that includes
travel. If I were to take a traditional class I would most certainly miss class.
(+)
 For those of us often too intimidated to speak up in the traditional setting, the
online environment allows us some sense of security. We can take our time
developing our thoughts before confidently presenting them to classmates
and instructors on the discussion board. (+)
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23. My take on it all
 Challenges
 Setting it up and keeping it fresh
 Lectures
 Missing face-to-face connections
 Building relationships through virtual world
 Writing reference letters!
 Being online and accessible
 Benefits
 Flexibility
 Satisfaction
 Continued improvement
 Ability to stay current
 Connecting without actual contact
 Global students!
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25. Bottom line: thumbs up!
 It works for technical communication
classes
 It works for busy professionals
 Its benefits outweigh challenges
without question for our topics
 It helps us to keep learning and
striving to make it better
 It’s here to stay—embrace it!
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26. Questions and contact info
Linda Oestreich
teach@lindao.org
Cell: 619-518-1186
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27. Resources
 Evaluation of Evidence-based practices in Online Learning, US
Department of Education, September 2010
 Grade Level: Tracking Online Education in the United States, I. Elaine
Allen and Jeff Seaman, February 2015;
http://onlinelearningconsortium.org/read/survey-reports-2014/ and
http://www.onlinelearningsurvey.com/reports/gradelevel.pdf
 “Weaknesses of Online Learning,”
www.ion.uillinois.edu/rsources/tutorials/overview/weaknesses.asp
 What are advantages and challenges of online learning and
teaching?
www.researchgate.net/post/What_are_the_advantages_and_challe
nges_of_online_learning_and_teaching
 http://www.usnews.com/education/online-
education/articles/2013/01/14/5-tips-to-succeed-in-an-online-course
 http://www.usnews.com/education/online-
education/articles/2015/06/02/infographic-online-student-
checklist?int=9e0f09
 http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnebersole/2012/09/24/online-
learning-maturing-perhaps-improving-always/
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