John Darryll S.

Mercado
III B BSITE
Online Learning

The Theory and Practice of Online Learning:

Delivery, Quality Control, and
Student Support of Online Courses

Teaching in an Online Learning Context

The role of the teacher or tutor in an online learning context uses

the theoretical model developed by Garrison, Anderson, and Archer
(2000), it views the creation of an effective online educational community
as involving three critical components: cognitive presence, social
presence, and teaching presence.

 Cognitive presence – serious learning can take place in an

environment that supports the development and growth of
critical thinking skills; is grounded in and defined by the
study of a particular content; thus, it works within the
epistemological, cultural, and social expression of the
content in an approach that supports the development of
critical thinking skills.
 Social presence – relates to establishing a supportive
environment such that students feel the necessary degree of
comfort and safety to express their ideas in a collaborative
context, and to present themselves as real and functional
human beings.
 Teaching presence – is critical, for a variety of reasons that
create the rationale for this chapter

Anderson, Rourke, Archer and Garrison (2001) delineate three

critical roles that a teacher performs in the process of creating an
effective teaching presence.
 Teachers design and organize the learning experience that
takes place, both before the establishment of the learning
community and during its operation.
 Teaching involves devising and implementing activities to
encourage discourse between and among students, groups of
students, and content resources.
 The teaching role goes beyond moderating the learning
experiences when the teacher adds subject-matter expertise
through a variety of forms of direct instruction.
Designing and Organizing the Online Learning Context

The design and construction of the course content, learning

activities, and assessment framework constitute the first opportunity for
teachers to develop their teacher presence. The role the teacher plays in
creating and maintaining the course contents varies from a tutor working
with materials and an instructional design created by others, to a “lone
ranger” or teacher who creates all of the content.

Getting the Mix Right

There are two competing models of online learning, each of which

has strong adherents and a growing body of research and theoretical
rationales for its effective application.
 The community of learning model uses real time
synchronous or asynchronous communication technologies
to create virtual classrooms that are often modeled, both
pedagogically and structurally, on the campus classroom.
 The independent study model involves independent learners
who work by themselves and at their own pace through the
course of instruction. This model maximizes flexibility, but
challenges the institution’s and teacher’s capacity to
facilitate group, social, or collaborative learning activities.

Facilitating Discourse

We use the term discourse rather than discussion, as it conveys

the meaning of relating to the process or power of reasoning, rather than
the more social connotation of conversation. Learners develop their
thought processes, through the necessity of articulating their ideas to
others. Discourse also helps students to uncover misconceptions in their
own thinking, or disagreements with the teacher or other students.

Assessment in Online Learning

A commonly used component of student assessment in online

education is to require students to post comments. The usefulness and
efficacy of this practice, however, has been hotly debated on discussion
lists about online learning.
Student assessment of any kind requires that the teacher be
explicit, fair, consistent, and as objective as possible. The following
examples illustrate how two experienced online learning teacher assess
participation and thereby enhance their own teaching process.
Provision of Direct Instruction

The online teacher must be able to set and communicate the

intellectual climate of the course, and model the qualities of a scholar,
including sensitivity, integrity and commitment to the unrelenting
pursuit of truth.

The Process of Building Teaching Presence

The process begins by providing students with access and

motivation. Second is that the e-moderator continue to develop online
socialization by “building bridges between cultural, social, and learning
environments. Third if the information exchange, that the teaching task
moves to facilitating learning tasks, moderating content-based
discussions, and bringing to light student misconceptions and
misunderstandings. Fourth is knowledge construction, students focus on
creating knowledge artifacts and projects that collaboratively and
individually illustrate their understanding of course content and
approaches. Final development stage is that learners become responsible
for their own and their group’s learning by creating final projects,
working on summative assignments, and demonstrating the achievement
of learning outcomes.

Qualities of the e-teacher

1. Excellent teacher
2. Have sufficient technical skill to navigate and contribute effectively
within the online learning context, have access to necessary
hardware, and have sufficient Internet efficacy to function within
the inevitable technical challenges of these new environments.
3. Have the type of resilience, innovativeness, and perseverance
typical of all pioneers in unfamiliar terrain.

Call Centers in Distance Education

In education, call centers can be useful to an educational

institution in many ways, ranging from simple provision of information to
prospective students, to fundraising, collection of survey data, and even
provision of instructional services.
In distance education, the call center concept can be an effective
communication tool, enabling the institution to provide and improve
service to students in many areas, including instruction.
Organizational Strategy and Call Centers

Strategy is a dynamic that emerges from the competitive

environment, evaluates that environment in an ongoing manner, and
flexibly adjusts the corporate course when necessary.
A call center can outsource as much or as little of the technology
and services as they choose. By outsourcing, companies aim to benefit
quickly from the fast and efficient resources from an outside source.

Call Centers in Organizations

Traditionally, call centers have been implemented in business to

improve cost effectiveness and the delivery of customer services, as wee
as to generate additional revenue. Call centers can help streamline and
enrich customer service, and provide customers and staff with knowledge
base through technology that complements labor, rather than replaces it,
and does not create a frenetic pace of work. Call centers have particular
significance in three areas: customer service and retention, direct
marketing, and information sources.

Customer/Student Service and Retention

According to Bruton, a key difference between a help desk and a

call center lies in how the two functions deal with knowledge
management; he contends that help desks, while they do impart
prepared or pre-manufactured information, also require diagnostic skills
from their staff. Brandt notes that only 14% of all help desk calls involve
new problems that require serious attention, while the remaining 86%
could all be resolved automatically, without human intervention, via web
based features.

Critical Success Factors for Call Centers

For call centers to be successful and productive in any field,

including distance education, a number of critical success factors must
be in place: Processes and Policy, Technology, Human Resources.

Call Center at Athabasca University

Over the past 15 years, AU has developed three unique call

centers: The Information Center, The Computing Services Help Desk, The
School of Business Call Center.
Overcoming Barriers to Call Center Implementation in Delivery

When attempting to implement a call center, senior administration

must demonstrate how its implementation is consistent with the culture
and values of the organization, consistent with academics’ professional
values, and in the best interest of the students and organization.
Distance education should be built on two foundations, the needs
of the intended students and the learning outcomes of the course or
program.

Library Support for e-learners: e-resources, e-services, and the Human

Factors

The growth of e-learning in which education is delivered and

supported through computer networks is transforming academic
libraries.

Defining the Virtual Library

Gapen defines the virtual library as the concept of remote access to

the contents and services libraries and other information resources,
combining an on-site collection of current and heavily used materials in
both print and electronic form, with an electronic network which
provides access to, and delivery from, external worldwide library and
commercial information and knowledge sources.

The Landscape of Library Resources

Technology offers opportunities to be innovative, as the following

discussion of electronic resources and services demonstrates, but it is
important to bear in mind inequalities such as access to computing
equipment, the availability, the speed and stability of Internet
connections, and the information skills required to make optimum use of
virtual libraries.

Library Services: Challenges and Opportunities

o Reference,
o Messenger,
o Instruction
The Successful Virtual Library: Partnership and Collaboration

The digital library serves mainly as a facilitator in organizing and

providing knowledge and resources to its users. Sharing knowledge and
information among library staff, researchers, faculty, students, and other
departments within the institution encourages them to work together,
develop their skills, and form strong and trusting relationships.

Supporting the Online Learner

Creating a supportive learning environment for online learners is

crucial for ensuring success, promoting persistence, and avoiding drop-
out. The ideal learning environment aims to develop the learner’s
independence and facilitate the learning process by providing supports
that are flexible, accessible, and readily available when needed.

Support for Prospective Students

We can identify support needs best when we know our learners

well. Each learner brings a unique set of skills, experiences, and
expectations to the learning environment. As students’ characteristics
and needs are diverse, so too are their needs for supports and services.

Supporting the Online Learner

As educators, we must anticipate an array of needs, and then plan

accordingly to ensure that learners have what they require throughout
their educational programs. Learners require support in a variety of
areas, such as administration and logistic support, information and
technological support, and assistance with studying, exam taking, and
writing skills. Some learners find that peer support or the availability of a
learning community adds significantly to their educational experiences.

Metacognitive Supports

Metacognitive skills are those associated with “learning how to

learn.” For online learners, these kinds of supports enhance their ability
to study online and facilitate their access to and retention of knowledge.
Library resources

Online sources of information, however, have transformed libraries

in distance education. Where libraries once focused on holdings, they
now focus on access; where they once were information repositories, they
now are gateways to information.

Online Educational Counseling

From time to time, a learner may need someone to assist in

keeping a positive outlook and determining if an intervention is needed.
Learners need to know that help is there if they need it.

Students Rights and Ombuds Services

An institution can fulfill its basic legal responsibility by making a

student code of conduct available online and in print upon request.

Developing Team Skills and Accomplishing Team Project Online

Virtual learning with members dispersed over geography, time

zone, and functional roles has become commonplace as result of
proliferating communication technologies.

Developing Team Skills Online

Phase 1
The first part of the TDC module has learners engage in
experiential individual learning through a simulation containing
scenarios of typical team challenges.

Phase 2
Learners engage with a synchronous chat environment to
attend weekly team meetings.

Accomplishing Team Projects Online: Two Further Cases

In the MBA program, online teams are groups of task-driven

individual who believe as a temporary team, but who may be separated
by geographic or temporal space and who use network-based
communication tools to bridge these spaces.

Key Practices in Successful Online Teaming

 Agreement on how teams will work together

 Assignment of accountability and building in flexibility
 Monitoring progress
 Incorporation of social integration

Importance of Learning and Teaming Culture

 Establish and maintain trust through use of communication

technology
 Ensure diversity is understood and appreciated
 Managed work/life cycle
 Monitor team members progress and enhance recognition of
member contributions
 Enable members to benefit from the team