Advancing Online Teaching at an On-Ground Institution by Assessing Technical and Humanity Online Courses

摘要

Online learning has been expanding on many university campuses throughout the United States as well as worldwide, but the quality of such education needs to be assessed as compared to on-ground (in the classroom) education. To continue growth and experience in e-learning, universities are encouraged to develop online graduate and undergraduate courses and specialized certificate programs. A large comprehensive state university in New England, Central Connecticut State University (CCSU), created a task force to look closely at the university's online and hybrid courses to ensure that the university delivers high quality online and hybrid instruction. Comprised of educators, administrators and technology experts, the task force's objective is to develop recommendations to ensure that 1) online and hybrid courses taught at this state university reflect the best practices for online course design, 2) faculty teaching online and hybrid courses reflect the best pedagogical practices for online instruction, and 3) online and hybrid courses taught provide a positive learning experience for students. The purpose of this study is to explore the educational experience in the online classes offered to the primarily on-ground students, to evaluate the instructional effectiveness of various instructional tools used in the online class, and to assess viability of online course offering across majors, from technical (e.g., engineering and construction management) to humanity (e.g., communication and sociology). A survey was given to students who took online courses at CCSU during the Summer 2014 sessions to assess the instructional tools used and their effectiveness among other pertinent variables. The total number of academic departments that offered online courses was 38 and the total number of responders was 249 students. This paper, based on this survey and continuous discussion with faculty and administration, will recommend action items to maintain and improve online education by applying best teaching practices. This study will serve as a benchmark to continually monitor the progress of quality online education as the recommendations are implemented. Moreover, quality of online courses as compared to on-ground courses will be studied comparing the rigor and quality of the instruction. As in many other areas, a mixed strategy based on an appropriate combination of on-ground and online is desirable. The challenge is to determine that "mix" and support its multiple components. Implementation should include significant, ongoing training of faculty and investment in service and support for students and faculty.