Characteristics of Online Learners and the Online Environment
For many students, learning in the 21st century means:
- access to information and course content on their own schedule
- no class attendance requirement
- the ability to review course content and presentations as much as necessary
- learning at their own pace
Watch these YouTube videos to learn more about 21st century learners.
For these and many other reasons, learning online is very different from learning in the classroom. This can be a major adjustment for most faculty, because what you have used for teaching materials in the past may not be suitable for the online environment. However, fear not! The same teaching principles hold true whether teaching face-to-face or online. Recall the study by Chickering and Gamson (1987) on the seven principles for undergraduate teaching. Many web-based learning environments are guided by these principles of good teaching practice.
Before you begin the online course design process, think about what your students need to learn in your course, rather than what you will teach. Thinking with learning in mind can help with the design process immensely.
Online Learning Resources and Research
Great eBook (free for download)!
Anderson, T. & Elloumi, F. (2004). The Theory and Practice of Online Learning
Allen, I. & Seaman, J. (2007).
Online Nation: Five Years of Growth in Online Learning (pdf). Retrieved Sept. 22, 2007 from
http://sloanconsortium.org/publications/survey/pdf/online_nation.pdf
Dutton, J., Dutton, M. & Perry, J. (2002). How do Online Students Differ from Lecture
Students (pdf). Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 6(1).
Lin, L. (2008). An Online Learning Model to Facilitate Learners' Rights to Education (pdf).
Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 12(1).