State of Distance Education in Business (Estelami & Klotz)

Modern Evolution of Instructional Technology

Instructional Technology(Faculty Usage Scale) Email ⃝ Yes ⃝ No PowerPoint Blackboard White Board Discussion board Adaptive file distribution Classroom video capture Phone conferencing Screen-sharing Podcasting Videocasting Simulation-based training Timed online assessment of students Virtualization (e.g., Second Life) Skype TOTAL YES: ____ NO: _____

Distance Learning Shakeup in Business Education

Formal Definition of Distance Learning “A mode of education where teacher and student are separated by time, distance, or both.” 35% of all adults in the US have at some point in their lives participated in some form of distance education. At the national level Business programs have the greatest enrollment level of all disciplines offered in distance learning formats.

History of Distance Learning 1833 (UK): Correspondence courses on English composition 1885 (Univ. of Wisconsin): Farmers’ institute 1890 (Univ. of Chicago): 125 instructors; 3,000 students 1920-1950’s (Purdue, Univ. of Iowa, Kansas State): Radio 1980’s: Satellite-based instruction 1990’s-present: Internet

Other Industries Shaken up by Disruptive Technologies Mail  Telegraph  phone/fax/email Film (silver based grains)  Digital photography Full-service brokers  Discount Brokerage Retail booksellers  Online booksellers  Tablets LPs  Cassette  CD  Digital music distribution

Current State at Other Business Schools Babson  Online MBA program for executives Cornell  Joint distance learning program with Queens (Canada) active since the late 90’s Drexel  Online courses integrated into the MBA and undergraduate programs Duke  Fully online Executive MBA degree (priced at $100,000) Hofstra  Active online programs at the MBA and undergraduate levels NYU  Adjunct faculty trained on distance education tools; Online learning integrated into non-degree programs. SUNY schools  Distance learning courses are offered in most business school disciplines across the various SUNY campuses

Change Accelerators in Distance Learning in Business Bandwidth (e.g., cost of 1MB of transmission in 2000 vs. 2010) Voice over IP Wide household penetration of high-speed Internet (2000 vs 2010) Student characteristics in business programs: Self-driven Entrepreneurial Time deprived

The Process of Transitioning to the Distance Education Mode

Traditional Approach to Teaching

Emerging Approach

Categorization of Distance Course Formats Asyncrhonous Syncrhonous Phone Video casting Webinar Multi-media Based Text-based Examples of Tools Used: Discussion Board Pre-recorded class videos PowerPoint with embedded audio Instant messaging Podcasts Computer simulations Examples of Tools Used: Audio conferencing Video teleconferencing (VTC) Webinar hosting

Timeline of Events in the Hybrid Format Face-to-Face Session Face-to-Face Session Lecture A Lecture B Lecture C Face-to-Face Session Lecture D Lecture E Face-to-Face Session Lecture F Lecture G Lecture H Face-to-Face Session Lecture I Lecture J

From the Student Perspective … Face-to-Face Class Session Download Online Lectures Read the Assigned Material ONLINE Post Questions on Blackboard Submit Assignment Note: Beware of designed redundancies and order effects !!!

The Student Interface

The Instructor Interface

Web-Based (synchronous) Class Sessions ABC ABC ABC ABC

Web-Based (synchronous) Class Sessions

Web-Based (synchronous) Class Sessions  Instructor View Student View 

Pedagogical Impact of Distance Learning in Business Education

Impact on Pedagogical Effort Basic Communication of Knowledge 70%  50% Assuring students’ ability to tactically use the knowledge 20%  30% Engage students in questions related to the ethical and global impact of the gained knowledge 10%  20%

Student Myths about Online Courses Online courses are less demanding than other courses Everyone gets an A in an online course Online courses rely primarily on chat-room style teaching I cannot be accurately assessed in an online class

Equivalent workload to other courses 63.6% Compared to other similar courses that are NOT offered in an online format, would you say the level of workload for this course was ... Equivalent workload to other courses 63.6% Greater workload compared to other courses 30.3% Less workload compared to other courses 6.1% Compared to other similar courses that are NOT offered in an online format, would you say the amount of learning from this course was ... Equivalent amount of learning to other courses 66.7% Greater learning compared to other courses 25.8% Lower amount of learning vs. other courses 7.8%

Typical Demands from Faculty Teaching in Distance Learning Mode Well-organized content Comfort with the courseware system (e.g. Blackboard) Active use of online assessment tools to measure student performance Online accessibility of the faculty member

Typical Benefits for Faculty Teaching Using Distance Learning Technologies Added flexibility (time, location) Staying current with emerging trends in business education Opportunity to update outdated face-to-face course material Enhanced learning outcomes for students

Perspectives on Echo-360 Prof. Dorothy Klotz