How College Faculty View Online Learning: Conversations with the Field Robert Threlkeld, Ph.D. Monterey Institute for Technology and Education TxDLA Conference 2007 March 26-29

Background of the Project What is the Monterey Institute for Technology and Education (MITE)? NROC? Origins of the Conversations with the Field series. The Madison Experience… Purpose: to get a snapshot of what is really going on. Conversations model…the anti-research. Participant verification?

Online Education in Community Colleges: Conversations I (January, 2006) Summary 1.Faculty/Academic culture and tradition shape online learning. 2.Online technology isn’t causing a revolution; it’s a new tool. Nobody talks much about content. 3.Most online learning programs are small and basic.

Online Education in Community Colleges: Conversations I (January, 2006) Summary 5. But….what do faculty say about this? 6. And…what about standardized courses? Currently available at: October, 2006 issue

How College Faculty View Online Learning 42 faculty from 13 community colleges in 9 states Interviews were about 30 minutes, loosely structured Tried to answer the following questions: –How do faculty go about creating online courses? –How do they learn to teach online? –Where does course content come from? –What are the major satisfactions from online teaching?

Interview Findings Who were the faculty interviewed? How do these faculty create courses and teach in the traditional classroom? How do these faculty learn to teach online and create online courses? What are faculty reactions to online learning?

Two Model Programs North Harris Montgomery Community College District Florida Community College at Jacksonville

“Faculty create online courses and then they teach them. That’s what they do.” Online learning Manager

Analysis and Conclusions At community colleges, online and traditional teaching are very similar…just with some new technology. The textbook is still the backbone of a course. Like a Christmas tree. Faculty see themselves as artists who create collages. Being able to say “yes” and “no” to content is vital. There are key indicators of successful and mature online learning programs.

What’s Coming Next 1.Adopting and Adapting Third-party Content (August, 2007) -UT Telecampus -St. Petersburg College -Chattanooga State -CCC Online -Iowa Community College Consortium 2.Adjuncts and Online Learning ???

Questions? How accurate does this seem? What did I miss? Full paper available at: or me for a copy of the paper

How College Faculty View Online Learning: Conversations with the Field Robert Threlkeld, Ph.D. Monterey Institute for Technology and Education