Effective Learner Support in the Online and Distance Learning Environment_CPCE

First, education administrators should consider to align the institution's ODeL to their mission. They should ask important questions such as: 

Does the ODeL align with the institutions strategic plan and goals?

 Does it fit in with the institution’s technology plan? 

ODeL, particularly online learning cannot be executed just as fad – strategic planning and thought must be put into it. Administrators must put in place a culture change mechanism since there is bound to be resistance to change.

Administrators ought to review the institution's culture and processes with a view to aligning the learning environment to the form of ODL they will be affecting.

Let us look at some of the administrative considerations:

Staffing of the ODL Learner support unit

The success of ODL rests on the creation of a central ODL support unit. Calvert (2001) advices for the need to create a centralized unit responsible for supporting distance education. This unit should not operate as an independent silo but must work in collaboration with other units in the institution.

The staffing of this unit will include teachers trained to offer distance education- if it is online learning, then teachers new to it must be trained; there will be instructional design support, marketing, and student services.

Administrators must set realistic expectations on the amount of time expected for creating, writing and developing distance learning courses, as well as for delivery of the courses, particularly when it is online.

These questions ought to be answered by the administrators in terms of policy pronouncements:

1. Who legally owns the online course or the self-instructing material (the writer or the institution)?
2. Who can update the course and how often?
3. Who will regulate the student-teacher ratio?       
   
4. How will teachers and students be supported?

These are just some of the questions that call for policy change for the success of online and distant learning.

Food For thought!

• Based on your experience of online and distance education, share any administrative challenges that may impact the overall delivery of instruction to a learner in an online and distant environment?
• What solutions do you suggest?

Delivering education in an online and distant environment requires from the administration planning and resources. Calvert (2001) identifies areas to consider as need, intended audience, technology tools, outcomes, course sequencing, finances, attendance and participation requirements, and the school-to-community experience.

Let us look at each one of them:

Academic support

Academic support involves the support the administration offers the learner regarding learning/the program. This support goes beyond what the tutor offers in the course. It starts from knowing the kind of learners for the program and then tailoring the program to the needs of the distant learner.  Ludwig-Hardman & Dunlap (2003) calls it diagnosing fit between the learner and the education provider.  It involves.              

1. Intake interviews to discuss learning outcomes expected from the course and their relationship with the learner’s personal /professional goal.
   
2. Self–assessment tools to help the learner evaluate eligibility and preparedness for particular programs.
   
3. Diagnostic assessments to identify the learner’s strengths and areas of improvement. 
   
4. Learning orientation questionnaire to determine a learner’s readiness for online learning.
   

Administrators need to find out the potential students for their programs and explore how best to address their needs. The administrators need to ask – What type of students are likely to enroll? Does the market need this course? Who will fund the course?  The administration needs to conduct a needs assessment and market survey. The findings can then be used to inform program choice and design which meet the needs of the ODL learner.

a) Learner profile: The administration needs to have a clear profile of prospective learners and use this knowledge to inform the design and delivery of the program. For instance, in online environment, they need to find out the time zones and levels of flexibility of learners, - this will inform the scheduling of synchronous lessons. They may also need to find out their technological skills since they will be using various technologies to learn. For traditional distant learning, there is need to find out which centers they will use for project-based learning, face-to-face learning experiences and proctored exams among others.

b) Admission: The administrators should put in place provisions which assist ODL students in navigating the admission process.  They ought to determine the turnaround time for prospective students and finally determine how often the institution admits new students.

c) Defining and assessing outcomes: The curriculum planning and design process spells out the knowledge, skills and behaviors expected of the learner upon completion of the program. It is the responsibility of the administration to set and measure the program learning outcomes. It is them to link the institution with the industry and gather the industry needs and feedback the same in their design. They need to answer to questions such as what type of learning experiences and practicums are needed for learners to progress to the next level. What kind of academics weakness are prevalent among adult learners taking online learning (academic writing, computer skills) and how can the administration mediate it?

d) Course sequencing: courses are often designed and learning experiences planned to meet the intended learning outcomes. However, in sequencing, administrators need to ask what provisions they have in place to help learners who for one reason or the other cannot follow such sequence. If a student misses a cohort, can they join the next? What amount of time do they need before this transition? Who will support them? What policy provisions are in place?

e) In-person attendance: based on the type of ODEL there may be a need for in person attendance by learners. Some institutions have orientation at the beginning and a capstone at the end. The administration needs to schedule them, communicate to the distance learner, arrange accommodation etc. Of importance, the administration needs to consider their intended audience and their instructional needs as they do this.

f) Library: There should be processes put in place to enable the distance learner to access the institution’s library.  The learner, in an online context, should also be trained on how to access the institution's online library resources. Likewise, the library personnel should also be provided with tools to help them communicate with the ODL learner.

g) Proctoring and plagiarism:

How will the integrity of online assessment be maintained? How are distance learners verified? The institution must put up policies that spell out what academic dishonesty is, how it is reported, and the disciplinary action for it. In addition, the institution should also invest in software that detects plagiarism and proctors online assessments.

h) Complaints and compliments: The administration must put in place processes for receiving and addressing distant learners' complaints and compliments and giving then feedback in a timely manner.

REFERENCE

Janine Monica Lim, (2018). “Administrative Essentials for Online Programs,” The Journal of Adventist Education 80: 1, : 4-10 Available at https://jae.adventist.org/en/2018.1.2.