Distance learning (DL) took on new importance with the rise
of the internet. It was suddenly
possible to reach students 24/7 at any location in the world. Would DL be a disruptive innovation (in the
Christensen sense, see Disruptive Technologies: When Great Universities Fail?, March 3, 2006 ) in higher education? What use might traditional universities and
colleges make of DL? How would for-profit higher education utilize this new
tool and how might universities respond?
In early 2000, I wrote a piece Distance Learning: Challenges
and Questions to inform our trustees of some issues and opportunities in this
area. This later developed into an
article published in Change 32, 20 (2000), and one should read the
Change article as it went somewhat beyond my piece for the trustees. Although the internet world has changed a lot
since 2000, most of the questions and issues I discussed in these articles are
still pertinent.
I discussed some of the differences between conventional DL
and that which is possible with “new” DL in which new technologies such as the
internet, CD ROMS, computing power on every desk, and artificial intelligence
are brought to bear. The major
difference between the two that I saw was that conventional DL was generally
based on an extension of the traditional classroom lecture. The students move through the subject
following a linear path defined by the professor at a pace defined by the
professor. The new DL, on the other
hand, could use the new technologies to enable a new learning experience in
which the student’s learning needs drove the way in which she went through the
course. Students could move from subject
to subject in their own time and their own order, and material could be
presented in a way that was much more interactive than a lecture.
I discussed internet-mediated DL both as a sustaining and as
a disruptive educational force (see for definitions Disruptive Technologies: When Great Universities Fail?, March 3, 2006). As a sustaining
force, for example, it enables the university to replace its geographically
limited TV network with web access world wide, and to add more sophisticated interfaces that enable students to see e.g.
powerpoint slides as the faculty lecture. It also enables universities to
better serve existing constituencies, such as alumni. It has many aspects of a disruptive force,
however. For example, the implementation
of the new learning experience described above would call for a knowledgeable
professor to define the material to be taught, an expert in multimedia pedagogy
to create the structure, technical people to implement, and assessment experts
to define appropriate assessment tools. Thus, the traditional vertical integration of university teaching in
which a single faculty member defines the subject matter, determines the
pedagogical approach to use, and presents the material would be broken. The new DL also enables institutions to
begin to access constituencies that had previously belonged to another
(e.g.enrolled and accepted students), and removes physical limitations on the
number of students that can be served by any institution.
I discussed several possible strategies for dealing with
different aspects of the disruptive potential of DL, and suggested possible
responses of students to these new possibilities. I also discussed the impact
of DL on brand creation and brand dilution. Finally, I touched on the possible role of for-profit DL providers. As the title of the Trustee paper says, it is
about challenges and questions, not answers.
I had a great experience with distance learning. I got my distance learning degree at Liberty University and couldn't be happier. Check out their website at http://www.luonline.com
Posted by: Larry Rossdale | September 21, 2010 at 01:06 PM