A framework for developing competencies in open and distance e-learning

Many open universities and distance education institutions have shifted from a predominantly print-based mode of delivery to an online mode characterised by the use of virtual learning environments and various web technologies. This paper describes the impact of the shift to open and distance e-learning (ODeL), as this trend might be called, on the course design practices of faculty members at a small single-mode distance education university in the Philippines. Specifically, the paper presents and analyses the faculty’s perspectives on how their course design practices have changed and issues and challenges arising from these changes. The findings suggest that faculty training programs in ODeL should aim to develop a comprehensive range of ODeL competencies in a systematic and coherent way. Based on the findings, as well as research on practitioner development in teaching effectively with technology, a framework for developing ODeL competencies among faculty is proposed. Aside from covering the four areas of change in course design practice identified in the study, the framework also specifies levels of expertise (basic, intermediate, and advanced), indicating degrees of complexity of the knowledge and skills required for each area at each level. All of the competencies listed for all four areas at the basic level comprise the minimum competencies for teaching an online distance education course.

[1]  R. Stake.  The art of case study research , 1995 .

[2]  Robin Mason,et al.  Models of Online Courses , 2001 .

[3]  Robyn Benson,et al.  Addressing the context of e‐learning: using transactional distance theory to inform design , 2009 .

[4]  Jocelyn Calvert,et al.  Distance Education at the Crossroads , 2005 .

[5]  Sudhir Gupta,et al.  Case Studies , 2013, Journal of Clinical Immunology.

[6]  Elizabeth Murphy,et al.  Asynchronous and synchronous online teaching: Perspectives of Canadian high school distance education teachers , 2011, Br. J. Educ. Technol..

[7]  Helen Beetham,et al.  Rethinking Pedagogy for a Digital Age , 2007 .

[8]  Françoise Blin,et al.  Why hasn't technology disrupted academics' teaching practices Understanding resistance to change through the lens of activity theory , 2008, Comput. Educ..

[9]  D. R. Garrison,et al.  An Introduction to Distance Education : Understanding Teaching and Learning in a New Era , 2010 .

[10]  M. Thorpe,et al.  Interaction and e-learning: the student experience , 2006 .

[11]  HiltzStarr Roxanne,et al.  Becoming a Virtual Professor , 2002 .

[12]  Alejandro Armellini,et al.  Carpe Diem: seizing each day to foster change in e-learning design , 2008 .

[13]  J. D. Baker,et al.  Interaction and Immediacy in Online Learning , 2004 .

[14]  Keith W. Hipel,et al.  Guest Editorial , 2003, IEEE Trans. Syst. Man Cybern. Part C.

[15]  Diana Laurillard,et al.  Technology Enhanced Learning as a Tool for Pedagogical Innovation , 2008 .

[16]  Helen Beetham.  An approach to learning activity design , 2007 .

[17]  Maria João Silva,et al.  E-Learning, From Theory to Practice , 2009 .

[18]  Matthew J. Koehler,et al.  Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge: A Framework for Teacher Knowledge , 2006, Teachers College Record: The Voice of Scholarship in Education.

[19]  Starr Roxanne Hiltz,et al.  Becoming a virtual professor: pedagogical roles and ALN , 2001, Proceedings of the 34th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences.

[20]  Magdalena Jara,et al.  Pedagogical templates for e-learning , 2007 .

[21]  Bob Moon,et al.  Extract from new understandings of teachers' pedagogic knowledge 1 , 2005 .

[22]  Martin Oliver,et al.  Designing courses for e-learning , 2007 .

[23]  R. Garrison.  Theoretical Challenges for Distance Education in the 21st Century: A Shift from Structural to Transactional Issues , 2000 .

[24]  H. Kanuka,et al.  The factor structure of teaching development needs for distance‐delivered e‐learning , 2008 .

[25]  H. Kanuka,et al.  Exploring amplifications and reductions associated with e‐learning: conversations with leaders of e‐learning programs , 2008 .

[26]  G. Verleden,et al.  Foreword , 1992, Steroids.

[27]  Charoula Angeli,et al.  Epistemological and methodological issues for the conceptualization, development, and assessment of ICT-TPCK: Advances in technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPCK) , 2009, Comput. Educ..

[28]  Kenneth F. Harling,et al.  An Overview of Case Study , 2012 .

[29]  Caroline Haythornthwaite,et al.  E-learning Theory and Practice , 2011 .

[30]  Terry Anderson,et al.  The Theory and Practice of Online Learning , 2009 .

[31]  Terry Anderson,et al.  Teaching In An Online Learning Context , 2004 .

[32]  Barry Harper,et al.  Researching learning design in open, distance, and flexible learning: investigating approaches to supporting design processes and practices , 2009 .

[33]  AngeliCharoula,et al.  Epistemological and methodological issues for the conceptualization, development, and assessment of ICT-TPCK , 2009 .

[34]  Karen Swan,et al.  Teaching and Learning in Post-Industrial Distance Education , 2010, An Introduction to Distance Education.

[35]  Melody M. Thompson.  From Distance Education to E-learning , 2007 .

[36]  Randy Garrison,et al.  Implications of Online Learning for the Conceptual Development and Practice of Distance Education. , 2009 .

[37]  Bob Moon,et al.  Pedagogy, information and communications technology and teachers' professional knowledge , 2000 .

[38]  Bill Muirhead,et al.  A Canadian Perspective on the Uncertain Future of Distance Education , 2005 .

[39]  Bob Duckett.  International Handbook of Distance Education , 2009 .