An Introduction to

Online Education
K-12, Collegiate and Beyond

Erik Black, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Affiliate Assistant Professor of
Educational Technology
Link
 Did you know?
Ross University (ISOM) is part of DeVry Inc.

The Apollo Group (U. Phoenix parent company)

has a market capitalization of $10.03 Billion and
FY09 EPS of 4.6.

No established means for outcomes comparison

between online institutions and traditional
institutions.
 The Elephant in the Room

Photograph by Frank Wouters: http://www.everystockphoto.com/photo.php?imageId=13883#tab-info

 Is it as good as….?
No significant difference.1

Assumes that traditional models are ‘best’.2

Current models are unsustainable.3,4

- geographic disparity
- aging teacher populace
- cost

1 Muilenburg, L.Y., Berge, Z.L. (2005). Student barriers to online learning: A factor analytic study. Distance Education, 26(1), 29-48.
2 Twigg, C.A. (2002). Innovations in online learning: Moving beyond no significant difference. Troy, NY: Center for Academic
Transformation, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
3 Nieto, S. (2005).Public education in the twentieth century and beyond: High hopes, broken promises, and an uncertain future. Harvard
Educational Review, 75(1).
4 Wagner, T. (2008). The global achievement gap. New York, NY: Basic Books.
Learning from a distance is not
new
What has
changed
over time is
the delivery
mechanism

Postal → Radio → TV → VHS/DVD →

Internet → ???
 Many Different Flavors
Many Possible Combinations

Blended Fully Online

Asynchronous Synchronous
For Profit Not For Profit
K-6 Collegiate
7-12 Graduate
Non-Degree

Photography by Jetalone: http://www.everystockphoto.com/photo.php?imageId=887721

 Let me tell you about Growth?
Collegiate:
In Fall 2006 3.5 million students were taking at least one online course

Annualized growth in online enrollments Fall 05 – Fall 06: 9.7%1

K-12:

Enrollment exceeded 1 million students in 07-08 (2% of K-12 population)

Annualized growth in online enrollments Fall 06 – Fall 07: 47%2

1. Allen, E. & Seaman, J. (2007) Online Nation. Five Years of Growth in Online Learning. New York: The Sloan Consortium.
2. International Association for the Advancement of K-12 Online Education (iNACOL). (2009). Fast facts about online learning. Vienna, VA: iNACOL.

Photograph by vancanjay: http://www.everystockphoto.com/photo.php?imageId=226368

A Disruptive
Innovation?
Or another
Skinner
Box?
 What Do Students Think?
Collegiate 03-041:
• 32% more satisfied
• 34% felt comparable
• 32% less satisfied

K-12 06-072:
• 32% more satisfied
• 28% felt comparable
• 40% less satisfied

1 National Center for Educational Statistics (2009). Beginning Postsecondary Longitudinal Study (BPS). National Center for Educational Statistics
Data Access System. Retrieved 8/17/2009 from http://nces.ed.gov/das/
2 Roblyer, P., Freeman, J., Donaldson, J., Maddox, M. (2007). A comparison of outcomes of virtual school courses offered in synchronous and
asynchronous formats. The Internet and Higher Education, 10(4), 261-268.
What do higher ed faculty think?
70 Percent of all faculty feel
online courses are either inferior
or somewhat inferior.
But…
Of those with online teaching
experience, 48% feel either
inferior or somewhat inferior.
Oddly…
A majority who feel online is
inferior have recommend online
courses to student.1

1 Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities and Sloan-C (2009). Online

Learning as a Strategic Asset. Washington, D.C.: Association of Public and
Land-Grant Universities.
 Why?1
Lack of Institutional support

Lack of Course Development Support

Lack of Pedagogical Support

Lack of Incentive (monetary and non-monetary)

Ambiguous Intellectual Property Issues

1 Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities and Sloan-C (2009). Online

Learning as a Strategic Asset. Washington, D.C.: Association of Public and
Land-Grant Universities.
 What About K-12 Online Teachers?
Virtual schooling provides unique opportunities
for students and teachers.1

Virtual schooling provides the opportunity for the

development of deep relationships with
students.2

Yet…no credentialing or certification needed to

teach online.3
1. Black, E.W., DiPietro, M., Ferdig, R.E. & Poling, N. (2009). Developing a survey to measure best practices in K-12
online teachers. The Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 12(1).

2. DiPietro, M., Ferdig, R.E., Black, E.W. & Preston, M. (2008). Best practices in teaching K-12 online: Lessons learned
from michigan virtual school teachers. Journal of Interactive Online Learning, 7(1), 10-35.

3. Ferdig, R.E., Cavanaugh, C., DiPietro, M., Black, E.W., & Dawson, K. (accepted) Virtual schooling standards and
best practices for teacher education. Manuscript to be published in the Journal of Technology and Teacher Education.
 The LMS/CMS
Today’s online classroom is facilitated by a
learning management (LMS) or content
management system (CMS):
- UF currently uses Vista (Moodle in a couple spots
around campus, ICHP and COE)
- UF migrating to Sakkai (open source)
- Blackboard (industry leader), Angel, Moodle (open
source)….
 Online Content
Minimalist – Bells and whistles –
collaborative, solo, self-paced
discussion based

link
Moodle
Moodle
Moodle
Questions, comments, follow-up:

Erik W. Black, Ph.D.

ewblack@peds.ufl.edu