Roadmap For A Successful Transition To An Online Environment

Abstract

Tighter budgets and lower enrollment are changing traditional higher education. The popularity of the World Wide Web (WWW) coupled with faster access to information provides an opportunity for Colleges and Universities to offer online programs. In most cases, traditional universities are not well prepared for the transition to online format and many challenges prevent a successful implementation. A common mistake made by early adopters is assuming that the migration involves two steps, namely selecting the virtual learning environment, and then porting the current classroom-based courses to the online environment. That approach often leads to failure and disappointment, not to mention lower student and faculty satisfaction. Traditional delivery of course materials is done face-to-face with students present and the student/faculty interaction promotes learning. In the online environment, learning is done in an asynchronous mode and course design has to compensate for the interaction that happens in real time during traditional courses. To properly implement online courses, an adequate technical environment must be available. If the environment is available, careful planning is essential in order to proceed. Traditional course modules require revision as they are migrated to cyberspace and should take into account the interaction among students and faculty in order to promote a quality learning process. A typical approach is to include student participation in discussion forae, but this may lead to trivial postings and students responses. In this paper, we present preconditions for a migration to online education and a roadmap to transition traditional courses to cyberspace. We also discuss methods of assessing both quantity and quality of student interaction, since this is a requirement for learning in cyberspace.