Summary of US e-Learning Trends

The report "Changing Course: Ten Years of Tracking Online Education in the United States" by I. Elaine Allen and Jeff Seaman (Babson Survey Research Group) was released in January 2013. An Infographic of Changing Course: Ten Years of Tracking Online Education in the United States is now available. It is an excellent summary of the full report.

In brief, US senior academics see MOOCs as a useful way to attract students and give them a taste of e-learning, but problematic as part of a formal program. Online learning is seen as strategic and more than half of senior academics see it as equal or superior to classroom teaching, but perceive a lack of acceptance by teaching staff as a barrier to adoption.

One reason for lack of enthusiasm by teaching staff was the staff time taken up by online teaching, with staff almost evenly divided as to if it takes more or less time than classroom teaching.  In my view this reflects the inadequate training and materials some staff receive for online courses. I will be discussing some of these issues in "MOOCs with Books" in Colombo at the end of April and at other locations in Australia, and the region.