SECTIONS Analysis of Online Education – South East Cornerstone School Division

S – Students
Student characteristics must be assessed when considering education using technology.

Student Demographics
The students taking part in online education offerings are in grades 10, 11 or 12. For
many, it is their first experience at online education. Few may have already taken a class
by Interactive Televised Instruction, Print-based Correspondence or Online delivery.
The technological background of the students is varied. Those at the grade 10 level (and
many at the grade 11 and 12 levels) have little experience with file management, proper
formatting technique, spreadsheets, collaboration through technology, or content
management systems and they have weak technological literacy. They are not
accustomed to the responsibility and independence that is required in a distance education
setting.
These students require a variety of teaching approaches and a great deal of support. An
evaluation of their computer skills is necessary to provide individualized support. Online
offerings that provide well-trained educators, well-designed learning environments, and
receiving-end support are needed for these students.

Access
“Of all the criteria in determining choice of technology, access is perhaps
the most discriminating. No matter how powerful in educational terms a
particular technology may be, if students cannot access it in a convenient
and affordable manner they cannot learn from it.” (Bates & Poole, 2003)

Students who have weak and varied technological backgrounds find it difficult to trouble-
shoot difficulties in access. They are easily frustrated and unwilling to persevere. It is
critical that online offerings are based in sound infrastructure with knowledgeable
educators and support personnel.
Students need access to the technology at the school. While many have high-speed
internet connections at their homes, not all have access. Many families in our division do
not have the quality of connection (especially rural students) or hardware necessary to
afford access to their courses from home.

Student Differences with Respect to Learning with Technologies

The design of online learning environments must cater to the varied preferences of
technological instruction. Students require well-designed learning environments that
afford a variety of learning experiences and assessments. The students also require
knowledgeable educators and support personnel who understand and can provide
information through varied media, a variety of learner activities, varied assessment
opportunities and feedback.

E – Ease of Use
Students should use their skills in technology to aid their completion of the course at
hand. The course should not focus on the teaching of these skills (unless they are part of
the course objectives).
Computer and Information Literacy
Students in South East Cornerstone accessing online instruction generally have basic
literacy skills. They are able to read, write, use a keyboard and a mouse, use a word
processor and navigate the internet.

Orientation
If more advanced applications are being used in a course, time must be provided to
orientate students to that particular software. All students should be orientated to
Blackboard and E-mail at the beginning of their course.

Interface Design
South East Cornerstone will have their own application of Blackboard to maintain. The
interface will be pre-designed with little freedom for change.

Reliability
The reliability of the technology is critical to the success of the instructor and learner.
Support personnel and adequate funding are critical to this success.

C – Cost
Decisions about the use of technology in education cannot be made without
understanding and analyzing the costs associated with such use.

Items of Expenditure
Infrastructure, hardware, software and licensing are major factors in the cost of using
technology. These costs are not unique to courses delivered via the internet and can be
shared with schools and other division initiatives. Upgrades and maintenance are also
factors.
The cost of copyright clearance and permissions can be balanced with costs associated to
teacher preparation time. Allowing teachers extra time would enable the development of
copyright-free learning objects.
The largest cost associated with online delivery should be the time of the teacher.
Developing online material and teaching online is more work than teaching face-to-face.
Teachers tend to put in this extra time without any additional compensation, but it does
come at a cost to the teacher, which may develop into a cost for the school and/or
division.

Drivers of Cost
The primary factors that drive costs are production and delivery of materials, and the
number of students. The cost of producing a course is not dependent on the number of
students that enroll in the course. The cost of delivery may or may not be a factor
depending on technology available to schools and mode of design and delivery.
Bates and Poole suggest that online courses are relatively cost-effective for enrollments
of 20 to 100 children. Online courses developed for less than twenty children are more
expensive than face to face delivery.
It should also be noted that if student-teacher interaction is to be manageable, the teacher-
student ratio needs to be kept relatively low; one to twenty-five students. This is the
reason that increases in student numbers will increase the costs of online education.
T – Teaching and Learning
It is difficult to base decisions about use of technology on teaching and learning, but it is
a very important consideration. There are teaching and learning advantages to some
forms of technology over others.

Epistemology and Selection of Technology

The curriculum requirements of a course and the teaching philosophies of the instructors
will influence the technology that will be used. It is important that online courses are
taught by teachers who have a strong knowledge base in both the content area and in the
affordances of technology.

Content and Skills

Again, knowledgeable and well-trained educators are needed to provide students with
learning that involves acquiring content and developing skills.

Student Assessment Strategies

In an online environment, assessment and feedback must be included in the design. The
varied forms of assessment must match the desired learning outcome.
South East Cornerstone provides support for student assessment and feedback through
use of the content management system, Blackboard.

I – Interaction and Interactivity

For learning to be effective, it needs to be active.

Interaction Between Learners and Learning Materials

Effective online instruction involves designing opportunities for interaction with learning
material. Well-trained instructors are needed to develop effective learning objects.

Learning as a Social Activity

Students need opportunity to discuss, reflect, collaborate, defend and critique.
Instructional design must afford interaction between learners and interaction between
learners and instructors. Online education also affords interaction between learners and
experts.

The Quality of Interaction

South East Cornerstone’s use of Blackboard will facilitate interaction between learners
and instructors. Many internet-based applications facilitate varied interactions as well. It
is important that the instructors are familiar with a variety of technologies that can be
used to provide quality interaction.

O – Organizational Issues
South East Cornerstone provides organizational support for a variety of technologies.

N – Novelty
Novelty is not an important consideration for South East Cornerstone at this time.

S – Speed
Advance preparation will facilitate speed of implementation and flexibility.