By Joellen Killion

Journal of Staff Development, Summer 2000 (Vol. 21, No. 3)

Copyright, National Staff Development Council, 2000.

Distance learning has a new look. What used to be characterized by correspondence courses, videotapes, and satellite downlinks has moved to the desktop and involves streaming video and audio, desktop videoconferencing, and high-end multimedia. This evolution touches just about everyone from Days Inn employees where most of the training is online to students in remote areas taking Advanced Placement courses online.

Now, this evolution is reshaping staff development in schools and districts worldwide.

Advances in hardware and software, access to the Internet, increases in bandwidth, and the advent of wireless connections are driving this evolution. An ever-increasing number of online staff development programs offered by not-for-profit and for-profit organizations also contributes. While in its infancy, the field of online staff development requires close monitoring, clear standards, and a relentless demand for quality.

Online learning has potential for increasing access to lifelong learning for all educators, yet it has pitfalls. ". . . the Internet holds important educational promise for engendering active and experiential learning, encouraging reflection and application, and fostering collaboration and individualized construction of meaning in leaning communities that extend beyond the boundaries of the traditional classroom or campus. However, faculty, staff, administrators, institutions, and students will face many challenges in taking full advantage of these learning environments’’ (Eastmond, 1998).

Online staff development includes a wide variety of technologies. Typically, the term "online" refers to instruction delivered via the web. But other forms of computer-based courses such as those on CD-ROMs or delivered via intranet are also referred to as online.

"Online courses represent one of the most exciting new developments in teacher professional development. Online staff development can help build teaching expertise anywhere using inexpensive technologies that are easy to use and convenient. As a result, staff development can be less expensive, easier to schedule, and more effective" (Tinker).

Training’s Industry Report 1999 suggests that online learning is growing rapidly in business and industry. About 14 percent of all training is delivered online. Over half of the respondents now use some form of CD-ROM-based training; a third use web-based training; and a quarter use company intranet-based training. Nearly two-thirds of the training online is about topics other than information technology. Fifty-one percent of the online training courses are skill-building courses focusing on developing what learners can do. The balance are knowledge- and information-based courses focusing on what the learner knows. Online courses on softer skills such as management and leadership are increasingly more common. In some cases, these courses are linked with mentoring or coaching to promote application of learning (Kiser, 1999).

Colleges, universities, corporations, and professional associations are expanding their number of and diversity of online and web-supported courses. Virtual universities through which students can earn an array of undergraduate and graduate degrees without ever going to campus are springing up around the world. (See "Cross-country pursuit of a graduate degree" on page 54.) A California university offers an 18 semester-hour online teacher certification program accompanied by mentoring and coaching for professionals who want to become teachers. Professional associations are providing more certification programs and professional development institutes for their members online because they are able to meet the diverse demands of their membership, increase access to professional development, and provide revenue (Atkinson, 1999).

Early research indicates that learning online is at least as effective as learning in conventional classrooms. Research on online learning is relatively young, and emerging trends suggest it is successful for many learners. Kinnamon cites a commonly quoted statistic that interactive web-based training yields a 50 percent reduction in training time when compared to classroom training. A study of teachers who participated in National Science Foundation-funded online courses taught by university math and science faculty reports significantly high levels of satisfaction with the courses. Over 90 percent of the participants found the course interesting and over 80 percent said that they usually understood the content; found the instructor accessible, the course goals clear, and the course requirements clear; and would recommend the course to colleagues.

Studies summarized by the Center for Excellence in Distance Learning report that technology has a positive impact on learning effectiveness. Chris Dede, a professor of education at George Mason University who teaches graduate courses on distributed learning, reports, "Students in my course found that their learning was more profound and rich than in comparable conventional classes." Students participated more fully, communicated more easily with one another to share resources for learning, and engaged in extensive, deep discussions via asynchronous media.

Schlager, Fusco, and Schank, directors of TappedIn, report that teachers participate in online communities of practice within TappedIn (www.TappedIn.org).

TappedIn allows educators to participate in activities, expand their circle of col-leagues, and conduct online activities. These communities encourage learning, experimentation, and exploration of practice.

In addition to early indications that online learning positively impacts learn-ing, other benefits such as access to learning, flexibility, and cost are likely to increase the demand for online staff development.

Online professional development requires only access to a computer, a modem, and the Internet. Online staff development benefits educators in remote areas, those who have difficulty attending staff development because the time or location is inconvenient or the cost is too high, those who need specialized learning opportunities, and those at different levels of development. For educators whose districts have limited resources or programs for staff development, online staff development is available on hundreds of topics from dozens of providers.

When online staff development is asynchronous – available 24 hours a day – educators may log on at a time that is most convenient. If a parent phone call, a conversation with a colleague, or the need to assist their own child with homework interrupts them, online learners don’t miss important information. The online course waits until the learner is ready to move ahead.

Some programs are unscheduled – that is, they are available during a broad timeframe or indefinitely. For example, participants can take six months to com-plete what would normally be a two-month course. In asynchronous, un-scheduled courses, participants have the flexibility to learn at their own pace.

Some courses are synchronous and require all participants to be online at the same time. Some courses are scheduled and require participants to begin and end the course at a specific time. For example, the National Institute for Community Innovation’s Virtual Professional Development Schools Consortium provides online staff development to 30 professional development schools in nine states in the northeast and in Washington. Each course is asynchronous, available 24-hours a day, yet is scheduled within a specific timeframe.

Asynchronous online staff development not only permits adult learners to schedule their own time for learning but also to determine how much time they will devote to a learning session. Some learners will need to spend more time on particular assignments or readings. Some will participate more in discussions or team projects. Others will choose to move more rapidly. If a teacher has an hour after school before he picks up his children for piano lessons or basketball practice, he can use the available time to complete smaller segments of the lesson. This kind of freedom makes just-in-time learning and lifelong learning accessible to everyone.

Online staff development may save money in the long run. Costs associated with travel for participants and trainers, substitutes, materials, and loss of instruction or time on-the-job and subsequent increases in productivity will provide some savings.

WebED (www.WebED.com), an online publisher of professional development courses for K-12 educators and administrators, estimates its unique delivery system enables school districts to save up to 90 percent of the cost related to traditional training methods. Businesses estimate that the cost savings in the initial year of online training may be 20 to 30 percent with the savings increasing substantially in subsequent years (Roberts, 1999). Brandon Hall, editor of Multimedia and Training Newsletter, estimates a 50 percent saving in cost and time over face-to-face training.

Other cost savings may result from less tangible factors including efficiency and ease of modification. Most staff development programs require substantial time for development. Online staff development can be easily, quickly, and frequently updated. Course designers won’t have to wait until all 500 printed copies of the training manual are used before modifying it. The ease of revision allows online staff development to be cutting-edge and incorporate new information about content, pedagogy, student learning, and school improvement.

Online staff development increases the efficiency of learning. Learners are more focused and time is better spent. Some developers of online courses suggest that an hour-long module of web-based training equates to a two-hour module of classroom instruction. Learners have fewer distractions, can focus on their specific areas of need, and get help when they need it.

Well-designed online staff development encourages and facilitates increased interaction among students and between students and the instructor. Improvements in technology make it possible for participants in online courses to work together online. They engage in discussions, pro-vide feedback to one another, complete assignments together, participate in team projects, and have more frequent and personal interaction with the instructor. Instructors find that online learning often equalizes the playing field among learners and encourages less vocal students to find their voices. Students report that they are more thoughtful and reflective since they have time to think, write, and revise their responses before "saying" them out loud.

While there are benefits to online staff development, there are pitfalls as well. As individual, schools, and districts begin to explore the appropriateness of online staff development, they will need to consider carefully the disadvantages. The good news about these disadvantages is that most will disappear with increased use and high-quality products. Still costs, content, quality, and technology skills are some areas to explore.

Initially, it might seem that online staff development reduces a district’s investment in employee learning. But, several costs associated with online staff development vary depending on the program format, the hardware and Internet access, development costs, and intended outcomes of the staff development.

Certainly, some forms of online learning might be more cost effective. A district that wants to introduce new employees to policies and procedures could easily hand a CD-ROM to all new employees and expect employees to review the material, complete an online assessment, and receive support if they score below a particular cut-off point. Face-to-face time with new employees could then be used for relationship-building rather than information transmission. Other forms of online learning such as CD-ROM-based courses and text-only courses are less expensive to deliver especially when existing content transfers online without much revision. However, most current training requires substantial revision before it can be delivered effectively in an online format.

Costs associated with access escalate when interactivity or video and audio-streaming are added to a course. Older, slower computers and slow bandwidths will frustrate learners and extend learning time. Upgrading equipment or Internet access for online learning can be an expensive venture. Many schools and districts continue to lag in upgrading technology. The expansion of wireless networks will make a difference in the near future. Many districts, especially those in urban or high-poverty areas or those in old buildings may not have the wiring, hardware, or bandwidth capacity for online staff development. This dilem-ma will quickly eradicate the potential of increasing equity that online staff development offers.

Another hidden cost in online learning is course development. Quality online learning requires a substantial investment in instructional design. Strategic Solutions Group, Inc., in Annapolis, Md., estimates that developing computer-based training might be as much as three or four times more expensive than developing face-to-face training although estimates by others suggest the cost of online instruction diminishes over time. Districts that develop their own online staff development would have a substantial upfront investment although a number of models for online course development are easily accessible.

Paying an instructor in an online course is not less expensive. There is a savings in travel time if trainers are traveling extensively. There may even be a small savings in the direct amount of time invested in the course. But that may be offset by the need for a reduced student-teacher ratio to maintain a high degree of interaction and support for learners. Instructors find online teaching as challenging if not more challenging than classroom-based training and often report that preparation and student interaction are more time-consuming.

A major concern about online staff development is the quality of the content and learning process. Not all content is suitable for the online environment. What works in the classroom face-to-face may not work online. Content and learning processes need to be adapted to the online environment without losing effectiveness. Until more research is available about what works and what doesn’t in online content and instruction, many of the design issues are trial and error.

If online staff development intends to promote change in practice, it will need to be paired with follow-up and support. Joyce and Showers identified four components essential to training that changes practice: knowledge, modeling or demonstration, low-risk practice, and follow-up support. The online environment now can easily provide the first two components.

Educators can read text, watch PowerPoint presentations, or listen to audio streamed over the Internet. MP-3 technology even makes it possible to record the audio for playback later. Emerging technologies make it possible to see demonstrations through the streaming of condensed video. Miami’s Dade County school district’s web site offers examples of its teacher performance standards both in print and in video. Teachers can read about the standards, see examples of the standards in action, and hear the teacher talk about his or her use of the standards (paces.dade.k12.fl.us). But online staff development cannot yet replace the more costly staff development components of practice, coaching, and feedback needed to make and sustain deep and lasting change in practice and ultimately in student achievement. These are often more costly than providing the knowledge and demonstrations.

While not all content is appropriate for the online arena, not all learners are ready for it either. Learning online requires a degree of self-motivation, independence, initiative, and intensive support (CEDL, 2000). Some learners need the face-to-face interaction, the ability to talk out loud about what they are learning and receive immediate and spontaneous feedback. Chat rooms in which learners conduct these conversations are a close approximation. For some learners, the hypertext approach to online learning will be frustrating and confusing. By its nature, hypertext lets the learner control the sequence, timing, and connections among ideas and, as a result, the learning experience may lack a hierarchical, logical, or linear order most adult learners find comfortable.

Educators’ technology skills and lack of interface among Internet service and local phone providers are other potential barriers to online staff development. According to Sean Smith of Horizon Research, "over the last six years, we have watched a whole bunch of online courses, and one of the key factors we’ve seen over and over again is the extent to which participants feel it’s easy to navigate the course. My personal theory is that the online environment can be so unsettling that an extra amount of organization or ‘scaffolding’ is needed to make participants feel secure enough to actually participate.’’ (Smith, 2000). To address this, LiveText (www.livetext.com) and others have designed a series of online courses to accelerate educators’ acquisition of technology skills.

Online staff development has tremendous potential despite its current problems. As more online staff development becomes available, the demand for quality will increase. As districts, schools, and individuals consider online staff development as part of their total staff development programs, they need to analyze their readiness and the return on their investment.

There is little question about whether online staff development will be part of our future. The challenge facing staff developers is whether they will be ready to ask the right questions as they make decisions about using it and endorsing it for their schools and districts.

Atkinson, K. (1999, December). "Lessons learned in developing online education,’’ Convene 14 (11), p. 47-51.

Center for Excellence in Distance Learning (2000). Impact of Technology on Learning Effectiveness. www.lucent.com/cedl/impact.html.

Dede, C. (2000) Using multiple interactive media to enable effective teaching and learning. www.wested.org/tie/dlrn/technos1.html.

Eastmond, D. (1998, Summer). "Adult learners and Internet-based distance education,’’ New directions for adult and continuing education, 78, p. 33-41. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Kinnamon, J.C. (2000) Interactive Training – Part 1. www.midicorp.com/public.html/ii_003.html

Kiser, K. (1999, November). 10 things we know so far about online training, Training 36 (11), p. 66-74.

Obbink, K. & Tuthill, G. (2000) Taking the distance out of distance learning. btc.montana.edu/nten

Roberts, B. (1999). ://Training via the desktop://. In The 1999 ASTD training and performance yearbook. Woods, J. and Cortada, J., eds. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Schlager, M., Fusco, J., & Schank, P. (1999) Evolution of an online education community of practice. www.tappedin.org/info/papers/evol99/

Smith, Sean. (January 7, 2000). Personal communication.

Tinker, B. (2000) Netcourses for staff development. www.milkenexchange.org/article.taf?_function=detail&Content_uid1+107

Training. (1999, October). "Industry report 1999: An overview of employer-sponsored training in the United States,’’ Training 36 (10), p. 37-81.

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