Role of Technology in Education free essay sample

The Role of Technology in Quality Education Quality education is a universal goal. It is common to hear arguments that instructional technology will be the key to educational quality as we enter the new millenium (cf. Fiske and Hammond, 1997). Investment in educational technology is urged upon policy-makers as the path to educational quality (Mergendollar, 1996). In fact, enthusiasts for educational technology argue that quality has and will continue to increase rapidly, creating a new educational culture (Connick, 1997). Whatever problems exist are seen as ones which can be handled through better administrative and technological planning that is, technology believers perceive no intrinsic obstacles to total quality assurance using information technology in higher education (ex. , Roth and Sanders, 1996). Other voices question educational technology as a panacea. Cardenas (1998), for instance, has written on the problems associated with technology in the college classroom in terms of issues such as poorly functioning equipment, over-promotion of technology-based learning to students, and lack of quality in courses delivered by technology. A recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education reported on critics of educational technology who say students choosing online courses are not getting the education they pay for, and question whether universities should be providing such instruction (Guernsey, 1998). The American Federation of Teachers and other faculty organizations have also raised serious cautions about web-based education (Mingle and Gold, 1996) and have even gone on strike over it. The unruly growth of online distance education is the basis of these concerns. One has only to look at popular books like, The Best Distance Learning Graduate Schools: Earning Your Degree without Leaving Home (Phillips and Yager, 1998). This work profiles 195 accredited institutions that offered graduate degrees via distance learning as of 1997-98. It acknowledges that diploma mills are a danger. Even accredited programs from recognized institutions of higher learning may have been thrown together as experiments or simply in quick response to administrative fiat. Caveat emptor is definitely a precept for student consumers of online education. In response to growing criticism of the recent, rapid, unregulated growth of distance education, a number of recognized higher education organizations have formulated quality standards and guidelines. A prominent example is the document Principles of Good Practice for Electronically Offered Academic Degree and Certificate Programs, from the Western Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications; http://www. wiche. edu/telecom/projects/balancing/principles. htm; see Johnstone and Krauth, 1996; Zuniga and Krauth, 1996; WCET, 1997). These principles have been endorsed by a number of higher education governing and policymaking bodies in the western United States, as well as by the regional accrediting community. The core assumption of these guidelines is that, The institutions programs holding specialized accreditation meet the same requirements when offered electronically. Since these guidelines are a widely-accepted definition of quality as applied to online education, they are quoted below: * Each program of study results in learning outcomes appropriate to the rigor and breadth of the degree or certificate awarded. An electronically offered degree or certificate program is coherent and complete. The program provides for appropriate real-time or delayed interaction between faculty and students and among students. * Qualified faculty provide appropriate oversight of the program electronically offered. * The program is consistent with the institutions role and mission. * Review and approval processes ensure the appropriateness of the technology being used to meet the programs objectives. * The program provides faculty support services specifically related to teaching via an electronic system. The program provides training for faculty who teach via the use of technology. * The program ensures that appropriate learning resources are available to students. The program provides students with clear, complete, and timely information on the curriculum, course and degree requirements, nature of faculty/student interaction, assumptions about technological competence and skills, technical equipment requirements, availability of academic support services and financial aid resources, and costs and payment policies. * Enrolled students have reasonable and adequate access to the range of tudent services appropriate to support their learning. * Accepted students have the background, knowledge, and technical skills needed to undertake the program. * Advertising, recruiting, and admissions materials clearly and accurately represent the program and the services available. Policies for faculty evaluation include appropriate consideration of teaching and scholarly activities related to electronically offered programs. * The institution demonstrates a commitment to ongoing support, both financial and technical, and to continuation of the program for a period sufficient to enable students to complete a degree/certificate. The institution evaluates the programs educational effectiveness, including assessments of student learning outcomes, student retention, and student and faculty satisfaction. Students have access to such program evaluation data. * The institution provides for assessment and documentation of student achievement in each course and at completion of the program. Similar guidelines may be found in connection with the worlds largest experiment in online distance education, the Open Learning experiment in the U. K. In reviewing this experiment, Mayes and Banks (1998) concluded that three factors combine to maintain quality and integrity of Open Learning courses: (1) common, structured course materials; (2) open assessment using a competency-based methodology; and (3) an extensive support and monitoring network. Numerous other efforts exist regarding quality assurance in distance education (Tait, 1997). An inspection of leading quality-in-online-education guidelines reveals three central themes. 1. Quality is defined in terms of appropriate and complete online education, with appropriateness and completeness to be adjudged by faculty. Faculty agreement, of course, is apt to refer to faculty with interests in promotion of online education, with tacit consent of peers in a typical academic culture which strongly encourages faculty course development autonomy and an administration more interested in getting into the online education game than in creating quality standards impediments to launching online offerings. Using the same textbook as the traditional course is often sufficient to meet this criterion.