Can any course be taught online?
Presently, I will have to say, "No." This is a conditional response based upon two realizations:
1. The level of technology in online programs.
2. The expected skills that can be applied after the course.
1 The level of technology in online programs
The multi-media and games design industry have given the educational industry an opportunity to capture the attention and interest of this computer generation. I have witnessed a number of very interactive exercises that use bowling, crossword puzzles, war games, gameshow templates to entertain the user.
If we, as educators, fail to align ourselves with the change in education, we will enable students to fail in teaching them how to perceive and receive techniques for learning new concepts.
We have witnessed the decline in enthusiasm in the classroom at all levels. The education industry needs to employ the same technology that excites the student when they run home to do GameBox and other applications.
Education must walk hand-in-hand with the evolution of the visual arts. Education must be deliverable in each venue available to students:
Blackberry
I-PODs
Text messaging
2. The expected skills that can be applied after the course
Secondly, the educational administrator has to decide what skills can be developed in this online forum. The key to success is to be able to deliver the lesson in each of the three learning styles:
Visual
Auditory
Kinesthetic
The Department of Defense uses simulation techniques that require the use of all senses for success. The education industry needs to make the same type of investment to create a virtual simulation option via the online environment. Some disciplines can be taught very readily.
Humanities and Arts, Math, History, Business, etc. can be taught as in the classroom. These are visual classes that can develop the students' talents. The impasse comes when the discipline requires an inordinate amount of kinesthetic exercises.
It is difficult to teach Mechanics, Surgery, Dentistry, Electronic Maintenance, etc. without having the actual tools in hand. These arts require a tactile quality that cannot be reproduced, currently. (How would you feel about your Dentist never having touched inside of a real mouth…..and you are next?)
Although oxymoronic, the more realistic the virtuality becomes, the easier it will be to address the next challenge for the multi-media and games design industry. "Make it real!"
It is possible that the education industry could partner with the other industry to contribute to the research and development of these future tools. This would cut down the cost of the programs for the education industry.
This brings us full-circle back to the original conditional response. As the technology becomes available the percentage of classes that can be delivered in the online environment will increase, exponentially.
