A brief slide presentation covering trends in online education.

1. Trends in Online
Education
THOMAS EVANS

2. Introduction
 Online educational delivery options are rapidly expanding
 Online education enables learning to take place when you need it
and where you need it
 Online education expands opportunities for learners to customize
learning experiences based upon their individual interests and
needs
 Social networking expands opportunities for informal learning for
both students and instructors
 Online education is dramatically transforming the role of instructors

3. Expansion Trends for Online
Learning
 According to a recent survey of over 2,800 higher learning
institutions conducted by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, less than
one-half of all higher education institutions reported online
education was critical to their long-term strategy in 2001.
 In 2013, that number was at an all-time high of close to seventy
percent.
 In the same report by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, only 9.7
percent of higher education institutions reported that online
education was not critical to their long-term strategy

4. Online Education expands educational
access beyond the physical campus
 The number of students taking at least one online course increased
by over 411,000 to a new total of 7.1 million in 2013.
 The proportion of higher education students taking at least one
online course is at an all-time high of 33.5 percent.
 Two-thirds of chief academic officers believe that there will be
substantial use of student-directed, self-paced components in future
online courses

5. Online learning is not synonymous
with online courses

6. Most higher education students will
be taking at least one online course

7. Online learning can increase the
relevance of learning for students
 With online learning and online courses, student are able to extend
their learning environments anywhere where there is access to the
Internet
 Students may choose to focus more on areas they need and will no
longer be bound to sitting through lectures and activities that cover
information they already have
 With social networking students can choose to learn about things
they are interested in

8. Online learning will require
increased self-discipline for students
 While online learning expands opportunities for students, leaders of
higher education recognize it also requires greater discipline on the
part of students
 According to the 2013 Sloan survey, more than 68% of the surveyed
institutions agreed that students need more discipline to succeed in
an online course than in a face-to-face course.
 Online teachers will need to develop strategies to help strengthen
self-discipline among the growing population of online learners

9. Social Networking expands informal
learning opportunities
 Social networking sites like Facebook will increasingly enable
learners to focus on information they are interested in
 Students can collaborate with others throughout the world
 Students aren’t limited to sharing and gaining knowledge within the
same grade level

10. Online learning will dramatically
change the role of the instructor
 Instructors will no longer be the deliverer of information
 Instructors will increasing become facilitators of learning
 Student-centered learning will replace Instructor-centered learning

11. Conclusion
 Online learning opportunities and options will continue to grow, and
the number of students taking online courses will continue to
expand
 Learning will be more customized to the needs of the learner
 Students will need to develop an increased level of self-discipline to
succeed in the online learning environment
 The role of the instructor will change dramatically with the growth of
online delivery models