Online Learning - Does It Make Cents?

[jlamb]

Hi Brian and Welcome to Agri-ville: I would be interested to know if you feel the online learning sites you are involved with would be of interest to any of us in Agri-ville? Please share these if you think they would. We have been involved with several online learning initiatives. While I believe online learning is the wave of the future and offers many benefits . . . I also think that one of its greatest challenges still left to be solved is recovering the development costs of online courses before either the content or, most likely, the technology becomes outdated. It also seems to me that people nowadays have far more to do and far less time to do it in. Typical theoretical courses are on the way out while short practical training is more prevalent. Taking that one step further I believe that to remove the high development costs of a typical educational course and satisfy the demand for shorter more practical training. Course developers should throw out typical course models and develop more task oriented online learning. ie. Not an entire course on Developing A Business Plan but a quick and dirty lesson on how to conduct a competitive analysis, or a proforma income statement. This delivery of bits and bytes of information seems to be a trend in the Internet. What are your thoughts on the challenges that face developers and instructors of online learning for the agriculture industry? As a potential learner having to purchase this education, do you want to see information delivered in bits and bytes or is there a danger in not seeing the whole picture? All comments are appreciated. JBL

[ludwigbr]

Jory: You definitely asked a few challenging questions. For clarity, I will be breaking my reply into several messages each addressing one of your questions. At the moment, I am currently involved with several online training sites. The first one is a site maintained by AIMS that offers a farm succession planning and farm accounting course. These are the same courses that are currently being promoted in the schoolhouse of agriville. I am the primary course designer and the lead instructor for these courses. I am also currently working with SIAST - Agriculture Division (technical school in SK) on developing a series of additional online initiatives. One site (www.computrain-online.com)currently running is a site that contains approximately 300+ courses in a wide range of introductory to advanced computer topics, business management, and other personal development courses. All of these courses are currently offered as part of one subscription package that provides access to all courses. After Christmas, we intend to start offering optional packages that will provide considerable guidance, support, and additional tutoring on specific topics. The second site is a site that I am just currently revamping (www.agtrain.com) and I'm hoping will be ready for Agribition or shortly after. This site consists of primarily agriculture and marketing related courses that I am personally developing on my own or in partnership with SIAST. The first course that I am completing is a futures market simulation course that simulates paper trading. There will be no fee for this course. Another course that I will be posting very quickly is a course on AIDA forms and how the AIDA program works. Other agriculture specific courses also will be developed over the next year. Finally, I will be working with SIAST's website in offering live seminars and workshops over the internet using a combination of multimedia CD-ROM-based software and advanced, interactive chat software designed specifically for training purposes. I will be working with SIAST on developing several workshops using this interactive technology. Starting at Agribition, SIAST and myself is initiating a research study into the distance education and internet needs of rural families and individuals. We want to take an in-depth look at what rural individuals' needs are with respect to course topics, course availability, course design, course interaction and a variety of other topics that will allow us to more effectively design and deliver effective agriculture training over the net. To help us with this study, we will be using information gathered from all the sites above as part of this study. This winter, we will be promoting numerous courses packages designed specifically for rural individuals and producers at substantially reduced prices (thanks mainly to some of our key suppliers who have temporarily provided us with steep discounts on their products and to the staff at SIAST and myself who have contributed a lot of volunteer labour into this project). We will actively be looking for participants in this project and would welcome anyone to participate in our courses. All we will be asking for return is a nominal tuition to return our direct cash costs to deliver the course and be willing to answer a few questions about your thoughts on internet-based training. While many of our courses were designed for SK producers initially, these courses would be relevant to all individuals across Western Canada and even beyond. I hope this description did not sound like a sales pitch. It's obvious that I am devoting a major portion of my time and energy to online learning for rural agriculture. There are many exciting opportunites for both trainers and students, however, there are also a lot of problems facing us as well in internet-based education. Many of the sites and projects that I am involved with hopefully will try to remove some of the stumbling blocks to the acceptance of internet-based education for rural families. Brian.

[ludwigbr]

This is the second part of my reply that deals specifically with Jory's question about challenges to internet-based education. Online training development does not have to be expensive. I have come up with several affordable ways of developing and deliverying internet-base education (when you are a one-person show with a limited budget, it's amazing how efficient one can be). Developing for distance-based education is no different than developing for traditional classroom delivery. If you went overboard developing custom graphics and animation for each individual course, then your course development costs will be astronomical. This approach only works for those courses where you know you have a large captive audience, there is lots of competition for the best looking product, and the students are willing to pay for the extra development costs through higher tuitions. Unfortunately, agriculture traditionally does not fit this category. Agriculture training is a relatively small training market compared to the corporate trianing market. This does not mean that high quality courses can not be developed for agriculture. Rather, it may be a bad investment to spend considerable resources on custom graphics, animations, and other luxury items that tend to be their more for selling appeal rather than teaching effectiveness. The biggest challenge that I think faces agriculture training is the student-teacher and student-student interaction. If you compare online training without interaction to a text book, there is no difference (except that you can not sit in a comfortable chair or in bed with your computer on your lap). Most people tend to prefer to read on paper rather than on a computer screen. To make online training effective, you have to simulate or encourage the same type of interaction within an online environment as you have in a classroom environment. One of the most important reasons people sign up for the classes is for the ability to practice with immediate instructor feedback on their performance. We, as online developers, need to continually strive to provide this interaction and feedback to make online training more effective. Without any form of interaction and feedback, why would anyone need online traiing -- a book from Chapters would be just as relevant and a lot easier to read. Other challenges that I often keep in mind with internet-based education includes the percentage of individuals who have access to the internet, the type of internet connections that most prospecitive students have particularly in the rural areas, the acceptance level of internet-based training, and finally, the constant challenge of not letting computer technology and gizmos (with all its whistles and bells) dictate how a course is designed and delivered (as compare to just using sound course design techniques appropriate to all forms of course delivery). Brian.

[ludwigbr]

This is the third (and final) part of my reply that deals specifically with Jory's question about the apparant trend for skill-specific training. This question addresses an age-old dilema that has faced the education system for decades -- not just internet-based education. It's just that this trend has become predominant, not just in agriculture, but especially in the computer industry. The two general thoughts in education is the broad-based education that provides both general and specific training and skills-based training that focuses on specific skills and the only knowledge to do those skills. Universities and colleges tend to provide the first alternative - a broad-based knowledge. Private training companies and to some extent, technical colleges (especially when the technical colleges are compared to universities) tend to focus on skills-training. There are pros and cons to both forms of education. Personally, I belive both are needed. In the short term, specific skills may be more essential, however, in the longer term, to be successful in any career, you do need the proper education. I am personally facing this dilema. I am currently working on a computer science degree from Athatbasca university which is definitely the broad-based education. I am also working on several Microsoft certifications that definitely focuses on specific software package skills. I had initially thought that I would have tremendous overlap between the two, however, after a few months, I realized that it was too my benefit to study both the broad-based and skill-based subjects. The skill-based training is providing me with instant skills that I can use in my work, however, the broadbased education is allowing me to learn how to apply these skills more effectively and properly. Both types of education and training are needed. Now, for internet-based training, internet-based training definitely favours the skill-based training. This allows the courses to be shorter, more specific, and more acceptable to consumers. How many people would prefer to read a 1000 page text book over the internet. Many of the courses that I work with fall into this category. This is also the reason why most internet courses tend to be trending towards skill-based training -- they are easier, cheaper, and quicker to develop and deliver. This does not mean that only skills-based training can be delivered. Many universities are also offering their complete degrees over the internet, however, they are usually using a mixed mode of delivery which includes printed materials as in a traditional class with some form of assistance or tutoring over the internet or by phone. This is another mode that I am working with SIAST on as part of a long-term plan to deliver their agribusiness certificate over the net (which is more an example of a broad-based education). Personally, I feel that short specific courses are ideal courses for internet-based training. They allow an individual to learn specific information for a specific task quickly, affordably, and conveniently. Internet-based education is ideal for any technology based training where the rate of turnover for new knowledge is high (computers, precision farming technology, even machinery). However, for anyone to increase their potential for success in any career, a broader-based education also is essential to see the whole picture of your industry's knowledge. While this broad-based education can also be delivered on the net, the whole learning experience would be more enhanced in the traditional education setting where you would have more interaction with professors, professinals and other students. This experience is hard to replace with internet-based education (even though we are trying our best to come close). I hope this message did not seem to ramble on and on about education theory. I would welcome any coments about anything that I have said in this message or any of my previous messages that were in reply to Jory's original message. As I mentioned in my first message, I am currently undertaking a research project that specifically addresses many of the concerns and problems that I have listed in my various messages. I would strongly appreciate your thoughts and experiences on online training. I look forward to hearing from everyone. Brian.

[marianne]

I have read with much interest your information about online learning. I am contemplating my future, education and employment, and feel that I reguire one to obtain the other and need one one to support the other. Who has not seen the catch 22 situation? I'm considering something in agriculture,or environment, specifically reclamation or crop advisor. I have some basic skills but require polish and I feel that education would be the answer, time and dollars become a factor as does travel and accomidation at a distant institution of learning so I look at online learning and ponder .Thanks for helping with my muddy waters.

[jlamb]

Marianne: Thanks for sharing your comments. One other factor to consider when deciding delivery methods is what type of learner you are. As you might expect, Computer based learning requires a very different type of learner than classroom based learning. If anyone is interested in some of the documented differences please advise. I will be happy to share them with you as I know several of the other moderators would also.

[kaniteo]

Jory, You’re right in suggesting that personal learning styles can make a difference in successful learning outcomes when the delivery method is computer or Internet based. Typically, a successful e-learner has been self-motivated and independent. e-learning is not for everyone. Students directly out of high school require a great deal of social interaction in order for them to have a successful learning experience. At the present time most on-line learners are adult learners, well entrenched in careers and seeking to upgrade their skills or maintain professional development. Even though this is the typical profile of an e-learner, it is rapidly changing. The key to a successful on-line course or program is in the instructional design and computer and Internet mediated instructional designers are constantly developing ways to engage all learning styles. Marianne, if you need a good sight to help you with determining your personal learning style, I would suggest http://www.fbe.unsw.edu.au/Learning/instructionaldesign/styles.htm Reviewing material such as this should help you evaluate on-line courses in order for you to have a successful learning outcome. Ted