Instructional Who?

It seems that too many people are eager to “abandon ship” when it comes to the use of technology in education. An article that I read in the Chronicle of Higher Education this past week featured a St. John University professor who gave a “return to the days of old” criticism on the limitations of online learning technologies.

Assistant Professor Sharon Marshall claims that online education increases the workload of faculty and students and creates an impersonal learning environment. I think that Dr. Marshall did a very good job of reiterating well-established research on online education. This information has been known for at least a decade.

Dr. Marshall’s complaint is based on her experience with the asynchronous features of a course management system in a blended course. This learning format does have its limitations, and Dr. Marshall is correct to some extent; however, one important question cannot be ignored: Was the course design appropriate for the type of course being taught? While Dr. Marshall makes some good points in the article, it is possible that her technology criticisms reflect her lack of understanding of course design and the uses of technology in education.

It seems that technology is always a likely culprit for faculty who struggle with course design. Many postsecondary instructors would rather attribute their technological woes to the mischief of some “digital antichrist” as opposed to seeking the informed support of experts in instructional design.

Seeking the help of these pedagogical experts, who are typically and incorrectly regarded by faculty as “techies,” would likely have a profound influence on faculty attitudes toward the use of technology in education and the design of instruction.

Instructional designers (to be politically correct) can provide postsecondary instructors like Dr. Marshall the personal help needed in course design to create a quality course. These individuals are not content experts in every academic discipline but have a profound understanding of how instruction is created and assessed.

Thus, postsecondary faculty must work closely with instructional designers to ensure that students receive a quality experience.