A common question raised by faculty and staff is how to determine the optimal number of students in an online course. Judith Boettcher of the University of Florida has an article that discusses the factors to take into consideration.
The crystal ball says…
Curtis Bonk of Indiana University–of Indiana, not Pennsylvania–always has interesting things to say about instructional technology and distance learning. He and a colleague published an article titled, “The Future of Online Teaching and Learning in Higher Education: The Survey Says…“. As he states, a “…survey that substantiates some ideas about online learning and refutes others.” http://www.educause.edu/apps/eq/eqm06/eqm0644.asp
Finding that edge
CampusTechnology.com has an article called “Serving the Online Learner”. The author says, “Support and advising systems provide a competitive edge for institutions by helping to develop a lasting relationship between eLearner and school.” You can find the article at http://campustechnology.com/articles/46400/.
Quality: I know it when I see it!
The U.S. Department of Education published an excellent report that helps identify quality benchmarks in distance education. Titled “Evidence of Quality in Distance Education Programs Drawn from Interviews with the Accreditation Community”, it can be found at http://www.ysu.edu/accreditation/Resources/Accreditation-Evidence-of-Quality-in-DE-Programs.pdf.