Presentation during Orientation Week for students taking the UCT Postgraduate Diploma in Management in Marketing Programme 11 February 2014

1. ONLINE LEARNING: AN OVERVIEW
Sukaina Walji with Associate Professor Laura Czerniewicz
Centre for Innovation in Learning & Teaching, University of Cape Town
Presentation during Orientation Week for students taking the UCT
Postgraduate Diploma in Management in Marketing Programme
11 February 2014
@sukainaw
Sukaina.walji@uct.ac.za

2. DEFINING ONLINE LEARNING
A CONTINUUM
Downloadable
educational digital
content (ITunes,
YouTube, digital
textbooks)
Informal teaching
and courses
(MOOCs, open
courses, self-study
courses, Lynda.com)
Fully structured
online courses with
assessments and
qualifications

3. GROWTH OF FORMAL ONLINE
LEARNING - NUMBERS
The number of higher education students taking at least one online/distance
education course in 2014 is up 3.7 percent from the previous year
(Source: Babson Survey 2015
http://onlinelearningconsortium.org/read/survey-reports-2014/)

4. GROWTH OF FORMAL ONLINE
LEARNING - NUMBERS
o Online enrollment growth far exceeded that of overall
higher education
o While the rapid pace of online learning growth has
moderated in the last year, it still accounts for nearly
three-quarters of all US higher education’s
enrollment increases last year
(Source: Grade Level: Tracking Online Education in the United States, Babson Survey
Research Group http://onlinelearningconsortium.org/read/survey-reports-2014/)

5. GROWTH OF FORMAL ONLINE
LEARNING – WHO?
o Traditional institutions and residential institutions are
gaining ground on the for-profits in online and
distance education (Babson, 2015).
o In South Africa, legislation means that more
institutions can offer online learning and distance
learning options (Bates, 2014).
o “Elite” institutions (Ivy League) offering online
options.
o Online learning global, not local
Source: , Babson Survey Research Group. 2015. Grade Level: Tracking Online Education in the United
Stateshttp://onlinelearningconsortium.org/read/survey-reports-2014/)
Bates, T. 2014 New policies for online learning and distance education in South Africa -
http://www.tonybates.ca/2014/03/16/new-policies-for-online-learning-and-distance-education-in-south-
africa/

6. conventional flexible
FORMAL
SEMI-FORMAL
NON-FORMAL
Lectures
& tutorials
Block release Online courses
Short courses Professional development
courses
Summer school
COURSE LANDSCAPE OF HIGHER EDUCATION at UCT

7. FORMAL SEMI-FORMAL NON-FORMAL
CONVENTIONAL
curriculum innovation

8. Massive
• Have many
thousands
participanting
Open
• Open
enrollment
Online
• Everything is
online
Course
• Courses
structured
with start and
finish dates
M O O C

9. A MOOC IS NOT A FORMAL ONLINE
COURSE
http://edulearning2.blogspot.com/2014/05/statistics-
for-2014-coursera.html

10. Formal Online Courses MOOCs
Scale of
participation
Numbers capped by facilitation
and assessment resourcing;
entrance requirements
Accommodates thousands by having
almost no individual support and non
entry requirements
Motivation to
participate
Earn a qualification Variable - take what is of interest,
earn a certificate, personal
development
Backgrounds of
participants
Generally have similar academic
backgrounds
Often extremely diverse academic
backgrounds
Assessment Meets accreditation standards Not formally accredited with
alternative forms of assessment
Cost Pay to register for courses Free to access and participate and
optionally paying for certificates
Role of course
convenor
Responsible for teaching a
curriculum aligned to a
qualification and providing
support
Engages people interested in the
topic, with no responsibility for
curriculum alignment or giving
individual support.
Copyright Largely proprietary, some open Some open while platform owns or

11. conventional flexible
FORMAL
SEMI-FORMAL
NON-FORMAL
Lectures
& tutorials
Block release Online courses
Short courses Professional development
courses
Summer school
COURSE LANDSCAPE OF HIGHER EDUCATION

12. MOOCS & ONLINE EDUCATION
o MOOCs have put online education on the
map
o They have legitimised distance education
for traditional universities (and traditional
students)
o They have put the quality of teaching in all
universities under scrutiny
o Valuable insights into how students learn
online

13. GROWING CONFIDENCE IN ONLINE
LEARNING
“Nearly three-quarters (74.1 percent) of the
academic leaders surveyed by Babson rate
the learning outcomes in online education as
the same or superior to those in face-to-face”.
“70.8 percent of chief academic leaders
report online learning is critical to their long-
term strategy”.
(Source: Babson Survey 2015
http://onlinelearningconsortium.org/read/survey-reports-2014/)

14. WHY ONLINE LEARNING…FOR THE
INSTITUTION
o Expand reach beyond geography
o Attract increased numbers of students
o Flexible course provision
o Costs through scale and
disaggregation

15. WHY ONLINE LEARNING…FOR THE
LEARNER
o Flexibility – work, home, commitments
o Lifelong learning opportunity
o Career requirements – always need to
learn
o Community – connect to like minded
professionals
o Familiarity through internet – use for
banking, shopping. Why not learning?

16. WHAT CONSTITUTES QUALITY ONLINE
LEARNING
o Support
o Communication
o Technical standards met
o Transparency – clear what is expected
o Structure and design of course –
unique opportunities
Source: A Guide to Quality in Online Learning, Academic Partnerships. Available
at
http://www.academicpartnerships.com/sites/default/files/A%20Guide%20to%20Q
uality%20in%20Online%20Learning.pdf)

17. CHALLENGES FOR ONLINE LEARNERS
Students find it difficult to adapt to online learning requirements
“attrition and lack of academic success was systematically more
pronounced in online courses than in their face-to-face equivalents”
“While all types of students in the study suffered decrements in
performance in online courses, some struggled more than others to
adapt: males, younger students, Black students, and students with lower
grade point averages” (Survey of 40 000 students in nearly 500 000
courses; Xu & Jagger, 2013)
Why?
• Digital ‘know-how’ (digital literacies)
• Lack of face to face interaction – visual clues
• Work-life balance
• Tensions between flexibility and course demands (group work)
• Loneliness
• Connectivity constraints (and power cuts!)
(Source: Xu & Jaggar. 2013. Adaptability to Online Learning: Differences Across Types of Students and
Academic Subject Areas)

18. STRATEGIES FOR BEING A SUCCESSFUL
ONLINE LEARNER
o Play to medium’s strengths (asynchronous,
networks, reflection)
o Develop community - virtual
o Take control of learning - autonomy
o Participation – group work, discussion
o Take advantage of support offered
o Planning and backups
o Develop digital literacies
o Trust the process

19. o Good luck 
Questions?
Contact author
Email: Sukaina.walji@uct.ac.za
Twitter: @sukainaw