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Shift happens Online education as a new paradigm in learning Linda Harasim* TeleLearning Network of Centres of Excellence, Simon Fraser University at Harbour Centre, 7th Floor, Time Centre, 515 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6B 5K3 Received 1 August 2000; accepted 1 November 2000 Abstract This article addresses that paradigmatic shift. It begins by presenting an overview of the history of online education as a context and framework for understanding the state of the art today, especially the use of network technologies for collaborative learning in post-secondary education. Beginning with the innovations of early pioneers as contributing to the paradigmatic shift, it provides a framework for understanding this new field. The article then focuses on the Virtual-U, a Web-based environment especially customized to support advanced educational practices. The Virtual-U research team hosts the largest field trials in post-secondary education in the world with empirical results and insights generated from over 439 courses taught by 250 faculty to 15,000 students, attesting to what works in online education. This article concludes by discussing the signposts to future advances that these data suggest. D 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved. Keywords: Paradigmatic shift; Virtual-U; Online education The proponents of competing paradigms practice their trades in different worlds .... Practicing in different worlds [they] see different things when they look from the same point in the same direction .... [B]efore they can hope to communicate fully, one group or the other must experience the conversation that we have been calling a paradigm shift (Kuhn, 1970, p. 150). 1096-7516/00/$ – see front matter D 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved. PII:S1096-7516(00)00032-4 * Tel.: +1-604-291-5395; fax: +1-604-291-3439. E-mail address: [email protected] (L. Harasim). Internet and Higher Education 3 (2000) 41–61

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Page 1: Shift happens

Shift happens

Online education as a new paradigm in learning

Linda Harasim*

TeleLearning Network of Centres of Excellence, Simon Fraser University at Harbour Centre, 7th Floor,

Time Centre, 515 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6B 5K3

Received 1 August 2000; accepted 1 November 2000

Abstract

This article addresses that paradigmatic shift. It begins by presenting an overview of the history of

online education as a context and framework for understanding the state of the art today, especially the

use of network technologies for collaborative learning in post-secondary education. Beginning with

the innovations of early pioneers as contributing to the paradigmatic shift, it provides a framework for

understanding this new field. The article then focuses on the Virtual-U, a Web-based environment

especially customized to support advanced educational practices. The Virtual-U research team hosts

the largest field trials in post-secondary education in the world with empirical results and insights

generated from over 439 courses taught by 250 faculty to 15,000 students, attesting to what works in

online education. This article concludes by discussing the signposts to future advances that these data

suggest. D 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Paradigmatic shift; Virtual-U; Online education

The proponents of competing paradigms practice their trades in different worlds . . ..Practicing in different worlds [they] see different things when they look from the same point

in the same direction . . .. [B]efore they can hope to communicate fully, one group or the

other must experience the conversation that we have been calling a paradigm shift (Kuhn,

1970, p. 150).

1096-7516/00/$ ± see front matter D 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.

PII: S1 0 9 6 - 7 5 1 6 ( 0 0 ) 0 0 0 3 2 - 4

* Tel.: +1-604-291-5395; fax: +1-604-291-3439.

E-mail address: [email protected] (L. Harasim).

Internet and Higher Education

3 (2000) 41±61

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1. Introduction

The invention of the World Wide Web in 1992 made online education increasingly

accessible and allowed new pedagogical models to emerge. Because the Web is easy to use

and capable of presenting multimedia, it expanded the range of disciplines that could be

offered online. The 1980s and 1990s saw enormous innovation and expansion in online

education and networking at all levels of education. The telecommunications and knowledge

revolution enabled greater and faster human communication and collaboration and led to

fundamentally new forms of economic activity that produced the knowledge economy and

required basic changes in education.

The 21st century thus begins with a paradigm shift in attitudes towards online education.

So far the signs are subtle, but the changes will ultimately be profound. Our new under-

standing of the very nature of learning has affected the definition, design, and delivery of

education. It will alter global civilization as educators and learners worldwide adopt and adapt

networked collaborative learning.

This article addresses that paradigmatic shift. Its overview of the history of online

education provides a context for understanding this new learning paradigm. The models

we have now resulted from the efforts of many pioneers, whom this article can reference only

selectively. As all the designers, implementers, and practitioners whose achievements have

created the framework we are now using would attest, in the process of shaping virtual space

into social and learning space, a lot of shift happened!

As Table 1 shows, research, development, and field practice in online learning has a long

history. Nevertheless, many apparently think that online education is very recent, perhaps

born of the invention of the Web. In fact, online education was one of the first progeny of the

invention of e-mail, and its development is intertwined with the history of computer

networking. Remarkable as it may seem (given the exponential rate of adoption), e-mail

communication and computer conferencing began less than three decades ago. These

networked communication systems were the fruit of the research of visionaries who sought

to create broad opportunities for `̀ meetings of minds,'' participatory government, and

interconnected social and cognitive communities (Hafner & Lyon, 1996).

In its vibrant 25-year history, online education has tackled tough questions and developed

various models to try to understand how new methods of learning and teaching can be

effective, exciting, and relevant. But while developments in the 1980s and 1990s prepared for

a revolution in the field of education, most of the noise generated in the media questioned the

value and quality of online education and expressed the concerns of some faculty who felt they

would be displaced by less well-trained staff. Evidently, we need to further promote the ways

this new knowledge about online learning will affect plans for virtual university activities and

explain how online education may claim to be one of the major forces to socialize cyberspace.

Ithiel de la Sola Pool et al. (1984) recognized by the early 1980s that computer networking

would profoundly affect our world.

One could argue that computer communication is one of the perhaps four most fundamental

changes in the history of communications technology. Any such list is, of course,

judgmental, but the case can be made that writing 5,000 years ago, printing 500 years ago,

L. Harasim / Internet and Higher Education 3 (2000) 41±6142

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telegraphy 150 years ago, and now computer communication were the four truly

revolutionary changes.

While e-mail remains the major networking application in education, its group commu-

nication counterpart, computer conferencing, is the core of online education as a collaborative

learning environment. Murray Turoff designed computer conferencing to be a `̀ collective

intelligence'' system that would structure group communication for information exchange and

problem solving (Hiltz & Turoff, 1978, p. 43).

Table 1

Computer networks and online education: history and overview of the field

1861 telegraph is invented

1876 telephone is invented

1969 ARPANET begins

1971 e-mail is invented

1972 computer conferencing

is invented

Mid-1970s university courses are

supplemented by e-mail

and computer conferencing

1981 first totally online course

(adult education)� The Source

1982 first online program

(executive education)� WBSI Executive Education (IEIS)

1983 networked classroom model

emerges (primary and

secondary education)

� ICLN: Research Project in four countries� RAPPI: Canada-X-Cultural Project in 5 Countries� 1985: National Geographic Society Kids Network� 1987: AT&T Learning Network� 1988: Writers in Electronic Residence (WIER)� 1989: SITP in British Columbia, Canada

1984 first online undergraduate courses � Virtual Classroom (NJIT)

1985 first online graduate courses � Nova Southeastern University� Connect-Ed (New School of Social Research)� OISE (University of Toronto)

1985 first labor education network � Solinet (Canadian Union of Public Employees)

1986 first knowledge building network � CSILE (OISE)

1986 online professional development

communities emerge� OISE Ontario Educators Online Course� 1990 Global Lab, Lab Net And Star Schools, TERC� 1992 Educators Network of Ontario

1986 first online degree program � Connect-Ed (New School of Social Research)� 1989 University of Phoenix Online

1989 Internet in launched

1989 first large scale online course � Open University (UK)

1992 World Wide Web is invented � CERN (Switzerland)

1993 first national educational networks � SchoolNet (Canada)� 1995 TL�NCE (Canada)� 1998 CL-Net (Europe)

1996 first large-scale online education

field trials� Virtual-U Research Project

2000

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Educational adoption of computer networking began in the mid-1970s, following closely

upon the invention of packet-switched networks in 1969 and of e-mail and computer

conferencing in 1971. In the early years, academics and educators had limited access to

computer networks. Nonetheless, many of the scientific researchers involved in early

experiments with ARPANET were also academics, and by starting to link their students

with the larger knowledge community, they introduced e-mail and computer conferencing

into their courses. Coincidentally, they expanded opportunities for student communication,

interaction, and collaboration. Just as e-mail, a technological afterthought to ARPANET's

original purpose of creating a file-sharing system, immediately became the dominant

application, networking changed the means of educational communication beyond what

any had imagined.

In the 1970s, e-mail made possible more generalized educational adoption of computer

networking. It was first used for academic information exchange and then to supplement

university-level courses. By the early 1980s, network communication began to be adopted

by K-12 schools. And indeed they originated an entirely new approach in online

education: the networked classroom, in which teachers and learners launched joint writing

and research projects. Some employed basic methods, such as informal electronic pen

pals, while others developed cross-cultural collaboration projects integrated with their

respective curricula.

One of the earliest examples was the Canadian ReÂseau d'Ateliers PeÂdagogique Pilote

(RAPPI) network (1985±1987), which linked schoolchildren and teachers in over 70

secondary schools in Canada, France, England, and Italy. RAPPI used the computer

conferencing system at the University of British Columbia, Canada, to facilitate information

exchange. The curricular focus was social studies and writing, and through the network

students learned about other cultures, lifestyles, and perspectives. In the process, they gained

increased knowledge about themselves and how they fit into a larger global community. It

was an ambitious launch of network classroom activity, at both national and global levels.

Another approach that emerged in the early 1980s has matured into the Learning Circles

(Riel, 1996). Launched by the InterCultural Learning Network (ICLN) in 1983, the project

first used `̀ sneaker mail'' (Riel's term for mailing diskettes) and then e-mail to link

schoolchildren in San Diego, CA, with peers in Alaska and other American states and

eventually Japan, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Israel (Levin, Kim, & Riel, 1990). The purpose

of the project was to facilitate joint writing of classroom-based newsletters. What was

especially important, however, was the research component, which explored the effect of

networking on curricular activities. The research question was whether writing to real

audiences on the network improved writing. Controlled studies of cross-classroom collabora-

tion showed an increase in student writing skills (Riel, 1996), and having an audience was

also found to be more motivational than writing for assignments only (Cohen & Reil, 1989).

The first totally online courses began in 1981 with noncredit `̀ mini-courses'' and

executive training programs. One of the first was the online Executive Education program

launched in 1982 by the Western Behavioral Sciences Institute (WBSI). Feenberg (1993)

describes the struggles experienced by the first WBSI-associated faculty who sought to

master the online group environment. No one had ever tried teaching a course totally online,

and, of course, no one had ever studied in an online course. All were proceeding blind,

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without context, base of knowledge, or precedents. Feenberg describes the faculty process,

based largely on trial and error but with feedback from folks such as Peter and Trudy

Johnson-Lenz, who had in 1978 coined the term `̀ groupware.'' WBSI faculty, some of them

famous orators, were surprised by startling failures. The failures yielded important dis-

coveries that remain relevant: long textual `̀ lectures'' do not work online, nor do Q&A

approaches on their own (1993). Students would not participate, and long virtual silences

ensued. Eventually, the faculty adopted group learning activities, such as discussions, and

history was made.

As access to computers and networks continued to grow, educators recognized that

cyberspace could be shaped for a wide range of uses. They also realized that online

education was a separate field and began to explore how they could enable students to

socialize in this new space. Their activities led to path breaking new approaches for

networked collaboration that helped to define both online education and online collaboration.

They were early precursors to subsequent offspring such as the Computer-Supported

Cooperative Work movement.

From the early 1980s, creative applications of computer conferencing in university

courses have contributed towards the development of a powerful new mode of learning:

online collaborative learning (Bradsher, 1996; Feenberg, 1993; Harasim, Hiltz, Teles, &

Turoff, 1995; Hiltz, 1994; Hiltz & Wellman, 1997; Khan, 1997; Mason & Kaye, 1989). In

1989, the Open University launched the first application of computer conferencing in a

large-scale distance education course; 1500 students had access to tutors and peer discus-

sions online.

The mid-1980s witnessed many other experimental applications online: Solinet emerged as

one of the first wide-scale online labor education programs; a variety of professional

development networks were launched, which created a base for online learning communities

and efforts at online professional continuing education began.

The 1990s were a time of other significant `̀ firsts'' in online educational activities:

national educational networking programs, such as Canada's SchoolNet, a first step in

networking all schools, museums, libraries, and aboriginal communities in the country, is one

example. And major online research programs, such as the TeleLearning Network of Centres

of Excellence (TL�NCE) in 1995, and field testing, such as Virtual-U field trials in 1996,

were also initiated.

The approaching Silver Anniversary of online education is an auspicious time to note its

outcomes as well as its history. To explore the features of the new paradigm of learning, the

article examines how online education has resulted in:

� new modes of educational delivery,� new learning domains,� new principles of learning,� new learning processes and outcomes,� new educational roles and entities.

The first two describe the improved opportunities to participate afforded by online

education. The remaining three emphasize the improved quality of learning.

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2. New modes of educational delivery

Three modes of delivery distinguish online education:

� Adjunct mode uses networking to enhance traditional face-to-face or distance education.� Mixed mode employs networking as significant portion of a traditional classroom or

distance course.� Totally online mode relies on networking as the primary teaching medium for an entire

course or program.

2.1. Adjunct mode

Adjunct mode use of computer networks provides the earliest examples of online

education. It originated with the scientists and academics who introduced e-mail and

computer conferencing to their students to expand opportunities for class discussion (Quinn,

Mehan, Levin, & Black, 1983). Adjunct mode typically refers to use of the network as an

enhancement but not a required or graded component of course activity.

Today, the exponential growth in use of the Internet by universities around the world has

resulted in the integration of the adjunct mode into all levels of academic activities. Faculty

and students use the Internet to find resources for their research, to connect with peers and

experts in various specializations, and to remain current with their field through online

journals and newsletters. Participation may be integrated as a formal part of the course

curriculum, or it may simply be encouraged in order that students learn to tap the rich

resources on the Internet.

Computer conferencing systems have also been found valuable for such adjunct mode

activities as electronic office hours and general discussion. Many questions are of interest and

relevance to the whole class, and using a conference for open class discussion avoids

duplication of effort. Often students offer assistance to one another, thus expanding the level

of response to a question; students also use conferences to provide course-related information

or tips for their classmates. Private questions for the professor can be handled by e-mail.

Instructors use e-mail and computer conferencing for administrative procedures, such as

distributing class outlines, supplementary notes, instructions, and assignments and, in some

cases, for administering tests and quizzes. They also use personal e-mail messages to post

grades and provide individual feedback. Many instructors allow and some require students to

submit assignments over the network. Classroom management tools may also be available on

the network.

2.2. Mixed mode

Mixed mode is distinguished from adjunct mode by the fact that networking is fully

integrated into the curriculum. The networking activities constitute a regular part of the

course and form part of the course grade. Mixed mode delivery has many variations. It may

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be used for one or more major activities in a traditional face-to-face or distance mode course,

such as small group discussions, seminars, and group projects.

The use of online seminars in a face-to-face class is a common application of mixed mode

delivery. An example is an undergraduate course in Communication at Simon Fraser

University, Canada, which uses 6 weeks of a 13-week course for online student-led seminars;

the other 7 weeks are held as face-to-face lectures and tutorials. Online, students participate in

seminars and play two roles: as seminar leader for 1 week and as seminar discussant for 5

weeks. As seminar leaders, students work in small teams to prepare and present the topic,

moderate the discussion (synthesize, focus, and advance the interaction), and summarize that

week's activities and key discussion issues. While face-to-face seminars are often restricted to

small classes of advanced students, the online approach has been valuable even with second

year students, encouraging active engagement in formulating positions, exploring arguments,

and converging on common understanding. Online seminars enable all students to participate,

something not possible in a face-to-face classroom, even with small numbers, and certainly

impossible in large undergraduate classes.

The volume of student participation is quite distinct from traditional classroom courses

where the instructor dominates most of the time. The reverse is true when the activity is

online. The overall volume of student messaging is very high, but it is also fairly evenly

distributed. Most students participate most of the time, each sending several messages each

week. A few students are less regular contributors, sending few or no messages some weeks.

However, rarely does a student not participate at all during an online course.

Another variant of mixed mode delivery, especially in primary and secondary education, is

the networked classroom in which classes in different geographical locations (local or global)

share information and resources, joint projects, and social interaction. Many notable examples

of school-level networks emerged in the 1980s, including the National Geographic Kids

Network or KIDSNet, the AT&T Learning Network, and Canada's Southern Interior

Telecommunication's Project (Teles & Duxbury, 1992). University examples included the

European Campus 2000 (Mason, 1993), and BESTnet and AFRINet that linked university

students and courses in the US, Canada, Latin America, and Africa (Bellman, Tindimubona,

& Arias, 1993).

2.3. Totally online mode

Online courses use the Web or computer networks as the primary environment for course

discussion and interaction. Course activities such as presentation of information, discussion,

and group work are undertaken online (although other media such as textbooks and course

readings in hard copy, audio, or video cassettes, telephone calls, or audio or video

conferencing may be integrated as part of the instructional design). The face-to-face meetings

once considered essential have increasingly been found not to be Ð especially considering

the time constraints and travel costs for students.

The use of computer networking for course delivery is growing for both university and

training courses. Post-secondary institutions began experimenting with the use of computer

conferencing for undergraduate course delivery (either total or partial) in the mid-1980s. In

one of the most prominent of these early experiments, the Virtual Classroom project launched

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by Roxanne Hiltz in the late 1980s, computer conferencing was proven to be a viable option

for course delivery. In matched classes in subjects as different as Sociology, Computer

Science, Management, and Statistics, there was generally no difference in outcomes as

measured by exam scores, but students reported that they learned more online (Hiltz, 1994). I

believe Hiltz's project was a key research undertaking that significantly benefited the field in

general. She applied scientific quasi-experimental design processes to yield powerful

quantitative evidence.

In 1985, two graduate schools (the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE),

University of Toronto) and Connected Education (affiliated with the New School for Social

Research, New York), unbeknownst to one another, each began offering graduate-level

courses online, using computer conferencing as the principal mode of delivery (Harasim,

1987; Levinson, 1990). Students would logon to designated computer conferences to

participate in class discussions, debates, seminars, individual and group assignments, and

virtual `̀ cafes'' and libraries. The online courses that I taught at OISE from the mid- to late

1980s were distinguished by the focus on collaborative learning approaches and a fairly

elaborate conference design to support a variety of group learning approaches.

The design was somewhat daring, especially at 150- to 300-baud modem speeds and

poor connectivity to the remote parts of Canada where some of the students were located.

While the challenges could be the stuff of legends, so were the results Ð at least for an

untested educational application. The collaborative learning approach pioneered in these

courses was highly successful, generating extraordinarily high levels of active and

equitably distributed learner participation, high completion rates, quality work, and strong

user satisfaction.

This and subsequent online courses also yielded results that greatly surprised me. Chief

among these was the fact that students who had a choice (i.e., nondistance education students

living in Toronto, where the courses were offered) might prefer online to face-to-face

delivery. These students reported online education to be more social and convivial than

face-to-face at a time when computer-mediated communications were being dismissed as

`̀ cold'' and `̀ inhuman.'' They also noted superior learning opportunities.

The online courses that I designed and implemented at OISE were graduate level, with a

limit of about 25 students to a course. They began and ended with a set of plenary activities

intended to build a sense of group identity and community. Seminars, small group

discussions, and small group assignments comprised the core curriculum. Each lasted for

1 week or for a set number of weeks. The topics in the first plenary group discussions

included conferences for self-introductions, setting personal and class learning objectives,

and engaging in a `̀ great debate.'' They also employed the following types of group learning

activities: seminars (plenary and small group), dyads (learning partnerships), and project

teams. The 12-week courses were organized into 4 weeks of seminar activity, followed by 2

weeks of a dyad assignment, then there were 4 weeks of project work and class

presentations, and the course concluded with 2 weeks of debates structured around dyad

interaction. Between 35 and 60 computer conferences and sub-conferences were used to

create the environment.

We gathered system-generated usage statistics on the number of messages sent to the

conferences. Analysis of the online credit courses at OISE showed that graduate students

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posted an average of between 5 and 10 conference messages per week per person (e-mail

notes were not tracked, but these were also prolific).

The OISE online courses were also distinguished by active peer-to-peer discussion and

exchange. Students contributed 85±90% of messages, a level of participation and interaction

high even for face-to-face graduate seminars. The collaborative nature of the conferences is

illustrated not only by the quantity of participation but also by the quality of the interaction.

Analysis of selected contents of the online courses indicates that learners formulated positions

and responded to their peers with active questioning, elaboration, and/or debate. Transcript

analysis of online seminars and small group activities showed that students build on one

another's ideas by posing and answering questions, clarifying ideas, and expanding on or

debating points raised by others (Harasim, 1991). Message map analysis of interaction

patterns in selected discussions demonstrated that students refer to one another's messages,

adding on to the ideas posed and building from them (Winkelmans, 1988). Peer interaction, in

which students are exposed to multiple perspectives on particular topics as well as challenged

by collegial queries about their own ideas, is a valuable opportunity for knowledge building

and developing critical thinking skills (Webb, 1989).

Online interaction thus displayed fewer of the extremes typical of face-to-face class

activity such as excessive or dominating input by a few and little or no participation by

everyone else in the class. Online environments do not entirely eliminate the more vocal

participants. What is new and different is that conferencing ensured that dominance by a few

does not prevent others from having their say.

3. New learning domains

My work in online education led me to realize that this is a new learning domain,

characterized by a unique combination of attributes (Harasim, 1989, 1990). Computer

conferencing and networking enable communication that is best described as a form of

discourse-in-writing. Five attributes distinguish communication in online educational

environments and provide a conceptual framework to guide design and implementation

of online courses:

� many-to-many (group communication),� any place (place-independence),� any time (asynchronicity, time-independence),� text-based (enhanced by multiple media), and� computer-mediated messaging.

E-mail systems, even group mail services, make possible the first four of these

characteristics; however, e-mail systems do not organize many-to-many communication.

Computer conferencing was expressly invented for this purpose (Hiltz & Turoff, 1978) and it

excels as a groupware and enabler of collaborative learning.

Online education is not the same as distance education, although it shares some of the same

attributes. Both are any place, any time, and largely text-based. However, the critical

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differentiating factor is that online education is fundamentally a group communication

phenomenon. In this respect, it is far closer to face-to-face seminar-type courses.

Together, the five attributes make online education a unique environment for educa-

tion. In combination, they enable augmented learning environments that can enhance

cognitive activities. Below, we highlight some of the benefits of each of the attributes of

this new environment.

Many-to-many (group communication) enables:� Motivational (socio-affective) benefits of working through problems with peers.� Active exchange: rich information environment.� Identification of new perspectives, multiplicity.� Opportunity to compare, discuss, modify, and/or replace concepts (conceptual

change).� Encouragement to work through differences and arrive at intellectual convergence.

Time independence supports:� Twenty-four-hour access: Users can respond immediately or reflect and compose a

response.� Unlimited air time/access.� Student participation all week, and thereby ongoing knowledge building.� Participation by users at their best learning readiness time.

Place independence allows:� Access to the wealth of Web resources (as well as peers, experts).� Shared interests, not just shared locations among participants.

Text-based/media-enriched messaging encourages and contributes to:� Verbalization and articulation of ideas.� Focus on message rather than on the messenger (reduced socio-physical discrimina-

tion).� Clear expression of ideas.� Rich database/web of ideas.

Computer-mediated environments enable:� Searchable, transmissible, and modifiable archived database.� Multiple passes through conference (discourse) transcript.� Building tools to exchange and organize ideas and support collaborative learning.� Building templates, scaffolds, and educational supports for advanced pedagogy.� Customizing learning environments for all disciplines and evidenced-based

pedagogies.

These five attributes appear to offer almost unlimited methods of presenting online

courses, but they also place certain constraints on designing and managing the online

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environment. Computer conferencing provides some obvious examples of both qualities.

Presently, it remains the `̀ heart and soul'' of online education, and presumably a discourse

focus will always exist, for education is essentially about interaction, conceptual change, and

collaborative convergence.

Of all networking media available to educators in the 1980s and 1990s, conferencing

systems were the most amenable to instructional design. Conferences can be thought of as

`̀ spaces'' that can be shaped to create an educational forum. Structuring and sequencing the

conferences into an environment that promotes educational interaction demands significant

input by the teacher. Just as in classroom education, the instructor must organize the learning

events according to topic, task, group, and timeline to support group discussions, activities,

and assignments. However, the design requirements of the computer conferencing medium

are different, in important ways, from face-to-face communication.

For example, seminars, discussions, debates, and group projects had to be reconceptualized

to fit within the attributes of the computer conferencing environment. Designs to structure and

organize student input are clearly needed because the asynchronous and place-independent

characteristics create problems of coordination and convergence. Its asynchronous qualities

increase access and expand opportunities for discussion, interaction, and reflection. These

additional opportunities and the motivation of working with a group can also stimulate very

active input by learners. On the other hand, managing group tasks among team members located

in different locations working at different times and possibly even in different time zones and

coordinating the workflows in a compressed time period is a complex organizational challenge.

Some participants may lag behind others or even `̀ disappear'' for a time. Moreover, text-based

discussion can be voluminous, and so it may soon overwhelm even an enthusiastic reader.

Despite the powerful new learning opportunities that became evident in the first decade of

online education, it also became obvious that the networking technology available lacked

elements needed for educational application. Generic networking tools imposed major

overhead costs on the user because they were not specifically designed to support educational

activities (Feenberg, 1993; Harasim, 1993). Instructors had to reformulate their traditional

classroom activities for the asynchronous communication spaces and then also `̀ shape'' the

text-based computer conferences into `̀ virtual'' learning environments. This process involved

administrative, organizational, and pedagogical challenges and costs. Many experiments

failed, and early enthusiasts were discouraged.

Customized educational network environments were urgently needed with tools to:

� provide easy access and navigation,� assist instructors in designing the curriculum for the online environment,� manage the course (calendars, grade books, easy uploading and downloading of

multiple media files),� support cognitive activities that employed message representation, visualization,

annotation, and concept mapping, and� provide group and personal workspaces.

Discipline-specific tools were also needed, especially in those fields that required lab

and studio instruction, such as computer and engineering sciences, health, medicine, and

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the cultural and fine arts. In addition to circumscribing the disciplines that could

participate, the lack of multimedia capacity had limited development of tools to support

new discourse patterns. The advent of the Web fuelled an explosive growth in educational

adoption of the Internet, both to augment face-to-face courses and to deliver courses

totally online.

Ironically, the technological solutions provided by the Web also introduced new problems

or exacerbated existing ones. While the invention of e-mail and computer conferencing had

launched an unprecedented level of social interaction, communication, and collaboration, the

invention of the Web led to a phenomenal amount of self-publishing. Two basic models of

online courses thus emerged: one based on collaborative learning and interaction, and the

other based on publishing information online (course materials, lecture notes, student

assignments, etc.).

The second, based on the old model of transmission of information or lecture mode seemed

to flourish during the late 1990s, but then its weaknesses became evident. At the same time,

new tools and environments customized for education based on educational interaction and

collaboration were emerging.

One of the first Web-based environments was Virtual-U hhttp:/www.vu.vlei.comi at Simon

Fraser University. An online environment tailored for a course-oriented approach, it provided

an integrated set of instructor and learner tools to support educational delivery based upon

principles designed to support group learning and teamwork in constructing knowledge

innovation, and solving problems. Software development was research-based and evidence-

driven, and it was iteratively modified according to findings from its field trials.

In 1995, the Virtual-U became one of the key research applications within the TL�NCE

hhttp://www.telelearn.cai. This national program links Canadian researchers and client

communities involved in the development, application, and evaluation of advanced educa-

tion technologies. In particular, the TL�NCE, like Virtual-U, focuses on principle-based

design, that is, educational methods and tools that support collaborative learning and

knowledge building.

4. Principle-based design: the key

I believe the most profound aspect of the current paradigmatic shift in education is the

possibility of shaping that shift. What is distinctive about the communication revolution

going on today is that we are able to debate different perspectives on a major civilizational

change and so have an opportunity to influence our collective future (Feenberg, 1999;

TL�NCE, 1995). Humans have experienced several paradigmatic shifts, but they have

never intentionally shaped them. Today, we have the unique opportunity and responsibility

to engage in designing, at least to some degree, the world that we, and future generations,

will inhabit.

The importance of design, especially principle-based design, is the recognition that

technologies are not just useful for this or that purpose; they construct our worlds (Feenberg,

1999). Virtual space is profoundly social space. `̀ We shape our buildings, and afterward our

buidings shape our lives,'' as Churchill observed in 1960.

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Some of the features of educational principles that should influence the design, use, and

study of new telelearning environments are discussed below.

4.1. Principle of collaboration in learning

The principle of collaborative learning may be the single most important concept for online

networked learning, since this principle addresses the strong socio-affective and cognitive

power of learning on the Web. The Web's asynchronous nature both enables and requires

collaborative learning: collaboration provides the social glue of a community that engages

learners and motivates them to participate.

Collaboration or co-laboring means working together to accomplish shared goals;

individuals seek outcomes beneficial to themselves and to the other members of the group.

Collaborative learning is the instructional use of small groups so that students maximize their

own and one another's learning. In collaborative learning activities, there is a positive

interdependence among students' goal attainment; learners perceive that they can reach their

goals best if others in the group also reach their goals (Johnson & Johnson, 1989).

Collaborative learning is based on a well-formulated theory that has been validated by

numerous research studies and translated into practical procedures that can be employed at

any level of education.

Discourse is a fundamental aspect of learning. `̀ Learning is enhanced by articulation,

abstraction, and commitment on the part of the learner: instruction should provide opportu-

nities for learners to articulate their newly acquired knowledge'' (Koschmann, Myers,

Feltovich, & Barrows, 1994). Articulation is a cognitive act in which the student presents,

defends, develops, and refines ideas. To articulate their ideas, students must organize their

thoughts and information into knowledge structures. Active learner participation leads to

multiple perspectives on issues, a divergence of ideas, and positions that students must sort

through to find meaning and convergence. Cognitive growth and development of problem-

solving skills depend on epistemic conflict, that is, the collision of adverse opinion (Johnson

& Johnson, 1996). Students encounter opportunities to experience and resolve academic

controversies in the online discourse environment.

Instructional models where faculty `̀ present'' or publish information on the Web are less

engaging and result in higher drop-out rates, as was shown in the earliest WBSI experiments

using well-known speakers whose discourse was presented in textual lectures. Engaging

learners in a cooperative pursuit of knowledge requires new instructor roles. They must learn

to create courses that are constructional or conversational where discourse and teamwork

create a sense of commitment. They must learn to moderate, mediate, and facilitate discussion.

4.2. Principle of access

Lifelong education must enshrine the principle of access so people may be linked

together. As we became aware that we could reinvent many aspects of education by using

the potential access networking provides, we also realized that access is a multifaceted

term. Online education could transcend traditional geographic obstacles to where one could

learn (and where one might teach), but place-based institutions also presented physical

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barriers to learners with disabilities. These barriers began to fall swiftly as network access

grew, and by the 1990s, rural areas and many Third World regions began to participate.

Intergovernmental recognition of what many call the digital divide between rich and poor

has initiated calls for action, which new inventions that do not require telephone lines may

help circumvent.

Temporal access was another evident feature, although again we did not immediately

appreciate the remarkable educational benefits offered by asynchronous collaborative learn-

ing. Not only does it enable access to learners with family or employment commitments, the

24/7 access expanded air time for discussion and reflection, allowing everyone to have a

voice, overcoming challenges, and traditional discrimination factors, such as ageism, sexism,

and racism.

4.3. Constructivism and knowledge work

Constructivism as it has come to be known mainly through the works of Jean Piaget asserts

that knowledge acquired by a process of mental construction. Constructivism has become a

synonym for `̀ learning by doing'' (Bereiter, in press).

Knowledge work is work that creates or adds value to conceptual artifacts (Bereiter, in press).

The concept of producing knowledge by collaborating in groups is essential in the new

learning paradigm.

5. New learning processes and outcomes

The emergence of online learning environments and Web-based course activities has

significantly contributed to the recognition that we need a better understanding of the

conditions and means for achieving effective learning. Brown (1990) viewed new educational

environments as part of `̀ the shift from seeing technology as a cognitive delivery system to

seeing it as a means to support collaborative conversations about a topic and the ensuing

construction of understanding.'' A critical question emerged: How can the online environ-

ment support the conversations and shared explorations that form part of the user's active

(co-)production of knowledge?

Studies have suggested a number of new theoretical and methodological ways to under-

stand learning effectiveness in online environments. These are integrally linked to under-

standing how collaboration contributes to learning and under what circumstances.

In 1990, Harasim considered the strengths and limitations of computer conferencing for

online collaborative knowledge construction, noting the need to support three educational

processes from divergence to convergence of knowledge: idea generating (and gathering);

idea linking, organization, and intellectual progress; and idea structuring (and convergence).

The first process implies divergent thinking, while the second and especially the third involve

convergent thinking and information management.

Roschelle (1996, p. 245) presents a complementary perspective, arguing that the `̀ crux of

learning by collaboration is convergence,'' a process of mutual construction of knowledge.

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`̀ Democratic participation, intellectual progress, and gradual convergence are base attributes

of social inquiry practices that enable scientists to undergo conceptual change. A convergent

account alone suggests the attractive possibility that students develop their concepts in the

course of learning to participate in the practices of inquiry that scientists themselves use to

develop scientific concepts.''

Discourse is key. Bruffee (1999) argues that knowledge is a construct of the community's

form of discourse, maintained by local consensus and subject to endless conversation and that

learning is a social, negotiated, consensual process. Thomas Kuhn (1970, pp. 199±203 and

209±210) similarly argued that scientific knowledge changes as scientists revise the

conversation among themselves and reorganize their relations.

These theoretical formulations on the role of collaborative discourse in conceptual change

and intellectual consensus or convergence provide valuable frameworks for the study of

online learning. Their application to the analysis of data generated by the Virtual-U field

trials may illuminate issues of effective learning processes, outcomes, and conditions. Data

from over 15,000 students who have taken Virtual-U courses from more than 220 instructors

and faculty (involving over 450 courses) are being studied within this conceptual lens.

Below is a synthesis of the new learning processes and outcomes evident in the Virtual-U

research. This research involved collaborative learning approaches and assessment used in

all courses studied:

� consistently high levels of active learning,� high levels of learner engagement and interaction, and� evidence of conceptual change and convergence.

5.1. Collaborative learning designs and assessment strategies

Detailed analysis of 100 Virtual-U courses revealed that 100% incorporated some form

of collaborative learning activity as a significant portion of the course: 26% of the courses

used only discussions, 30% employed discussions plus individual work, 11% used

discussions and group work activities, and 33% employed discussions, group work, and

individual assignments.

Data on assessment strategies similarly reflect the growing significance of collaborative

learning in online courses, as well as the variety of approaches faculty still employ: 48% of

the courses included individual assignments, 21% used group assignments, 25% graded

online participation (involving both quality and quantity of student input), a further 13%

graded participation only in terms of quality of input, and 12% employed exams.

5.2. Active learning/participation

Detailed analysis of the usage statistics of over 50 courses demonstrates a pattern of highly

active students regularly reading and contributing to the online discourse. Analysis of 32

totally online courses shows that 75% of the students logged in at least 10 times per week and

88% logged in at least 5 times per week to read and write messages or to access resources.

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Seventy-seven percent of all students in the courses studied posted at least three messages per

week. Distribution of communications is measured by percentage of the total messages

generated by the 50% of students who posted the most. The average distribution of

communications is 72%. Peer-responsiveness is measured by the percentage of total messages

that are reply messages. The average peer-responsiveness was 44%.

Even in mixed mode, student participation and interaction is significant. Analysis of usage

data from 19 mixed mode courses with 28 instructors and 206 students shows that half of the

students logged on 5 or more times per week and that 25% logged on 10 or more times per

week. On average, students logged in 4.5 times and posted two messages per week. The

average distribution of communications for the 19 courses is 71%. The average peer-

responsiveness of the 19 courses was 49%.

The high level of user activity suggests that environments such as the Virtual-U motivate

students to actively engage in discourse.

5.3. New patterns of engagement

Online course activity based upon asynchronous communication yields an entirely

new learning pattern: highly active engagement. In all the courses studied, learners

logged on at all hours of the day and night, and there was no hour when the system

was not being accessed.

Peer interaction is high: typically over 30% of all messages are sent as replies (rather than

as new messages). And approximately 80% or more of the messages are sent by students. The

voice of the professor is not lost, for faculty involvement remains important to students and to

the quality of the discourse. However, what is new is that there is a multiplicity of voices or

perspectives, and students are exposed to a variety of possible interpretations or solutions,

rather than just the `̀ right'' or the `̀ textbook'' answer.

Moreover, the distribution of communications in the online course activities is fairly

evenly spread. Most students are participating most of the time, unlike traditional classroom

situations in which the instructor dominates the airtime with only a few (usually the same)

students having an opportunity to ask questions or add comments.

5.4. Towards a theoretical and methodological framework

The three processes outlined by Roschelle (1996) (democratic participation, intellectual

progress, and gradual convergence) complement those identified by Harasim (1990) in

describing progress from divergent to convergent thinking in online education.

Both resonate with Bruffee's (1999) theoretical position that intellectual convergence

through collaborative discourse is key, and in combination suggest a methodological frame-

work for understanding discourse in online seminars (based on Roschelle and Harasim).

1. Divergent thinking: democratic participation and idea generating� quantitative indicators: usage reports� volume of participation� density of participation

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� distribution of participation� qualitative indicators: discourse analysis

2. Intellectual progress and idea linking� quantitative indicators: level of interactivity� qualitative/quantitative indicators: name mentioning and transcript analysis

3. Convergent thinking� quantitative indicators: density of (1) and (2)� qualitative indicators: conclusive supported position statements (agree or disagree)

Currently, we are developing and testing a taxonomy for discourse analysis to be applied to

online seminars. Early findings are promising.

Transcript analysis of the discourse in online seminars suggests important new directions

and opportunities for the study of learning processes. The online environment is especially

powerful because it creates a text-based archived transcript of the group discourse, which can

be subsequently studied using quantitative and qualitative research methods.

6. New educational roles and entities

The Virtual-U field trials also yield a tentative profile of some of the new roles and

organizational forms being generated: the virtual professor, the virtual learner, the virtual

course, and the virtual university. Below, we synthesize selected data analyses.

6.1. The virtual professor

The virtual professor is an educator who chooses to teach online instead of or in addition to

teaching traditional classes. Contrary to the general image of online instructors as young and

male, we found that three-quarters of the professors adopting the Virtual-U were senior

faculty and over one-third were female. And the majority taught in the social sciences,

humanities, and health sectors, with a minority in engineering and computing science.

Virtual professors report that teaching online reinvigorated their enthusiasm for teaching.

Instructors said they felt more intellectually stimulated and motivated because their online

students were more engaged with learning and developed a sense of group. Several

instructors reported better outcomes than in face-to-face classes. In their opinion, students

produced better-written and more reflective assignments because others provided a variety of

perspectives. They felt that the conferences helped students grasp more concepts and engage

in more meaningful analyses. In addition, instructors believe that experience online improved

their face-to-face teaching style.

Instructors report major changes in their instructional roles as they move from face-to-face

to online instruction. In particular, instructors and students become more interactive, and

instructors had to learn how to facilitate and engage rather than lecture (and/or entertain).

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Therefore, the instructor becomes less of a provider and more of a participant as the students

assume more responsibility for generating input.

The instructors' major complaint was the high initial workload. A typical novice to expert

learning curve was evident as instructors learned to deal with new technology and

expectations. With experience, they became more comfortable. Both classroom instructors

and distance educators reported that the second offering was somewhat easier and that the

third offering required a `̀ similar workload.''

6.2. The virtual learner

Another new entity is the virtual learner, the student who prefers to take all or some

courses totally online. Some choose this mode because they have family or job responsi-

bilities, but many also prefer the enhanced interaction and educational quality that an online

course can offer.

A large majority of the students surveyed reported satisfaction, and they particularly

appreciated the improved opportunities for peer interaction and the increased control over

their time. The major problems students encountered were not related to their workload but

rather to technical difficulties and slow network times. Many also experienced communica-

tion anxiety initially; that is, they were insecure about the appropriateness of the messages

they sent and whether they were sent to the `̀ right'' conference. Feedback and explicit user

expectations helped alleviate student concerns as they gained skills and confidence in

navigating the online classroom.

6.3. The virtual course

An analysis of 439 Virtual-U courses shows that 28% were delivered entirely online

(with no significant classroom or face-to-face component), 69% were delivered in mixed

mode (in which the online component was a significant component), and 3% were

adjunct mode.

These results are interesting because of they contrast with generic Internet tool use.

Whereas the major use of the Internet for classroom use is for adjunct mode, i.e., informal use

of the Internet for research, seeking information or additional resources, the Virtual-U field

trials suggest that the use of a customized educational environment encourages more formal

educational activities online.

Course completion rates in the 64 courses studied are high, with 90% completing the

course and only 10% dropping out. The rate of student completion in the Virtual-U field trials

has to date far surpassed that of traditional distance education offerings and that of online

offerings by traditional distance education institutions.

6.4. The virtual university

A virtual university is not unlike a physical university in its mission or educational

processes. A virtual university offers a wide variety of credit courses that lead to a particular

area of specialization and degree or diploma. It might offer only undergraduate programs or

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both undergraduate and graduate. The courses are taught by full-time academic faculty who

engage with students to develop their expertise in specific bodies of knowledge and employ

curricula and assessment of the learning outcomes in order to provide the basis for

credentialing. Typically, participation in activities such as discussions, seminars, debates,

simulations, and individual and/or group projects, all mediated through the online learning

environment, characterize a virtual course. Hence, the activities are similar to those in a

physical university course, although they are mediated differently. Students in a virtual

university typically interact with faculty, peers, and curricula through a computer conferen-

cing system, using tools and software and resources, which may be online (readings, video

clips, animations, graphs, spreadsheets, etc.) or in a CD-ROM or simulation software or

offline, such as a course textbook.

The principal difference is student access. Students in the virtual university can gain access

to the course(s) from anywhere, at a time convenient to them and appropriate to the course.

They can engage in the class discourse every day or at least three times a week. Students in

the physical university engage in similar activities and assignments taking part in the class by

traveling to a room in a building by public or private transportation at a specific time and for a

specific time each week.

Nonetheless, the success of virtual universities requires real and perceived academic

quality as well as access. The virtual university should not be developed as a `̀ second class''

or `̀ last resort'' learning opportunity. To meet the criterion of quality programming, a virtual

university must employ top quality faculty and instructional staff, produce high-level

academic curriculum and resources, use group discussion and project activities for most if

not all the coursework, produce demonstrable results, and provide integrated coherent and

cohesive degree/diploma programs, not just assorted courses.

7. Conclusion: Shift happens: online learning matures

The computer communications revolution of the mid-20th century affected all social and

economic realms. Educators were among the first to embrace the revolution, and the

increased educational opportunities and especially the new learning models that have

emerged are now influencing education and society as a whole. At the turn of the 21st

century, public discourse is beginning to recognize the implications of this educational

transformation. There has been a sea change in attitudes, a phenomenal level of investment,

and a frenzy of (often unrealistic) expectations despite the (often glacial) progress in changing

institutional and pedagogic strategies. Online learning is no longer peripheral or supplemen-

tary; it has become an integral part of mainstream society.

The convergence of the computer network revolution with profound social and economic

changes has lead to a transformation of education at all levels. The new paradigm of

collaborative networked learning is evident in the new modes of course delivery being

offered, in the educational principles that frame the educational offerings, the new attributes

that shape both the pedagogies and the environments that support them and that yield new

educational processes and outcomes.

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Not all shifts along the tectonic plates create earthquakes of great magnitude, but

eventually they cause the global landmass to change shape. Shift in educational models is

also definitely happening in the same way.

Thus, paraphrasing Kuhn, we can say that `̀ [educators] are looking at the world and what

they look at has not changed. But in some areas they see different things, and they see them in

different relations one to the other. That is why, before they can hope to communicate fully,

one group or the other must experience the conversation that we have been calling a paradigm

shift'' (Kuhn, 1970, p. 150).

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