Internet Learning Volume 3, Number 2, Fall 2014 | Page 29

Internet Learning
In specific markets, the branding
impact has already been established. For
example, The American Public University
System, through its American Military
University (AMU) founded in 1991
as an institution focused on serving the
military and related national security
professionals, has become the leading
higher education provider in the military
market in terms of enrollments
through tuition assistance. It has done
this by building trust among the educational
service officers at bases across the
country and the servicemembers whom
they serve through a combination of
providing one of the lowest tuition and
fees in higher education, engaging in
face-to-face outreach led by retired military
personnel, delivering support systems
and creating policies aligned with
military service requirements, and offering
quality academic programs associated
with military and related careers.
The “branding premium” in the military
has led AMU to have referral rates for
new military students well above 50%.
• Engaging and Effective Online Learning
that Leads to Successful Outcomes
– According to Eduventures annual
adult higher education consumer surveys,
potential online students who regard
online quality as equal to face-toface
(F2F) or “depends (on the course)”
continues to rise from 58% in 2006 to
71% in 2013. However, while perceptions
of online learning have improved,
something is missing to get prospective
adult students fully invested in online
education. In fact, the Eduventures research
reveals that blended solutions are
the most preferred among prospective
adult students. Only 11% of the 3,080
prospective adult students surveyed
in 2013 cited “online” as their delivery
mode of preference, while 36% either
said “even balance” (between campus
and online) or “majority online” (Eduventures,
2013).
Moving forward, institutions that
are able to provide the feel of a blended
course in an online experience may find
successful learning models that appeal
to a wide-range of students. Elements of
such models could include:
• Engagement – Educational researchers
have demonstrated that effective
online learning requires student engagement
with the instructor, the content,
and each other (Dixson, 2010).
As online learning evolves, both faculty
initiatives and educational technology
companies are trying to address
this important learning element.
For example, two University of Texas
at Austin psychology professors have
created a Synchronous Massive Online
Class (SMOC) which is a live course
for online students built around student
participation, engaging course
content, humorous video and graphically
appealing presentations, interactive
chat rooms, and the use of OERs
to nicely align the online experience in
a collaborative environment. Online
enabler company, 2U, has developed
a platform that includes a grid of “live
tiles” that display real-time video feeds
of the professor and students during
class sessions enabling student/professor
interaction, similar to that of a traditional
face-to-face classroom.
• Adaptive – Be it intuitive within the
software to intervene as necessary in a
self-paced course or as a warning signal
for faculty intervention in a traditional
online course, adaptive learning
offers the promise of rapid onsite assistance
and targeted learning based on
learner knowledge in an online setting.
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