Stegmann. the social benefits. (1)

The social benefits of online education

Juan Pablo Stegmann Ph.D.

Walden University

The 18th Annual Sloan ConsortiumInternational Conference on Online Learning

At a cross roads:On line education in a complex world

October 2012

The social benefits of online education

1. Case study: UNAD Colombia

2. International experiences

3. Conceptual framework

UNESCO

Unesco (2009): online education is the educational modality that because of its pedagogical and technological versatility becomes the

best choice for developed and developing countries to meet the requirements of quality, inclusion, coverage and educational extension

of the XXI century.

Online education builds a smart and connected society

Online education fosters research and team collaboration helping to create individual and organizational knowledge…

…connects students with external communities sharing resources, networking, internationality…

…promoting collaboration, critical thinking, creativity, entrepreneurship, motivation.

Traditional education focuses on faculty generated knowledge, or student existing knowledge

Social impact

Relying on the information and telecommunications technology provided by the universities and their lower costs, online education is leading a profound transformation in two dimensions:

Is connecting sectors of the society with abundant knowledge resources, with global sectors in need of such knowledge: populations in remote locations, working adults, and lower income individuals.

The students become active knowledge generators, and members of new knowledge communities. This is raising the quality of the education, especially in remote locations.

In other words, is creating a global community which has profound effects in several dimensions.

UNAD: success story of online education

Sharp quality improvement

Processes approved by ISO 9001 (2008) and NTCGP 1000 (2009) and Colombian authorities (2010), 5 programs accredited

Dramatic growth in students especially in remote locations

Large growth in new programs

Created in 1980. Since it became online (2004) it has grown steadily

Promotion of research

Articles published at peer reviewed publications

Research projects approved by UNAD 2011

Financial resources allocated to research

Research groups recognized by Colombian authorities

Support to the community, especially under-privileged sectors

Population: 95% 1-2-3 socio economic strata, 75% under 23 years old, 55% women, 11% vulnerable adolescents, 15.7% adult workers, 6.7% working mothers heads of the family, 6.4% disabled or marginalized.

Support to minority students Support of students with special needs

Support of faculty

Internationalization

250 faculty are receiving education of Master and Doctorate degrees in the United States.

24,295 secondary students are receiving English language education, with participation of 118 educational institutions and 283 English teachers.

Alliances with universities in the Americas, Europe, Africa and Middle East.

International congresses inviting global academic personalities in online education

Success of online alumni over traditional

Income growth of graduates

At different socio economic levels

Evolution of graduated income compared to other universities

Benefits of online education at UNAD

High level of student’s satisfaction, maximizing personal educational experience, reducing desertion rate

Cooperation, solidarity, mutual stimulation, multicultural interaction

Autonomous, self regulated learning

Incorporation of ITC in the population

Research: 63 groups approved by ColCiencia

Entrepreneurship, networking and alliances

Critical thinking, creativity

Testimonies of the benefits of online education

Studied while in prisonBusiness development in remote locations

Started college at 86

Alumni develops farm for underprivileged elderly

Students abandon the guerrilla to study

Alumni do social work to help vulnerable communities

Conclusions: the benefits of online education at UNAD

UNAD’s substantive responsibilities and its social benefits:

social and economic development –

inclusion - cooperation,

research, internationalization, innovation, holistic

education

The social benefits of online education

1. Case study: UNAD Colombia

2. International experiences

3. Conceptual framework

Online education in Africa: multiple benefits in unprotected sectors, a factor of cultural and social

transformation

Economic, social and economic inclusion of marginalized sectors (Aderinoye et al, 2004; Olakulehin et al, 2006; Sekiwu, 2010)

Source of high quality education (Olaoluwakotansibe, 2010)

Health and education (Ngwenya, 2010)

Brains’ export and reimport (Ambe-Uva, 2009)

Online education in Asia: dramatic impact on personal and social dynamics, with explosive growth

In Malaysia (Puvaneswary et al, 2010)

Personal development

Platform for socialization

Knowledge creation

In China explosive growth with above million new students per year to support development (Larson, 2008; Carr-Chellman, 2000)

In the Philippines online education strategic for the future of the country, incorporating adult learners (dela Pena-Bandalaria, 2007)

Online education in the Anglophone world: growing innovation with impact on academic quality

University of the People: free education, accessing 115 countries, with social orientation (Kevin Carey, 2011)

Australia: online education compensates for the lower quality of traditional education in remote areas (Creswell, 2004)

Canada: advantages of distance education in remote areas (Dodd, 2009):

Online education in Indian subcontinent: it grows in number, and provides a superior educational quality

Explosive growth of online education, especially in rural areas, promoted by ICT (Misra, 2006)

The quality of traditional education is inversely proportional to the distance, but not online education (Mitra, 2008)

India promotes online education by use of schools, post offices, online education centers and health centers (Overland, 2006)

Bangladesh Open University (higher education institution in Bangladesh), has enrolled 800,000 students in the last 15 years, several of its traditional programs are decreasing and tend to disappear (Sharker et al, 2006; Rezanur, 2008)

Foreign universities aimed at high-income sectors (Overland, 2000)

Online education in Latin America: extraordinary acceptance at all levels

Costa Rica online education in rural areas: success with marginal and rich students (Ramaswami, 2009; Amighetti, 2003)

100 new indigenous universities are being created in Latin America, based on distance education (Campbell, 2006)

Community Learning Centers in Mexico (Instituto Tecnologico de Monterrey, Mexico): success in remote and marginal areas, offering courses, promoting social integration and leadership in community members (Larson, 2008)

The social benefits of online education

1. Case study: UNAD Colombia

2. International experiences

3. Conceptual framework

Education and economic development

Study of Stanford University and University of Munich (Hanushek, 2007):

The quality of education has powerful effects on individual income, income distribution and economic growth.

The current situation in developing countries is much worse than is generally shown on the basis of school enrollment and achievement in terms of graduation.

Limited to providing additional resources to schools is unlikely to be successful, improving the quality of schools will require structural changes in institutions

Education is a barrier against terrorism (Krueger, 2003)

1. The high cost of traditional education…

Traditional education is too expensive in many regions, only affordable by high income households. Higher education: an impossible dream in many countries, it costs a large percent of household income for tertiary education per student per year, compared with higher income countries (Murakami, World Bank 2008)

…versus the lower cost of online education

The lower cost of online education is a critical factor to educate lower income regions

There is a clear correlation between the wealth of a population and their level of education (PISA Programme for International Student Assessment World Bank)

Online education is an excellent carrier to solve that difficulty.

2. The quality of education is a key factor that impacts on economic growth…

Strong correlation between economic growth with quality of education, 100 countries (Barro, 2000), 1965-1995

Stanford University and University of Munich: economic growth correlates with the quality of education but not with the quantity of education (Hanushek, 2007)

…research is a key factor in ensuring the quality of education

Project MIT-LINC (Learning International Network Consortium, community of Individuals and Organizations focusing on tertiary education in Developing Countries) (Park, 2008; Larson, 2009)

Online education promotes individual and organizational knowledge creation - research

3. Online education promotes quality learning, knowledge creation and critical

thinking…

Online collaborative framework (adaptation from Redmond et al, 2006); Source: Lock 2006

…especially rich in international online collaboration (Lock, 2006)…

Constructivism: Online learning has moved from a teacher-directed and static content environment to a constructivist environment that is learner-centred and collaborative: learners “construct their own understandings of the world in which they live” (Sergiovanni, 1996, p. 38).

Online collaboration: “knowledge creation, group learning, development and maintenance processes, computer-mediated communication, and the presentation of these issues in online learning environments.” (Haythornthwaite, 2006)

Critical Thinking: “Working with a group of equal-status peers to solve a problem is particularly conducive to the development of critical thinking skills because it exposes individuals to different perspectives and interpretations of a problem or idea (Abrams, 2005)

…proving the power of the network, creating a brain – organic organization

Networks are a key component of entrepreneurship (Nicolaou, 2004)

Knowledge becomes transactional, created by the community, improved by the exercise of critical thinking (Garrison, 2004).

Innovation relies on formal and informal networks, generated by relationships. Networks are channels and conduits. (Owen-Smith, 2004)

Learning communities engage in continuous improvement, develop collective responsibility, create alignment and accountability (Hord, 2012)

An ecology is an environment that fosters and supports the creation of communities: learning is an ecology, community, network. Technology as an enabler of learning...and of creating connections. The more complex the learning needs, and the more quickly the field of knowledge evolves, the more valuable a learning community and network becomes. (Siemens, 2003)

Thank you

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