Claims for online teaching: separating the real from the virtual

Graeme Salter

Teaching online is becoming more pervasive in higher education. Some teachers are experimenting with online techniques simply as a supplement to more traditional methods. For others it is integral to their teaching, while a few conduct whole courses entirely online.

The claimed benefits and reasons for its increasing use include –

§         improved educational quality

§         ability to reach wider audiences

§         responding to increased competition

§         lower student expenses

§         promoting essential job skills

§         extending access to education

§         catering for more diverse student populations

§         greater student convenience

§         catering for lifelong/workplace learning

§         lower delivery costs

§         increased access to resources

Higher educational institutions are making large investments in online education in terms of hardware, software, staffing and professional development. Before online teaching becomes ubiquitous, it is important to explore these claimed benefits and also to look at some of the often-unreported negative factors.

This paper will concentrate on teaching online, but it needs to be emphasised that this is only one among a number of ways to provide flexible delivery. In addition,administrative factors, such as increasing the number of enrolment entry times, can also play a role in enhancing flexibility.These issues will be discussed as part of the presentation

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