Online Education and Technology
Hello Readers,
After years of reading blogs, I'm very excited to start writing one. Since I have an opinion about most everything, it shouldn't be hard for me to start a discussion. My primary interest is in the intersection of education and technology, and I'd like to use this space to talk important trends and developments as they impact AIU.
Most people know about the Web 2.0 phenomenon involving online communities, social networking, wikis, podcasts, etc. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2) and while students love these developments, I think that there has been minimal application of these tools within higher education. I'd like to devote my first blog to talking about how academic institutions can use technologies like Web 2.0 to build vibrant social communities.
As background, AIU has the most sophisticated virtual campus and courseware of any university and we've also developed a lively social network within our campus. This technology has a simple and intuitive user interface but also provides constant updates and tools for students to support them through their academic programs. An important focus of current marketing efforts is to bring additional transparency to this technology since very little of it is visible from the external public site that potential students see. To promote this transparency, AIU is developing live guided tours, sample courses, and neutral third party evaluations. And students appreciate the technology. AIU has recently highlighted its track record of strong student outcomes and satisfaction benchmarked against competitors (www.aiuonline.edu/outcomes).
Sometimes people think that going to school online is a solitary, antiseptic, lonely experience....but nothing could be further from the truth. At AIU, we've promoted voluntary community-building thanks to AIU's Virtual Commons, a "Facebook" type social networking feature allowing students to connect with one another. We also added an entire area of student clubs ranging from entertainment, to the military, to poetry, to business, about 15 clubs in all. We know that students use this kind of networking technology outside the university's campus-we're trying to bring it within the campus-and we find that it's working.
Students are using this technology for a number of different purposes.
- Building and cultivating networks of friends as they proceed from class to class
- Developing study groups "on the fly" with students taking the same course
- Networking with fellow students or alumni who share a common interest or who work in the same field
- Learning about new interest areas through participation in clubs
I'd love to hear from our students about how they are using the Virtual Commons social networking tool. I'd also like to hear from those who are not students about whether such a tool within a university online campus sounds like a good idea.