Key Developments in Online Education in Higher Education： Past， Present and Future

Huanyi Qin

Introduction

In recent years， online education has been globally expanding due to the development of technology. According to Allen & Seaman （2016）， 14% of higher education students are enrolled in online programs. It is essential to acknowledge that online education has been the mainstream in the field. In this essay， it will review and critically evaluate the key developments of online education in the past and recent years then it will speculate and make a prediction of it.

Historical Background

Compared with conventional educating， online instruction encompasses a shorter history. Within the 1970s， mail empowered the more extensive instructive adoption of computing organizing. Online education was considered one of the primary by-products of the beginning of electronic mail， and online education’s transformation was interlaced with the history of computer organizing.

Within the 1980s and 1990s， online instruction and instructive systems at all levels had experienced colossal advancement and development with the expanded openness of Web 1.0 （Harasim， 2000）. One of the primary online course was the online Executive Education program propelled by the Western Behavioral Sciences Institute in 1982 （Feenberg， 1993）. At last， the organization received gather learning exercises such as group discussions.

Recent and Current Developments

Social media plays a key role in online education. Social interaction is a fundamental need of humans and social media provides opportunities for communication. Students may feel alienated from their peers， professors， and universities during online courses， resulting in deep alienation and disconnect （Heller， 2019）. Pukkaew （2013） found when online students use social media to chat and message with lecturers and tutors， they will get a greater success rate of the course. The higher students are involved， the more satisfied they will feel with the educational experience. Web 2.0 tools enhance interaction， collaboration， and contribution. A basic function is that user-generated content can be shared， co-created， co-edited， and co-constructed to reflect the collective wisdom of users.

Future Directions

It is crucial to bear in mind that teacher development for online teaching may be a rapidly changing field， and its products must be continuously advanced， especially involving new tools （Meyer & Murrell， 2014）. In the future， the budgets of higher education institutions will be likely to influence leaders’ decisions in resource allocations. It is certain that we can say that teacher developers are mainly dedicated to helping faculty gain the skills and understanding to improve student learning when registering for online courses.

Conclusion

The objective of the essay is to summarize and critically assess the key developments of online education in higher education and predict what will possibly happen in the future. In general， it is clear that the growth of online education is profoundly affected by Web 1.0 & 2.0 and social media and the first step of Western Behavioral Sciences Institute was promoted by them. It is important to bear in mind that improvements will be needed in teacher collaboration mechanisms and student performance.

References

[1]Allen， I. Elaine & Seaman， Jeff， 2016. Online Report Card： Tracking Online Education in the United States. Babson Survey Research Group， pp. Babson Survey Research Group， 2016–02.

[2]Feenberg， A， 1993. Building a global network： the WBSI executive education experience. Global networks： computers and international communication ， pp. 185 - 197.

[3]Harasim， L.， 2000. Shift happens： online education as a new paradigm in learning. The Internet and higher education， 3（1-2）， pp. 41–61.

[4]Heller， L.M.， 2019. How Do You Like Me Now？ Social Media Bridging the Distance in Online Education.

[5]Meyer， Katrina A & Murrell， Vicki， 2014. A National Study of Training Content and Activities for Faculty Development for Online Teaching. Online learning （Newburyport， Mass.）， 18（1）， p.3.