Wallflowers at the Revolution: Evolving Faculty Perspectives on Online Education

• Published in: The New England journal of higher education
• Main Author: Halfond, Jay A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New England Board of Higher Education 25.11.2013
• Subjects: Educational Change; Educational Technology; Educational Trends; Electronic Learning; Higher Education; Online Courses; Surveys; Web Based Instruction
• ISSN: 1938-5978

For the past decade, higher education has mired in generalizations in debating online education. Broad, often anecdotal and generally unsubstantiated comparisons have been made about the virtual and physical classroom--often taking the worst of one in contrast to the best of the other. The "2013 Inside Higher Ed Survey of Faculty Attitudes on Technology," jointly administered by "Inside Higher Ed" and Gallup, is the second annual attempt to gauge academic opinion on technology and teaching. Often, faculty opinion is based on little direct experience or familiarity, or biased based on their own plunge into online learning. Regardless, the evolving subjective perceptions of e-learning are fascinating to see unfold. Even when experiences are anecdotal or uniformed, this survey shows how, in aggregate, educational technology is gradually becoming a fixture within academe. But not without its nagging controversies. Education is in the midst of something between an evolution and a revolution--a modification of business-as-usual and a major transformation. The findings presented in this article provide a snapshot of the changing times, which will likely look dated and even naive a few years from now.