Design Considerations for an Effective Online Environment

Communications technologies (i.e., Internet, videoconferencing, etc.) have propelled distance education to a vibrant and burgeoning field. It is predicted that by 2001, more than 15 million adults will be enrolled in higher education (Neeley, Niemi, & Ehrhard, 1998), and by 2002, nearly 84 percent of four-year colleges will be offering online courses (McNealy, 1999). Online education, which is centered on the use of the Internet and the Web, presents a new generation of distance learning tools (Clyatt, 1999). The Internet has made it possible to bring interactivity into the distance-learning experience (McNealy, 1999). Online courses provide the necessary freedom of time and place sought by students (Cooper, 1999; Downes, 1998; Gubbins, Clay, & Perkins, 1999; Rose, 1999; Tinker, 1997). Technology skills have become the key to success in public and private sectors; thus, an online course can enhance students' skills in technology usage and offer students an array of sources and ample opportunities to explore concepts using the Internet (Gubbins, Clay, & Perkins, 1999; Johnson, Roach, & Homes, 1999). Furthermore, the online medium forces students to take time to think before, during, and after participation (Merron, 1998). A variety of instructional methods can be employed for an online course; however, a transition should be made from the traditional classroom to the cyberspace classroom (Palloff & Pratt, 1999). The methods used to convert a traditional classroom course into an online one depend on the content of the course (Serwatka, 1999). Serwatka (1999) suggests taking a portion of the class that is easily adaptable to the Web, put it online, and then have the students access that material prior to attending class. Palloff and Pratt (1999) assert that a transition from the campus classroom to the online classroom must take place because learning outcomes and behaviors are different. A transition allows instructors to develop new approaches and skills to create an effective online learning experience. Additionally, a transition from the traditional classroom to the online classroom gives instructors the opportunity to evaluate and tackle new issues and concerns, such as online participation. In an effort to illustrate Pepperdine University's need to incorporate communications technologies into classes and its need to adjust to the new client-based paradigm emerging in today's education, an online segment (i.e., one unit of a four-unit course online) for Pepperdine University's course, Philosophy and Effects of Mass Communication, was developed and pilot tested during fall 1999. The author, who serves as a faculty member, developed, implemented, and facilitated the entire course, including the pilot test of the four-part online portion of the course. To evaluate the results of the online segment and to determine if the criteria established were achieved, the course instructor monitored each part of the four-component online segment. Additionally, upon completion of the online segment pilot test, an online segment evaluation was administered to students and a summative committee was formed to evaluate the results of the online segment. The findings of the pilot test are based on the following: (a) the instructor monitoring each part of the online segment, (b) results of online segment evaluations administered to participants, and (c) a summative committee meeting to evaluate the online segment. This paper presents a snapshot of the pilot test instrument (i.e., online segment), the process used to test the online segment of MSCO 560, and a summary of results from the online segment. Definition of terms Online segment: refers to one unit of the four-unit course that was put online; taking a portion of the course and putting it online Synchronous: participants log on to a site and interact with each other in real time; chat (Palloff & Pratt, 1999). …