A Comparative Study of Emerging Technologies for Online Courses

In order to get a sense for the current and expected usage for online instructional technologies for college and university courses, a survey was conducted during April 2010 by Jay Liebowitz, John Aje, and Steve Knode in the Graduate School at the University of Maryland University College. The focus of the survey was to better understand which emerging technologies are being used or will be used in the next 2-3 years for online teaching. Most of the 90 responses were from the Maryland Distance Learning Association listserv, Penn State-DEOS listserv, and through the authors’ personal contacts in the e-learning world. The sample size is rather small (90 different universities and training organizations), but perhaps these survey results may provide some clarity on these issues.Based on Figures 1 through 3, the respondents were from a variety of teaching disciplines. Education (32%) was the leader, followed by humanities, other (e.g., nursing, counseling, etc.), sciences, management, technology, and arts.The technologies that were most familiar to the respondents, in order, were: Web 2.0 tools, e-books, virtual worlds, mobile computing, and cloud computing. Those technologies least familiar to the respondents were, in order of familiarity: visual data analysis, intelligent agents, software as a service (SaaS), and Semantic Web.Of those technologies that one currently uses in their online teaching, Web 2.0 tools (e.g., blogs, wikis, social networking sites, podcasts, vodcasts, etc.) and e-books were the favorites, with Web 2.0 tools taking the largest usage share (77%). Cloud computing (28%) and mobile computing (24%) were also being used, but to a much lesser degree. The other technologies were hardly being used currently in the respondent's online courses.However, there were other technologies than those listed that were actively being used now in the online courses. The most recurring ones were: Skype, learning objects/course management systems, and YouTube.With respect to future usage of some of the emerging technologies in the coming 2-3 years, those cited in order were: Web 2.0 tools (81%), e-books (78%), virtual worlds (50%), mobile computing (50%), and cloud computing (47%). Intelligent agents, visual data analysis, SaaS, and Semantic Web, in decreasing order, were cited as those not expected to be used much in online teaching in the next 2-3 years. Simulations were indicated by the respondents as another possible favorite for usage in the next 2-3 years in online teaching.In determining the top educational technologies that the respondents found to be the most effective for online use, as measured by student learning outcomes, those frequently cited were: Web 2.0 technologies, learning objects, videoconferencing/vodcasts/podcasts, synchronous chat and asynchronous discussion treads, wikis, blogs, screencasts, virtual worlds, and simulations.In terms of how these educational technologies were best used in online teaching, the frequent responses were: making lectures more interactive; collaboration (such as the use of wikis); reflective learning journals; RSS feeds to allow students to stay abreast of research in their fields; and allow student interaction and student review of content material.In terms of the top lessons learned in applying these educational technologies in online teaching, the frequent responses were: students are more willing to participate whey they are comfortable/familiar with certain types of technology; students still have to take time to “learn”; the technologies shouldn't get in the way of the learning process; prepare well in advance of implementation; it's essential to maintain an online presence; social presence is increased with videoconferencing and social media; need institutional support for questions dealing with technologies; and technologies have to be simple and enjoyable for students to use.With respect to the educational technologies being cost-effective to the institution in terms of online course usage, 84% indicated “yes,” and 16% “no.” Of those who replied “no,” a major reason cited was not having a serviceable platform to incorporate these technologies.In terms of whether the current online courseware will be used in one's online courses in the next 3 years, 71% replied “yes” and 29% said “no.” Part of the reason for those replying “no” was due to not having the ability to have links or hooks to incorporate some of these technologies into the existing courseware.In November 2012, the same survey as used in 2010 was sent to the Maryland Distance Learning Association members, International Conference on E-Learning in the Workplace list, PSU-DEOS listserv, and personal contacts in the e-learning area. There were 94 responses from different universities and other organizations. About 30% of the respondents were from education, with the next largest being technology (22%) and management (21%). Figures 4 through 8 show the Survey Monkey screen shots of some of the compiled results.In terms of the most familiar technologies, Web 2.0 tools (e.g., blogs, wikis, social networking sites, podcasts, vodcasts, etc.) were the highest ranked (90.4%), followed by e-books (89.4%), cloud computing (74.5%), and mobile computing (73.4%).With respect to those technologies that one is currently using in one's online teaching, the top choices followed a similar pattern as above: (1) Web 2.0 tools (73.4%), (2) e-books (56.4%), (3) mobile computing (40.4%), and (4) cloud computing (39.4%). In terms of other technologies being currently used in one's online teaching, the most frequent responses were: mind mapping tools, online simulations, and Flash objects/videos.When asked about the technologies that they expect to use in their online teaching in the next 2-3 years, the ranked responses were: mobile computing (77.7%); Web 2.0 tools (69.1%); cloud computing (68.1%); e-books (61.7%); virtual worlds (42.6%); Semantic Web (29.8%); visual data analysis (28.7%); SaaS (27.7%); and intelligent agents (23.4%). For other technologies that they envision using in their online teaching in the next 2-3 years, some of the recurring ones mentioned were: dynamic simulations, game technologies, and more videoconferencing through mobile programs such as TANGO.For the top two educational technologies that they have found to be the most effective for online use as measured by student learning outcomes, the most frequent responses were: discussion boards and web-conferencing sessions; Skype or Google Plus; online mind mapping; Web 2.0 tools and e-books; collaboration tools; and mobile learning. For the top two lessons learned in applying these educational technologies in their online teaching, the most frequent responses dealt with faculty-student engagement being essential, tech support and advance testing being vital, having proper backup plans, keeping it simple and understandable for the user, careful planning, coaching and guiding students as important elements, and providing effective collaboration among students and instant feedback to students.In terms of whether these educational technologies have been cost-effective to their institution via online course usage, 76.4% replied “yes” and 23.6% said “no.”In comparing the results of the two surveys, there were about the same number of universities and training organizations who participated in each survey (90 in 2010; 94 in 2012). Both survey results showed education as the major discipline of one's teaching; however, in 2010, more of the respondents had a humanities background and less of an engineering and management background than those surveyed in 2012. In terms of familiar technologies, there were not many dramatic changes in the surveyed responses over the past 2.5 years. Most of the survey respondents were very familiar with Web 2.0 tools, e-books, and virtual worlds, and there was a slight change in familiarity with cloud computing, SaaS, and mobile computing from 2010 to 2012. The most dramatic change was in familiarity with the Semantic Web (from 25.6% in 2010 to 42.6% in 2012)—signaling the onset of perhaps Web 3.0 tools and techniques.For current technologies being used in the classroom, the most evident changes were in increased use in 2012 of mobile computing, cloud computing, e-books, and the Semantic Web. Interestingly, the more advanced technologies (namely, intelligent agents and visual data analysis) were less used in 2012 than in 2010.For those technologies expected to be used in their online teaching in 2-3 years, the 2010 results suggested that, in order, Web 2.0 tools, e-books, mobile computing, and cloud computing would be the key technologies being used in 2012. In comparing the 2010 forecasted results with the 2012 “current” technologies being used, there was general agreement in predicting that Web 2.0 tools, e-books, mobile computing, and cloud computing would be the major technologies applied, with the key difference being that virtual worlds had dramatically dropped in expected usage from 50% in 2010 to 24.5% in 2012. We also noticed a difference in 2010 and 2012 in terms of blended learning and online simulations playing perhaps a greater role in 2012. In looking at the 2012 survey results, mobile computing, Web 2.0 tools, cloud computing, and e-books were, in order, the technologies expected to be used in their online teaching in 2-3 years.For cost-effectiveness to the institution in terms of online course usage, 84.4% indicated “yes” in 2010 and 76.4% said “yes” in 2012. Generally speaking, the survey respondents felt that their educational technologies being used have been cost-effective to their institution.From the survey results and reviewing the literature, the following areas will continue to grow in the near future in terms of e-learning technologies and research: social web technologies, adaptive/mobile learning, Semantic Web, analytics, knowledge management and e-learning, and massive open online courses (MOOCs).In reviewing the literature, Martin et al. (2011) performed a bibliometric analysis on which educational technologies have been successful and which have failed, based upon annual predictions in the Horizon Reports (www.nmc.org/horizon) and EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (www.educase.edu) as compared with published articles. They found that social web and mobile devices are the most important current technologies for the near future in education, and augmented reality and learning objects do not have enough maturity in education according to their publication impact (Martin et al., 2011). The impact of semantic applications in education is increasing every year, and games and virtual worlds have an impact on publications (games more than virtual worlds). Other predictions were successful, such as grassroots videos and collaborative Web, but their impact was delayed 1 or 2 years (Martin et al., 2011).Hung (2012) analyzed e-learning research using text mining techniques from 2000 to 2008. Hung (2012) found that topics related to systems, models and technologies are still popular, as well as studies on educational studies and e-learning applications in medical education and training.Learning and academic analytics in higher education will also continue to grow as applied to the e-learning area. Mattingly, Rice, and Berge (2012) discuss how these analytics can be used to predict student success by examining how and what students learn and how success is supported by academic programs and institutions. For example, at the University of Maryland University College, a Kresge Foundation grant is being used to predict student success, via data mining methods, in their online education. Liebowitz (2013) also discusses the importance of big data and analytics in his research.Knowledge management (KM) and e-learning will also develop strong synergies over the years, as discussed by Liebowitz and Frank (2011), Liebowitz (2011), and Liebowitz (2012). For example, the K4H (Knowledge For Health) initiative by Johns Hopkins University is utilizing e-learning, online communities, and knowledge management toolkits to improve the knowledge and skills of targeted local audiences worldwide. In this manner, health systems can be strengthened and knowledge can be shared for improving global health education (Mwaikambo, Avila, Mazursky, & Nallathambi, 2012). Research by Islam, Kunifuji, Miura, and Hayama (2011) involved a Delphi survey with 17 KM and e-learning research scholars from all over the world and found that e-learning professionals should adopt KM and apply the KM techniques to enhance the e-learning process.One other major trend for e-learning is the new development of MOOCs (massive open online courses). Already, Coursera, edX, Udacity, and other companies/organizations have been created to offer online courses free to the open public worldwide. We are even seeing the merging of mLearning (mobile learning) with MOOCs, as shown by the work of DeWaard et al. (2011) at Athabasca University in Canada. As DeWaard et al. (2011) highlight, future research is needed to determine whether MOOCs are attracting a specific learner profile not linked to age, gender, or cultural background, but rather to intrinsic and extrinsic motivations.E-learning and associated educational technologies have an interesting future. With the onset of MOOCs, the discussion about online learning and outcome measures will be propelled. The use of mobile and adaptive computing, social web technologies, analytics, knowledge management, and semantic web technologies will augment the role of online learning in education, as well as the workplace and society. The landscape will certainly change in the coming years with MOOCs and the use of new technologies not yet even imagined.

Fetched live from OpenAlex and de-inverted. Abstracts are not stored in this database: the inverted indexes are 8.6 GB of the frame’s 9.3 GB of text, and the host has 13 GB free.