Assignment 1: Initial Reflection and Identification of Challenges

Marco Antonelli
University of Ontario Institute of Technology
EDUC 5402G: Adult Learning in the Digital Age
Professor: Dr. Elizabeth Childs

Background

I am professor at Durham College and I teach both face-to-face and online courses. The majority
of Durham College courses use the learning management system Desire2Learn (D2L). I am a
member of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) which represents all
permanent faculty across all the colleges in Ontario. Due to the limited literature related to
Durham College, throughout this report I reference OPSUE literature.

Challenge Faculty resist the growth rate of e-learning courses

In the past, Durham College e-learning courses were only offered through the Continuing
Education program and OntarioLearn. In recent years, the college has been expanding its elearning offerings to include campus based programs. Currently, e-learning courses are available
for health, business and technology programs (College, College Program Guide, 2014).
The rate at which e-learning courses are being developed has OPSEU members
concerned the colleges may have an ulterior motive (MacKay, 2014). A recent study conducted
by OPSEU concluded there is a need and a place for e-learning but believes its rapid growth is
due to financial gain instead of quality of education (MacKay, 2014). The study claims the
replacement of face-to-face delivery format with e-learning is being used as a mechanism to
reduce the number of permanent faculty and increase the number of contract faculty (MacKay,
2014). The expressed views in the report are extremely alarming. OPSUE members represent a
large portion of faculty members. If faculty members do not support a course delivery method,

nor will the students. Students embracing a course delivery method is correlated to a professors
endorsement (Schreyer-Bennethuma & Albright, 2011).
Durham College justifies the need for e-learning courses to address its current space
shortage and to meet the increasing demand for post-secondary education (Rosnak, 2013).
Programs that reach college wide, such as, the General Education Program and Communication
Program, were redesigned and redeveloped with only e-learning delivery format (College,
College Program Guide, 2014). OPSUE has issue with the colleges reasoning and believes elearning courses are to be developed for pedagogy purposes and not to be a solution for a space
shortage problem (MacKay, 2014). An OPSUE study reported, many students are unable to
learn effectively online and that they feel they are being ripped off by required courses either
being offered only online, or in blended format, in which a certain percentage of a courses
face-to-face instruction time is replaced with online time (MacKay, 2014, p.47). The college has
made movement to address this concern by developing a mandatory Introduction to e-Learning
course (College, College Program Guide, 2014).
New programs at Durham College have not all been developed with only offering elearning courses. Recently, the Mathematics and Physics courses for a Science and Engineering
program have been developed with only face-to-face delivery (College, College Program Guide,
2014). Also, the newly developed Culinary program was designed with only face-to-face
delivery (College, College Program Guide, 2014). Nevertheless, the college and the members of
OPSUE seemed to be at a standstill, perhaps an understanding will soon be achieved.

Challenge - The ability to create a synchronous online discussion in an online course

For the face-to-face courses I teach, I incorporate both synchronous discussions, in the form of
class group discussions, and asynchronous discussions, in the form of using the discussion forum
on D2L. It has been shown, both forms of communication are beneficial for a student because of
the differences in required response time (Wanstreet & Stein, 2011).
Many studies have concluded class synchronous discussions create knowledge and
contribute to higher order thinking (Asterhan & Eisenmann, 2011; Bliuc, Ellis, Goodyear, &
Piggott, 2010). Participates also experience the integration of the cognitive and social order
(Wanstreet & Stein, 2011). Asynchronous forms of discussion also contribute to the quality of
education by providing time for reflection, creates student centre learning, and provides an
opportunity for the silent participate to be heard (Asterhan & Eisenmann, 2011; Christensen &
McFerrin, 2013; Comer & Lenaghan, 2012).
Durham College desires an academic standardization for all course sections of a course.
Online course formats are being held to the same standards as face-to-face formats. This creates
a challenge for a professor because a face-to-face course offers both a synchronous and
asynchronous discussion medium while an online course is limited to only an asynchronous
discussion medium. For a standardization to be achieved, improvements to D2L are needed. In
its current form, D2L lacks the technological capability to produce a synchronous online
discussion. This limitation has caused faculty members to be concerned with the quality of the
online course offerings. Several face-to-face delivery courses are being converted to online
delivery courses and faculty are questioning if the academic standardization is being met
(MacKay, 2014).

Durham College is addressing the issue of its inability to create a synchronous online
discussion through D2L by developing an instant messaging and real-time dialogue service
called DC Live. The development project is currently in the pilot phase and is aiming to be fully
implemented by next year (College, 2014).

References
Asterhan, C. S., & Eisenmann, T. (2011). Introducing Synchronous E-discussion Tools
in Co-located Classrooms: A Study on the Experience of 'Active' and 'Silent'
Secondary School Students. Computers in Human Behavior(27), 2169-2177.
doi:10.1016/j.chb.2011.06.011
Bliuc, A.-M., Ellis, R., Goodyear, P., & Piggott, L. (2010). Learning Through Face-ToFace and Online Discussions: Associations Between Students' Concepts,
Approaches and Academic Performace in Political Science. British Journal of
Educatinal Technology, 41(3), 512-524. doi:10.1111/j.14678535.2009.00966.x
Christensen, P., & McFerrin, K. (2013). Developing a Positive Asynchronous Online
Discussion Forum. Computers & Education, 769-774.
College, D. (2014). College Program Guide. Retrieved from Durham College
Programs: http://www.durhamcollege.ca/programs-and-courses/full-timeprograms-a-to-z
College, D. (2014). Fully Online. Retrieved from Alternative Delivery Methods:
http://innovation.dc-uoit.ca/delivery/index.php/fully-online
Comer, D. R., & Lenaghan, J. A. (2012). Enhancing Discussions in the Asynchronous
Online Classroom: The Lack of Face-to-Face Interaction Does Not Lessen the
Lesson. Journal of Management Education, 2(37), 261-294.
doi:10.1177/1052562912442384
MacKay, K. (2014). Report on Education in Ontario Colleges. OPSEU
Communications.
Rosnak, A. (2013). Announces Plans for New Simcoe Building. Retrieved from
Durham College Media: http://www.durhamcollege.ca/mediaroom/media/durham-college-announces-plans-new-simcoe-building
Schreyer-Bennethuma, L., & Albright, L. (2011). Evaluating the Incorporation of
Technology and Application Projects in a Higher Education Mathematics
Classroom. International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and
Technology, 53-63.
Wanstreet, C. E., & Stein, D. S. (2011). Presence Over Time in Synchronous
Communities of Inquiry. The American Journal of Distance Education(25), 162177. doi:10.1080/08923647.2011.590062