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Mid-Atlantic Regional Technology in Education Consortium
1301 Cecil B. Moore Ave.
Ritter Annex 9th Floor
Temple University - CRHDE
Philadelphia, PA 19122
800-892-5550
215-204-5130 (fax)
General Inquires:
Laurence Peters
Judith Stull
Technical Assistance:
Barry Mansfield
Professional Development:
Joan Pasternak
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Temple University Center for Research
in Human Development and Education |
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E-Learning Research Findings
To date, most research on e-learning has investigated university courses. Findings suggest that e-learning is comparable in effectiveness with face-to-face learning. Participant surveys have also shown no real difference in levels of satisfaction. Significantly, Koory (2003) found that the quality of the course content and design is more important to participants than the medium of delivery. However, research concerning e-learning within the context of professional development is currently thin, and studies that go beyond surveys of satisfaction are needed to determine its effectiveness.
The National Education Technology Plan’s recommendation that all teachers have the opportunity to take online courses is supported by Kleinman’s (2004) influential white paper, Meeting the Need for High Quality Teachers: e-Learning Solutions. He is the director of the Northeast & Islands Regional Technology in Education Consortium and is a highly regarded expert on e-learning. In addition, he is the founder of EdTech Leaders Online, a professional development model used by departments of education in more than 20 states and by a diverse geographical and demographic range of schools and school districts throughout the nation. |
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Kleinman’s (2004) white paper, first delivered at the U.S. Department of Education Secretary’s No Child Left Behind Leadership Summit in July of 2004, focuses on e-learning that incorporates an “online professional learning community approach.” This approach includes the formation of a cohort of teachers who engage in “classroom or school-based activities in which teachers are asked to implement a sample lesson, prepare lesson plans, assess students’ work, or visit other classrooms, and then discuss these activities online or incorporate their work into their projects” (p. 4).
Examples of this approach range from initiatives offered by states, districts, universities, regional service providers, and for-profit and nonprofit organizations. These examples illustrate a trend in which state and local education agencies are now designing their own courses or outsourcing e-learning opportunities as an integral part of their professional development programs. This is a significant departure from the past when teachers took it upon themselves to seek out e-learning opportunities and participate in the courses with money from their own pockets. Often, teachers were not able to count these courses toward professional development or continuing education credits.
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