AR7: Schrum, L. (2002).
Online Professional Development - Suggestions for Success!, AT&T Learning Network.
http://www.att.com/learningnetwork/virtualacademy/success.html
John S. Stanford
EDT 648
April 10, 2003
This is actually a series of short articles designed to help educators who want to make "the most of
online educational opportunities". It discusses different learning styles and the various online
course types, face-to-face with online support, primarily online and fully online. The author offers
suggestions on choosing professional development classes that will allow you to get the most out the
experience based on your learning style. An informative table and learning-style quiz are offered to
assess the learners comfort level with online distance learning. The author offers some organizational
and institutional issues to consider prior to selecting and enrolling in an on-line course.
Some organizational issues to consider are:
How is the course structured? Does it conform to a strict timeline or can
you work at your own
speed?
Will you meet face-to-face at all?
Does the instructor offer office hour
by e-mail, phone etc.?
Are some of the requirements dependent
on other students?
What are the prerequisites of the
course? (Technical, pedagogical, time etc)
Some institutional issues to consider are:
Is this an "extra job" for
the instructor?
What type of credit is given?
What are the total costs of the
degree/certificate etc.?
Can you talk to other students that
have finished the program?
What kind of evaluation has the
institution done on the courses?
What type of support does the
institution offer to distant students?
What type of technical support is
offered?
One should also keep in mind that distance education courses take up a great deal of time, in some cases
more than traditional courses and the learner should realize that with the increased flexibility comes the
need for more self-direction and discipline. If this is a first run or pilot course and you have never taken
an online course you may want to take it with a friend or see if you can sit in on a class
to check your equipment etc.
The author, Lynne Schrum, Ph.D is the president of the International Society for Technology in Education
(ISTE) and offers some excellent tips for success in regards to online professional development. She seems
very well versed on the many pitfalls student educators may encounter in online professional development
and wants to be sure it is a positive experience. Her main message seem to be that certain types of online
courses are not for everyone sopicking the proper one to your learning style is very important, as is doing
your homework so to speak prior to enrolling, to be sure you have the time commitment and technical
expertise to tackle it.
I found this to be a very informative article and feel that the author fairly thoroughly covers the important
issues surrounding online professional development. She also includes a handy quiz and a great list of online
professional development resources which dovetail with the many learning styles mentioned in the
article. Additional online professional development resources can be found at the link below.
http://www.iste.org/LL/29/4/resources.cfm#two