Question:

The growth of online education has led to new theories and practices in teaching and learning. There are also increased expectations that all student learning be measurable and tied to key outcomes for citizenship and careers. Based on the  readings and your own experience:

• How has the role of the instructor changed in the advent of online education?
• What parts of the instructor’s role have not changed over time?
• To what extent should a college education be oriented toward general life skills and success, and to what extent should it be oriented toward preparation for a specific job or career? If you were to answer this question 200 years ago, how would your answer be different?

Readings

• Association of American Colleges and Universities (2011). The LEAP vision for learning: Outcomes, practices, impact, and employers’ views [PDF]. Retrieved from https://www.aacu.org/sites/default/files/files/LEAP/leap_vision_summary.pdf
• Beaudoin, M. (2013). The evolving role of the instructor in the digital age. In Y. Kats (Ed.), Learning management systems and instructional design: Best practices in online education (pp. 223–247). Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference. 
• Dadgar, M., Venezia, A., Nodine, T., & Bracco, K. R. (2013). Providing structured pathways to guide students toward completion [PDF]. Retrieved from https://www.wested.org/online_pubs/resource1280.pdf