A Framework for Online Learning: The Virtual-U

44 Computer M uch of the online postsecondary education available in North America and Europe has been created piecemeal. This situation arose because educators began to adopt computer networking in the mid-1970s, soon after the invention of packet-switched networks (1969) and e-mail and computer conferencing (1971) for exchange of scientific information. However, the changes were erratic responses to technical advances rather than attempts to achieve specific educational goals. Despite its piecemeal development, early online education promised benefits. Chief among these were the ability of technologies like e-mail and computer con-ferencing to expand opportunities for student communication , interaction, and collaboration. Since the early 1980s, experiments in conceptualizing , designing, and delivering online courses to geographically distributed students have contributed toward the development of a new educational approach: network-mediated collaborative learning. This approach is asynchronous and place-independent , and it uses a many-to-many, text-based/multi-media, computer-mediated system. 1 In contrast to traditional, lecture-based learning, col-laborative learning is an interactive, group knowledge-building process. Students actively participate in generating, accessing, and organizing the information. They construct knowledge by formulating their ideas into words and images and then develop these ideas/concepts as they react to other students' responses to their formulations. The instructor carefully structures the learning activities, focuses on particular content , and monitors student work. Knowledge building is the process of progressive problem solving, which encourages students to be innovative, create intellectual property, and develop and acquire expertise. 2 This form of collaborative learning arose from the new networking capabilities of the 1980s, but quickly outstripped the capabilities of generic network tools. Generic network tools—such as e-mail, computer conferencing, and newsgroups—impose significant user overhead because they were not specifically designed to support educational activities. Instructors have had to expend great effort to reformulate their traditional classroom activities. Doing so without models or tools to shape the virtual learning environment involved substantial administrative, organizational , and pedagogical challenges and costs. Many experiments failed and discouraged early enthusiasts. Analysis showed key problems in using generic networking environments for education. These generic environments did not provide • a standard way to organize course material; • prior evidence of the environment's effectiveness in instructional uses; • tools to support basic instructional activities, such as course design, organization of group spaces and personal space, grading, and easy integration of multiple media files; or • models to support learning strategies that involve collaborative learning, knowledge building, and multiple representations …