Sixteen myths about online teaching and learningin higher education:

Don't believe everything you hearBy Qing Li and Melina Akins

The first author has taught six onUne courses in the pastfour years, while the second author has completedher entire Masters program online. During thoseexperiences, we have encountered a number of myths

that affect the successful establishment and development ofonline learning environments. We discuss those myths inthe light of our experience and explore approaches that maycontribute to the estabhshment of successful online learningenvironments.

We are witnessing a drasticincrease of onhne learning indifferent places. For workplaceeducation, it was reportedthat 20% of training in "worldclass organizations" is beingdelivered online with aprediction of $11.4 billion tobe spent on e-learning in theUS in 2003 (Gill, 2003). Highereducation has experiencedsimilar changes (GuardianUnlimited, 2004).

Online learning hasLittracted different groups of people for different reasons. Forbusiness organizations in highly competitive environments,this tnethod has the potential to "reach large numbers ofemployees at the same time or at the convenience ot eachemployee" (Gill, 2003). Many institutions launch into "hastyand expensive developments [of online learning] not justbecause of the giddy promises but also for fear of missingthe boat" (Felix, 2003). Felix contends that the promises ofonline learning are significant. For administrators, onlinelearning provides real alternatives for course deliverywhich may save space, staff and instructors. This mayresult in improvement of access to education and increasedenrollments. For instructors, this technology may provide auseful tool for redistributing time by transferring core rotelearning to computers. More importantly, instructors realizethe potential ofthe internet "as a window to the authenticworld of the subject being taught, allowing for interaction

and communication far richer than hitherto possible. Task-based projects, ranging from simple web searches to largecollaborative ventures in virtual worlds, added enormouspotential to the repertoire of dedicated teachers" (Felix,2003). Our experience indicates that one attraction of onlinelearning for students is the flexibility of time and place.

The newly expanding world of online learning, however(just like face-to-face learning), is fraught with myth. "There

are literally thousands oftiny [myths] clinging likebarnacles to teaching, whileothers perch on it like gi-ant, fire-breathing creatures.These myths are available inevery film about teaching, in... popular literature, and inthe common sense passedacross the generations" (Ay-ers, 1993). With the emer-gence of a multitude ofonline learning courses inpost secondary institutions,people realize that the best

approaches for online learning should be driven by soundpedagogical considerations. Technology should be used onlyas a tool, and the objectives need to be set to create a learn-ing environment "in which both the process and goals arestimulating and engaging, and which take individual studentdifferences into account" (Felix, 2003). The myths persist,nevertheless.

Tliis paper examines the myths we have recognized thatare associated with online learning in the area ot highereducation. Possible strategies will be explored to help usmove from myth to reality and ultimately to establish asuccessful online learning environment. This explorationis carried out through the lens of both students' andinstructors' perspectives and is organized according to fourmajor aspects: content, context, strategies and assessment.The myths addressed and our corresponding statements ofreality are summarized in Table 1 (see page 59).

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ContentMyth 1: Traditional courses can be copiedto online learning

It is true that face-to-face pedagogy can and should beused to inform online pedagogy. But this in itself can notbe the driving force to designing online courses; one mustconsider e-pedagogy to create a successful and meaningfulcourse. According to Gill (2003), online learning is "onlyone instructional method among many, each better atachieving some instructional objectives than others" (p.21).Since the current online medium is less rich than face-to-face, selective adaptation of effective pedagogical strategiesfrom face-to-face teaching are necessary. For instance, theinstructional strategy of allowing students to form their owncollaborative groups or designate members to a group canimpact student learning and interaction differently in eachof the modes of instruction. The success of one strategy inface-to-face setting does not guarantee similar success in theonline environment.

To illustrate this, we reflected on the first authorsexperiences in teaching the same graduate course fourtimes. The first and third times were face-to-face and thesecond and fourth times were completely online. The firsttime she taught the course, she presented the tasks andallowed students to form their own collaborative groupsfor their final projects. Because of the nature of face-to-faceinteraction, it was easy for the students to find collaboratorswho shared the same interests, experiences or personalgoals. When asked to deliver this course in an onlineenvironment, the first author did the same thing. Soon sherealized that, due to the inherent lack of social interactionin this environment and since the majority of students hadnever met each other, asking students to form their owngroups took much longer and required more effort. In theasynchronous onhne environment, "team formation can bedifficult ... because potential team members are logging onat their convenience and may not receive or respond to arequest to join a team immediately" (Palloff & Pratt, 1999).In the course, some students could not find partners, whileothers tried to work on one particular topic which made thegroup too large to function. For the first author, the abilityto facilitate the formation of the collaborative groups waslimited in the asynchronous model and required much moretime than it would have in a face-to-face class. The optionof synchronous communication was limited due to thecircumstances of the student population. Many were locatedin other time zones and/or had varied work schedules whichdid not offer the opportunity to work synchronously Somestudents suggested that it would be easier if the instructorhad assigned groups.

Based on this experience, the first author decided to usethe strategy of pre-designated groups. The next opportunity toteach the course was in a face-to-face setting; when she triedto assign groups, the students strongly opposed this formatand argued that it was completely adverse to constructivism.

This reflection suggests that strategies used in each of themodes of instruction, online and face to face, may producedifferent effects and consequences in the various settings.

In face-to-face settings, even if issues arise, instructorstend to find and solve the problem rapidly. In online courses,however, it requires more careful observation for theinstructors to detect possible problems and pitfalls in theprocess. Further, instructors need to provide as many toolsas possible to facilitate online interaction and collaboration.These tools include online chat, email, phone, threadeddiscussion and private rooms for group work in onlineenvironments. Although asynchronous communicationtools may help students' knowledge construction, studentsneed synchronous communication to collaborate. For basicinteraction, the phone or chat rooms work, while planningand project work might require them to share applicationssynchronously. Software like vClass, which allows applicationsharing and audio-conferencing, is very suitable for thi.skind of situation. This approach can also save students' longdistance phone costs.

Another useful strategy to facilitate collaboration isto provide a space in the course shell to allow students toshare their personal interests, background and professionalgoals. This instructional approach, of course, can also beintegrated in face-to-face classes. One possible way to fostercollaboration is to ask students to share this informationthrough a webpage at the beginning of a course. This canserve as an excellent introduction that allows students to getto know each other and start to establish a rapport. Further,by reading students' biographies, they can gain historicalknowledge from the vast experiences of the participants anddevelop a more global perspective on content through theirinteractions with their international colleagues. In addition,the biographies can allow students to identify collaboratorswho share the same interests.

Myth 2: Online learning is limited to content learning

Learning in online environments is ongoing. Learnerstake away more from online learning than the content itselfIn considering a knowledge-building community, the learnersare more broadly defined to include instructors, students andtutors. Students learn from each other and at the same timeestablish rapport with others. They have better opportunitiesto interact with a wider range of people than in traditionalcourses. For instance, it is very common for students fromdifferent countries with different backgrounds to enroll inan online course. In our university, the graduate program inthe Faculty of Education has students from Europe, SouthAmerica and the Middle East. Distance courses during thewinter 2003 session took place at the time when the Iraqwar started. One student from the Middle East shared hisexperiences, feelings and views about the course contentfrom that unique perspective. These experiences enabled thestudents to gain much more beyond the learning of coursecontent in that it allowed for the reflection of conceptsbeyond the classroom walls and into the global context. The

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reality of students and citizens in the countries at war isdifferent than the reality of those classes that are distant fromthe fighting. By expanding the membership ofthe learningcommunity to a more global community, the concepts, topicsand discussions are no longer limited to assigned texts butare enriched by the experiences and contexts ot the variousparticipants.

It is comparatively easier for instructors to bring expertsfrom all over the world as guests into online courses than intoface-to-face courses because travel is no longer necessary.We caution, however, that there are still important factorsthat must be met for this to work — as in any instructionalsetting. For example, do experts have the time to answerstudent questions reasonably quickly?

Students often develop collaborative relationships witha wide range of people that are beneficial to their learningand working. Community is created and friendships overlapamongst courses and then continue after classes have ended.Participants in graduate classes in education often have beenworking in a local environment for many years and have littleknowledge ofthe reality of other school districts or learningcommunities. The online experience allows them to have apeek into the work and practice of educators in other areas ofthe province, country and the world. Ihey also gain valuablee-learning strategies that are transferable to their own andothers' teaching and learning practices. Similarly, instructorsofthe courses learn valuable e pedagogy from their teachitigpractice and experiences.

Sharing the responsibility for facilitation with studentspromotes and even warrants active learning (Palloff & Pratt,1999). Oneapproach we used was giving students thechallengeto play leadership roles. This exploration of leadership inonline learning allows participants to gain knowledge andskills beyond the course content in that it provides practicein onhne facilitation and course delivery. One design is torequire students to take turns facilitating online discussions.This approach, we found, not only allowed students to learnthe content through interaction with others, but also providedopportunities for them to simulate the role of instructor inan online setting (Li, Akins, & Edmonds, 2004). Further,since the issues and questions were generated from students,online discussion tended to be more pertinent to them andhence more authentic. The experience was very rewardingfor students because they appreciated the opportunity toexperience the instructor's side of the distance learningequation which is just as important as the participant andlearner side ofthe equation.

ContextIn this section, we define context broadly to include

every aspect of a learning environment, including learners,instructors and physical context.

Myth 3: Online teaching and learning promoteisolation, lack of community

This myth fioats pervasively on the surface ofthe highereducation community. In general, because students learnonline by themselves in their homes or workplaces, morethan likely they do not have a chance to meet their colleaguesor instructors face to face. If the course is not designedpurposefully to involve social interaction, the learningjourney for students can be painfully dull and mostlyisolated. Sometimes, trivial technical problems or processtechniques can create excessive difficulties for students.

Interaction may be fundamental in many learningprocesses and even more so in online environments. We, asonline educators, need to strive to increase and encourageinteraction. If the course is designed with various methods,techniques and tools intentionally used to increase socialdialogue and interchange, a learning community can bebuilt. This kind of learning community facilitates instructorsand students around the world to interact with and learnfrom each other. One approach proven to be importantis to incorporate online discussion into course grades.Further, it is rather vital for this course grade to reflectappropriately the amount of work involved in participatingin online discussions. For example, contributing twice aweek and reading regularly takes a lot of time and effort.When discussions compose 10% ofthe final grade versus40%, the quality of interactions and postings will reflect thatdifference. Our experiences and previous research (Nicaise &Crane, 1999) show that often students try to do just enoughto satisfy course requirements, hence they would not wantto log in regularly if the requirement is not there. But whenthe online discussion is required, students take the effortto contribute and gain valuable lessons from it. They oftenenjoy it and believe they are building a learning communitythrough their participation in it.

Students need to approach colleagues and instructorsactively, and to establish a rapport rather than passivelywaiting for others to communicate. Taking advantage of all theresources and collaborative opportunities possible can helpbuild a learning community. For example, students can useforums, emails, chats, even telephones to connect with peersand instructors. Further, it is optimal to encourage studentsto take the risk of sharing their thoughts, ideas, suggestionsand even frustrations with their peers and instructors. Thesethoughts and frustrations may not be limited to course relatedissues. Students are usually surprised and grateful to see theamount of support and valuable help from their peers whenthey dare to share their personal feelings, dilemmas andunhappiness. One example involved a student who sharedher frustration because her colleagues did not support hereffort to integrate technology into a class. She was impressedby the support and suggestions provided by the onlineclassmates. The suggestions enabled her to address the issueswith a renewed sense of purpose which encouraged her tocontinue her efforts to integrate technology.

Instructors should have an open mind to encourage,value and, whenever appropriate, adapt students' commentsand suggestions. For example, when students suggested

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alternative approaches to the threaded discussions,those suggestions were adapted into the current course.Participant.s who had experienced traditional threadeddiscussion assignments, which were based on reading textand responding to questions, were excited to try the newformat. The adaptation encouraged participants to take onvarious roles, debate and work in small groups within thethreaded discussion. This new format tostered a new senseof interest in the discussion and ultimately promoted onhnecommunity building.

In addition, carefully designed and thoughtfullyimplemented group work can nourish interaction. Thiscan be facilitated in a variety of ways, including group chat,forums, projects, email, telephone calls, video conferencesand meetings beyond the online course. These sameprinciples apply to online teachers. Instructors teachingonline by themselves may feel isolated. For example, theymay feel a lack of connection to their colleagues becausethey are unable to go to the staffroom physically to engagein conversation. When schools or school districts developspaces in the online environment (for example, when a virtualstaff room was created for all the online teachers in WebCTshell), teachers can share their teaching strategies, effectiveapproaches, arising issues, concerns, frustrations and evenstruggles. They can provide comments and supportivesuggestions which will decrease the sense of isolation.

is mediated by technology. Technology, however, shouldmove out ot the center ot the learner's experience as usingit becomes more ubiquitous. Although the amount ofrequired technology skills differs greatly from course tocourse and from instructor to instructor, understandingof basic skills such as keyboarding and the hiternet issufficient for many online courses. These basic skills areeasy to master. Instructors usually provide tutorials andother material to help students grasp the skills they require.Further, institutions and classmates can offer assistance asthe course progresses. Many of the courses we were involvedin used online forums intensively. Tlie students enrolledin the courses need to know how to log in into the courseshell (e.g. Blackboard, WebCT and others, most of which aresimilar), how to view postings, how to post and to respond toothers' postings, and how to email. Depending on learners'backgrounds, the amount of time required to master thesebasic skills can vary. Some learners need repeated exposureto the basic steps, while others may have no technologylearning curve. Regardless, the basic technology skills canbe learned within a limited amount of time.

For online instructors, institutions (e.g. the LearningCommons in someinstitutions) generally providepreparationworkshops, peer mentors, one-to-one technical supportand sometimes graduate assistants who have expertise intechnology to help with their design and instruction.

Myth 4: Learner and instructor must be proficient intechnology

This myth is central to the understanding of onlineeducation. When people are not familiar with online teachingand learning, the idea of using technology tools such asonline forums, multimedia and conferencing may sounddaunting. This is true for both instructors and students.Many people say, "The only thing I know about computersis word processing and email. 1 do not think I can teach orlearn online until I have learned all the technology skills, andI know that takes an enormous amount of time and effort."This is usually why there is a great deal of techno-resistancein schools and universities. Our experiences show that manyuniversity professors, especially more senior professors, oftenthink that: "I am busy and I do not know any technology, so Tdo not want to teach online."

Yes, it is true that both online teaching and learninginvolve the employment of technology and require that theusers master some skills. But what makes this a myth is thata) this view focuses online learning on technology — theassumption that technology controls teaching and learning,and b) it assumes that teaching and learning online requiresthe mastery of all technologies.

It is important to note that technology is always just atool for us. We recognize that at the beginning of an onlinecourse, especially for tiew learners, technology may play acentra! role since all communication and access to content

Myth 5: The instructor is the expert

This myth is tricky and does not apply just to onlinelearning. What makes it unique in online learning are thenovelty of online learning and the constantly changingnature of technology. On the one hand, there is no doubtthat instructors are experts in their subject field. And just likeany good teachers/instructors, good online teachers need toknow a lot about the pedagogy of online learning, and theyare always pondering, exploring and absorbing new ideas andinformation to expand their knowledge and interests. On theother hand, because online teaching and learning is still atits infant stage, no set of ground rules are firmly establishedyet. In addition, technology advances rapidly. Instructorsoften explore and experience pedagogical approaches inthis unique environment along with their students, andoften learn through trail-and-error. This inevitably forcesonline teachers to "plunge into the unknown alongside theirstudents, simultaneously enacting productive approaches tolearning and demonstrating desirable dispositions of mind,like courage and curiosity ... Learning with students canbe a powerful approach to teaching. Good teachers oftenteach precisely so that they can learn" (Ayers, p. 13). Forinstance, when we started a new course, we designed thecourse using threaded discussion thinking of using only aquestion-answer format to interact with students. 'Ihinkingof improving students' learning experience, the instructorinvited student feedback at the middle of the course. One of

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the responses she received coticerned the boring nature ofthe format of threaded discussion. Though excited about theidea of varying the format, the instructor did not know whatkind of formats she could use or how to use them. Keepingan open mind, she then invited suggestions from studentsand received a wealth of information. Students not onlylearned from this experience but also were motivated to tryout all the suggestions. The varied threaded discussions thusbecome more attractive to students and better facilitated thedevelopment of a learning community.

Students, by watching their instructors experimentingwith technology, which can include a pretty steep learningcurve, learned that it is ok to take risks to learn new stuff.Further, a teacher is a part of an expert team, facilitatingguests who can provide expertise.

Myth 6: Online learning is only for people who are inremote locations

This is an interesting one; for the biggest advantageclaimed for online learning is that one can have great flexibilitywhich includes freedom from bondage to a certain time orlocation. It is true that many students take online coursesbecause they are at a distance. However, the reality is thatthere are many others who choose online learning for easeof scheduling, for the rich nature of the course interaction,for the ability to mix work, learning and family, to extendtheir learning experiences and to meet new people aroundthe world. We have had many graduate students, includingthe second author ot this paper, who enrolled in a distanceprogram because they wanted to keep their full time job andalso be able to have time to enjoy life with their families. Infact, on average, 15% ofthe distance students we taught arelocal students.

Myth 7: Online learning is for everyone

This may sound contrary to myth 6. People often thinkeveryone can learn well in an online environment. Fromsome administrators' perspective, the more students whotake the same online courses the better for economic reasons(Guardian Unlimited, 2004). The assumptions are that alllearners, regardless of their background, self-confidence,intellectual preferences and so on can learn the same contenton a computer screen in roughly the same amount of time.

In reality, learners need to be highly motivated andself disciplined with great persistence and commitmentin order to be successful in online learning. In fact, it isreported that online learning has very high attrition rates.Academic and family matters, instructors, finances, fulltime jobs, dissatisfaction and lack of direction or lack ofreasons to complete academic courses all contribute tostudents dropping out ot online courses (Martinez, 2003).For instance, "even the most well-intentioned e-learners canexperience flagging interest when no one is looking over theirshoulder or when no incentives are provided for completingan e-learning course ... e-learners do not always understand

what is expected of them, sometimes missing deadlines or ...the required e-learning prerequisites" (Gills, 2003, p. 23).

The key to deciding whether online learning is the rightchoice for any student is being clear about his/her needs.Learners need to assess their learning needs by askingthemselves questions such as:

• What are my personal goals?• What do I need to learn in order to achieve these

goals?• How can online learning facilitate my learning?• Can I complete the course work on the job, squeezing

it in-between job tasks, or afier work?• Does my family support me in this endeavor? (Gill,

2003)

Myth 8: Online learning will make the teacherredundant

For the past several decades, the development of everynew type of technology has caused such an illusion. Peoplehave worried that teachers may be replaced by radio, TV,computers and now the internet. For example, in an interviewof secondary mathematics and science teachers, three out offourteen practicing teachers expressed their fear of eventuallybeing replaced by technology. Among the three, two werenew teachers and another one had taught for 30 years. Thisview typically reflects the fear ofthe unknown. The fact is thathumans are the center of education, no matter what and howtechnology is advanced. Technology can and should be usedonly as an effective tool to enhance teaching and learningand can never be the center of education. Teachers are alwaysneeded to plan, design and facilitate learning experiences.They must respond to the real students and their diverseneeds. This has always been a complex and difficult goal forthem, and it will always be so.

Myth 9: Students require expensive equipment toparticipate

Yes, online learning requires the use of some equipmentfor students to participate. Often, an internet connectionand basic computer workstation is enough. Interactionsin many online courses are text-based (e.g. asynchronousonline discussion and synchronous chat) and do not requiremultimedia, hence modem speed is not an issue. In fact,students do not have to own such equipment; they can evenuse public library facilities if necessary. In fact, some of ourstudents do not own computers, 'lhey often use equipment inschools or their work units for the learning purposes.

StrategiesIn this section, we discuss strategies related to online

learning. This includes organizational strategies, deliverystrategies and management strategies.

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Myth 10: Question-and-answer is the best approachfor threaded discussion

Threaded discussion is probably the tool that is usedmost frequently in online teaching to promote interactionand collaboration. Because of its asynchronous nature,instructors like to use it extensively to generate ideas,discuss issues, present multiple perspectives and addressdiverse needs. Our experiences and previous research (Li,2003, 2004b) show that many online instructors simplyuse a question and answer format for discussion, and thisformat can be effective and efficient for learning. However,after extensive use of threaded discussion in various courses,students can feel quite bored. Some students told us that afterthey took four courses online, with each course using theexact same format, they become tired of threaded discussion.They complained that in face-to face teaching, even if theinstructors were only exercising stand-and-delivery, at leastdifferent instructors had different ways to present.

We believe that threaded discussion is a wonderful tooland, if its use is varied by employing different approaches, itcan meet its fullest potential. For example, during discussion,students can conduct debates by dividing into groups; eachgroup takes a position and argues with other groups. Otherpossible formats in threaded discussion include role playing,interviewing of each other and creative ways of completingassignments and participating in the discussion. Studentscan also take a leadership role by leading and facilitatingdiscussion of topics. They can exercise higher orderthinking skills by engaging in activities such as synthesizingdiscussions (Li, 2004a; McDuffie & Slavit, 2003).

Further, there are other media that can be used tosupport online teaching and learning. For instance, videoclips and PowerPoint presentations can be used to shareunderstandings, present ideas and collaborate. As technologyadvances, video conferencing becomes more and moreaccessible and can be another effective tool to be incorporatedinto online teaching. When threaded discussion is used invaried formats and coupled with other media, it can increasestudent motivation level and improve learning greatly.

Myth 11: Online teaching and learning isquick and easy

Many people, especially those who have never taughtor studied online, including students, teachers andadministrators, believe this. They know that you do not needto go to school, or be at a certain place at a certain time; hencethey assume that one can cruise through the teaching andlearning processes. Although it is true that online teachingand learning probably have a greater flexibility than face-to-tace study, the work load for both the teacher and the studentsusually is much greater. We fully recognize that dependingon the design ofthe courses, teaching and learning online orface to face may take similar amounts of time. However, ourexperience and some previous research (Collis, Winnips, &Moonen, 2000) show that at least twice as much time and

effort are needed to teach and learn online compared toface-to-face. There is a lot of reading and writing involved inonline courses. Understanding course content, which is oftenconveyed through text information, requires more time.Further, the lack of face-to-face interaction and often limitedsynchronous exchanges demand extra time and energy if wewant to establish an online learning community.

Although online learners are very motivated anddedicated in constructing knowledge, time managementis essential. For instance, students should set aside shortperiods of time to log in to their courses regularly. Loggingin 15 minutes a day for 7 days tends to work much betterthan working 4 hours intensively on one day but ignoring thecourse completely during the other 6 days ofthe week. Theyalso need to set aside time to log in only for reading but notcontributing. These principles also apply to instructors. Ifinstructors are not available for certain days, e.g. weekends,it is very important that they inform their students at thebeginning ofthe course. Otherwise, tensions may be createdsince students often expect instructors to be accessible 24hours a day and 7 days a week.

Further, it is important to improve efficiency of onlinecourse delivery. According to Collis et al. (2000), morecommunication, discussion, summary or feedback may notbe better. In fact, generalized encouragement and automatedreminders contribute the same as personalized feedback, andare significantly better than no feedback or encouragementat all. Moreover, it was found what really matters to studentswere the instructors' prompt feedback rather than the typeor length ofthe feedback. Hence, the scaffolding techniquesproposed by those authors may prove to be useful forimproving efficiency: courses start with instructors' detailedand personalized feedback and gradually fade to moregeneralized and abbreviated comments.

Myth 12: Learners' responses to discussions cannotevolve. They must be correct when posted

It is not uncommon, especially for students who are newto online environments, to feel afraid to post messages. Theytend to think and rethink, check and recheck before they postanything. Our experiences in online teaching and learningindicate that students fear that their answers may be wrong,their thoughts may be naive and their postings may not bewhat instructors expected. Unlike traditional courses, theirpostings are recorded permanently for the entire class toview and review, which can likely create anxiety for students.To help reduce this anxiety, it is important for instructorsto inform students directly that learning is ongoing andthat learners need to abandon fear and take risks in orderto expand their learning. For instance, we experienced thatstudents were afraid of repeating other people's views inonline discussions. We hence had a discussion on the benefitof repeating and paraphrasing others' thoughts. They thenrealized that even repeating other's views helped them toreaffirm their thoughts and understanding.

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To promote a learning community in an onlineenvironment, it is important for instructors to recognizetheir role must shift from lecturer to facilitator. Hence, theyneed to have a balanced appearance pattern in the discussionforum. On the one hand, they should be careful not to jumpinto any discussion too fast or too often, or to impose toomuch control, because this may constrain interaction orshut off conversation among students. On the other hand,an instructor's messages can be too sparse, causing studentsto think that the instructor is not paying attention, which inturn may result in students' decreased interest in discussion(Smith, 2001). Instructors also need to make it clear upfront that they should be treated as a regular participantin discussion, and that their opinions and thoughts can bediscussed, critiqued or even challenged.

Another approach is to establish a safe and non-threatening environment at the beginning ofthe course. Thisincludes providing space and opportunities for students toshare their personal interests and background as we discussedin myth one.

Instructors need to watch for those significant pointsaddressed in the curriculum that have not received adiscussion response after three or more days. Instructorsshould respond appropriately and redirect students' attentionto them. This can be done in various creative ways, for example,by interjecting new ideas into the discussion. Intentionaland purposeful redirection thus not only enhances studentlearning but also strengthens the connections among them.

Authentic topics for discussion are another criticalaspect to promote students' interaction. The authenticity ofthose tasks enables students to relate their prior knowledgeand experience to the new learning. Instructors need to beprepared and open that some postings may be different fromwhat they expected. Students also need to be encouragedto interact with and make reference to each other. Theyshould be encouraged, even required, to critically evaluateeach other's work and give constructivist feedback andsuggestions rather than provide simple 'pat-on-the-back'type of comments. Explicit instructions about the desiredtype of feedback, together with concrete examples need tobe given up front. Sharing these kinds of feedback in onlineforums thus helps achieve group cohesion but also enhancesstudent learning.

Higher order thinking skills need to be facilitated andexercised. For instance, students need to be continuouslyencouraged to reflect and synthesize their learning: what arethey expected to learn? What have they accomplished? What arethey missing? Such refiection and synthesis need to be shared inonline forums from which new thoughts will be promoted andmore ideas will be generated. This way, both the students andthe instructor are often more fulfilled and rewarded becauseeffective knowledge construction is fostered.

Further, instructors need to emphasize that it is effortand creativeness of students' thoughts, rather than thecorrectness of their thoughts, that are to be evaluated in thelearning process. This can assist in the establishment of a

safe environment for students to express their ideas freely.A clear expectation from the instructors at the beginning ofthe course is also extremely important for the establishmentofa learning community.

Fven though it may not be directly related to thecurriculum, it is important to provide space for the studentsto develop their personal and social relationships in aknowledge building community. Creating virtual spacessuch as a "student lounge" or "virtual cafe" allows learners toexpress emotions and feelings, such as happiness, anxiety orwarmth. This enables establishing and maintaining "humanrelationships, affirming and recognizing students' input;providing opportunities for students to develop a sense ofgroup cohesiveness, maintaining the group as a unit, and inother ways helping members to work together in a mutualcause" (Collins & Berge, 1996). The lack of such space mightcreate a dry and sterile atmosphere, devoid of a sense ofcommunity (Brown, 1996; Li, 2004a; Rahm & Reed, 1998). Alow sense of community offen leads to feelings of loneliness,low self-esteem, isolation and low motivation to learning andconsequently drop-outs from the learning (Frymier, 1993;Rovai & Lucking, 2003). Researchers (Rovai, 2002; Rovai& Lucking, 2003) claim that it is vitally important to buildcommunities in order to have a successful online distancelearning experience.

Myth 13: Classroom management issues are notimportant in online learning

It is true that in online classrooms, especially inasynchronous settings, students do not disturb each otheras easily as in face-to-face settings. Even in synchronousenvironments, the lack of visual cues would make it difficultfor instructors to notice if someone is daydreaming. This isnot to say, however, that classroom management is not anissue anymore; rather, it takes a diflerent format and effort.

One aspect of this is attendance; although attendance isnot usually viewed in the traditional way online, instructorsdo need to monitor the involvement of students. Forinstance, one common method of checking attendance inonline asynchronous discussions is based on the durationand frequency of students' login times and frequency of theircontributions. A synchronous environment which includestext-based chat and audio-text combinations such as v-classas well as occasionally calling upon individual students isanother way to check student attention and understanding.Whether these events are real time or delayed interaction,instructors need to encourage participation from all studentsand prevent the dominance of a few vocal participants. Apositive, respectful environment is necessary and should befostered. To establish a safe environment for the participantsto engage in, instructors need to set up expectations andclear rules at the beginning of each course and monitor theflow and content of discussion to be sure they are not goingoff on tangents or becoming inappropriate. In case unhealthyconflicts or flaming behavior occurs, instructors should takeimmediate action to intervene and stop the conflict at itsinception.

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Myth 14: Online learning is a one-way learning process,teacher-to-student in a given time block

The shift toward a constructivist philosophy in the lasttwo decades calls for a shift of focus to students, and thisshift is especially important for online education. The natureof the online medium for communication and instructionrequires students' autonomous involvement and engagementin curriculum. Because online learning is not attached to aparticular time and space, learning is a continuum extendingbeyond one class period instead of being contained in face-to-face environments for only a few hours once or twice aweek. In addition, many online courses, particularly seminarclasses, call for a reflective and collaborative approach toonline learning which inevitably results in the adaptationof a collaborative knowledge-building approach. Studentsand instructors actively search for new information, learnfrom each other and advance knowledge. In the courseswe experienced, learning is ongoing. For example, we checkour courses everyday. Students contribute to discussionsand resources. Everyone's work is published in the coursewebsite and becomes the foundation for further learning bythe whole class. One assignment for a course was generatingan annotated bibliography for the class focusing on distancelearning. Students identified various interesting and usefulweb resources and posted them on the course website. Atthe end, the class collectively developed an annotated list ofmost useful web links on distance education.

AssessmentMyth 15: Assessment of online learning equals countingthe number of messages

Although we acknowledge that a common assessmentmethod for online learning is evaluating students'participation by checking the frequency of student log-insand contributions as described previously, other evaluationtechniques are required and vital. Because it is diflicultfor students to get information from primarily textualinformation, clear communication of expectations from theinstructor via those materials is crucial. Course outlines,expectations, assignment rubrics and examples are allintegral to the success ofthe course. Previous research showsthat students appreciate most "the clarity of expectations andsystematic, fair, and timely handling of the expectations bythe instructors" (Collis et al., 2000). Students need to knowexactly what is required of them and what is to be assessed.It is essential to provide rubrics and detailed explanations ofassignments at the beginning of courses and these rubricsneed to be followed in assessing student work. Anotherimportant strategy is to provide examples of possible resultsfor assignments. It is optimal to offer both good and badexamples so that students can have a clear idea exactly whatcharacter of performance is expected

To make learning more authentic for students,one strategy is to provide opportunities for students to

develop their own learning goals and assessment tools. Forexample, instructors and students work together to createrubrics for the evaluation of authentic projects or positionpapers. Depending on the comfort level of instructors andlearners, these assessment tools can be cultivated via variousapproaches. Our experiences show that when there are timeconstraints, a useful approach is to have instructors draff theevaluation rubrics and then invite students to critique andcomment.

Myth 16: It is easy to cheat online

The Internet has made plagiarism much easier thanbefore, and the nature of online learning in particular hasmade people wonder what can be done to prevent digitalplagiarism (Lathrop & Foss, 2000; Pain & Le Heron,2003). The fact is that there are many ways we can ensureauthentication of student work. First and foremost, onlinecourses are typically password protected. Students need tobe registered to participate. Secondly, throughout the course,instructors become familiar with the students' dispositionthrough responses and assignments, so that it is generallyclear it a student was not the author of an assignment orposting. Third, as acknowledged by many people (Heberling,2002; Lathrop & Foss, 2000; Rava, 2001; Turnitin, 2003), itis critically important to educate students about the issuessurrounding plagiarism. Plagiarism education can beintegrated into lessons in order to build students' awarenessand understanding of this complex issue. We can also teachstudents essential writing skills such as planning, organizingand citation for successful completion of course workand research. Fourth, instructors can create assignmentsto promote original thinking and help with identifyingplagiarism. One effective approach is to require students toprovide an early outline and interim draft for a major projector paper so that students have a hard time just turning ina finished, plagiarized paper (Turnitin, 2003). And lastly,there is an increasing number of software solutions, such asdocument source analysis©, that can help prevent plagiarism.

ConclusionQuality edtication through online learning depends

on clarity of goals, sound e-pedagogy, committed anddedicated learners and instructors, excellent support fromadministrators and staff' and opportunities to practiceapplication of new knowledge and skills. It also dependson a reasoned view of online learning — not subscribingto myths without questioning them. In the cases where themyths contain elements of truth, we must seek methods toovercome limitations ofa medium that offers great potentialfor the present and the future.

Dr. Qing Li is assistant professor at the University of Calgary. She receivedherPhDjrom the University of Toronto.

Melina Akins has worked as a teacher and consultant for the CalgaryCatholic School District since 1987. She mainly focuses on the area of socialstudies and tecbnology.

58 TechTrends Volume 49, Number 4

Myth

1. Traditional courses can becopied to online learning

2. Online learning is limited tocontent learning

3. Online teaching and learningpromotes isolation, lack ofcommunity

4. Learner must be proficient intechnology

5. The instructor is the expert

6. Online learning is only forpeople who are in remotelocations

7. Online learning is for everyone

8. Online learning will make theteacher redundant and not needed

9. Students require expensiveequipment to participate

10. Question-and-answer isthe only approach for threadeddiscussion

11. Online teaching and learningis quick and easy

12. Your responses to discussionscan not evolve. They must becorrect when posted

13. Classroom managementissues are not important in onlinelearning

14. Online learning is a oneway learning process, teacher tostudent in a give time block

13. Assessment of online learningequals counting the number ofmessages

16. It is easy to cheat online

Reality

Since online and face-to-face are different mediums, selectiveadaptation of effective pedagogical strategies from tace-to-faceteaching is necessary.

The learning in online environments is ongoing and learners take awaya lot more from online learning than the content itself

When appropriately designed, a learning community can be built in anonline environment. Students share their own feelings, seek help, andestablish relationships in the virtual learning community.

For most t)nline courses, basic technical skills are required and thesebasic skills are easy to master.

Ofien, the instructors learn online pedagogies and even technologyalong with students.

Many people in the same location choose online learning because ofthe flexibility inherent in this medium.

Learners need to be highly motivated and self disciplined with greatpersistence and commitment in order to be successful in onlinelearning.

Technology can and should be used only as an effective tool to enhanceteaching and learning and should never be the center of education.

The equipment requirement is usually minimal that an internetconnection is enough.

Threaded discussion can take various forms such as debate, roleplaying, and interview.

Although online teaching and learning have greater flexibility thanface-to-face, work load for both teacher and students usually is muchbigger.

The online learning is ongoing. Students need to abandon fear and takerisks.

Classroom management requires different formats and efforts.

Learning is continuum extends beyond one class period rather thancontained to face to face type environments that might be 3 hours oncea week.

Other evaluation approaches are important and vital.

There are may ways that we can assure authentication of student work.

Table I. Summary of myths and statements of reality from authors' perspective

Volume 49, Number4 TechTrends 59

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Cut through the clutteron the Internet.Find out what's happeningat wwv\/.aect.org.

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