Running head: FUTURE
ENHANCEMENTS
Distance Education and Remedial English Program Future
Enhancements
Gerry Shannon
EDTC 590 E-Education Capstone
Dr. Joshua T. Fischer, Ph.D.
Introduction
In this paper I would like to discuss the future enhancements
to my DE Remedial English Program. As well as continue with the remedial
English program, I would like to enlarge this program based on the evaluations
I receive from the various stakeholders. While the program I developed was
specifically based on the needs at my department and university, I feel that
the program could be adapted to a number of similar students at other
institutions and language schools in
Obtaining Approval
Whenever a new
program is developed there will be the problem in gaining the proposal to the
entire team. There are those who will feel that the traditional face-to-face
classroom approach is the only answer. By providing both face-to-face and
online training in my program I hope to allay any apprehensions that may be
felt by other faculty members. It may be possible to run two programs simultaneously
with one totally face-to-face class and the other a blended approach. If the
groups are matched in terms of abilities before the programs begin we can then
conduct summative assessments and evaluations to ascertain the efficacies of
the two programs. The information gained from this type of study would not only
help to demonstrate the effectiveness of the blended program but would also
allow others to see for themselves how well the program operated, what
difficulties were encountered and how they can be improved. The efficacy of any
program can only be judged by the outcomes based on the objectives of the
training. If students do not improve their English language abilities then
other factors not included in the needs assessments will have to be addressed.
Extending the Program
This remedial
program was designed specifically for the English Department but might just as
well be applied to the other departments in the university. Currently all
first, second, and third-year students are required to take English language classes.
By extending and reinforcing the remedial program beyond a simple introductory
English class, we should be able to leverage the experience gained from the
remedial program into the mainstream English programs as a complementary
component of the entire English curriculum. Furthermore, if we extend the
program more we may be able to begin offering distance educational courses
online, and attract students who may not otherwise enroll in an accredited
college-level English program. There may be barriers to this as each department
feels extremely protective of the contents of the programs they offer but I
feel that a good argument could be presented to the entire faculty to allow the
English department to handle all English language training needs. This is
beginning to happen now as faculty members from our department have begun teach
English in other departments. The advantage of this is that there will be the
opportunity to more conveniently communicate between and among departments.
Once this is established the online program could more easily be presented as a
viable solution to the problem of providing excellent education to a broad
spectrum of learners. By having online remedial and mainstream classes,
students will have a variety of vehicles with which to improve their English
language skills in a conveniently accessible format.
Going Beyond the University
Although the design
of the remedial program is based on the needs of students at our university,
English language study in the mainstream population is popular and for some
professionals manditory. It might be possible to develop an online distance
education program that would be of interest to other institutions or language
schools. The ground work that we do now in developing our program, modifying
it, and extending its scope may allow us to develop an institute of distance
education in the English language that could be shared among like-minded
institutions of higher learning as well as marketed to businesses, and language
schools who are interested in expanding their online capabilities. Furthermore,
the program could be expanded to the general population through the use of the
Internet, CD-ROM, television or any other appropriate vehicles.
The Educational
field is extremely competitive as schools clamor for more students and tuition
monies. This competition may create a barrier in sharing programs and ideas but
there are institutions that do not compete directly and others who have
developed strong working relationships with other institutions. If it was
decided that sharing resources and online programs would be beneficial, then
the experiences we have with our remedial English program would put us ahead of
others interested in the same or similar programs. As well, expertise that they
have could well be leveraged to improve and expand our own program.
Conclusion
This will be the
first iteration of our program and there will undoubtedly be problems that will
have to be changed, but by following well established instructional design
procedures, using appropriate materials, creating an effective instructional
strategy and implementation, using effective assessments and evaluations we
should be well on the way to implementing sound educational distance
educational tools that will serve us will in the foreseeable future both in our
department, in our university, and in the society at large.