ROLE EXPANSION FOR TEACHERS

Role Expansion for Teachers



Role Expansion for Teachers

Introduction

The development and use of new technologies have brought a new wave of innovative way of thinking into our education system. Due to the new and advanced technologies, people do not have to be physically in school to learn. The number of available online classes and schools is ever-increasing and there is an availability of various subjects. The online education programs have become extremely popular and currently serve the needs of numerous people. And as it is fairly new, these programs are still undergoing changes in policies and course structures. Most importantly, the technological development and online education have changed the roles of teachers as teaching online is significantly different from teaching an actual class in communication, interaction, and tools. The case study, “Online Education and Organizational Change,” performed by Regina L. Gara Mitchell deals with the online education and the importance of educators' attitudes towards the online education.

Summary

LECC is a community college which first implemented online education in 1998, offering four courses and had a corresponding number of online certificated faculties. Since then, there has been a shift from traditional way of teaching to today's way of teaching as, “online education does not neatly fit into a college's existing structure” (Regina, 2009, pp 81-10). The teaching method where the teachers are in control of the learning environment has become less popular. With the development of online education, emphasis in the best programs has started to be placed on the interaction between teachers and students, and demand more responsibility for learners, forming a learner-centered atmosphere(Wenglinsky, 2005 pp 45-277). The enrollment has significantly increased and new technologies are being used to maintain high quality of education. According to this case study, the changes which took place at LECC after the introduction of the online courses were mostly positive. And this is due to the teachers effort to change, their willingness to commit to the professional development and training, and as well as the close collaboration between the teachers and administrators (Regina, 2009, pp 81-10).

Analysis

Unlike the actual schools where teacher-student interaction occur only in-class or during a set office hour, there is no cut-off time for virtual teachers. Online instruction and course development were viewed as more labor and time intensive than traditional methods. Although the online teachers are required to commnit more time, faculties of LECC “did not perceive the ...