Analysis of faculty data revealed that nearly all the faculty were competent in the use of computer for communication and access to resources. About 57% of the faculty responded that they had competence in designing computer educational applications. The majority of faculty had training in computer communication (52.9%) and the use of computer resources (76.5%), but only 11.8% had training in instructional design for computer-based distance education. The teachers had many concerns such as student/teacher communication (94.2%) and personal interaction in the group (94.1%) in computer-based distance education. The teachers saw many advantages such as new opportunities for adult education (100%), and the teacher's role as facilitator (64.7%) in computer-based distance education.

     Analysis of student data revealed that the majority of students had adequate skills in e-mail (98.2%), FTP (61.4%), and WWW (80%). The students had concerns for training and support programs in higher education institutions in Indiana. Over 57% of the students were married and 95% were studying toward a degree. The main motivation were educational value (61%), career promotion (47.5%), and improving job performance (23.7%). The students had many concerns such as teacher/student communication (98.3%), training program by university (86%), and connection cost (91.2%). Students also saw many advantages such as flexibility of time and place (90.7%) and variety of learning resources (76.6%) in computer-based distance education.

     The results of this study indicate that higher education institutions should design faculty development programs beyond technical skills to include instructional design. Furthermore, a practical training program based on needs assessment and an off-hours support program are essential for the success of a computer-based distance education program and for positive educational experience for teachers and students.

     There are tremendous needs for research in computer-based distance education in areas such as computer and communication skills of teacher and student, student objectives for participation, effectiveness of training and support programs, effectiveness of instructional design, educational experience of teachers and students, the teacher's role, and subjects and contents which are feasible on-line.

     I am in the process of the designing of the teacher and student questionnaires on the web for research in the teacher's role beyond of subject matter, and effective instructional design which can foster utilization of computer and communication technologies. If you are interested to the more detail results of study and my experience of collecting data by web,  please send me an e-mail.
 

This study reports faculty members’ and students’ responses to the technological and educational challenges that they faced in teaching and learning in computer-based distance education classes. The challenges are the educational approaches needed to utilize strategies that exploit the strengths and accommodate the limitations of computer-based distance teaching and learning. Higher education institutions might have overestimated faculty members’ and students’ competency levels at the skills needed for successful computer-based education. Lack of effective training and support programs for computer-based distance education was frustrating to faculty and students. After mastering the basic computer and digital instructional delivery technological skill faculty members as teachers had to translate the contents they intended to teach into the language of the digital communication system.
Challenges to faculty members included mastering technology and tools for digital communication, content development, and utilizing instructional strategies which capitalized on the strengths of technology in teaching and learning. Also faculty members developed support systems for helping with the technology related problems of students and accepted new roles in teaching and learning.
  Challenges to students included mastering computer-based technology and developing the competencies needed for digital communication and collaboration. Students also mastered the skills of learning from computer-based communication, and mastered the content they intend to learn. Students in the computer-based classes had to become aware of when faculty members were available as resource and support persons. All twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week were utilized as study time by one or more students. Students needed technical support persons to be available during all of student study time.
 This study reported the responses of faculty members and students in higher education institutions who were early providers of computer-based distance education. Faculty members and students needed adequate skills in computer and communication technologies in order to develop and access teaching and learning resources, and to
communicate and collaborate in the process of teaching and learning. In addition, faculty members have roles beyond those associated with subject matter. Faculty members are facilitators and partners in learning and problem solving regarding technical questions. There is major need for research studies in the field of computer-based distance education to insure that the design of online courses is instructionally sound and educationally effective.
Twenty (20) faculty members and sixty-three (63) students who had completed one or more computer-based courses responded to the web-based questionnaires. The generalizability of the findings is limited by at least two conditions. Self-selection was involved as individual teachers and students decided whether to return the questionnaires. A few of the responses were from outside of Indiana but the responses were from faculty members and students who participated in the computer-based classes offered by one of the higher education institutions in Indiana.
Faculty members who participated in this study were from ten (10) different institutions of higher education. Seventeen (85%) faculty members were from seven (7) institutions in Indiana. The faculty members were from nine (9) different disciplines; health, nursing, computer and information science, education, agriculture, English, business, industrial technology, and geology. Five faculty members (25%) were teaching graduate students. Ten (50%) were teaching undergraduate, and two (10%) were teaching students at the associate level. Eighteen faculty members (90%) used  e-mail and World Wide Web in their computer-based distance education classes.
The 63 students who participated were from 15 different disciplines: nursing, computer and information science, business, education, art, physical therapy, instructional technology, general study, agriculture, telecommunication, health, chemistry, and management. Forty-one (65%) of the participating students were female, 38 students (60%) were married, and 38 (60%) were 31 years of age and older. Forty-one (65%) of the students had earned an associate degree or higher.
 

In a continuation of 1996 and 1998 research studies, results of the 2000 National Survey for Effective Pedagogy in IT provide information about elements of a new pedagogy, the need to develop a constructivist pedagogy for online courses, and new expectations and roles of institutions in the support of faculty. The research also presents new findings about teachers’ concerns and institutions’ contributions in the development of online programs.

Given global demands for knowledge and tough global competition, higher educational institutions are rushing to develop Internet-based courses for learners around the world. After investing in the development of infrastructure for distributed education, higher educational institutions now have major concerns about the effectiveness of their programs. The key issue is how to develop instructional processes and resources that can foster online education. Simply, the old pedagogical approaches based on the objectivist model of learning do not meet possibilities created by technology and expectations of learners and society. The development of an effective pedagogy that can benefit from new opportunities created by information technology and the global network is a very important issue for higher educational institutions around the world. This presentation based on findings from collected data will discuss the need for the development of effective constructivist pedagogy, teachers’ requirements and needs, and institutions’ responsibilities in online education.

The 1996 and 1998 research revealed that there is a great need for knowledge and information about elements of an effective pedagogy and new instructional processes that can benefit from possibilities created by information technology. A web-based faculty questionnaire, announced nationally by Educause and Virtual University Gazette, was the collection tool for data.  The 2000 research findings are based on input from 96 faculty members who have taught Internet-based distance education courses in 28 different institutions of higher education in the USA. The key questions were 1) how do we construct an online course with instructional processes that support learners’ active participation, and promote the opportunity for knowledge acquisition, comprehension, and application, and 2) what are the needed elements of support and services that help teachers to develop processes, materials, and contents that support a constructivist pedagogy in online education.

Findings from this research study have helped my institution in the design and development of distributed educational programs. The research also has the potential to help other teachers and institutions in the design of online courses, faculty development and support programs, instructional design and processes, and the development of elements that can support a needed constructivist pedagogy to enhance online teaching and learning. The following are some responses from teachers in this study.
Participant teachers in this study indicated that a quality online course should have elements such as an effective pedagogy (88%), needed digital communication and collaboration tools for teachers and students (57%), student-centered education (77%), and needed support and services for the design and development of online courses (69%). The participant faculty members accepted that their traditional roles are changing rapidly to initiator (79%), facilitator (94%), and motivator (85%). The participant faculty members indicated that they have contents and tools to support a constructivist (active learning) pedagogy, but over 45% indicated that they do not have training in pedagogical strategies for online courses and over 52% also indicated that they do not have instructional designers to help them in the design and development of instructional processes and activities. Faculty participants also indicated that some of the needed elements for the development of an effective constructivist pedagogy to foster Internet-based education are clear understanding of instructional goals of the course (91%), adequate infrastructure and support (83%), quality learning resources (68%), and faculty development programs (61%).
The key finding is that participants in this study indicated that with changes in the basis of teaching and learning, the objectivist model of learning, based on presenting information to learners in a passive mode, should be replaced by a constructivist model of learning, which is based on the active participation of learners in the processes and activities of online courses. Higher educational institutions’ understanding of the current needs and requirements of faculty in the development of a constructivist pedagogy is crucial for their success in the global market of distance education.

The potentials and possibilities of the Internet provide new opportunities for higher educational institutions in offering distributed education for distributed learners. In order to shift from an objectivist model to a constructivist model of learning, higher educational institutions need to employ new elements of support and services in the design and development of online educational programs. In the last few years there have been major concerns and debates about a new approach based on the constructivist model of teaching and learning, but there has not been adequate information and knowledge about this needed model’s requirements and elements of development in online educational programs. This study presents the views of many experienced teachers from different institutions on a variety of issues related to the development of a constructivist pedagogy, faculty members’ new roles and contributions, and institutions’ new responsibilities in support and services for the development of quality online instructional resources and programs.
 

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